Peace, Authority, Supremacy through Writings of Paul

In Colossians 1, Paul writes this to the church in Colossi:

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Paul’s overarching point to get across through this poem is to make sure that the people know about the importance, supremacy, and centrality of Jesus Christ. Within that understanding they may know God better, and see how life is truly suppose to be lived. One can see right from the beginning that Jesus is and intern a characteristic of God: “he is the image of the invisible God”. However, this idea would be understood in a great dynamic as well when it comes to the Roman Empire. When this poem mentions the “invisible God” could this be a direct shot to the gods of Rome? Saying that the God Paul is talking about as the supreme God that everyone seeks but knows nothing about? Within this thinking, it is interesting to note that Caesar was taken to be the “son of God”. Even within Paul telling the readers of this letter to know who Jesus is, he still makes statements that would make for this “way” of Jesus to be something that is bigger then any government or empire that the world has. Within this poem, we also know how the world was supposed to be. Wright says that this Jesus is “the blueprint for the genuine humanness which is on offer through the gospel. As the head of the body, the church; as the first to rise again from the dead; as the one through whose cruel death God has dealt with our sins and brought us peace and reconciliation; and, above all, as the one through whom the new creation has now begun; in all these ways, Jesus is himself the one ‘in whom’ we are called to discover what true humanness means in practice. We have so often settled for second best in our human lives. Jesus summons us to experience the genuine…”.

Paul also mentions this idea of Jesus being head over the body, the church and that all things will be reconciled under the name of Jesus. This again has undertones of the empire with it. Again, as was mentioned before, the Roman Empire has the thinking that if all things are brought under one name, Rome, at there will be peace forever. Paul is once again making the statement that if all things were brought under the name of Jesus that true peace would reign. An avenue for this to happen was Jesus establishing the church, which He is the head of. The question becomes; how is this peace that Paul is talking about made? Within this idea is beautiful imagery for those within the way of Jesus. The peace that is offered for those in the Roman Empire was given through war, power, and punishment. For the Roman Empire one of the greatest punishments that would be given was that of crucifixion. This punishment was especially for those that were revolutionaries against the Empire (like defeated kings of “empire ruined” kingdoms). This was a sign of victory for the way of Rome. So the way that the peace that Jesus offers reigns over the peace offered by Rome is by Jesus being nailed and killed on a Roman cross. However the defeat of the empire was in Him being raised from the dead defeating death. In that moment, the empire was defeated. In that way, the peace offered by Jesus will reign even after the Empires fall.

So what is this attitude; this peace that is offered by Jesus that Paul talks about? In Colossians 3, Paul writes:

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

In another letter that Paul penned, this time to Philippi, Paul says that your attitude should be the same of Jesus. That attitude is that he humbled himself into the form and nature of a servant. The author, speaker, pastor Rob Bell speaks of this idea of our attitude in the face of anything that comes our way. Bell talks about all the different negative events that happen to Jesus on and before going to the cross. The question that Bell poses is what is Jesus’ response in every situation? Bell comes to the conclusion that Jesus showed love in every situation. He then looks at Colossians 2:15 (“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”) and shows that the way of Jesus wins. Which he then makes the statement that our lives need to be lived by: that Love Wins. Because if Jesus defeats death and the powers that be then the way he lived his life won out and that was a life of love. This is a great example of how we are to live out the way of Jesus in our lives. Walsh seconds this idea: “Paul calls the community members to ‘clothe themselves’ with certain virtues. They are called to personify the character traits of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love. They are called to be a people rooted in and dedicated to peace, living lives characterized by gratitude, wisdom and worship. Being a person that tries to be each of these characters is a noble way of thinking, however a person must first grasp the larger picture first”. There is no need for a conversation on violence and exclusion in which the empire likes to discuss because in this community there is no violence and there is no exclusion. This community feels the pain of the world, embraces it, and tries to be the community that makes a difference about it. Walsh calls this an “ethic of compassion” just as in Luke 6:36, Jesus calls his followers to be compassionate just as their Father is compassionate.

Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, ed. , Caesar and Christ (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1980), 217.

Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat, Colossians Remixed (Downers Grove: Inter Varisty Press, 2004).

Tom Wright, Paul for Everyone, ed. , The Prison Letters (Westminster: John Knox Press, 2004), 151.

John York, Notes from Prison Epistles class, Lipscomb University, Fall 2006.

Rob Bell, “The Cross: Part 1-Love Wins”, sermon preached at Mars Hill Bible Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2004.