Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency are the overarching messages Paul will explain in this compact yet eloquent letter. Christ is preeminent over everything. Christ is God, creator, and sustainer, and specifically, the second person of the Trinity is the mediator of God’s elect people. Hence Chapter 8 of the Westminster Confession of Faith is titled, “Of Christ the Mediator.” Christ to carry out this office of mediator needs to be very God and very man. Christ, as mediator and redeemer, has three important factors.

Christ is head of the Church (Vs. 18a)

The cry of Presbyterians has been “Christ is King.” Christ is the head of the church, not man. Catholic’s believe that the Pope, bishop of Rome, has a special office of ‘head of the church or Vicar of Christ.” Anglicans/Episcopalians have given the title of Head of the Church (1534) of England later changed to the supreme governor (1558). To be fair, I believe the above churches believe that Christ is the head; however, in practice, this might seem convoluted. Christ, as head of the church, is the one who gives the commands and ordinances to the church. Jesus Christ, as King and Head, has given the gift of Kingdom authority to the Church’s officers to enforce God’s laws and to establish God’s reign. The church receives its authority from Christ (Matt 28:18-20, 16:19; John 20:21-23). The true church is not built on the foundation of man’s tradition or progressive inclinations (Col 2:8). The Church is not built on the foundation of sociological studies or democratic consensus. The Church is built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles. The Prophet and Apostles do not refer to Spiritual Gifts or ranks of offices within the church. Built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles refers to the Old and New Testament (Cf. 2 Pet 3:2). The Old and New Testament point towards Christ in which the church points to build the foundation (1 Cor 3:10-15). Everything in the life of the Church should be founded upon Christ as king and head of the church.

Christ is preeminent (vs. 18b)

In the life of the Church, we need to ensure that Christ is exalted. In our personal lives, Christ should be first. This is the issue that the church in Colossae is facing, that Christ is being demoted, diminished, and devalued. We can do this in two ways. First, we actually downgrade them. We don’t think of Christ as highly as we ought. We do this when we believe he is less than God or treat him as our ‘buddy’ and not the creator of the universe who sustains it by the power of his word. The Second is that we increase other things equal to or above Christ. The first is extreme, but the second is common. We often place things in our life above Christ and do not exalt him in our lives. We can do this subtly and frequently. Christ needs to be first in our lives, marriage, families, time, profession, parenting, ministry, love, tongue, even in the tasks of eating and drinking.

Christ is Reconciler (vs. 20)