Summary

In this Father's Day message, Kevin Waden — one of the elders at Grace Bible Church — steps in to continue Pastor Dave's sermon series through Paul's letter to the Colossians, titled Jesus Over Everything. Preaching from Colossians 1:15-20, Kevin focuses on what he calls "the preeminence of Christ," a passage he describes as quite possibly the most Christ-exalting text in all of Scripture. Before diving in, he takes a moment to honor fathers in the congregation — biological dads, adoptive and foster dads, and spiritual fathers alike — encouraging them to keep going, keep praying, and keep teaching their children the Word of God.

Kevin opens with a series of searching questions: What is the most important thing to you? What do you spend your time, money, and thoughts on? He walks through common answers — money, fame, power, even good things like family — and shows how each one ultimately falls short. He references the famous quip attributed to John Rockefeller, who when asked how much money is enough, reportedly answered, "Just a little bit more." Kevin then anchors the sermon in the Westminster Confession's answer to the question of man's chief end: to glorify God and enjoy him forever. This, he argues, is the lens through which Colossians 1:15-20 must be read.

The first dimension of Christ's preeminence Kevin explores is Jesus as Creator of all things. Colossians 1:15 calls Jesus "the image of the invisible God" — the physical, visible representation of a God who is spiritual in nature. The title "firstborn of all creation" does not mean Jesus was himself created, Kevin explains, but rather carries the meaning of the Greek word prototokos — one who holds the rank of first. Jesus is first over all creation. Paul then piles on the word "all" repeatedly: all things were created by him, through him, and for him — things visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. Kevin drives home the staggering weight of this: Jesus didn't reassemble existing materials the way human inventors do. He spoke, and things that did not exist came into being. Every grain of sand, every distant star — spoken into existence. This is the supremacy of Christ.

The second dimension Kevin highlights is Jesus as first before all things. Colossians 1:17 declares, "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Kevin connects this to Hebrews 1:3, which says Jesus "upholds the universe by the word of his power." Whether a person believes in Jesus or not, Kevin notes, they are utterly dependent on him simply to remain held together. Jesus is also the head of the church and the firstborn from the dead — the first of all his people to rise, with his people to follow him into eternity. The purpose behind all of this, Paul says, is "that in everything he might be preeminent" (Col. 1:18). Kevin illustrates what it looks like when Jesus is not first by pointing to the rich young man in the Gospels, who walked away sorrowful when Jesus called him to surrender his possessions. Kevin turns the mirror on the congregation: how often do we tell Jesus he can have every area of our lives except this one? He offers a memorable image: Jesus is not one item on your list of priorities. He is the paper on which the list is written.

The third dimension is Jesus as Reconciler. Colossians 1:19-20 declares that all the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus, and that through him God reconciled all things to himself, "making peace by the blood of his cross." Kevin draws on 2 Corinthians 5, which describes believers as new creations and ambassadors of reconciliation — those who were once enemies of God, now brought near by the blood of the Lamb. He uses a lighthearted illustration from the movie Home Alone, where an estranged father and son are reunited, to paint a picture of what reconciliation looks like: those who were far off, brought together. This, Kevin says, is what Jesus offers. He is supreme even over our sin and its punishment.

Kevin then addresses the practical question: why does any of this matter for daily life? He notes that Paul wrote Colossians to a church being bombarded by false teaching — a problem that sounds remarkably familiar today. He quotes John Piper's description of this passage as a "theological vaccine against false teaching." When we see Jesus correctly — as truly preeminent — we are protected from being swayed by teaching that sounds good but diminishes Christ. Kevin also points back to Paul's prayer earlier in Colossians 1, where Paul asks that the church would be "strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy" (Col. 1:11). The preeminence of Christ, Kevin argues, is the very foundation of that joy. Because Jesus is who he is — Creator, the First, Reconciler — believers can endure all things with genuine, overflowing joy and gratitude.

Kevin closes with a pastoral charge: don't fall back into the same old rut come Monday morning. Reread this passage. Pray that you would see Christ for who he truly is. The Supreme One — the one who spoke the universe into existence and made peace through his own blood — loves you more than you can possibly understand. That is the good news of the preeminence of Christ.