Spectacular Sins – Ch 2 - Christ Sovereign over all Hostile Powers

The central focus verse for this chapter is Colossians 1:15-16:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

In this chapter, Piper seeks to make clear that all things are created by Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. Everything exists to display the greatness of Christ. This includes evil things. Paul includes thrones or dominions in his list of things created for, through, and by Christ. Elsewhere in the New Testament, including later in Colossians, Rulers and Authorities are viewed as evil. So Paul wants us to know that even evil things are created by Christ to display his glory.

Why does he want us to know this?

1. it is objectively true, not merely opinion or a merely human idea.
   
2. it makes clear that Christ alone, not "rulers [and] authorities," is to be worshipped.
   
3. our day is not so unlike Paul's. Paul was concerned that, in the pluralistic, intellectual atmosphere of Colossae, Christians could be captivated by high-sounding heresies
   
4. to make us valiant in the face of odds that seem overwhelming to the natural eye.
   
5. he wants us to see and feel that our salvation in Christ is invincible.
   

Why does Paul tell us such weighty things? It is because the "antidote for wimpy Christians is weighty doctrine. In Paul's mind, the most massive truths are meant for producing radical lives of obedience".

Piper summarizes the chapter like this:

All things were created by him and through him and for him—even our worst supernatural enemies. In the end, it was they—not Christ—who were shamed at the cross (Col. 2:15). In the end, everything and everyone serves to magnify the glory of our Savior and increase the gladness of his people in him.