Colossians 1:15-20 says Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  In Him all things were created in heaven and earth, the seen and the unseen, whether thrones, angelic powers, rulers or authorities. All was created through Him and for Him. He exists before everything, and in Him all holds together.  He is the head of the body, His church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead so that He might come to have first place in all things.  For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, making peace through the blood of His cross—whether things on earth or things in heaven!

Jesus is equal to the Father; the Son of God accepted a subordinate place and reconciled the world to God through the blood of His Cross.

Jesus yielded Himself to death. He was made to be sin and was turned over to spiritual death, which is separation from God. This is when Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?"

Jesus' spirit was delivered up for our offenses and raised for our justification. It was the wisdom of the Father that yielded Jesus, the Righteous One, to death, that our debt would be paid, and Jesus would become the Firstborn from the dead!

Love Pastor Carol