Colossians 1:13-14 -- "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."  Here we see Jesus as Deliverer, Redeemer and Forgiver.  Why is that important?  We were all born in to the kingdom of Satan, death and darkness.  Jesus died to set us free, or deliver us.  I love the book of Hosea, and the redemptive message that it portrays.  Hosea marries Gomer, and then later, she leaves him for adultery.  But Hosea is commanded to go get her back.  So he pays fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley (Hosea 3:2).  Why is that important?  She was already his wife!  But because of her choices, Hosea had to buy her back, or redeem her.  What an incredible picture of Jesus' redemptive act of the cross.  God created us; we were already His.  Yet, because of our choice (Adam's sin in the garden) Jesus had to buy us back!  How great His love for us!  Forgiveness is one of the themes found throughout the Bible.  In the Old Testament, it centered around the Tabernacle or Temple and the sacrifices of sheep or bulls.  But really, that was just a picture of Jesus sacrifice on the cross.  That was the single greatest act of forgiveness.  Imagine, Creator God choosing to forgive mankind even though since the creation of the world, we have turned our back on Him and even shaken our fist in His face.  Jesus as Deliverer, Redeemer and Forgiver.

Colossians 1:15-17 -- "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."  Here we see Jesus as God, Creator, Eternal and Sustainer.  Jesus is God.  Here comes the big phrase for the day -- hypostatic union of Christ. This means that Jesus is God and yet He is man.  This is a tough concept to grasp, because is He 50% man, 50% God?  Is it a 60/40 or 70/30 split?  No, Jesus is fully God and fully man.  He is 100% God-man.  Because He is a man, He could co-exist on earth with men and they could look on Him and not die from His holiness.  Because He is God, He could do miracles, heal people and, most importantly, die on the cross to forgive sins and raise from the grave to give eternal life.  He made claims to be God, yet He was also clearly a man.  I don't know that we can fully understand it on this side of heaven, but I know that we can believe it by faith.  Is it essential to believe that Jesus is God?  Absolutely!!  If He is not God, then we might as well put our trust in Christopher Columbus to get us to heaven.  If Jesus is just a man, even a good man, then we have no hope for forgiveness or eternal life. The next phrase "firstborn over all creation" gives some people trouble.  Some use this verse to show that Jesus is not eternal, and was a creation of God.  This is not correct.  The term firstborn relates not to birth, but rather position.  In Biblical times, the firstborn son was the one who had all of the inheritance, was over all that the father owned and would be the head of it all.  This phrase is really just saying that Jesus is the head over all creation.  Next, we see Jesus as the Creator.  In Genesis, it tells us that "God created the heavens and the earth."  Here we see that it is Jesus who is the Creator.  This is not contradictory, but rather reaffirmation that Jesus is God!  In the next phrase, "He is before all things" signifies His eternality.  Notice that it did not say, "He was before all things".  The difference in verbs here is very significant.  Using the present tense "is" demonstrates His continued eternality.  The past tense of "was" would lead to the assumption that He was created before everything else was created.  We know this to not be so, for since He is God, He is eternal.  He exists in the past, and He exists in the future; He has no beginning and He has no end.  Jesus Christ is eternal.  Why is that important?  Because we are not putting our faith in someone who was born or created, but rather the only God who was and is and is to come!  Lastly, Jesus is Sustainer.  "And in Him, all things consist."  I'm not a scientist, but people who are have told me that down to the very atoms and molecules, no one really understands how the particles stay together.  I'm not an astronomer, but people who are have told me that the way that solar systems and planets and black holes and stars all work together is a bit of a mystery.  Actually, it isn't a mystery at all.  Jesus is the One who holds all things together.  Jesus is the one who keeps all the planets in line.  Jesus is the one who keeps all of the molecules and atoms in the right place.  Jesus is the one who keeps everything in it's proper place!  Jesus is the sustainer of all of creation.  And He can be the sustainer of your life.  He can hold it all together for you when everything comes crashing down.

Who is this Jesus?  He is Deliverer, Redeemer, Forgiver, God, Creator, Eternal, Sustainer...and that's just the tip of the iceberg!