Colossians 1:15–19 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (ESV)
The Coronation yesterday of His Majesty The King was a ceremony full of pageantry and celebration, a British tradition that has taken place for over a thousand years. Whatever you think of the Royal Family, it was a spectacle. The music, jewels, dress, weapons, animals, automobiles, and art were all carefully prepared to the finest detail with one purpose: to declare to the world that Charles III is king.
The Bible declares, without equivocation, that God is the only one living and true King. Much of the heresy threatening the Colossian church centered on the Person of Christ, the heretics, denying His true deity and humanity, viewed Christ as one of many lesser descending spirit beings that emanated from God. They taught a form of philosophic dualism, postulating that spirit was good and matter was evil. Hence, a good emanation like Christ could never take on a body composed of evil matter. The idea that God Himself could become man was absurd to them. Thus, they also denied His deity.
If someone misunderstands Christ’s true Humanity, they cut themselves off from the only one who can represent them before God the Father. If someone misunderstands Christ’s true Deity, then they cut themselves off from the only one who can remedy the situation of being under the wrath of God. Not only is it crucial to understand the deity of Christ for salvation and security, Christians would do well to follow Paul's example in their confrontations with cultists. The primary focus of discussions with them should be the deity of Jesus Christ.
In Colossians 1:15–19, Paul reveals our Lord’s true identity by viewing Him in relation to three things: 1) The Father (Colossians 1:15), 2) The Universe (Colossians 1:16-17), and 3) The Church (Colossians 1:18-19).
We can understand the identity of Our Sovereign Lord in seeing:
1) Jesus Christ in Relation to The Father (Colossians 1:15)
Colossians 1:15 [15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (ESV)
As the heretics viewed Jesus as one among a series of lesser spirits descending in sequential inferiority from God, Paul refutes that with two powerful descriptions of who Jesus really is. First, Paul describes Him as the image of the invisible God. Eikon (image) means “image” or “likeness.” From it we get our English word icon, referring to a statue. This usage occurred often in the contexts of an image on a coin or a reflection in a mirror. If this emphasis were primary, Paul would have said Jesus was the symbol of deity. Paul would have meant that Jesus exactly symbolized God. But the meaning (for Christ) is far grander (Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32, pp. 214–215). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Although humanity is made in the image of God (1 Cor. 11:7; cf Gen. 1:26–27), human beings are not a perfect image of God. Humans are made in God’s image in that they have rational personality. Like God, they possess intellect, emotion, and will, by which they are able to think, feel, and choose. We humans are not, however, in God’s image morally, because He is holy, and we are sinful. Nor are we created in His image essentially. We do not possess His incommunicable attributes, such as omniscience, omnipotence, immutability, or omnipresence. We are human, not divine. It may be observed in passing that there is a close association between the doctrine of humanity's creation in the divine image and the doctrine of our Lord’s incarnation. It is because humans in the creative order bear the image of the Creator that the Son of God could become incarnate as man and in his humanity display the glory of the invisible God (Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (p. 58). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Please turn to Hebrews 1
Unlike humanity, Jesus Christ is the perfect, absolutely accurate image of God. He did not become the image of God at the incarnation, but has been that from all eternity. This is the more specific meaning of “image” (eikon) explained in Colossians, which refers to manifestation. When the term was employed, it meant that the symbol was more than a symbol. The symbol brought with it the actual presence of the object. Thus J. B. Phillips translated it, “visible expression,” and by it Paul meant that Jesus brought God into the human sphere of understanding. He manifested God. The terminology is similar to Heb 1:3. Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus as “the radiance of [God’s] glory.” Christ reflects God’s attributes, as the sun’s light reflects the sun. Further, He is said to be “the exact representation of [God’s] nature.” Charakter (“exact representation”) refers to an engraving tool, or stamp. Jesus is the exact likeness of God. He is in the very form of God (Phil. 2:6). Thus, for Paul, Jesus bore the image of the earthly, Adam, and the image of the heavenly, God. He is the unique manifestation of both God and man, always embodying the best of both wherever he was. In choosing the word “image,” Paul stressed that God was present wherever Jesus was. He is the personal manifestation of deity. (Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32, p. 215). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
The Author of Hebrews describes the appearing, nature and deserving of worship of Christ:
Hebrews 1:1-8. [1:1] Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, [4] having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. [5] For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son"?[6]And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."[7]Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire."[8]But of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. (ESV)
By saying that Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Eikon), Paul emphasizes that Jesus is both the representation and manifestation of God. He is the full, final, and complete revelation of God. He is God in human flesh. That was His claim (John 8:58; 10:30–33), and the unanimous testimony of Scripture (cf John 1:1; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:6; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:1). To say that Christ is the image of God is to say that in him the nature and being of God have been perfectly revealed—that in him the invisible has become visible To think anything less of Him is blasphemy and gives evidence of a mind blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:4). (Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (pp. 57–58). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Paul further describes Jesus as the first-born of all creation. From the Arians of the early church to the Jehovah’s Witnesses of our own day, those who would deny our Lord’s deity have sought support from this phrase. They argue that it speaks of Christ as a created being, and hence He could not be the eternal God. Such an interpretation completely misunderstands the sense of prototokos (first-born) and ignores the context. If Paul were here teaching that Christ is a created being, he would be agreeing with the central point of the Colossian errorists. They taught that Christ was a created being, the most prominent of the emanations from God. That would run counter to his purpose in writing Colossians, which was to refute the false teachers at Colossae. Since our Lord existed before all created things, He must be uncreated. Since He is uncreated, He is eternal. Since He is eternal, He is God. Since He is God, He cannot be one of the emanations from deity of which the Gnostic speaks (Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Col 1:15). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.)
In both Greek and Jewish culture, the first-born was the son who had the right of inheritance. He was not necessarily the first one born. Although Esau was born first chronologically, it was Jacob who was the “first-born” and received the inheritance. Jesus is the One with the right to the inheritance of all creation (cf Heb. 1:2; Rev. 5:1–7, 13). Israel was called God’s first-born in Exodus 4:22 and Jeremiah 31:9. Though not the first people born, they held first place in God’s sight among all the nations. In Psalm 89:27, God says of the Messiah, “I also shall make him My first-born,” then defines what He means—“the highest of the kings of the earth.” In Revelation 1:5, Jesus is called “the first-born of the dead,” even though He was not the first person to be resurrected chronologically. Of all ever raised, He is the preeminent One. Romans 8:29 refers to Him as the first-born in relation to the church. In all the above cases, first-born clearly means highest in rank, not first created. Although first-born (prototokos) can mean chronologically (Luke 2:7), it was frequently used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX) (130 times), mostly in genealogies and historical narratives, to indicate temporal priority and sovereignty of rank. Frequently “first-born” was employed to denote one who had a special place in the father’s love (O’Brien, P. T. (1998). Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 44, p. 44). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
Illustration: 2704 “Firstborn Of Every Creature”
A Pastor once had a member of a well-known Jehovah’s Witness cult in his audience who constantly interrupted the meeting by shouting and heckling. “You cannot prove that Jesus is the eternal Son of God,” he said. “He was the FIRST-BORN of every creature; so He could not be deity. The eternal Father must therefore be older than His Son; and if Christ is not as old as His Father, then He is not eternal, if He is not eternal, He cannot be God.” The preacher carefully considered the statement, “A father must be older than his son”; then he gave this withering reply: “While you might make such a point concerning an earthly parent, it certainly does not apply when we speak of God. I will prove that to you by your own words. “You have just called God the eternal Father. But how can God be the eternal FATHER (not just God) without having an eternal Son? Eternal FATHERHOOD demands eternal SONSHIP! When did your own paternal parent begin to be your father? At the very moment you became his son, and not before! While time must elapse before one can become a human father, this is not true of God. He is the eternal Father, and therefore He must have an eternal Son!” The critic fell silent as he pondered the preacher’s words. (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 652). Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.)
There is more than one reason to see how Christ, as first-born of all creation related to rank, as we now see:
2) Jesus Christ in Relation to the Universe (Colossians 1:16–17)
Colossians 1:16-17 [16] 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. [17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (ESV)
Paul gives three reasons for Jesus’ primacy over creation. First, He is the Creator. The false teachers at Colossae viewed Jesus as the first and most important of the emanations from God, but they were convinced it had to be a lesser being much further down the chain who eventually created the material universe. But Paul rejects that blasphemy, insisting that by Him all things were created. That truth is affirmed by the apostle John (John 1:3) and the writer of Hebrews (Heb. 1:2). Because the Colossian errorists viewed matter as evil, they argued that neither the good God nor a good emanation could have created it. But Paul maintains that by Him all things were created, in the heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. He refutes the false philosophic dualism of the Colossian heresy. Jesus is God, and He created the material universe. The act of creation rested, as it were, in him. Creation is “through” (dia) Christ in the sense that he was the mediating Agent through whom it actually came into being (Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 182). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
Here now four classes of angelic powers are listed: “thrones” (??????) and “dominions” (?????t?te?, cf. 1 Cor 8:5), which were occasionally mentioned in Judaism among heavenly hosts of angels (2 Enoch 20:1; Test Levi 3:8), as well as “rulers/principalities” (???a?) and “authorities/powers” (????s?a?)—often named as supermundane beings and powers. They probably represent the highest orders of the angelic realm. Whether the list is complete (here d???µe??, found in Rom 8:38; cf. 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:21, is missing) or the powers are arranged in a particular order is beside the point (Schlier, Principalities, 13, 14). From the highest to the lowest, all alike are subject to Christ. They were created in him, through him and for him (O’Brien, P. T. (1998). Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 44, pp. 46–47). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).
Paul’s explanation that “all things were created through him and for him” is one way of refuting the philosophy of the false teachers. For centuries, the Greek philosophers had taught that everything needed a primary cause, an instrumental cause, and a final cause. The primary cause is the plan, the instrumental cause the power, and the final cause the purpose. When it comes to Creation, Jesus Christ is the primary cause (He planned it), the instrumental cause (He produced it), and the final cause (He did it for His own pleasure). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 116). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
• This helps us understand why everything is created. We are created for Christ. That is why there is no true joy apart from living for Christ, for it is a life living contrary to what it was created for. When we live as we were made for, for the ends to which we were made for, then we will experience the true joy that we were created for.
Please turn to 1 John 1
Jesus has primacy over the creation as verse 17 records, He is before all things. When the universe began, He already existed (John 1:1–2; 1 John 1:1). He told the Jews in John 8:58, “Before Abraham was born, I am” (Not “I was”). He is saying that He is Yahweh, the eternally existing God. The prophet Micah said of Him, “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Mic. 5:2). Revelation 22:13 describes Him as “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Anyone existing before time began at the creation is eternal. And only God is eternal. Our problem, as modern thinkers, centers around the idea of “preexistence.” (Dunnam, M. D., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Galatians / Ephesians / Philippians / Colossians / Philemon (Vol. 31, p. 345). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.).
John in his first epistle explains the eternal preexistence of Christ:
1 John 1:1-4. [1:1]That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- [2]the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- [3]that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. [4] And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (ESV)
A third reason for Jesus’ primacy over creation is that in Him all things hold together. Christ “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). Not only did Jesus create the universe, He also sustains it. He maintains the delicate balance necessary to life’s existence. He quite literally holds all things together. He is the power behind every consistency in the universe. He is gravity and centrifugal and centripetal force. He is the One who keeps all the entities in space in their motion. He is the energy of the universe. The unity, order, and adaptation evident in all of nature and history can be traced to the Upholder or Sustainer of all (cf. Heb. 1:1–3) (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of Colossians and Philemon (Vol. 6, p. 74). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
• Without Christ there would be chaos, dissolution, disintegration. The greatest tragedy is the rejection of the one who holds everything together. When a relationship, a marriage, a congregation, or a life falls apart, it fails because Christ was not at the Center holding it all together. The answer to everything in life that tends to fall apart is to yield it to Christ to hold it all together.
Illustration: Some years ago a South American company purchased a fine printing press from a firm in the United States. After it had been shipped and completely assembled, the workmen could not get it to operate properly. The most knowledgeable personnel tried to remedy the difficulty and bring it into proper adjustment, but to no avail. Finally the company wired a message to the manufacturer, asking that the company send a representative immediately to fix it. Sensing the urgency of the request, the U.S. firm chose the person who had designed the press. When he arrived on the scene, the South American officials were skeptical—for he (seemed like a simple) young man. After some discussion, they sent this cable to the manufacturer: “Your man is too young; send a more experienced person.” The reply came back: “He made the machine. He can fix it!” Christ not only created us—he sustains us, and we are made for him. We need to submit our personal problems to him, for he knows how to solve them. (Hughes, R. K. (1989). Colossians and Philemon: the supremacy of Christ (p. 33). Westchester, IL: Crossway Books.)
Finally, we can understand the identity of Our Sovereign Lord in seeing:
3) Jesus Christ in Relation to the Church (Colossians 1:18-19)
Colossians 1:18-19 [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, (ESV)
Paul presents four great truths in this verse about Christ’s relation to the church. There are many metaphors used in Scripture to describe the church. It is called a family, a kingdom, a vineyard, a flock, a building, and a bride. But the most profound metaphor, one having no Old Testament equivalent, is that of a Body. The mention of the church as “the body” of Christ suggests at least three things: (1) that the church is a living organism, composed of members joined vitally to one another, (2) that the church is the means by which Christ carries out his purposes and performs his work, and (3) that the union that exists between Christ and his people is most intimate and real. Together the body of Christ constitutes one living unit, each, in a sense, being incomplete without the other (Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 183). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
As the church is a Body, and Christ is the head of the Body. This concept is not used in the sense of the head of a company, but rather looks at the church as a living organism, inseparably tied together by the living Christ. The church does not exist to meet the needs of its members or to insure its institutional survival, but to fulfill the redemptive purposes of Christ, its head. (Garland, D. E. (1998). Colossians and Philemon (p. 91). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
• If the first thing you consider as being a part of the body of Christ is to meet your needs or your aims, they you’ve missed the entire point of being apart of the body of Christ. We exist together first and foremost to worship God together and call others to worship Him. When we do that, then our greatest needs are met and lasting joys are experienced. When that is secondary, then our true needs and joys will never be met.
As Christ is described here as the beginning (Arche) it is used here in the twofold sense of source and primacy. The church has its origins in Jesus. God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). It is He who gives life to His church. His sacrificial death and resurrection on our behalf provided our new life. As head of the Body, Jesus holds the chief position, or highest rank in the church. As the beginning, He is its originator. Referring to “origin” and “authority,” both are certainly true of Jesus in relationship to the church. Jesus began His church, and HE is its source of life and vitality. Jesus is also sovereign over his church. The church takes its direction from Jesus and is under his authority. He controls every part of it and gives it life and direction. His life lived out through all the members provides the unity of the Body (cf 1 Cor. 12:12–20). He energizes and coordinates the diversity within the Body, a diversity of spiritual gifts and ministries (1 Cor. 12:4–13). He also directs the Body’s mutuality, as the individual members serve and support each other (1 Cor. 12:15–27). (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 283). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
• Beginnings can be exciting: Schoolchildren know about beginnings: new teachers, new supplies, and new learning goals. Weddings also signal new beginnings joyously. Most people savor the smell of a new automobile. We need and celebrate newness regularly. We celebrate life at birthdays and baby showers. Yet each of us will one day wear out and die. In Jesus, people find new life. What a magnificent gift: it makes all other beginnings sensible and happy. God’s Good News is life eternal in Jesus. Your life begins anew in him. Let this be your reason to celebrate each day with him. (Barton, B. B., & Comfort, P. W. (1995). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (p. 165). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.)
Describing the primacy of Christ in the Body, Paul continues in Colossians 1:18 describing Him as first-born. One again, first-born again translates prototokos. Of all those who have been raised from the dead, or ever will be, Christ is the highest in rank. Others preceded Jesus in rising from the dead. Lazarus is one example (John 11:38–44). Jesus is first in rank. Others were raised only to die again. Jesus was the first person to rise, never to die again. He is the first person to conquer death, and all other resurrections are based on his (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, pp. 283–284). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Please turn to Philippians 2
What did Paul mean when he said that in everything, Christ is preeminent? As a result of His death and resurrection, Jesus has come to have first place in everything. Paul here wants to drive home the point as forcefully as he can that Jesus is not merely another emanation from God. The will of Christ must prevail throughout all of God’s creation. That is God’s intention. Even in spite of the rebellion of humanity down here on earth, God says, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:6). God is moving forward today undeviatingly, unhesitatingly, uncompromisingly toward one goal. That goal is to put Jesus on the throne of this world which today is in rebellion against God. That is the objective of God (McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (Philippians/Colossians) (electronic ed., Vol. 48, p. 135). Thomas Nelson.).
As Paul explains to the Philippians:
Philippians 2:8-11. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [9]Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10]so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11]and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)
Jesus reigns supreme over the visible world, the unseen world, and the church. Paul sums up and concludes his argument in verse 19: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Pleroma (fullness) was a term used by the later Gnostics to refer to the divine powers and attributes, which they believed were divided among the various emanations. Paul counters that false teaching by stating that all the fullness of deity is not spread out in small doses to a group of spirits, but fully dwells in Christ alone (cf 2:9). On the one hand, in relation to Deity, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He is not only the chief manifestation of the Divine nature: He exhausts the godhead manifested. In Him resides the totality of the Divine powers and attributes. (J. B. Lightfoot. St. Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon [1879; reprint, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1959], p 102)
Unfortunately, even today, Christians are sometimes given the impression that although they might have Christ for their Saviour, some vital added extra is missing. Something more is needed. Paul’s response to this line of reasoning is to elaborate on the greatness and splendour of Christ. This leaves us with an inescapable conclusion. The Lord of glory is Himself so wonderful that to insist that people need more than Christ is absurd. He cannot be excelled or surpassed. Do we realize how much we have in him? Every true Christian has been linked, with chains that cannot be broken, to the most wonderful person of them all, someone who represents God to humanity to the fullest and most complete degree, someone who not only existed prior to the creation of all things, but who participated in their creation. He is the head of the church, the first of a new humanity and the one in whom God is present to the utmost extent. All true Christians long to know the Christ they have with greater intensity and consistency, but He cannot be improved upon. (Arthur, J. P. (2007). Christ All-Sufficient: Colossians and Philemon Simply Explained (p. 50). Evangelical Press.)
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1992). Colossians (pp. 41–48). Chicago: Moody Press.)
Prayer: Our Father, we ask that, as we conclude our service, we might come to realize that since your Son is God, it changes everything. It moves us from a life of complacency to a life of adventure. It moves us from a life of selfishness into a reordered life, a life of perfect freedom under your service. And it leads us from a life of grumbling and self-pity into a life of joy. Help us to understand these things and think about these things until they have their full effect in our hearts. We ask in Jesus’ name, Amen (Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. Redeemer Presbyterian Church.).
