Colossians 1:15

A Study Of Words April 28, 2013 New Light Baptist Church

Turn To Colossians 1

We have looked at several words:

Fellowship: Make your joy complete

Dwell: Is Christ comfortable in your heart

Worry: Don’t keep worrying about it

Grace: Plenty of grace to go around

Hosanna and Blessed: Praise for the Savior

Repent: Repent everyone of you

Praying watching perseverance: Stand guard the enemy approaches

Examine, Disqualified: You are the proof of the power of Jesus

Stand And Read Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

One Point: Who Is This Jesus Of Nazareth

Our words for today are image and firstborn.

The word image brings up the idea of likeness.

Our word today however is not speaking of an accidental likeness.

Like when two eggs look alike.

This word is giving us a picture of an original and the image is a copy of that original.

To go one step further, this copy is not like copying an image from one quarter onto another quarter.

This image or copy means the type of copy you get when features are passed from a parent into a child.

John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

In this verse it says that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God.

The words “only begotten” don’t only mean that Jesus was the only Son of God.

It means that…He as God The Son is alone of His kind…He is unique and one of a kind.

He is the image of God in this sense…He is a representation of God The Father, He eternally co exists with The Father, He possesses the same essence as The Father, He is Deity just like The Father.

He is the manifestation of God. This means that if you were to call out to God and beg Him to show Himself so that we could see what Almighty God looks like.

The manifestation that would appear to us would be Jesus.

John 14:9 says: “Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, `Show us the Father'?

When you study this word “Image” you are given an example of the sun up in the sky.

No one can look directly into the sun but if you wanted to see what it looked like you can see it in a reflection.

In the same way if you want to see what The Father looks like, you cannot look Him straight in the face, His reflection that you can look at is Jesus.

Everything that is in The Father can be seen through The Son.

Our verse also says that Jesus is the firstborn of every creature.

This is the verse that cult religions use to show that Jesus was the first thing created in this great creation.

The word means priority to all creation.

Jesus was not the first created thing to be brought into existence.

This word firstborn declares His absolute pre-existence.

He existed before any created thing was brought into existence.

He is not created therefore He is eternal.

Instead of being the first thing created in the order of creation, firstborn means that He is The Creator.

So in verse 16 Paul says: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

This is what Jesus meant in Revelation 3:14 when He said “These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:“

The word beginning here means “The originator” of something.

Jesus was the originator of the created universe, not the first created thing in the universe.

It also speaks of sovereignty over all creation. He is the ruler because He created it all.

He rules over all of creation… Jesus of Nazareth…The Galilean peasant…the carpenter…the friend of publicans and sinners…is the image of God…a copy of the Father through eternal generation…the creator of the universe and it’s sovereign Lord.

He is also the one who made peace through the blood of His cross.

He satisfied all of the charges that the law of God had against us.

We, as lost sinners violated that law

The justice of God demanded that the penalty…death be paid.

But God in His love wanted to save those who would come to Him.

So God in the person of His Son stepped down from His judgment throne.

He took your sin and mine upon Himself at Calvary.

The penalty was paid and the law was satisfied.

Now He can freely bestow mercy on you and I who put our faith in this Jesus of Nazareth as our personal Savior.

Acts 16:31 says: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.''

Let’s Pray