PASTOR’S CORNER, Larry Moore, Faith Tabernacle Church, Liberal

Paul’s hymn in Colossians 1:15–20 answers one of life’s deepest questions: Is Christ enough? He shows us three relationships: Christ’s relationship to God, to creation, and to His church. In each one, Paul declares that Christ is sufficient, supreme, and sovereign.

CHRIST’S RELATIONSHIP TO GOD Paul begins with the question: Who is Jesus in relation to the Father? Verse 15 tells us He is “the image of the invisible God.” Jesus possesses the same quality of being as God Himself. He is not merely similar to God—He is God made visible. As Scripture says, He is the One “who alone dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.” Yet in Christ, the invisible God is revealed.

John writes, “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus told Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Paul says in Philippians 2:6 that although Jesus existed in the form of God, He humbled Himself and took the form of a servant. Hebrews 1:3 declares that He is “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.”

To say Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” means He makes visible what cannot otherwise be seen. When uncertainty presses in, this doctrine becomes vital. You place your confidence not in what you feel but in who Christ is—the God who has not abandoned you.

CHRIST’S RELATIONSHIP TO CREATION Paul next asks: Who is Jesus in relation to creation? Verses 15–17 tell us He is “the firstborn of all creation”—the One with priority and sovereignty over everything. “In Him were created all things… the visible and the invisible… thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities.” John writes, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being.” Paul says in Romans 11:36, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.”

If everything is from Him, then nothing we have is truly ours. If everything is through Him, then nothing in our lives is random. If everything is to Him, then our lives have one ultimate purpose—His glory.

He is the Source of everything, the One through whom all things proceed, and the One to whom all things return. He keeps the created order in existence and moves it toward His intended end. As David prayed, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory… indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth” (1 Chron. 29:11–12).

Paul adds that Christ existed before everything and “in Him all things hold together.” He has arranged creation into something cohesive, ordered, and enduring. If He is the Source of everything, then our gifts, breath, opportunities, and resources are entrusted to us—not owned by us. And if He is the Sustainer of everything, then He can certainly sustain you.

CHRIST’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH Finally, Paul asks: Who is Jesus in relation to His church? Verses 18–20 tell us He is “the head of the body,” “the beginning,” and “the firstborn from the dead.”

When Adam and Eve sinned, disorder entered creation. Christ’s death made peace possible between God and humanity. Paul uses the image of the body to show Christ’s role. Just as the heart begins beating before the rest of the body forms, Christ is the beginning of the new creation—the first to rise with a resurrection body, the first pulse of a whole new order. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Medical professionals tell us the heart is not just another organ—it is the beginning and sustaining center of life. When the heart stops, the body stops. When the heart beats, the body lives. Every part of the body—every cell, nerve, and limb—lives because the heart sends life to it. It directs, energizes, unifies, and holds the whole together. No part can say, “I live on my own.” The body is only a body because something greater gives it life.

Paul says Jesus is the Head of the body, the church. If Christ is the Head, then we take our orders from Him—not from culture and not from our preferences. If Christ is the Beginning, then every new work of God and every new ministry must start with Him—not in our strength or ideas. If Christ is the Firstborn from the dead, then our future is as secure as His empty tomb. Our hope is not tied to the condition of the world but to the resurrection of our Savior.

And if Christ is the One who reconciles all things, then no broken life, relationship, or church is beyond His healing. The One who will restore the world can restore the heart that trusts in Him.

Jesus is enough. He has always been enough. He will always be enough.