THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CROSS

Colossians 1:15-23 NLT

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.

He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body.

He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

#1 THE CROSS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF WHO WAS ON IT.

Colossians 1:19

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ

live — katoikeó — to inhabit, to settle, inhabit permanently. Colossians 2:9

For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

#2 THE CROSS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF WHAT IT DID.

Colossians 1:21-22

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

enemies — echthros — hostile, hated and bent on inflicting harm. Hebrews 10:14

For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

#3 THE CROSS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE OF WHAT IT MEANS FOR US TODAY.

Colossians 1:23

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Revelation 11:15 NIV

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:
“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

firmly — hedraios — well stationed, not moving off course.What in your life has overshadowed the importance of the cross? Where can you create more margin for Jesus in your life?

The Importance of the Cross Pastor Matt Pineda

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