Ask a young girl to describe her father, and her description will be seen through the lens of love. She may tell of the thickness of his hair or the strength of his arms. Her words may describe how he smells when he hugs her or the sound of his laugh when he is amused.
One thing will always be the same, though. She will tell how he is, not how he’s changed, who he once was, or who he will someday be.
Her lens is focused on the present, for to her, he is not a high school football star or a starry-eyed romantic wooing her mother. He is not a retiree golfing his days away. He is simply her father. He is the way he is, he has always been that way, and he will be the same forever. That’s what she sees through her lens. That’s her father in focus.
Describing Jesus is pretty much the same. We must focus on who he is, and when we see his person and his nature clearly, we better know the one we love. Paul in Colossians 1:17-19 gives us a pretty clear description of who Jesus is in six focused statements.
Statement #1 – Jesus existed before all things were created.
The divine nature of the Christ didn’t suddenly materialize in that manger so many centuries ago. Rather, as Jesus said in John 8:58, he existed before the coming of man. Jesus is part of the very plan of our world, here before it was created, and part of that creation itself.
Statement #2 – Jesus created all things.
As Jesus was here before our world was created, so it was his hand that helped sculpt the mountains and valleys, reaching down to scoop out the basins of the seas. He participated in forming man from the dust of the ground and breathing life into his lungs. All things in existence reflect the nature of his personality, for that which he has created is part of who he is.
Statement #3 – Jesus is the head of the church.
Christ must be the center of the church’s beliefs. To say Jesus is the head of the church is to say he is a definitive part of the church, firmly attached, and vital to the functioning of the church. He loves the church and cares for her as his own flesh, for indeed the church is the body of Jesus. The two cannot be separated.
Statement #4 – Jesus is the originator of the church.
The Jewish faith had become rote, and in its failure to meet the spiritual needs of the people, a new covenant was made between God and humanity. The church as we know it today started with the seed of Jesus, planted in Golgotha’s soil, and raised to life in a rocky tomb carved into the hillside. If any other comes to us with a new way to heaven, there is no truth in his spoken words. Jesus is the New Covenant, and in him and him alone does our salvation rest.
Statement #5 – Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.
Not only is Jesus the head and originator of the church, he is the first to be born of humanity’s flesh and resurrected into the immortality of our blessed hope. He is our example and our promise that one day we will also be resurrected into our heavenly bodies to join with him in worship of the Father.
Statement #6 – Jesus is the supreme authority in all things.
Jesus is the firstborn of the Father; the firstborn of all creation; the only begotten Son of the Father. Just as in our human families, being firstborn gives not only special privileges, but also special responsibilities. More is required of a firstborn child than of a younger sibling. As the firstborn of the Father, Jesus was required to become our redemption, and in the same manner, he was given the privilege to become our salvation, the one to whom we draw for the forgiveness of our sins.
Paul wraps up this passage with the statement, “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.”
Just as that little girl is filled with pride when she describes her father, so our Heavenly Father is pleased with Jesus. He is so pleased that he has given unto his Son the complete and total power of the Godhead. All the power of the heavenly realm is Jesus’ to dispense, and when he becomes our head, and we become his body, there is no limit to what he will do for and through us.
When we focus on the nature of Jesus, we begin to understand why he loves us so much.
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