Colossae contained a mixture of Greeks, Romans, Jews, and
Phrygians. With these people came differing cultures, religions, and
philosophical thoughts that contradicted the Gospel Epaphras (a man discipled
by Paul) taught the Christians in the city. The Bible study titled Background
of Paul's Letter to the Church at Colossae teaches about the forces and
people that affected the Colossian church.
In Colossians 1:1-2, Paul introduced himself to the church
at Colossae by telling about his calling by Jesus. He identified himself and
Timothy as connected with them through Christ and as ones who had lived in Asia
Minor, the region of Colossae. The Bible study called Identification
helps us understand what Paul told the Colossians in these two verses. Paul’s
and Timothy’s identification with the Colossians as residents of the region and
as fellow brothers in Christ was significant because other people in Colossae caused
the Christians of Colossae to question their faith.
Paul almost always began his letters with a prayer for the
people to whom he wrote. His prayer of thanksgiving to God for the Colossian
Christians in Colossians 1:3-8 shows Paul’s thanks to God for the growth of the
Christians in Colossae. In the Bible study titled Thanksgiving
in Colossians, his prayer expressed the believers there continued to grow
in their faith and show their love for God and the saints. Paul remarked they
bore fruit and matured in their faith. He identified Epaphras as their pastor
and as one who told them the Gospel truthfully. Paul identified him as a
“beloved fellow bond-servant,” who was a faithful servant on his behalf.
Paul’s prayer for the Colossians in verses nine through
twelve included intercession for them. The Bible study titled Glorious Might
tells us Paul prayed for the Colossians daily that they would grow in Christ so
they would be well-pleasing to God. He prayed for God to fill them with the
knowledge of His will with spiritual wisdom and understanding so they would
bear fruits of good works. Paul prayed asking God to increase their knowledge
of Him, strengthen them with all power, and give them steadfastness and
patience. He ended his intercession by asking God to give them joyous thanksgiving
to Him who qualified them to inherit eternal life with the saints and the Son
in His kingdom.
The Bible study from Colossians 1:13-14, titled Snatched
and Delivered, explains who the “Father” of
verse twelve is. Paul said He is the One who will give them the gifts of verses
nine through twelve that Paul prayed for the Colossians. He explained the
Father rescued the Colossian believers and all who trust in Jesus for salvation.
The Father snatched (rescued) them from the domain of darkness in which Satan
immerses people, then transferred them to His Son’s kingdom. Through His Son,
each believer receives deliverance (redemption) from his/her sins. In verses thirteen and fourteen, Paul told
what the Father can and wants to do. He began his segue to verses fifteen
through twenty that contains his understanding of who the beloved Son is.
In verses thirteen and fourteen, Paul told the Colossian
church what God did to answer his prayer for the believers there. With this
study of Colossians 1:15-20, he told the Christians how God qualified
them and all Christians to share in the kingdom of Light. The beloved Son of verse thirteen is the One who
redeems in verse fourteen. The Son’s role, characteristics, and activities in
the Godhead also show his relationship to all people and to believers. In verses
fifteen through twenty, Paul helps us recognize God considers Christians
beloved, people who receive His pure love (agape) and who share it with
others because Christ redeemed them and His Spirit lives in them. Colossians
1:15-20 is about Who Christ is.
Relationship to God
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Colossians 1:15 [NASB])
As we read verse fifteen, we must first recognize the pronoun
“He” refers to the person in verse thirteen, to the Son. The Son of God is the
image of the invisible God. Remember, the Son of God was Jesus, the embodiment
of God, not just a likeness. Jesus was the incarnation of God on earth. This
means Jesus was visible as God with us; whereas, in the past, God was invisible
to our human eyes. God is spiritually visible to believers because of their
faith. He gives faith to those who truly seek Him. This means faith and seeing
go hand in hand. When a person seeks God, He gives them faith, and they
spiritually see Him to trust in Him as their Savior. This faith and sight cause
the believer to grow and live out their belief in Him so others can come to see
and believe in Jesus, too.
The Son of God is “the firstborn of all creation.” This does
not mean God created the Son. In Genesis, we read the Son was there during
creation. He actively participated in creation. When Paul said “firstborn,” the
Greek word he used was prototokos. Prototokos means preeminent (distinguished
and peerless) over all created things. The Son is the image of God from all
eternity, so he was preeminent over all creation. As the likeness of God, the
Son was the firstborn King over all the kings of the earth. Because God gave
humans freewill, He knew they would sin. He planned from before creation to
provide a sufficient sacrifice for the sins of all people. God knew from the
beginning the only sacrifice that would be sufficient would be one He offered
for them. That One would have to be the sacrifice for all people. The only one pure
enough is the One most pure, God through His Son. So, God came to earth to live
in human form as Jesus, remain sinless, and die a sinner’s death. His death
would provide redemption from the slavery to sin and death for each person who
believes in Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus truly was born from the womb of a
woman implanted by the Spirit of God. He was 100% divinity and 100% man. He was
the Firstborn of God Himself.
As firstborn and pre-eminent over all things, and as the
image of the invisible God, the Son was preeminent over all creation. God
– Father, Son, and Spirit – created everything out of nothing, ex nihilo.
Nothing existed before creation, so nothing was used to create all that exists.
Everything that is and ever has been, triune God created ex nihilo, with
His creativity, power, knowledge, and wisdom. The Son created all things ex
nihilo. He was from before time, is throughout time, and will continue to
exist when time ends when God’s new Kingdom, the new Jerusalem, comes to be. The
Son is unified with God. This begotten Son of God, the human and divine Jesus,
was the one the Jewish people awaited to be begotten among them. He is the
image of God, was visible as God with us when He lived on earth and is
preeminent over all creation as creator of life and as the firstborn from
death, the re-creator of life for all who put their trust in Him.
Relationship to the Universe
“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17 [NASB])
Notice first, the Son of God is the one “by” whom “all
things were created.” This word “by” translates as “through,” too. Only through
Christ is anything created, which includes any actual living thing and the Church.
This brings forward what Paul said before, He is the firstborn of all creation.
Without Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the Church would not exist
because redemption would not have occurred. Death - eternal separation from God
- would still enslave each intelligent being.
Paul expanded what he wrote in verse fifteen to make sure
the Colossian believers understood, the Son of God created all things on earth
and in the heavens. The Gnostics thought material things, like the body, were
evil and spiritual things, like angels, were good. Since the Son, as the image
of God, created both, then both earthly and heavenly beings were good.
Next, Paul said the Son created what is visible and
invisible. Each thing a person sees, the Son created. The material world is not
bad and can lead a person to recognize someone greater than him/herself exists.
A person can see the invisible with spiritual eyes, not the naked eye, once
that person receives faith from God because of his/her seeking Him. The Son
created all that is in heaven and on earth, what is visible to the eye and what
only is discernible with the spiritual eyes God opens. Again, material and
spiritual are good, though the Gnostics saw the material world as evil.
Paul continued in verse sixteen when he expanded what the
invisible things are that the Son created and over whom He reigns as King.
These beings are on thrones, have dominions, are rulers, and have authority. Like
Paul expanded for the people of Colossae what visible things Jesus created, he
expanded what invisible things He created, too. Paul wrote Colossians and
Ephesians nearly the same time. Because he wrote in Ephesians 1:21 about all
rule, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is not named,
commentators think the thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities of
Colossians are angels and their different levels of work. In Ephesians, God
exalted Christ above all things and seated Him above all rule, authority,
power, and dominion. These words from Paul in Ephesians 1:21 teach us angels are
not more important than religious creeds or God. Paul used the terms - thrones,
dominions, rulers, and authority - the Gnostics used at the time. The Gnostics used
these words to convince the Colossians believers they needed more than faith in
Jesus for them to have salvation, to be an advanced Christian. To the Gnostics
who taught this, Jesus’ sacrifice was insufficient for salvation. So, they
added their own philosophical reasonings and thoughts to what Epaphras
proclaimed to the Colossians. By doing this, the Gnostics caused disturbances,
confusion, and disagreements in the city and within the church. The main point
in this verse from Paul is that Jesus greater than everything created since He
created them. This includes angels. The Son of God is Lord of creation, not the
angels. He created all creation, visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth.
He is superior and His salvation is sufficient.
The Gnostics believed all matter, including the body, is
evil and so resurrection from death is impossible as is the full incarnation of
God in the form of Jesus. They did not believe Jesus was 100% divine and 100%
human. The Gnostics said He was not equal to God or angels. They trusted in
salvation by knowledge. This meant they considered themselves more advanced
Christians. As more advanced Christians, the Gnostics considered themselves enlightened
because they held advanced philosophical thoughts about life and spiritual
things. For them, God was far off and spiritual beings of descending importance. Angels who held positions as/on thrones,
dominions, rulers, and authorities filled the gap between God and people. Jesus
countered all the thoughts of the Gnostics. He creates, sustains, saves, and is
greater than all things. God elevated Him above them in His kingdom.
Paul further wrote the Son is before all things. He is
prior. The Son of God, as one who created all things, came before everything
that is. He also held all things together. The Son did not just create and then
let each creation exist in chaos. He had a purpose for each creation and held
them together with His power, knowledge, and wisdom for the continuation of the
universe. The Son made each created thing unite perfectly into a whole He supports
and keeps together. When a person believes in Him for salvation, He unites the
person spiritually to be a part of the body of Christ. Only in the presence and
power of Christ is everything He created unified and intelligible, not chaotic.
Relationship to the Church
“He is the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (Colossians 1:18 [NASB])
When Paul said the Son of God was the head, he used this
term metaphorically to refer to Jesus as the most prominent, the Master and
Lord. Of what is Jesus the head? Paul said in verse eighteen He is the head of
the body. A body without a head to guide it cannot happen. With this word, Paul
spoke of the mystical/spiritual body. This body, Paul said, was the Church. The
word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means people
called out from the world and saved from their sins and from death. These Christians
are God’s and they make up the church. With Christ as the head of this body of
believers, He leads them physically where to go, what to do, and what to think
so they sin less each day as they grow in, through, and by Him. The believers
grow to be more like Jesus as they journey with Him each day. The Son is the
head of the church spiritually as He leads them into God’s kingdom, their
eternal inheritance.
Paul continued to speak about the relationship between
Christ and the church in this verse. He said the Son is “the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead.” Because of Jesus’ resurrection, He is the firstborn
from the dead just as He was the firstborn (preeminent) before creation and
created all things. This means Jesus, as the firstborn from the dead, created the
way for humanity to live after death through resurrection for all believers in
Him. He is the beginning and chief or foremost of all things and life and the
beginning of the church when He called the disciples to follow Him. John 1:1
says Jesus is the beginning of the new creation (redeemed Christians),
physically, and spiritually upon their faith in Him. He then gives them the
right to be co-heirs with Him in heaven with eternal life. That is what
“firstborn” meant for Paul. He used the word prototokos here, too, meaning
Jesus was preeminent and the first of the dead to be raised. Because of this, He
will lead other people to become new creations formed in His righteous image.
By each of these things, Jesus will be first over all things.
Up to this point in these four verses, Paul had said who the
Son of God is and His relationship to God, people, and the church. He said
Christ is pre-existent before creation. He is God incarnate and visible with us
as “God with us, Emmanuel.” The Son is Creator, crucified, and resurrected. He
is more than what the Gnostics taught and more than what the Jews believed. The
Jews believed the Messiah had not come because they expected Him to be their
warrior king to remove from them the rule of foreign leaders. With these ideas
from Paul, we realize, the Son of God, Christ, is supreme in the universe, in
the Church worldwide, and in the Colossae church. How can we know this is true?
Verses nineteen and twenty tell us.
The Son, God’s Pleasure
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:19-20 [NASB])
With these two final verses in Paul’s Christology, he
emphasizes verse fifteen and God’s good plans and pleasure. The first phrase of
verse nineteen says, “It was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to
dwell in Him.” This is an emphatic expansion of verse fifteen’s statement, “He
is the image of the invisible God.” Remember in Colossians 1:10-11 when Paul prayed
for the Colossian Christians to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. This
manner worthy of the Lord means walking in a way God is well pleased or for His
good pleasure. People can only walk in a way that pleases God when they trust Christ
as their Redeemer; then the Spirit of Jesus who lives in them guides them. Christians
will do good works that bring glory to Him and share the gospel of salvation to
other people. For this section, The Father’s good pleasure was for the Son of
God, Jesus, to have God’s full image, purpose, and characteristics in Him. Within
Christ dwelled the superabundance (the fullness) only God has. The Son of God is
fully divine. He has the purposes God has had from the beginning of time, to
redeem humanity from Satan, his deceptions, sins, and death. The Son is the
“image of the invisible God” because the “fullness (superabundance) of God
dwells in Him.” (vs. 15 & 19)
Paul explained what God’s purpose is and why the Son came to
earth in the form of a man. He came to be the Redeemer, Reconciler, Unifier, Sacrifice,
and Resurrection so all people who believe in Him can be well-pleasing to God,
that is to be made righteous and live their lives glorifying Him. Jesus came to
be the superabundance people need to get out from the weight of the life they
chose that led them away from God. He came to give them what they need to live
for and with God during their lifetimes and for eternity. With faith in Jesus
as the Son of God, Christians spiritually see the invisible God, then become
people of God upon whom He bestows His superabundance, His fullness and good
pleasure. The idea that divinity could live within a body totally went against
the teachings of the Gnostics who believed the body is evil. They could not
understand God made a way for each person to be made righteous, holy and not
evil.
This superabundance of God included being made righteous,
not because of what any person has done or could ever do, but because of His
mercy and grace. Paul said forgiveness and reconciliation with God comes, “through
Him (the Son) to reconcile all things to Himself.” God wants people to
experience this fullness that comes from Him, this being made whole, redeemed,
and clean. Verse twenty is the rest of verse nineteen. The Father’s good
pleasure for His fullness to reside in the Son was so that through His Son,
through His fullness, all of God’s characteristics, could reside in Christians
once reconciled to Jesus, who redemption for all humanity. Did you catch that? God’s
superabundance is available to us because of Jesus’ redeeming us. When
people accept Jesus as the Son of God, He reconciles them to God. He changes them from one state (sinner) to
another (redeemed and cleansed). Jesus brings each believer into a state of
harmony with God and gives them peace with Him.
It is impossible to have peace and harmony with God when we
sin (rebel) against Him. Yet, because of God’s great love for us, He provided
the sacrifice needed for us to be redeemed, made righteous, and put into
harmony and peace with Him! That is reconciliation. Paul said this twice
in verse twenty. Paul said Jesus reconciled us, which means brought into
harmony. He also said Jesus made peace for us with His blood. The Son
reconciled us to God with His blood. Because the Son of God is preeminent, His
bringing harmony and unity through His blood to each person who believes in Him
affected all creation, “whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
Thoughts to Consider
Jesus’ life on earth as the Son of God and the Son of man is
more than a theological doctrine. His life, death, and resurrection provide the
reconciling and unifying atonement for all creation. He was the firstborn,
preeminent before creation, firstborn from the dead, and firstborn (preeminent)
as the head and founder of the body of believers, the Church. The Son created
our physical bodies, and He re-created us in His image, spiritually. The
fullness of God truly, visibly and invisibly, rested upon the Son to cleanse
humanity for God’s good pleasure. God planned for this from before He created anything.
He is faithful and has superabundant grace, mercy, and love to make it happen. God
is faithful to Himself, His plan, His creation, and His born-again sons and
daughters.
Questions to Consider:
- Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?
- Do you believe Jesus was 100% man and 100% divinity?
- What does it mean to you that the Son of God is
the head of the body?
- Have you ever heard that Jesus will resurrect you?
Does that cause more questions for you?
- What are your thoughts about the Son of God
reconciling you with God and giving you peace and harmony with Him?
- Are you ready to stop rebelling against God and
have peace with Him?
Today is the time for you to decide who the Son of God is
for you? Will you believe in Him and be reconciled with God? Or, will you keep
running away from Him and struggle?
For next week, read chapter one again,
especially verses 21-23.
“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:21-22 [NASB])
