We’re looking at verses 15-20 of chapter 1, in which Paul transitions from introduction and prayer to the exaltation of Jesus Christ as supreme and sufficient. Jesus is sufficient because of His supremacy over all. This book could be called, “The Incomparable Christ,” and this portion of the text shows why. Let’s take a look over the next few days.
15He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Paul has told us that we as believers have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light (v13). We have been delivered, redeemed through the forgiveness of sins by the Son of God’s love, Jesus Christ. The Colossian believers were being assaulted by false teaching that Jesus was insufficient. And so now Paul, throughout v15-18 en route to proclaiming Christ’s supremacy, elaborates on why and how Christ is sufficient. Some suggest that this portion of the text is a hymn, though perhaps Paul is elaborating on a hymn familiar to early believers.
Paul calls Jesus “the image of the invisible God and the firstborn over all creation” (v15). One thought might lead us back to Genesis 1-2 where we read that God has created man in His image. And that might lead us to believe that Paul is suggesting, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Arians before them, think, that Jesus was somehow the first created being. But that’s not at all what Paul is saying, and he’ll elaborate by saying that Jesus is the creator of all things; in fact, all things were created by Him and for Him. He’ll say that Jesus is before all things, the sustainer of all things. Indeed He is the very beginning. And so Paul is not agreeing with the Arians or Jehovah’s Witnesses. Rather, Paul is saying that Jesus is God Incarnate (Colossians 2:9).
God is Spirit – Paul’s audience knew that. But Jesus is not Spirit; He has taken on a physical body. Philippians 2:7 says that He made Himself nothing, emptied Himself by taking on humanity. Jesus represents to us what the invisible God looks like. Jesus, as God in the flesh, reveals God to mankind (2 Corinthians 4:4-7). In John 14:8-9, Philip tells Jesus to “show us the Father.” And Jesus replies, “If you’ve seen Me you’ve seen the Father.” You want to know what God the Father looks like? Look at the Son. He is the perfect reflection of the Father. He is the manifestation of God. He is the image of the invisible God, equal to Him, and the visible representation of that spiritual reality which transcends our sight and our senses. When the invisible God looks into a mirror, He sees, as we do, Jesus. But there’s a lot more here. “Seeing” Jesus means more than viewing His physical nature with our eyes; it means embracing His words as truth, clinging to Him as life, not His body but His Person. Seeing Him is equivalent to knowing Him intellectually and relationally (John 14:16-19, 22-26). Hearing Jesus’ words and doing them is equal to seeing Him. Jesus is the spoken word of God, and seeing God the Father lies in perceiving Jesus’ words.
But the question still remains: If Jesus was the firstborn, wasn’t there a time when He didn’t exist? Isn’t Paul saying that Jesus is the highest of all creatures – emphasis on “creatures”? No. John 1:1-2,14,18 is helpful here: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning… The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us… No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” We talked about this in our study through John’s gospel. Jesus has always existed, thus the phrase in the Nicene Creed, “eternally begotten of the Father… begotten not made, one in being with the Father (homoousios – same substance vs. homoiousios – similar substance).” In the early Church, it was three centuries before a heresy arose within Christian circles that denied Jesus’ divinity. In fact, the early Church was so convinced that Jesus was divine that the only heresy about Christ that flourished within the Christian Church for the first three centuries was the denial that He was human.
The Nicene Creed goes on to say, “Through Him all things were made.” All things were created by Jesus – and for Jesus (v16). Elsewhere we read that through Jesus all things were created (John 1:3). Tomorrow, we’ll see how all things hold together in Him; He is the sustainer of everything (Hebrews 1:3). Paul says it several times, “all things,” and he gives a list just in case we’re not getting that he means “all things.” The list includes “things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.” The false teachers influencing the Colossian church were suggesting a divine between the material world and the spiritual world, and Paul is saying that Jesus is creator of all. And He not only created it all, but it was all created for Him, for His pleasure, for His glory.
But what does Paul mean by firstborn? He means what the author of Hebrews means in Hebrews 1:2, “heir of all things.” When you think of firstborn in the context of a monarchy, you think of the heir; you think of the one who has primacy given to him. See Exodus 4:22 regarding Jacob and Esau. Paul is speaking of a primacy of power here, not a priority of time sequence. He is not saying that Christ was born first, and then everything else came. Rather, he is saying that Christ has supremacy over everything (v18). Jesus Christ is Lord of all (see the chart below).
He is all things; He is our all-in-all. He is sufficient, because He is supreme.
| Christ's Lordship in Creation (Beginning) | Christ's Lordship in Redmption (End) |
| v15 - He is the firstborn over all creation | v18 - He is the firstborn from among the dead |
| v17 - All things hold together in Him | v19 - All God's fullness dwells in Him |
| v16 - All things in heaven and earth were created by Him | v20 - All things in heaven and earth were reconciled to God by Him |
2 comments:
I was wondering if you mind taking a moment and sharing something with me about your beliefs? This could also apply to any of your visitors here at the blog: if anyone reading this would like to email me your answer, I’d greatly appreciate it.
The question is this: thinking about your religious belief and its importance to you, what is the SINGLE greatest thing that you think your faith gives you know or will give you in the future? When thinking about it, please consider that you are trying to convince another human being that your faith is the one they should choose and you can only make one single argument for accepting it.
I greatly appreciate the help. Again, I’m not looking for a series of good reasons for believing what you do. Please limit your answer to ONE thing or advantage that your faith gives you.
Thanks for the question John! Unlike some comments here, yours in well-worded and polite in tone, in as much as one can decipher tone from reading. I'll respond to your question in my post today. Feel free to reply again. Perhaps some dialogue will be helpful for all of us.
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