Colossians 1:15-20 (NRSV)
Read Colossians 1:15-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; Verse 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-all things have been created through him and for him. Verse 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Verse 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. Verse 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, Verse 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
Devotion
In these verses, the writer of a letter to the community of faith in Colossae is giving us another way to confess our faith in Jesus Christ. This passage is from a letter penned because of the writer’s concern for some of the teaching being done about Jesus in the community. This theological explanation of who Jesus is reads like a powerful witness to the gift of faith received by the work of the Holy Spirit. The writer can hardly keep still. We have this proclamation many centuries later to help us understand who Jesus was and is for us. In that tiny baby born all those years ago in Bethlehem the “fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (v. 19). We look forward to welcoming him anew.
Prayer
Loving Jesus, may our faith in you be bold like that of this author of Colossians. Amen.