Col 1:15-20 (Part 1)
Intro
[Illustration] When I was in the Army me and a few mates were tasked with piqueting a truck laden with ammunition on a Friday night. Well, as you can imagine most young men had other things planned rather than guarding a truck on a Friday night. So we sat around moping, not terribly pleased with the situation. Finally, an old man in a tank top and a pair of thongs approached us and asked us why we looked so frustrated. We told him about the stupid job we had and how we’d rather be out partying with our friends. He then asked us about the unit and what we thought about the hierarchy and officers. It was a time for us to unload a heap of stuff we weren’t happy about. He then asks us what we thought about the new commanding officer. We then told him that he was some pen pushing looser from Canberra who we hadn’t met yet called Lieutenant Colonel Power. He then asked me my name and I told and I asked him his and he said, “Bob Power”. It didn’t click automatically. I said, “Hey, that’s amazing. That’s the same name as our new. . .” Suddenly it dawned on me that this WAS the new commanding officer. My mind was filled with horrendous images of me cutting the lawn with a pair of nail clippers or washing floors with my tooth brush. Lucky for me Col. Power had a sense of humour. One thing I did learn from that episode was that my relationship with him changed radically when I had realized who he was and the extent of his authority. In view of this new information I was able to treat the Commanding Officer in a manner appropriate to his rank. Similarly the more I learn about my wife the more I find my relationship with her grows. There is a link between the depth of your knowledge of someone and the depth of your relationship with that person. In Col 2 Paul talks about how having our knowledge of Christ enriched can deepen our relationship with Christ.
Col 2.2-3: My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
In Col 1.15-20 what we have here is a great opportunity to deepen our knowledge and therefore also our relationship with Jesus our Lord and Saviour. So lets embark on what is an immense and extravagant feast of the person of Christ. It is a feast with seven mouth watering courses awaiting to be ravenously devoured. Sadly however, today we will only get through the first four courses.
Course One: Christ the Image of God (v.15a)
The first thing we learn in the passage is that Jesus is the Image of God. Now this causes us a problem because the way we use the word ‘image’ may not correspond to the same way as Paul means it here. For instance, sometimes we say that “He is a spitting image of his Father”. In this context it means very much alike but not quite. Or we say “I’m trying to get a new image” which means a new fashion identity which is purely external. But this is not the biblical meaning of ‘image’. In fact ‘image’ as biblically used has two meanings:
The first meaning is that of representation. Now the Greek word for image is “eikon” which is where we get our word ‘icon’. You can imagine several Aussie icons: Opera House, Vegemite, Paul Hogan, the Crocodile Hunter etc. An icon doesn’t mean a cheap imitation or a rip off made in Taiwan. The word means “ being an identical copy of the archetype”. Thus Jesus is the icon of God and he represents the presence and person of God in the very fabric of his being. Jesus represents something above and beyond himself, that is the Father. The second thing denoted by image is manifestation. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 the Apostle writes:
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Previously Paul believed that it was the Tabernacle and Temple that displayed the glory of God. Now he attributes the same glory to the risen and exalted Christ who Paul witnessed on the road to Damascus. Just as a mirror gives a reflection of its image, the Son gives a revelation of the Father. The Image manifests and reveals what is hidden – it makes the invisible, visible. It is not a copy but is a projection of the real thing – Jesus expresses the reality of God. Since Jesus shares in the divine life he manifests the divine character. Jesus, as the Wisdom of God, reveals the Father whether Incarnate or not. They didn’t pick straws in the Trinity to see who went to earth and to become incarnate, the Son went because of who he is. It was appropriated to him in view of his relationship within the Godhead. Jesus so perfectly represents the Father that to see him is to behold the Father. That’s why it says in John 14.9:
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
Jesus, as the image of God, is the perfect representative and manifestation of the Father. In his incarnation he truly makes God known to us, actually exegeting God as it says in John 1:18
Course Two: Christ the First Born of Creation (v.15b)
Sometimes when you at eat a meal at an exotic restaurant you can’t always identify what’s on your plate. You look down at something and can’t tell if it’s part of the dish or just garnish. Soon you wonder whether what you’re eating is even healthy. We might feel this same way by the word ‘firstborn’. Does it mean that Jesus was created? Should I swallow this part of the meal and smile and pretend its OK or spit it out? Jehovah’s Witnesses argue that ‘firstborn’ means that Jesus was a created being. In the 4th century A.D. Arian said, “There was a time when he was not.” And argued from this verse that Jesus is not divine as the Father is divine. The solution is in v. 16 where Christ is clearly the Creator of everything. Thus he is not simply the highest created being. It is informative to look at the Old Testament background to elucidate the meaning of firstborn. In Ps 89 the firstborn is the name given to the Davidic king or Israel’s Messiah. It says:
I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth
The title was also given to describe Israel’s relationship with God. In Exod 4.22:
Then say to Pharaoh, `This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son
So in one sense to call Jesus the firstborn is to say nothing more than he is the Messiah and is the representative of Israel. The idea of being ‘firstborn’ was a also technical term in the Roman world for the heir to an estate. It denotes a sense of prominent family position. In a cosmic context to say that Jesus is the firstborn of creation means that he is the World’s appointed ruler. He has the supremacy in both Time and Rank – Pre-existence and Pre-eminence. He is the ‘Absolute Heir’. Therefore, the idea of Jesus being the ‘firstborn’ is nothing to choke on. Instead, lick your lips and beg for more.
Course Three: Christ the Creator (v.16)
In order to understand how Jesus can be described as the creator we need to possess an awareness of the Jewish idea of God and Creation. The Jewish people had a problem in trying to explain to pagans how do you reconcile God’s transcendence with his action in Creation. If God is in heaven how does he intervene in the world? The Jewish answer was to point out the agents through whom God acts such as angels or wisdom. Proverbs 3:19 states that Wisdom was with God in the beginning.
By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place
Similarly, in Proverbs 8:30 Wisdom was also an agent in Creation
Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day,rejoicing always in his presence,
It is this idea of Wisdom as a mediator and co-creator with God which the authors of the New Testament applied to Jesus. Jesus is the wisdom of God and is therefore also the creator. He creates ‘all things’. The Greek uses an article (the) and it denotes “the totality of things”. This includes more than merely the material universe around us: more than stars, galaxies, superstars, planets, and solar systems, or even trees, grass, mountains and seas. It include all forces. Electricity, radiation, magnetism. It encompasses every realm, every sphere, every bastion, border, every dimension and domain.
Now the phrase: “Thrones or Power or Rulers or Authorities” is peculiar. It includes not only Government and Kings but it is a technical term to refer to angelic ranks. “Thrones” = those angels who occupy thrones around God’s throne in the 7th heaven in Gnostic understanding. Evidently some false teachers in Colossae are advocating that Jesus is simply one angelic mediator among many and he’s not even the foremost of them. Paul’s response is that the angels themselves owe allegiance to Christ who created them. In heaven, when Jesus clicks his fingers, 10 000 angels come running. Bishop Lightfoot captures this thought well in a paraphrase of Paul’s words:
“Paul is saying, ‘You dispute much about the successive grades of angels. You distinguish each grade by its special title. You can tell how each order was generated from the preceding. You assign to each its proper degree of worship. Meanwhile you have ignored and have degraded Christ. I tell you it is not so. He is first and foremost, Lord of heaven and earth, far above all thrones or dominations, all princedoms or powers; far above every dignity and every potentate---whether earthly or heavenly, whether angel or demon or man--- that evokes your reverence or excites your fear’.”
This is Good News for Pagans. For people obsessed with Fate and Superstition it means Jesus has liberated them having to follow any other ‘Powers’ accept Christ. We find a counterpart today, in the theory of reincarnation and in horoscopes and astrology---the idea of stars influencing and governing our lives. The claim that Transcendental Meditation is the means of getting in touch with invisible beings is another example. We are told that there are Astral Teachers, Spirit Guides and Divine Masters who appear from time to time to impart degrees of knowledge to the human race. All this is nothing new. It is an old dress with a new hat. This is what the apostle labours to correct. He is telling the Colossians, "Jesus is above all angels. You are freed from bondage to these lesser beings when you see the true authority and power of your risen Lord."
Paul then re-emphasises the fact of Christ is the Creator. All things were created Through Him and For Him. Jesus is agent through whom the Father creates the universe. Irenaeus said that Jesus is the Glove that the Father puts on when he creates the world. Even more amazing with no parallel in Jewish literature is that the universe was created For Him. Jesus is the starting point of creation and its goal. He is truly the Alpha and Omega. Jesus was not ‘Plan B’. The purpose of history and creation is for the Revelation and Glorification of Christ. The great Dutch theologian, Abraham Kuyper, put it this way:
“When Jesus looks at his universe from his exalted throne at the right hand of the Father, and he sees the great galaxies whirling in space, the planets and the people upon this planet, and all the minute details of life here including the details of our individual lives, there is nothing that he sees anywhere of which he cannot say, "Mine!"
This carries two important implications:
#1 for Jews – The Covenant and Creator God who you worship is to be identified with Christ. The Wisdom with God in creation is Christ. Wisdom embodied in Torah is now superseded by Christ. Therefore, worship Christ!
#2 for Pagans - You no longer have to live in fear of powers for Christ is superior to them. He defeated them on the cross! We no longer fear black cats, walking under ladders, the number 13. You don’t have to follow the stars, you can follow the one who made the stars.
Course Four: Christ the Cosmic Sustainer (v.17)
Have you ever wandered what holds the universe together? What doesn’t the moon crash into the earth? Why doesn’t the earth plough into the Sun? How come the universe just doesn’t implode or a cosmic black hole suck us all in? Have you ever looked at a very dodgy car and said, “I wonder what holds it together?”. In the former Yugoslavia General Tito was the force that kept that country together. When he retired its disintegration was inevitable. So what is there in the world that prevents it from descending into an immediate vacuum of chaos and disaster. Like a house of cards the world is so fragile that it feels like the slightest whisper could send the whole things down in an instant. Why doesn’t everything fall apart. The British Scientist Stephen Hawking says, “The eventual goal of Science is to provide a single theory that describes the whole universe”. Well the theory of everything is to be found in Christ.
He is the sustaining force that holds all things together. He is the unifying principle, the cosmic glue, that prevents the cosmos from degenerating into primeval chaos. And on a personal level, he is the one who holds many broken lives together as well.
Conclusion
So what does this mean? What I want to drive home to you is that Christ is both sufficient and supreme. We must carefully ponder all that the world offers us and all that we have in Christ. We must consider who is the real ‘Master of the Universe’. The almighty dollar, fate, death, sex, the President, Satan, the Labour Party, Europe, Capitalism, China, or whoever? We can take solace in thought that our God is supreme, he is above all kings and authorities whether earthly or spiritual. We can also take heart in all the riches that we have in Christ. For in him we possess
A love that can never be fathomed
A life that can never die
A righteousness that can never be tarnished
A peace that can never be understood
A rest that can never be disturbed
A joy that can never be diminished
A grace that can never be comprehended
A hope that can never be disappointed
A glory that can never be clouded
A light that can never be darkened
A purity that can never be defiled
A beauty that can never be marred
A wisdom that can never be baffled
Sources
John Piper, Col 1:15-23 www.soundofgrace.com/piper86/jp86001b.htm
N.T. Wright, Colossians an Philemon (TNTC)
J.B. Lightfoot, Colossians and Philemon (1879)
Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians and Philemon (WBC)
Ralph Martin, Colossians (NCB)
Michael Bird
Soli Deo Gloria
