Christ Our King

Rev Rodney A Gray

 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom
of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image
of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers
or authorities; all things were created by 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 1:13-20)

Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians proclaims the absolute supremacy and sole sufficiency of
Jesus Christ. He is God’s Son (1:14), the object of the Christian’s faith (1:4), the
Redeemer (1:14), and the image of God (1:15). He is the Lord of creation (1:15), the head
of the church (1:18), and the reconciler of the universe (1:20). In him dwells the fullness
of the Godhead (2:9). Every power and authority in the universe is subject to him (2:10).
He is the essence of the mystery of God (2:3), and in him all God’s treasures of wisdom
and knowledge lie hidden (2:3). He is the standard by which all religious teaching is to
be measured (2:8) and the reality of the truth foreshadowed by the regulations and rituals
of the old covenant (2:17). He conquered the powers of evil by way of the cross (2:15)
and following his resurrection he was enthroned at the right hand of God (3:1). The life of
every believer is hidden with Christ in God, but one day both he and we will be
gloriously manifested (3:3,4). In the meantime, we have the high, holy, and heavenly
calling as God’s chosen people, to put off the old man with his deeds and to put on the
new man, being renewed in knowledge in the image of our Creator (3:5-10).

Because the message of Colossians is the biblical gospel, non-Christians and nominal
Christians (which are two versions of the same thing) are not drawn to it. The non-
Christian denies Christ, and the nominal Christian dethrones him (which again are two
versions of the same thing). Either way, people who will not submit to the biblical gospel
are refusing to be saved on God’s terms, and therefore cannot be saved on any terms.
They are expressing contempt for the gospel of Christ and for the Christ of the gospel.
The gospel is a message about the complete sufficiency of Jesus Christ. This means that
the gospel is sufficient for a proper understanding of who we are, where we came from,
where we are going, and what we ought to be doing in the meantime. Christ has
accomplished everything necessary for peace and reconciliation with God through his
blood shed on the cross. If Christ is sufficient in his person, he is sufficient in his work.
Because of who he is and what he has done, he is both qualified and authorized to be a
king. This is just to say that to believe in the sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus Christ
over all things is to believe that he is Savior, Lord, and King.

Christ, in his kingdom, is both king and redeemer (13,14).

We notice, in the first place, that it is a fact that Christ has a kingdom. God the Father has
rescued us from the authority of the darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his
dear Son. This kingdom, which derives its identity from Christ, is the kingdom in which
Christ is king. It is the kingdom of Christ. In II Peter 1:11 it is called “the eternal
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” In Ephesians 5:5 it is “the kingdom of
Christ and of God.” In II Timothy 4:1 it is called “his kingdom.” Hebrews 1:8 quoting
Psalm 45:6,7 says that “righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.” And in
Revelation 1:9 the apostle John testified,

“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance
that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the
testimony of Jesus Christ.”

It is the kingdom in which Jesus reigns supreme. “For he must reign until he has put all
his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (I Corinthians
15:25,26). It is a kingdom, Jesus said, that is not of this world (John 18:36). In its origin,
its character, its citizenship, its laws, its methodology, and its purpose, it is a kingdom
altogether apart. In fact, it is an everlasting kingdom that shall never be destroyed
(Daniel 2:44). The Lord Jesus Christ as King established once and forever the sovereign
rule and reign of God among men.

But in the second place, we note that there is also a dominion of darkness. The dominion
of darkness is when darkness is the authority. When Jesus was arrested he said,

“Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But
this is your hour, and the power of darkness [when darkness reigns]” (Luke 22:53).

This is the darkness that men love rather than light, because their deeds are evil (John
3:19). Darkness is the condition of the human heart (Romans 1:21) and the understanding
(Ephesians 4:18). It is the power under which all men live when they do not have the
light of life. And so there is the dominion of darkness and there is the kingdom of God’s
dear Son. These two domains are the two, and the only two, in which men exist. To be
removed from the one and placed into the other requires an exertion of God’s sovereign
power. No created power can bridge the gap. Notice the language here. God the Father
has delivered or rescued us from the dominion of darkness. This is a word that Jesus
used in the prayer that he taught his disciples – “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew
6:13). It means that he drew us to himself like men draw a boat out of the water onto the
shore. He drew us to himself out of the power of darkness and brought us into the
kingdom of his Son. He has removed us from one place to the other, from one realm to
the other. The KJV calls it a “translation,” because it is a complete change of situation.
The apostle used this word in I Corinthians 13:2 when he asserted, “If I have a faith that
could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” God has accomplished this
miraculous deliverance through Christ. When Jesus came, the people living in darkness
saw a great light (Matthew 4:16). The Lord Jesus commissioned Paul as an apostle with
these words:
“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place
among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18).

And in I Peter 2:9 we read,

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to
God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his
wonderful light.”

In the third place, in this kingdom, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Paul
wrote to the Ephesians,

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance
with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding”
(Ephesians 1:7,8).

The hallmark of the kingdom of Christ, in other words, is redemption through his blood
shed on the cross, and the forgiveness of sins. It is a kingdom in which citizenship
depends not on works, but grace; not on self-righteousness, but on imputed righteousness.
In this kingdom sinners “are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). It is not a national or territorial kingdom, much less a
kingdom of tyranny or violence, but primarily spiritual. It is righteousness, peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). In this kingdom, Jesus Christ is both King and
Redeemer.

Christ, in his kingdom, is supreme over creation (15-17).

Consider how boldly Paul declares that this kingdom is a kingdom in which the Son of
the Father is supreme in every way. The only begotten Son of the Father is the eternal
object of the Father’s love. All that belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son.
Scripture assures us here that he is the image of the invisible God. This is a stupendous
statement to say the least. The one whose blood has been shed, he who was executed as a
criminal, is now said to be the image of God. The same person whose very identity is
tied forever to the cross is now the person who is described in language the mind can
scarcely comprehend. He is the image of the invisible God! The apostle is reminding us
here that God belongs to that realm of reality that is invisible, but nevertheless real. It is
by virtue of the fact that God is God that Christ can be the image of God. He is called the
same in II Corinthians 4:4 – “Christ, who is the image of God.” The word “image” means
that Christ is the exact manifestation and representation of God. Therefore in Christ the
nature and being of God have been perfectly revealed so that the invisible became visible.
Christ makes God knowable. What God is, Christ is, so that the kingdom of Christ is also
the kingdom of God. And God’s invisibility to man applies not merely to his physical
senses, but more importantly to his spiritual sense. Only in Christ can God be seen in the
sense of being known and understood.
But not only so. He is the firstborn of all creation. He is the firstborn, not in the sense of
being born first, but in the sense of priority or rank. If all things were created by him,
clearly he cannot be among the things created. So “firstborn” cannot mean that in any
sense Christ is a created being. Arians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others, believe
something to the effect that Christ was the first of God’s created things, and therefore he
is greater than the things God created later. But the position of the firstborn in the Old
Testament often has nothing to do with a second or third born. According to Exodus
4:22, Israel was the Lord’s firstborn. Literally and physically, Israel (Jacob) was the
second born, and Esau was the firstborn. But Israel’s status as firstborn was a legal status
conferred on him by his father. The firstborn has privilege and favor, official power and
dominion. The Lord said about David, “I will make him my firstborn, the highest of the
kings of the earth” (Psalm 89:27). So Christ as firstborn of all creation is the Lord, ruler,
and heir of all creation. In Hebrews 1:2 he is the designated heir of all things.

Then in the third place, verse 16 explains still further the supremacy of Christ over
creation. He is supreme because he created all things. “Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3). Through him God
made the universe (Hebrews 1:2). If Christ is responsible for the creation of all things, he
cannot himself be a created being. There is nothing left over which Christ might not have
created. If all things are God-created things, they are also Christ-created things. If all
things are God-related things, they are also Christ-related things. If all things are God-
interpreted things, they are also Christ-interpreted things. By him ALL things were
created. So it is impossible to know anything absolutely about the created world unless it
is known in relation to Jesus Christ. And, as if there is some part of “all the things” that
someone might not understand, Paul breaks it down into comprehensive categories.
Things in heaven and on earth match the invisible and visible things. The invisible world
is part of the all things that Christ created, and is thus entirely under his control. Invisible
things are as real as visible things. They are part of the same created universe. These are
angelic beings which, though powerful, are creatures. Christ is supreme over them
because he created them. He created them, not for us, but for himself. The current
preoccupation with angels is misguided at best, idolatrous at worst.

One of the most astounding facts in the entire Bible is that all things were created by him
and for him. People who understand and worship the Christ who is supreme in creation
understand this, and they bow before him in humble and grateful adoration. The natural
man’s view of the world is anthropocentric. He thinks man is at the center of everything,
that man is the measure of all things, that man is the most important consideration. Today
even seemingly devout Christians entertain anthropocentric ideas. They think God made
the world for them, rather than for himself. But the Christian view is theocentric. It
declares that all things were created by him and for him. Christianity is Christocentric. It
centers on Christ. It sees all of history converging upon him and explained by him. It
sees all creation existing somehow for his sake. Its song is the song of heaven, that says,
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you
created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation
4:11).
This is the Christ of the Bible, not the popular Jesus who can be separated from his kingly
throne. This is not the Christ of those who say, “Give me Jesus, not exegesis.” This is
not the Christ of nominalism, liberalism, or emotionalism. This is the Christ who is
supreme and who is therefore sufficient.

Then we find according to verse 17 that he is supreme because he is before all things and
in him all things hold together. Christ is before all things because,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1,2).

He is before all things, which means that for him there never was a first moment of
existence. He was before time and exists apart from time. For Christ there was never a
first point in space that he occupied, because he was before space and exists apart from
space. If it ever seems that your world is falling apart, think of Christ, who is before all
things. And as the one who is before all things, in him all things hold together (KJV –
“by him all things consist”). What can this mean? The consistency of a thing, whether it
is an argument or the batter for a cake, is what keeps it together. It means that all things
are organized for him and by him, for a purpose centering on him. Nothing makes sense
unless it can be related to Christ. And we must anticipate the next verses here by saying
that the universe has been organized by Christ to serve a purpose, a greater purpose than
can be explained by the mind of man. In him all things hold together because on the
stage of the universe is played out the great drama of redemption. It is just here that the
greatest solution to the greatest problem is displayed to a watching universe. Christ Jesus
“has become for us wisdom from God, even our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written, Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (I Corinthians 1:30,31).
God in infinite wisdom has found a way to put sinful men into a right relationship with
himself. Even angels desire to look into these things, because Christ in his kingdom is
supreme over all creation.

Christ, in his kingdom, is supreme over the church (18-20).

We must not miss the apostle’s emphasis that he himself is the head of the body (verse
18). In verse 17 he said that “he himself is before all things.” Again in verse 18 it is “so
that in everything he himself might have the supremacy.” There is a deliberate emphasis
on the exclusiveness of Christ’s supremacy over all things, and over the church in
particular. In Ephesians 1:22,23 the apostle speaks in a similar way. Christ has been
raised from the dead by God’s almighty power and seated at God’s right hand in the
heavenly realms,

“far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given,
not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under
his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Christ is head over everything to or for the church. The relationship between the “all
things” and “the church” is that all things are for the church. Christ as King of creation
makes everything subservient to the new creation, the church. He is the Creator and he is
the re-creator. Commentators say it is best to understand “church” here as inclusive of all
Christians everywhere at all times. Perhaps so, but certainly the apostle Paul would have
wanted his readers to know that Christ is the head of the church in Colosse, which is his
body. He would have wanted them to be assured that the Lord Jesus Christ who is the
head of the church also rules the universe that he created, and that nothing is outside the
zone of his sovereign rule. He is head over everything for the church. In fact we cannot
but notice a definite parallel of expression with verse 15 as we come to the word
“firstborn.” Just as Christ is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn over all
creation, so he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead. He is the origin
of the church. He gives it its existence. And as firstborn from among the dead it is not
that he was first to be resurrected, but he was the first to be raised to newness of life so
that death no more can have the mastery over him. His resurrection guarantees that all
who are united to him in his death will also be raised to live a new kind of life with him
(Romans 6:8-10). And all of this is so that in everything he himself might have the
supremacy. This is the purpose for which everything in the previous context is intended.
The kingdom supremacy of Jesus Christ is most visibly manifested in the local church.
Every visible body of Christ represents the rule and reign of Christ. His preeminence, his
supremacy, his sufficiency must be guarded and maintained in the life and ministry, the
worship and fellowship of the body, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Furthermore, verse 19 alerts us to the fact that there are no alternatives to this, no other
plans or programs, no systems of thought, no world views or philosophies that will work
just as well. The non-Christian view is that there is no supremacy and that exclusive
claims should never be made about any religious ideas. At least they should not be
dictated to anyone else. The non-Christian view is that there are many competing world
views out there, and each one should be given the opportunity to make its contribution.
The non-Christian view is that these things take their starting point in the mind of man,
and that we all ought to be able to learn from one another. The non-Christian resists
dogmatic assertions about God and how to find him. But here is dogmatism. Here is
exclusiveness. Here is the Christian view of Jesus Christ that sets it apart from all others.
God was pleased to have all the fullness dwell in him. The Colossians were interested in
this matter of “fullness,” as some professing Christians are today. They think they have
the “fullness” of the gospel which others have not discovered. So Paul has some things
to say to them about this fullness (1:9, 19,25; 2:9,10; 4:12). Fullness has to do with
Christ, and those who have Christ have fullness, because it pleased God that all his
fullness should dwell in Christ (cf. Ephesians 1:10,23; 3:19; 4:10, 13). These things are
stupendous and staggering to the imagination. People who have no problem with Jesus
Christ, who do not wonder about him, who are not silenced before him, who think he
came to be their personal pal, such people need to ponder this, that God was pleased to
have all his fullness dwell in him. Everything that God is, Christ is. Christ is all the
fullness of God undiluted and undiminished. “For in him dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily” (2:9).
In the third place, verse 20 says that God was also pleased to reconcile all things to
himself through Christ. Imagine it! It pleased God that all fullness should dwell in
Christ, and it pleased him to reconcile all things to himself through Christ. The one who
created all things sheds blood in order to reconcile all things. It pleased God, but the
problem is that it does not please men. Man stumbles over this stupendous doctrine that
the creator of the universe voluntarily suffered and died for our sins. But it has pleased
God that there is only one means by which sinful rebels can be reconciled to him. There
is only one way that the curse under which the universe groans can be reversed. It is
through the blood of Christ shed on the cross. It does not happen from the bottom up, but
from the top down. Reconciliation does not come about when man is pleased, but when
God is pleased. Sinners must come to terms with him who is the King of creation, the
sovereign of the universe, or they cannot be put right with God. They must receive God’s
way of making peace on his terms. They must lay down their arms and come before him
with unconditional surrender. The gospel plan is that men must be saved by God on his
terms, or not at all. There is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we
must be saved (Acts 4:12). This reconciliation is perhaps equivalent to “gather together”
or “head up all things in Christ” in Ephesians 1:10. Also, in I Corinthians 15:24 and 28
Paul speaks of Christ subduing all things unto himself, and then delivering up the
kingdom to God. It all points to the comprehensive and exclusive nature of the royal
prerogatives of Christ the King.

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

If Christ in his kingdom is both King and Redeemer, all who would be saved by him must
be ruled by him. If we would have redemption by his blood and the forgiveness of sins,
we must receive it at the hands of him who has the supremacy over all things. If Christ is
King in creation and in the new creation, he is either Lord of all or not at all. He does not
have one set of laws for his people living in the old creation and another for them living
in the new creation. If Christ is your King, he is your King wherever you go and
whatever you do. He is not King over your private life but not your public life. He is not
your King only to the extent that the kings of the earth allow him to be. This means that
there is never a circumstance in which you are outside the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ.
Many Christians wave the banner of the cross when they demonstrate against abortion,
but wave the banners of the kings of the earth to justify the killing of their fellow men.
The supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ should alert us to this inconsistency,
compel us to wonder about it, and teach us at all times to say, “We must obey God rather
than men.” If Christ is your King, then to say that you know Christ as a Savior is to make
a staggering claim. You are saying that you belong the King of the universe. You are the
blood – bought possession of the one who upholds all things by the word of his power.

“I belong to Jesus; I am not my own;

All I have and all I am, shall be his alone.
 I belong to Jesus; He is Lord and King,
Reigning in my inmost heart, over everything.

I belong to Jesus; blessed, blessed thought!

With his own most precious blood has my soul been bought.

I belong to Jesus; He has died for me;

I am his and he is mine, through eternity.

I belong to Jesus; He will keep my soul,

When the deathly waters dark round about me roll.

I belong to Jesus; and ere long I’ll stand

With my precious Saviour there in the glory land.”

(M. Fraser)