Read Colossians 1:15-20
Okay, so Jesus has quite the resume!
In fact, he’d definitely be overqualified for any job besides being our king. Here’s a quick look at his attributes:
- He’s the image of God – so when you’ve been reading about Jesus in Luke you know that’s really an exact picture of what God would look like if we could see him.
- He’s the firstborn of all creation. He was there in the beginning as a member of the Trinity.
- In fact, he’s the “agent” of creation. It was all created by him and for him.
- In him all things hold together – what does that even mean?! That sounds cosmically powerful!
But what comes next is even more amazing. In the midst of all of these incredible, cosmic, mind blowing qualifications, Jesus also includes this among his greatest and most significant achievements: “He is the head of the body, the church.”
Right up there with creating everything and holding it all together is the formation of the church!
Downplaying the importance of the church seems to be a growing trend in our culture. But Jesus died so that his body would become the church. He arose to live forever as the head of his church. To downplay or dismiss the church is to miss out on a crucial aspect of Christianity. Biblically, there’s no such thing as a lone Christian! Jesus has given us his body, the church, and we need it!
The church is not an organization – it’s an organism. It’s his body; alive and powerful. It’s bigger than any one group of Christians but at the same time it’s necessary to be a part of an actual group of Christians (i.e.: the local church). No church is perfect, because churches are made up imperfect people like me and you. But as we study God’s dreams for his kingdom in the following scriptures, we’ll see clearly what our local church can be for those who desire to go with God.
