“What about Monday through Saturday?”

Religion

We live in a culture that operates on the assumption that Jesus Christ has absolutely no relevance in our lives on Monday through Saturday. Once we leave the sanctuary, if indeed we go, we live as we desire or as the world dictates. Jesus simply has “nothing to say!”This may be our humanistic or post-Christian culture’s picture of Jesus, but what does the Bible say? This is important because the Bible is God’s Word. Open your Bible to Colossians 1:15-18. In this portion of Scripture, we find nine phrases that speak directly to the relationship of Jesus to not only Sunday- when we go to church, but also to Monday through Saturday. The picture of Jesus is very different from the culture’s.

For the sake of discussion, we will entitle the first section (vs 15-17): “the Lord of Creation.” First, Jesus is described as “the image of the invisible God.” This refers to the fact that Jesus is God- the second person of the Trinity! “Image” refers to equality with the original state; to be like. Those who saw Jesus, saw the Father; those who heard Jesus, heard the Father; those who know Jesus, know the Father. Jesus is God!

Christ is “the first-born of all creation.” This decribes the priority of Christ in all creation. He was pre-existent to creation. Christ has always been! He was also involved in the work of creation- “in Him all things were created.” Christ is the source of life. The prepositions “through” and “for” (vs. 16) emphasize the fact that Jesus was the agent of creation and is the final end to which all things move. It was through Jesus that all things “were made” (John 1:3).

“He is before all things.” Christ is the Lord of Lords; the King of Kings! He is the one who reigns supreme over everything. As a result of His rule and authority, all things move in an orderly manner- “in Him all things hold together.” The words mean stand beside, endure, cohere. The world is not chaos or chance happenings, but instead ordered cosmos. There is unity and purpose in all nature and history.

The word “also” sets aside the second section which we will entitle “Lord of the Church.” Christ is described as the “head of the church.” He is its foundation, its cornerstone, and its ruler. Christ is the King of the Church and the Christ-follower is to submit to His authority.

Christ is the “first-born of the dead.” He is alive. he has been raised from the dead. As a result of Christ’s victory over the grave, the Christ-follower is able to have confidence and experience peace because the Savior has promised that there is a “mansion” prepared for us in heaven.

The phrase “so that” begins the summary statement which describes the pre-eminence of Christ in all things. He holds first rank, the highest place. He is the Lord of “all things.” There is no area that is not under Christ’s Lordship. He is the Lord of all of creation!

This fact has tremendous implications for daily living. If Christ is Lord, as the Bible says He is, then He is Lord over every aspect of my day and activity of my life. Life has meaning and man has significance. We do not live in a world of chance or fate. Christ is Lord! Therefore I am able to live life to its fullest for Christ is Lord of every moment of every day- not just Sunday. In the words of Abraham Kuyper, “there is not a square inch within the domain of our human life of which the Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not say, ‘MINE.’ ”

What does this mean for me? Well, that’s for future discussions.

This week Pastor Jim Misner’s column is a repeat of an earlier article he had written back in April 2011.

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