Friday, December 14, 2012 - The Supremacy of the Son of God

Friday, December 14, 2012
Colossians, Philemon
The Supremacy of the Son of God

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He
is before all things, and in him all things hold together. AND HE IS
THE HEAD OF THE BODY, THE CHURCH; he is the beginning and the
firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the
supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on
earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on
the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

I really enjoyed these verses from today's reading as they illustrate
the supremacy of Jesus Christ. Jesus wasn't just a prophet or a good
teacher, but He was the image of the invisible God, the exact
representation of God; equal with God the Father; Himself, God. As the
firstborn over all creation, he has supremacy over all the powers in
heaven and on earth. He has authority to judge the world. When we take
a step back and really digest these truths, it's obvious whose king;
not us, but Christ. When we consider worldly knowledge, this fact of
Christ as King becomes extremely important.

I met with a friend (a nonbeliever) yesterday who completely
challenged the existence of God the Holy Spirit in the hearts of
Christians. He thought that healing could be accomplished through a
greater awareness of self. He figured through a greater enlightenment
of self, people could not only be aware of their character defects,
but they could also improve their character and work out everything
(including healing and forgiveness) in their heart on their own
strength. I explained that the idea of a higher-self where such things
could be accomplished was actually an extremely prideful worldly
thought. Think about it – if you believe the truth is within yourself,
apart from God, you will naturally develop an arrogant outlook. You
will start to think that you're better than those who haven't achieved
your level of enlightenment. This happened to be the case for my
friend.

Those that are in Christ recognize that Christ is the head, not self.
Living in this wisdom breeds true humility. For instance, I recognize
that my transformation from a selfish pig to a more selfless giver is
due to the Spirit of God living inside of me – it is on no work of my
own that this transformation occurred, other than my willingness to
say "yes" to God. Therefore, I deserve zero credit for my
transformation. It's 100% God. And since this is the case, I have
nothing to boast about – I am no better than anyone. I've only changed
because I've allowed the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart. As
Christians, we should know that all credit for righteousness goes to
God. Apart from God, we are nothing. With this truth strapped to our
heart, a believer should be able to look anyone in the face and see
them as an equal, no matter how aware a person is of their character
defects.

Now, to deal with my friend's notion that healing and forgiveness
could be achieved through a more enlightened self – while my friend
manufactured this argument, he admitted that he had not yet achieved
this level of enlightenment. He still has deep wounds from his past
and is holding onto much resentment towards his family. True healing
and forgiveness can only be achieved through the POWER OF GOD. Only
when a believer knows with all their heart that Christ died for them
1) when they didn't deserve it and 2) forgave all their sins, can they
be equipped to forgive those that do not deserve forgiveness. We don't
forgive because someone deserves it. We forgive, because we're
forgiven. We forgive because many people "know not what they do."
(Luke 23:34) And when we've experienced the truth of Isaiah 53:5 –
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and BY
HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED" – then, can we experience true healing.

I encourage you not to buy into the counterfeit human wisdom of this
world, but to trust solely in the wisdom of God, which is Christ
crucified, risen from the dead.

God Bless,
Anthony