Colossians 1:15-20

It was through greek empire and even the middle ages that most people though that the earth was the center of the universe and that all of other planets and stars revolved around it. It wasn’t until people like copernicus, and galileos use of the telescope, and newton and Kepler that we learned that indeed the sun rather than the moon is the center of the universe.

Christ as a rocket launching.

Christ is pre-imment over of all things has made and is all things made new.

There is good evidence that this passage was an early hymn. There are two possibilities.

These are Paul’s origional words, in other words if it was a hymn, Paul wrote the hymn,

Paul was quoting an already familiar hymn or ancient creed. (Most probable)

One of the most fascinating things I think that is often overlooked is that from the birth of the church to the first writtings of the new testament were about 15-20 years. James was perhaps the earliest book written in the mid 40’s. So this means that there was some sort of teaching and orthodox teaching even before the time of writing of this Epistle.

The church of Colossae was in danger of being swept away from the apostolic teaching of Christ and so in this first chapter Paul establishes what is orthodox teaching on the person of Christ. This is Christology 101 for the Colossian church.

Paul starts by defining Christology

Counterfeit

The false teachers were arguing from the cosmos or the worldly things to the spiritual.

Colossians 2:16–23 “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

but Paul was arguing from the spiritual one that is Christ to the creation.

Christ pre-imminent over creation.

the stuff that we see, and the stuff that is coming but we do not yet see.

The language that Paul uses here is creation language. Genesis 1:27-28. What are some of the words in this passage that remind us of language borrowed from the creation account?

“image of God”

first-born

created by Him

all things “held together”

Image of God

- Adam and Eve were created in the image of God.

This means that they were made to represent God in the created order. In this idea of image of God was dominion and rule over the earth, peace and fellowship with God, etc.

But they failed to pass down that image untarnished by sin to their posterity. We like all me are still “in the image of God” yet it is marred and tainted by sin.

Coin that really old.

What is the difference in Christ being the image of God and our being the image of God?

He was the first, eternal spiritual being made flesh and born as a human.

Adam gave us death but Christ gives us life.

The fact that Jesus is the image of the “invisible” God. The one that we cannot see, means that when we see Christ we see God.

John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Hebrews 1:3 “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,”

What other verse from our passage expresses the deity of Christ?

vs 19

First-born

there are two uses of the word first-born 1. “of creation. 2. from dead.

Anyone know the difference in the two? Or why Paul would say it in two different ways?

show Christ’s preeminence over both the creation and recreation.

There has been alot of confusion over the term “first-born” so what does it mean?

How do we know that it means this?

Was Jesus the first one to be resurrected from the dead?

It means that He is the preimminent one he takes superiority over creation, and the new creation.

Deuteronomy 21:15–17 ““If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.”

Genesis 25:31 “Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.””

Romans 14:9 “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

Arius was one of the first to misunderstand this.

Nicene Creed

“And in one Lord Jesus Christ,       the only Son of God,       begotten from the Father before all ages,            God from God,            Light from Light,            true God from true God,       begotten, not made;       of the same essence as the Father.       Through him all things were made.Christ pre-imminent over the new creation.

What other modern group or groups would misunderstand this as well?

Jehovahs witness, and mormons

Christ is preeminent over the new creation

What language or verses from our passage would refer to this?

Head of the body the church

reconcile all things

Little boy and sail boat