Supremacy of Christ: Reconciled to Himself
Colossians 1 v 20
And through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.
Post-Enlightenment Christianity has tended to focus on the salvation of the individual from sin.
Individualism is a Modern idea. It assumes everyone is a unique person, with their own needs and wants, and who is separated from everyone and everything else. Individuals are divided from external reality and exist alone.
Simply put, every person is an island.
By exclusively focussing on individualistic Christianity, the Modern Western church has emphasised the individuals response to the Cross over other narratives.
When Christ died on the Cross, it wasn’t just that He died for individuals, but died for communities, nations and even to restore humanity back to their correct role in Creation.
Even if there were no humans, Christ would come and die for His Creation.
We know this because, from this verse in Colossians, St Paul tells us that Christ’s death reconciled Creation to Himself. Not just humanity.
The Reconciliation of Creation
On the Cross, Jesus died for the whole of Creation; all things in Heaven and all things on Earth. At the Fall of Adam, sin entered the Creation and stained it.
For Creation to be returned back into order, that staining needed to be covered or ‘atoned for’. It needed to be ‘washed away’.
By Christ dying, His blood covered sin. And through Him the Heavens and Earth could be brought back into proper alignment.
He not only reconciled Heaven and Earth together, but more importantly, He reconciled them together in Himself. This means all Creation ‘exists within’ and can only ‘function within’ the paradigm of Christ. The paradigm of sacrificial love.
Prince of Peace
Christ is the Peace-Bringer. In this verse, we see that through His blood, Heaven and Earth were joined together in peace.
He also brought peace between God and the fallen Creation. Peace came to all created things through Christ’s death. Lasting peace will finally become established at the end of days, when Creation will be transformed and renewed.
The Role of Christians
As part of the Royal Priesthood, our role is to spread the Blood of Christ throughout Creation. Applying it to all the stained and disfigured areas of reality. Through sharing Christ’s love, the stains will be ‘washed away’ and even the most heinous sins will be covered.