All human beings have a core set of beliefs that shape and govern the way they understand reality and live their lives. The question, therefore, is not whether we have fundamental beliefs, but whether those beliefs have been clearly articulated, publicly confessed, and tested against Scripture.

We are now made new. We are a free people. We are a people who have received a great surgery, making us new. We are a people who are now good news people. God has made us to be like the living one. God has brought us to fullness. We now know our purpose, and so we live. We live for the first time.

Christ is the one who is preeminent. He is the firstborn in terms of inheritance rights. Everything is due to him. In the inheritance of the universe, Christ's name is the beneficiary of all things. He has inherited and owns all things. Indeed, all things were created by him and for him. Verse 16 starts with that concept and ends with that concept.

Who you are, according to the Bible, really boils down to two things. You are either someone who is in need of rescue from the dominion of darkness, or you are someone who has been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. You are either someone who is in need of reconciliation with God, or you are someone who has received reconciliation from God. You are either someone who is ignorant and unaware of your life purpose, or you have received God’s revelation about His saving work in and through Jesus Christ and know now that your life is not your own, but instead your whole life is a thanksgiving offering to God