Colossians 1:15-18

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. § No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. § He who has seen Me has seen the Father. § The brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. § God was manifested in the flesh.In whom...

He is the head of the body, the church. § Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. § We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.A body You have prepared for Me. § Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.They were Yours, You gave them to Me. § He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world....

Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. § For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?My beloved is white and ruddy, chief among ten thousand. § One pearl of great price. § The ruler over the kings of the earth. § His head is like the finest gold; his locks are wavy, and black as a raven. § Head...

Do not be afraid; … I am He who lives. § Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am. We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. § He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. § You are complete in Him, who is the head.Inasmuch . . . as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death,...

The Amen … the Beginning of the creation of God. § The beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth … When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep … when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His...

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. § If the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. § Now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. § If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. § The Lord Jesus Christ … will transform our lowly body...

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!I and My Father are one … The Father is in Me, and I in Him. § If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. § Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” § Here am I and the children whom God has given Me. § He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied....

So now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death" (Phil. 1:20).

If we look to other Christians as examples to follow, we will soon be discouraged by the prevailing low standard. If we look to Christ as our example, we will be utterly discouraged...

Now the God of peace . . . make you perfect [complete, mature] in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ" (Heb. 13:20; 21).