Podcast Episode 11

Podcast Episode 11: Colossians 1:15-20

How’s it going, having a good week?

This week we are discussing Colossians 1, looking at the sufficiency of Christ which in itself could be an entire podcast series. Books have been written on the topic as well as early church councils throughout the beginning of the church. And this week on the podcast we plan to look at two particular verses and the magnitude of their importance in our understanding of Christ.

Q1: Loved seeing the sanctuary full but how should we react to those crowds. Loved seeing everyone but also sad because a lot of people there probably will not be back very often for whatever excuse (work, out of town, etc).

Encourage others who you saw to continue attending or perhaps to join a Sunday School or life group. Don’t be discourages but instead respond with encouragement.

Q2: Did verse 15 just describe Jesus or did it have more meaning? We are all the images of God but Jesus is God in human form.

We are made in the image of God but Christ alone is the image of the invisible God. It is characteristically inseparable from Christ from before time began. You might say it is an intrinsic characteristic of Christ. Remember though the Christ is not made, as Jarrod discussed Arianism on Sunday briefly, but exists from before time and for all eternity as the image of the invisible God. He was not made into this image but exists as this image.

So what does verse 15 mean?

“Image of the Invisible God”

“From all eternity Jesus had, in his very nature, been the ‘image of God’, reflecting perfectly the character and life of the Father. It was thus appropriate for him to be the ‘image of God’ as man: from all eternity he had held the same relation to the Father that humanity, from its creation, had been intended to bear. “[1]

What was the purpose of Adam and Eve? To reflect the image of God, to be image bearers of God on earth. Genesis 1:26-28

What was the purpose of Abram (Abraham)? To bear the blessing of God to the nations. Genesis 12:1-3

What was the purpose of Israel? To be a blessing to the nations in their obedience to God. Israel was the line bearer of Christ and were set apart to bring God’s redemption to the world. Genesis 22 17-18; Joshua 6:17; Exodus 19;

“God made us for himself, as Augustine said with a different, though perhaps related, meaning. The doctrine of incarnation which flows from this cannot, by definition, squeeze either ‘divinity’ or ‘humanity’ out of shape. Indeed, it is only in Jesus Christ that we understand what ‘divinity’ and ‘humanity’ really mean: without him, we lapse into sub-Christian, or even pagan, categories of thought, and then wonder why the doctrine of incarnation causes us so much difficulty. Paul’s way of expressing the doctrine is to say, poetically, that the man Jesus fulfils the purposes which God had marked out both for himself and for humanity”[2]

So yes, we are made in the image of God, however Christ is the perfect image of God to the world, a purpose God set on His people but which is fulfilled in Christ.

“Firstborn of all creation”

The Greek word used here for Firstborn is the word πρωτοτοκος (Prototokos) which carries the meaning of “existing prior to something else, existing first or before.” The BDAG, a resource for Greek words and the domain of word meaning says

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. πρωτότοκος

② pert. to having special status associated with a firstborn, firstborn, fig. ext. of 1

ⓐ of Christ, as the firstborn of a new humanity which is to be glorified, as its exalted Lord is glorified πρωτότοκος ἐν πολλοῖς ἀδελφοῖς Ro 8:29. Also simply πρωτότοκος Hb 1:6; cp. Rv 2:8 v.l. This expr., which is admirably suited to describe Jesus as the one coming forth fr. God to found the new community of believers,

So we can understand this word as both priority of not only time, He is the first born, but also rank, he is the foremost. He holds supreme rank in his position as firstborn as well and his position as the firstborn of the new creation. We have to be careful here to not slip into arianism and state that Christ, in His pre-eminence is the first created being, because Christ is not created, however, what Paul is pointing to here is the incarnation of Christ, his taking on of bodily form. Likewise, as we see in Colossians 1:16, Christ is the one through whom all things were created.

Humanity was made as the climax of the first creation (Gen. 1:26–27): the true humanity of Jesus is the climax of the history of creation, and at the same time the starting-point of the new creation.

Q3: What does the firstborn of death mean. Does it reference when Jesus ascended?

At this point in Paul’s poem he changes from the view of creation to the new creation where he exemplifies Christ as the beginning. Now in the new creation Christ is the head of this new creation and also the beginning, how is he the beginning? By being the firstborn of the dead. What does this mean though, Firstborn of the Dead?

This part of the poem refers particularly to Christ’s rule over the final great enemies of mankind, sin and death. With Jesus’ resurrection, the new age has dawned. The new man has emerged from among the old humanity, whose life he had shared, whose pain and sin he had borne. For Paul, as throughout the Bible, sin and death were inextricably linked, so that Christ’s victory over the latter signalled his defeat of the former (see Rom. 5:12–21; 1 Cor. 15:12–28).

In this passage we see not only Christ supremacy in rank and position over creation but also now over death and sin in his death and resurrection.

Colossians and Philemon 2. The Heart of the Gospel: The Supremacy of Christ in Creation and Redemption (1:15–20)

The resurrection of Christ initiates this end-time resurrection; his resurrection guarantees and, indeed, stimulates the resurrection of all who follow (1 Cor. 15:20; cf. Acts 26:23; Matt. 27:52–53). In this sense, he is not only the first one to experience resurrection; he is the “founder” of the new order of resurrection (see the remarks above on Gen. 49:3). He is the “firstborn (prōtotokos) among many brothers and sisters.”

Q4: You were talking that Jesus has paid our debts in full with what he did. Should the stresses of the world be as stressful knowing that Jesus paid the most important debt for us.

If you have any questions you would like to hear our thoughts on, email your questions to [e-mail].

We hope this podcast helps you to grow in your walk with God, striving side by side for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.