Introduction: Put on your “memory cap” to recall our first two lessons in this series. We studied the introductions to both Philippians and Colossians. Recall that Paul started his letter to the Philippians by humbly saying that he was a servant. He sounded quite different to the Colossians by describing himself as an apostle. 
We decided that, unlike his letter to the Philippians, Paul wanted to present himself to the Colossians as an authority. Why? He had some serious instructions for them about light and darkness. These instructions have to do with the nature of Jesus. Let’s continue our study of Colossians to learn more about Jesus!
I. Jesus the Firstborn
A. Read Colossians 1:13-14. Paul writes about our Father God and he states that the Father delivered us from darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of Jesus. Does that seem odd to you? Was it not Jesus who delivered us from darkness and allowed us to enter heaven? (It was a “group” effort. The entire Trinity was involved in our salvation.)
- Consider Paul’s timing. He writes as if our transfer to the Kingdom of Jesus has already taken place. Would it change the way you lived if you thought you were presently a citizen of the Kingdom of Jesus?
B. Read Colossians 1:15. Is Jesus a created being? Is He more like the angels than like God?
- When Paul writes that Jesus is “the image” of God that does not sound like He is God, it sounds like He is more like one of us. Read Genesis 1:26-27. Consider two questions:
- a. If Jesus was created and not God, who is the “us” in Genesis 1:26.
- b. Was Jesus ever made in the image of humans?
C. Read John 1:1-3 and John 1:14. Who is the Word? (This identifies the “Word” as Jesus.)
- What has the Word done? (The Word is the Creator God who was with God the Father at the beginning. And He is also the God who “became flesh” meaning that He was born as a human. Humans are in the “image” of God. John 1 unravels the mystery of why Paul would write that Jesus was “born” and is in the image of God.)
- If we are correct in the last answer, how do you explain that Jesus was “firstborn?” When Mary, His mother, gave birth to Jesus, was He not the firstborn of all creation?
D. Read Psalms 89:27 and Revelation 1:5. How do these texts treat the idea of “firstborn?” (This gives us two different views. First, Revelation ties the “first born” language to Jesus’ resurrection. He is the firstborn of the dead. Second, Psalms uses the term “firstborn” to indicate importance. Neither of these teach us that Jesus was originally a created being like the angels or like us.)
- Jude 9 and Matthew 17:1-3 reveal that Moses was resurrected from the dead and this was before Jesus’ resurrection. How do we explain Revelation’s “firstborn” statement? (I believe that Moses’ resurrection was conditional on Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus was the true firstborn of the dead.)
II. Jesus the Creator
A. Read Colossians 1:16-17. How does this fit with the argument that Jesus was a created being like the angels? (It does not fit at all. To the contrary, it tells us that Jesus not only created the earth (which accords with John 1), but He also is the Creator for every created being in heaven.)
- There is a phrase that we must further explore. We are told that “all things” were created “for Him,” meaning, “for Jesus.” What insight does this give into the reason why Jesus sacrificed Himself to give us eternal life? (He did not want the gift He had given Himself through our creation to be ruined. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that it was for “joy” that Jesus gave up Himself. That joy is over giving the gift to us of again coming into a right relationship with Jesus.)
- What does this reveal about Satan’s motivation to lead Adam and Eve into sin? (In part this was an effort to harm Jesus. Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wanted to ruin the gift of the creation.)
- Another phrase that we must explore is that “all things hold together” in Jesus. What things do you think hold together in Jesus? (Our salvation, and the eventual destruction of evil, “hold together” in Jesus’ work. Someone who understands condensed-matter physics knows that atoms move, yet are bonded together, so objects appear to our eyes to be solid. Someone who understands astrophysics understands that our universe would fly apart if not for a force that regulates its expansion. All of this comes through the power of Jesus.)
B. Read Colossians 1:18. We see again the phrase “firstborn from the dead,” which reinforces the idea that Jesus was not a being created by God. How do we keep Jesus “preeminent” in our lives?
III. Jesus and Conflict
A. Read Colossians 1:19. When Paul writes that “the fullness of God” dwells in Jesus, what does that teach you about the apparent conflict between the Old and New Testaments? I know some Christians who only focus on the New Testament because the Old Testament seems irrelevant and in some places wrong. (Everything we want to know about God the Father, we can find in Jesus.)
- Since we know that Jesus was the Creator referred to in Genesis, it follows that the interactions between God and humans in the Old Testament were with Jesus. Must we be able to see Jesus in what happened in the Old Testament? (I don’t think we can carve off the Old Testament when trying to understand God. I don’t think we can conclude that what we learn about Jesus when He walked on earth gives us a complete understanding of Him. We need the larger picture of God.)
B. Read Colossians 1:20. Are we at war with God absent what Jesus did for us? (Paul uses conflict resolution terms, “reconcile,” and “making peace.” Without Jesus we would be at war with God.)
- Are those who do not accept Jesus at war with God?
- I believe I see the rise of the demonic these days. We admit to a rise in mental illness. I’ve never heard a satisfactory explanation of how things described as demon possession in the New Testament are today only mental illness. Do you think we switched from all demon possession to all mental illness? If so, how did that happen? (I don’t accept the answer that we are more sophisticated these days. Other human problems that Jesus cured were said to be an illness. Those living in Jesus’ day called some maladies a sickness and others demon possession.)
- Why is it that only in the Western world, outside of movies, we seem to think that demon possession no longer exists?
C. Let’s look again at the nature of the reconciliation that Jesus won for us. Paul says Jesus did this “by the blood of His cross.” Why do you think Jesus had to die violently, painfully?
- If you answer, “Because Satan wanted to hurt Jesus and wanted Him to give up,” is that a full explanation?
- Is Jesus’ violent and painful death somehow related to the violence in the Old Testament? (I don’t understand this, but I see a connection between the way God’s will was violently fulfilled in the Old Testament and the violence involved in Jesus taking the punishment for our sins.)
a. As you contemplate this, how would you fit into your answer that God promised Joshua (the military leader for the conquest of Canaan), that God would send a hornet before Joshua to drive out the pagans? See, Joshua 24:12, Exodus 23:28, and Deuteronomy 7:20. (The loving Jesus that we see in the New Testament reflects the way that God prefers to deal with humans. Unfortunately, in the Old Testament, and in the future, God will use violence to bring an end to evil.)
D. Friend, will you choose Jesus and not darkness? He is our Creator and Redeemer and He deserves our allegiance. Why not choose now?
IV. Next week: Reconciliation and Hope.
Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.
