Preeminent Jesus
Intro:
Second (3:5–4:6), the new life in Christ is nothing less than the beginning of the new creation. And, if new creation, new humanity. Christians already share in the new age which began on Easter Day. This is worked out in terms of practical holiness, which does not thwart or cramp full humanity, but facilitates and enhances it.
dominion of darkness. Blinds humans from seeing the truth of their condition and how they might be saved from it. Those who live under its power do evil (Rom 13:12; Eph 5:11–12). Some Colossian Christians may have worried that they were still prisoners of the sinister powers that ruled the present realm and that they needed to be delivered through means other than Christ. Paul assures them that God has liberated Christians from every power (Eph 6:12) and has resettled them in the Lord (Eph 5:8). redemption. Recalls God’s rescue of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Exod 6:6–8); God has redeemed Christians from the far more potent power of the evil one.
Poetic Exaltation of Christ. Paul interjects poetic praise of Christ that affirms that Christ is not simply one of many spiritual powers but is preeminent over all. Many think that vv. 15–20 are an early Christian hymn that Paul quotes and adapts to his argument. The first stanza acclaims Jesus as the preexistent agent and regent of creation (vv. 15–18a); the second esteems him as the reconciler of creation (vv. 18b–20). Christ’s reconciling work on the cross affects every part of the created cosmos—things in heaven and on earth (vv. 16, 20). “The church” (v. 18a) is where one sees and experiences the reconciliation of all things on earth. In Christ, the Colossians have received all the benefits of Christ’s death, and their salvation is complete.
The false teachers in Colossae, like the false teachers of our own day, would not deny the importance of Jesus Christ. They would simply dethrone Him, giving Him prominence but not preeminence. In their philosophy, Jesus Christ was but one of many “emanations” that proceeded from God and through which men could reach God. It was this claim that Paul refuted in this section.
Probably no paragraph in the New Testament contains more concentrated doctrine about Jesus Christ than this one. We can keep ourselves from going on a detour if we remember that Paul wrote to prove the preeminence of Christ, and he did so by using four unanswerable arguments.
It describes Jesus as Lord. The hymn is complete in itself, but it contributes to the flow of thought in the epistle. For this reason, it first must be studied as an entity rich in theological content. Then it must be placed in its immediate context to determine the contribution it makes to the argument of the epistle.
The hymn to Christ has two uneven stanzas, but their themes are consistent. The first relates Jesus to creation; the second, to redemption. The first considers the created world, including the material creation and supernatural beings. The second considers the reconciliation of these various created elements which have gone astray. Therefore, Paul contributed to the two main themes of the Bible: creation and redemption. Together, the two stanzas make a strong case for the supremacy of Christ. He is Lord over creation, and he is the Lord of the new creation.
1:14. “Redemption” meant freeing a slave by paying a price for that slave; in the Old Testament, God redeemed Israel from their slavery in Egypt by the blood of the firstborn and the lamb. This would fit the image of transferring a captive people from one realm to another (1:13). Philo also believed that the Logos, God’s Word, participated in redemption; but this background might be more relevant if it were mentioned as part of 1:15–17.
The false teachers promised a special insight and a superior spirituality. Terms like knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding were a part of the false teachers’ vocabulary. So Paul employed these types of words in his prayer.
Paul mentioned seven unique characteristics of Christ, which fittingly qualify Him to have “the supremacy” (v. 18). Christ is: (1) the image of God, (2) the Firstborn over Creation, (3) Creator of the universe, (4) Head of the church, (5) Firstborn from the dead, (6) the fullness of God, and (7) the Reconciler of all things. No comparable listing of so many characteristics of Christ and His deity are found in any other Scripture passage. Christ is the supreme Sovereign of the universe!
The most dangerous aspect of the Colossian heresy was its depreciation of the person of Jesus Christ. To the errorists of Colosse, Christ was not the triumphant Redeemer to whom all authority in heaven and on earth had been committed. At best he was only one of many spirit beings who bridged the space between God and men.
This passage is a part of Paul’s answer to this heretical teaching. One of several great Christological declarations in Paul (cf. 2:9–15; Eph 1:20–23; Philippians 2:5–11), it proclaims the unqualified supremacy of our Redeemer. Scott says it “represents a loftier conception of Christ’s person than is found anywhere else in the writings of Paul” (p. 20). The affirmations of the passage are all the more remarkable when we remember that they were written of One who only thirty years earlier had died on a Roman cross.
b. Creation and new creation in Christ (1:15–20). The next six verses of the letter are generally, and rightly, reckoned among the most important Christological passages in the New Testament.
The most obvious point that the poem makes is the parallel between creation and new creation; hence the emphasis that is placed on the fact that each was accomplished by means of the same agent. The Lord through whom you are redeemed (Paul is telling the Colossians) is none other than the one through whom you (and all the world) were created.
Paul was not writing this letter as a document to be studied in a seminar or interpreted in a commentary but as something he knew would be read aloud as part of the church’s worship. He could express his faith with majestic poetry.
Almost a hundred years ago (in 1893), the famous World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago, and an astronomical number of people, especially in those pre-automobile days, some twenty-one million, visited the exhibits. America, and particularly Chicago, which had risen phoenix-like from the great fire of 1873, was showing off to the rest of the world. And the show was good. Among the features of the Columbian Exposition was the “World Parliament of Religions,” in which representatives of the world’s religions met to share their best points and perhaps come up with a new world religion.
D. L. Moody saw this as a great chance for evangelism. Moody commissioned evangelists and assigned them to “preaching posts” throughout the city. He used churches and rented theaters. He even rented a circus tent to preach the Word. Moody’s friends wanted him to attack the “Parliament of Religions,” but he refused, saying, “I am going to make Jesus Christ so attractive that men will turn to him.” D. L. Moody knew that preaching Christ preeminent—the peerless, supreme, all-sufficient Christ, clearly presented—would do the job. And indeed it did. The “Chicago Campaign” of 1893 is considered to be the greatest evangelistic work of Moody’s celebrated life, and thousands came to Christ.
The Bible is supremely the book about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament records the preparation for His coming. The gospels present Him as God in human flesh, come into the world to save sinners. In Acts, the message of salvation in Christ begins to be spread throughout the world. The epistles detail the theology of Christ’s work and personification of Christ in His Body, the church. Finally, Revelation presents Christ on the throne, reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Every part of Scripture testifies about Jesus Christ. Luke 24:27 says, “Beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, [Jesus] explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” In John 5:39, Jesus said of the Scriptures, “It is these that bear witness of Me.” Philip preached Christ to the Ethiopian eunuch by using the book of Isaiah (Acts 8:35).
But of all the Bible’s teaching about Jesus Christ, none is more significant than Colossians 1:15–19. This dramatic and powerful passage removes any needless doubt or confusion over Jesus’ true identity. It is vital to a proper understanding of the Christian faith.
The Relation of the Prose Hymn to the Argument in Colossians
HOW THIS PROSE hymn to Christ fits in Colossians, not its hypothetical prehistory or redaction, is the only thing important for interpreting Colossians. Key affirmations in 1:15–20 buttress Paul’s arguments against the opponents that appear later in the letter.
(1) If Christ is the image of God (1:15) and all the fullness of God dwells in him (1:19), then the Colossians will not find fullness in anything else (2:10).
(2) If all the “things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities” were created by him (1:16), he brings to naught all supposed threats posed by these powers.
(3) God’s plan from before creation was to reconcile all things through Christ, and that design has not been revised. The Colossians do not need a supplemental salvation plan and cannot attain this peace and reconciliation through heavenly visions or rigorous asceticism (2:16–23). Instead, attention to these things may disqualify them.
(4) Christ is supreme over all, but that supremacy manifests itself most visibly in the church. Christ is the head of the body, the church (1:18), and those who lose connection with the head, “from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow” (2:19), will wither and die. One can cut off any extremity of the body except the head and still live.
(5) The supremacy of Christ over the whole cosmos assures believers of the sufficiency of Christ. Therefore, they should not allow their hope in Christ, the firstborn of the dead, to be shaken when it is challenged or denigrated by others.
(6) If Christ sustains the entire universe, then Christ can sustain individual believers.
The poem leaves the church, and the world, not just with a picture of the exalted Christ, but with a vision of the gracious, loving and beckoning creator-redeemer God.
PAUL’S MENTION OF the kingdom of the beloved Son in 1:13 leads to the poetic praise of Christ in 1:15–20. This section divides into two parts, each with its own theme: Christ is mediator of creation, victor over the powers, and Lord over all of God’s created order (1:15–17); and Christ is also Lord over God’s new order, the church, where one finds reconciliation (1:18–20). Every part of the created cosmos, visible and invisible, was created in, by, and for him; and every part will be touched by Christ’s reconciling work on the cross. Christ’s cosmos-encompassing supremacy undergirds the status and power of those who have been brought into his kingdom. The universal supremacy of Christ matches the universality of the gospel (1:6) and assures believers of the sufficiency of Christ.
That is why He could say, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). In Christ, the invisible God became visible, “and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father” (John 1:14).
As already noted, the heretics viewed Jesus as one among a series of lesser spirits descending in sequential inferiority from God. Paul refutes that with two powerful descriptions of who Jesus really is. First, Paul describes Him as the image of the invisible God. Eikōn (image) means “image” or “likeness.” From it we get our English word icon, referring to a statue. It is used in Matthew 22:20 of Caesar’s portrait on a coin, and in Revelation 13:14 of the statue of Antichrist.
Although man is also the eikōn of God (1 Cor. 11:7; cf. Gen. 1:26–27), man is not a perfect image of God. Humans are made in God’s image in that they have rational personality. Like God, they possess intellect, emotion, and will, by which they are able to think, feel, and choose. We humans are not, however, in God’s image morally, because He is holy, and we are sinful. Nor are we created in His image essentially. We do not possess His incommunicable attributes, such as omniscience, omnipotence, immutability, or omnipresence. We are human, not divine.
The opening line of verse 15 describes Christ as “the image of the invisible God.” That God is invisible is a given in both the Old and New Testaments (I Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:27). However, John 1:18, which begins by affirming this, saying, “No one has ever seen God,” goes on to say, “God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” Jesus is literally the exegesis of God. How does he do this? Much of the answer is found in our text as we understand how Christ is the image of God.
Verse 15b calls Christ “the firstborn over all creation,” which at first sight might be taken as teaching that Jesus was the first person created. Indeed the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the heretic Arius long before them, take it this way. But they do so by ignoring the context, which makes him Creator of everything, as well as the rest of New Testament revelation, which makes him eternal (cf. John 1:1). Most of all, they ignore the indisputable fact that while “firstborn” can mean first child, it very often is simply a term which means “first in rank or honor.” Sometimes the Torah was called firstborn to indicate its elevated rank. “Firstborn” was a code word for the coming Messiah, as in Psalm 89:27—“I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” The people of Israel as a whole were sometimes called firstborn to indicate their high position as recipients of the Father’s love (Exodus 4:22). So when Paul called Christ “the firstborn over all creation,” he meant that highest honor belongs to him. Christ is completely supreme in creation!
There are 800,000 catalogued insects, with billions in some of the species—all created by Christ.
Christ is not only the Creator of creation, but he is also the end, the goal: “all things were created by him and for him” (v. 16b).
“All things were created by him and toward him.” Everything began with him and will end with him. All things sprang forth at his command, and all things will return to him at his command. He is the beginning and he is the end—the Alpha and Omega. One day everything will give him glory (cf. Philippians 2:11)!
Since this is true, we should live completely for him. Any other course is completely irrational for the believer.
This may sound strange to us. How can something invisible have an image? In Greek philosophy, however, the image has a share in the reality that it reveals and may be said to be the reality. An image was not considered something distinct from the object it represented, like a facsimile or reproduction. As the image of God, Christ is an exact, as well as a visible, representation of God (Col. 1:19; 2:9), illuminating God’s essence.
In Christ we see who God is—Creator and Redeemer; what God is like—a God of mercy and love; and what God does—one who sends his Son to rescue people from the dominion of darkness and brings about the reconciliation of all creation through his death on a cross. Calvin comments that in Christ God shows us “his righteousness, goodness, wisdom, power, in short, his entire self.”
Eikōn, the Greek word for “image,” expresses two ideas. One is likeness, a thought brought out in some of the versions (e.g., Moff., Am. Trans., Wms., and Knox). Christ is the image of God in the sense that he is the exact likeness of God, like the image on a coin or the reflection in a mirror (cf. Heb 1:3). The other idea in the word is manifestation. That is, Christ is the image of God in the sense that the nature and being of God are perfectly revealed in him (cf. John 1:18). Therefore Paul can boldly say that we have “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6) and that believers, reflecting the Lord’s glory, “are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory” (2 Cor 3:18). Paul’s statement leaves no place for the vague emanations and shadowy abstractions so prominent in the gnostic system.
He existed before Creation (v. 15). The term firstborn does not refer to time, but to place or status. Jesus Christ was not the first being created, since He Himself is the Creator of all things. Firstborn simply means “of first importance, of first rank.” Solomon was certainly not born first of all of David’s sons, yet he was named the firstborn (Ps. 89:27). Firstborn of all Creation means “prior to all Creation.” Jesus Christ is not a created being; He is eternal God.
Although prōtotokos can mean firstborn chronologically (Luke 2:7), it refers primarily to position, or rank. In both Greek and Jewish culture, the firstborn was the son who had the right of inheritance. He was not necessarily the first one born. Although Esau was born first chronologically, it was Jacob who was the “firstborn” and received the inheritance. Jesus is the One with the right to the inheritance of all creation (cf. Heb. 1:2; Rev. 5:1–7, 13).
By studying the creation, one can gain a glimpse of the power, knowledge, and wisdom of the Creator. The sheer size of the universe is staggering. The sun, for example, has a diameter of 864,000 miles (one hundred times that of earth’s) and could hold 1.3 million planets the size of earth inside it. The star Betelgeuse, however, has a diameter of 100 million miles, which is larger than the earth’s orbit around the sun. It takes sunlight, traveling at 186,000 miles per second, about 8.5 minutes to reach earth. Yet that same light would take more than four years to reach the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, some 24 trillion miles from earth. The galaxy to which our sun belongs, the Milky Way, contains hundreds of billions of stars. And astronomers estimate there are millions, or even billions of galaxies. What they can see leads them to estimate the number of stars in the universe at 1025. That is roughly the number of all the grains of sand on all the world’s beaches
It is no wonder that the psalmist wrote, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world” (Ps. 19:1–4).
One day in the future God will dissolve the strong nuclear force. Peter describes that day as the one when “the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10). With the strong nuclear force no longer operative, Coulomb’s law will take effect, and the nuclei of atoms will fly apart. The universe will literally explode. Until that time, we can be thankful that Christ “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). Jesus Christ must be God. He made the universe, existed outside and before it, and preserves it.
The Jewish concept of the birthright also influences the meaning of the word. As Lightfoot pointed out, the term “firstborn” referred to a rite (ritual) that accorded the first son a special place in the family. The term soon lost the meaning of the first in time and developed the meaning of first in priority. Following this reasoning, Paul stated that Jesus “is His Father’s representative and heir and has the management of the divine household (all creation) committed to Him.”
A further application concerns the church’s task in the world. There is no sphere of existence over which Jesus is not sovereign, in virtue of his role both in creation (1:16–17) and in reconciliation (1:18–20). There can be no dualistic division between some areas which he rules and others which he does not. ‘There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.’ The task of evangelism is therefore best understood as the proclamation that Jesus is already Lord, that in him God’s new creation has broken into history, and that all people are therefore summoned to submit to him in love, worship and obedience.
to opt for temporal priority does not imply that the pre-existent Son of God is merely the first created being. The continuing temporal sense of the word is clear from verse 18 (cf. Rom. 8:29), and gives a parallel idea to that expressed in the NEB translation of John 1:1, ‘When all things began, the Word already was’. It is in virtue of this eternal pre-existence that the Son of God holds supreme rank.
The phrase His dear Son can be translated “the Son of His love.” At the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus Christ, the Father declared that Jesus was His “beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). This fact reminds us of the price the Father paid when He gave His Son for us. It also reminds us that His kingdom is a kingdom of love as well as a kingdom of light.
He created all things (v. 16a). Since Christ created all things, He Himself is uncreated. The word for that introduces this verse could be translated “because.” Jesus Christ is the Firstborn of all because He created all things. It is no wonder that the winds and waves obeyed Him, and diseases and death fled from Him, for He is Master over all. “All things were made by Him” (John 1:3). This includes all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible. All things are under His command.
Some see in the word an allusion to the ancient custom whereby the firstborn in a family was accorded rights and privileges not shared by the other offspring. He was his father’s representative and heir, and to him the management of the household was committed. Following this line of interpretation, we may understand the passage to teach that Christ is his Father’s representative and heir and has the management of the divine household (all creation) committed to him. He is thus Lord over all God’s creation.
The apostle now states the ground for Christ’s dominion over creation: he is firstborn (Lord) over creation because he made it. To him it owes its unity, its meaning, indeed its very existence.
That all things “hold together” in Christ means that he is both the unifying principle and the personal sustainer of all creation. It springs from him and finds in him its common bond and center. He is, to use the words of Lightfoot, “the principle of cohesion” who makes the universe “a cosmos instead of a chaos” (p. 156; cf. Heb 1:3).
As H. C. G. Moule memorably put it, “He keeps the cosmos from becoming a chaos.”
But this may be saying too little. The verb “hold together” (synistemi) can imply that they have their existence in him. Christ is more than the force that preserves the orderly arrangement of the cosmos; he is its rationale, its rhyme and reason. Wink interprets it to mean that Christ is “the System of the systems.” He is the basic operating principle controlling existence.32 The universe is not self-sufficient (as in the deistic model), nor are individuals, no matter how much they may deceive themselves into thinking they are. Even those who do not acknowledge Christ’s reign and those who actively oppose him are entirely dependent on him.
Paul described Jesus as Lord of creation, the “firstborn” (1:15). The term “firstborn” stresses uniqueness and sovereignty rather than priority in time. Jesus is the “firstborn” because He is the agent of creation and the heir of creation.
Here is the awe-inspiring mystery of the God-man, Jesus Christ—he who threw out the stars with his hands also had nails driven through those hands to reconcile us who were once alienated, hostile, and evil (vv. 21–22).
1:17 before all things. A reference to Christ’s preexistence before creation. Christ is the key who unlocks the meaning and purpose of the universe and of what God has done, is doing, and will do. If Christ sustains the whole universe, then he can sustain believers.
This does not refer to universal salvation; Christ’s enemies are vanquished (2:15; 1 Cor 15:24–26). blood, shed on the cross. The climax of the poetic praise. God turned murder and an instrument of death into an atoning sacrifice that brings life and peace.
The Gr. word for “firstborn” can refer to one who was born first chronologically, but most often refers to pre-eminence in position, or rank (see note on Heb. 1:6; cf. Rom. 8:29). In both Greek and Jewish culture, the firstborn was the ranking son who had received the right of inheritance from his father, whether he was born first or not. It is used of Israel who, not being the first nation, was however the preeminent nation (cf. Ex. 4:22; Jer. 31:9). Firstborn in this context clearly means highest in rank, not first created (cf. Ps. 89:27; Rev. 1:5) for several reasons: 1) Christ cannot be both “first begotten” and “only begotten” (cf. John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; 1 John 4:9); 2) when the “firstborn” is one of a class, the class is in the plural form (cf. v. 18; Rom. 8:29), but “creation,” the class here, is in a singular form; 3) if Paul was teaching that Christ was a created being, he was agreeing with the heresy he was writing to refute; and 4) it is impossible for Christ to be both created, and the Creator of everything (v. 16). Thus Jesus is the firstborn in the sense that He has the preeminence (v. 18) and possesses the right of inheritance “over all creation” (cf. Heb. 1:2; Rev. 5:1–7, 13). He existed before the creation and is exalted in rank above it. See notes on Ps. 2:7; Rom. 8:29.
Titles of Christ
Name or Title
Significance
Biblical Reference
Adam, Last Adam
First of the new race of the redeemed
1 Cor. 15:45
Alpha and Omega
The beginning and ending of all things
Rev. 21:6
Bread of Life
The one essential food
John 6:35
Chief Cornerstone
A sure foundation for life
Eph. 2:20
Chief Shepherd
Protector, sustainer, and guide
1 Pet. 5:4
Firstborn from the Dead
Leads us into resurrection and eternal life
Col. 1:18
Good Shepherd
Provider and caretaker
John 10:11
Great Shepherd of the Sheep
Trustworthy guide and protector
Heb. 13:20
High Priest
A perfect sacrifice for our sins
Heb. 3:1
Holy One of God
Sinless in His nature
Mark 1:24
Immanuel (God With Us)
Stands with us in all life’s circumstances
Matt. 1:23
King of Kings, Lord of Lords
The Almighty, before whom every knee will bow
Rev. 19:16
Lamb of God
Gave His life as a sacrifice on our behalf
John 1:29
Light of the World
Brings hope in the midst of darkness
John 9:5
Lord of Glory
The power and presence of the living God
1 Cor. 2:8
Mediator between God and Men
Brings us into God’s presence redeemed and forgiven
1 Tim. 2:5
Only Begotten of the Father
The unique, one-of-a-kind Son of God
John 1:14
Prophet
Faithful proclaimer of the truths of God
Acts 3:22
Savior
Delivers from sin and death
Luke 1:47
Seed of Abraham
Mediator of God’s covenant
Gal. 3:16
Son of Man
Identifies with us in our humanity
Matt. 18:11
The Word
Present with God at the creation
John 1:1
Christians are also “blameless” (without blemish) and “above reproach” (no one can bring a charge against them; Rom. 8:33; cf. Phil. 2:15). We are to be presented to Christ, when we meet Him, as a chaste bride (Eph. 5:25–27; 2 Cor. 11:2).
In verse 17, Paul reached the apex of his argument: Christ is superior in creation because he is the sustainer: “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The perfect tense here tells us that he continues now to hold all things together, and that apart from his continuous activity, all would disintegrate. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (1:3).
There are many metaphors used in Scripture to describe the church. It is called a family, a kingdom, a vineyard, a flock, a building, and a bride. But the most profound metaphor, one having no Old Testament equivalent, is that of a Body. The church is a Body, and Christ is the head of the Body. This concept is not used in the sense of the head of a company, but rather looks at the church as a living organism, inseparably tied together by the living Christ. He controls every part of it and gives it life and direction. His life lived out through all the members provides the unity of the Body (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12–20). He energizes and coordinates the diversity within the Body, a diversity of spiritual gifts and ministries (1 Cor. 12:4–13
Archē (beginning) is used here in the twofold sense of source and primacy. The church has its origins in Jesus. God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). It is He who gives life to His church. His sacrificial death and resurrection on our behalf provided our new life. As head of the Body, Jesus holds the chief position, or highest rank in the church. As the beginning, He is its originator.
In Col 1:18 the authority and direction-giving aspects of the head over the body receive the focus.
From an earthly perspective, the church is necessary since it is the visible body of Christ. Most of what the world sees of the whole body, it sees not in the head, but in the body, the church. Thus the idea of corporate personality, so prevalent in the Old Testament, may emerge here as well.
The focus is on Christ, however, not the church. When Paul uses the body metaphor elsewhere (see 3:15; Rom. 12:4–5; 1 Cor. 12:12–31), he stresses the interdependence of church members. In this passage, Paul emphasizes the body’s organic and dependent relation to Christ as head (see also Eph. 4:15; 5:23). “Head,” “beginning,” and “firstborn” all derive from the same root in Hebrew (r’šyt). Each affirms Christ’s sovereignty in the new creation and in the old. What is more important, “head” can also indicate source or origin. Christ is the source of the church’s life. The metaphor “head” designates him both as supreme over the church and as the source of the church’s life. In the image of a living body, the head not only directs and governs the body, it gives it life and strength. Best comments:
No matter which name you select, it will affirm the preeminence of Jesus Christ in the church. The church had its origin in Him, and today it has its operation in Him. As the Head of the church, Jesus Christ supplies it with life through His Spirit. He gives gifts to men, and then places these gifted people in His church that they might serve Him where they are needed. Through His Word, Jesus Christ nourishes and cleanses the church (Eph. 5:25–30).
No believer on earth is the head of the church. This position is reserved exclusively for Jesus Christ. Various religious leaders may have founded churches, or denominations; but only Jesus Christ is the Founder of the church which is His body. This church is composed of all true believers, and it was born at Pentecost. It was then that the Holy Spirit came and baptized the believers into one spiritual body.
The fact that there is “one body” in this world (Eph. 4:4) does not eliminate or minimize the need for local bodies of believers. The fact that I belong to the universal church does not release me from my responsibilities to the local church. I cannot minister to the whole church, but I can strengthen and build the church by ministering to God’s people in a local assembly.
In the figure there may also be the suggestion that Christ is the source of the church’s life, but this is not its primary significance. Christ, as Head of the church, is its Chief, its Leader. It is he who guides and governs it. “He” is emphatic, the meaning being that Christ alone—Christ and no other—is Head of the church.
“Church” (ekklēsia), which means “assembly” or “congregation,” is best interpreted here as a term embracing all the redeemed people of God. The mention of the church as “the body” of Christ suggests at least three things: (1) that the church is a living organism, composed of members joined vitally to one another, (2) that the church is the means by which Christ carries out his purposes and performs his work, and (3) that the union that exists between Christ and his people is most intimate and real. Together they constitute one living unit, each, in a sense, being incomplete without the other.
He translated us (v. 13b). This word was used to describe the deportation of a population from one country into another. History records the fact that Antiochus the Great transported at least 2,000 Jews from Babylonia to Colossae.
Jesus Christ did not release us from bondage, only to have us wander aimlessly. He moved us into His own kingdom of light and made us victors over Satan’s kingdom of darkness. Earthly rulers transported the defeated people, but Jesus Christ transported the winners.
“Firstborn” (prōtotokos), which in the Greek text is in apposition with “beginning,” defines more precisely what Paul means. This term was used earlier (v. 15) to point up Christ’s relation to creation, and we concluded that it suggested both precedence in time and supremacy in rank. In the present passage the idea of precedence is the more prominent. Thus, the meaning is that Christ was the first to come from the dead in true resurrection life (i.e., never to die again, cf. 1 Cor 15:20). And because he was the first to be born from the dead, he possesses in himself the new and higher life that his people, by virtue of their union with him, now share. Thus, his being the firstborn from the dead is that which establishes his place as the beginning, the origin of the church’s life.
The idea of sovereignty, however, is not entirely absent from this passage. Because Christ was the first to be born from the dead, he has the dignity and sovereignty belonging to the Firstborn. Peake, who is a proponent of this view, interprets the passage to mean that “from among the dead [Christ] has passed to his throne, where he reigns as the living Lord” (p. 507).
It seems odd that Paul used the word born in connection with death, for the two concepts seem opposed to each other. But the tomb was a womb from which Christ came forth in victory, for death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). The Son was begotten in resurrection glory (Ps. 2:7; Acts 13:33).
This brings us to the theme of this entire section: “That in all things He might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18). This was God’s purpose in making His Son the Saviour, Creator, and Head of the church. The word translated “preeminence” is used nowhere else in the New Testament. It is related to the word translated “firstborn,” and it magnifies the unique position of Jesus Christ. “Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11).
Evangelist D.L. Moody saw this as a great opportunity for evangelism. He used churches, rented theaters, and even rented a circus tent (when the show was not on) to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His friends wanted Moody to attack the “Parliament of Religions,” but he refused. “I am going to make Jesus Christ so attractive,” he said, “that men will turn to Him.” Moody knew that Jesus Christ was the preeminent Saviour, not just one of many “religious leaders” of history. The “Chicago Campaign” of 1893 was probably the greatest evangelistic endeavor in D.L. Moody’s life, and thousands came to Christ.
The poem moves from creation to a new creation by identifying Christ as “the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead.” Christ’s resurrection is the source of the new life for others. He is the first in a sequence that opens new possibilities for others who follow: “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).
In justification, the sinner stands before God guilty and condemned, but is declared righteous (Rom. 8:33). In redemption, the sinner stands before God as a slave, but is granted his freedom (Rom. 6:18–22). In forgiveness, the sinner stands before God as a debtor, but the debt is paid and forgotten (Eph. 1:7). In reconciliation, the sinner stands before God as an enemy, but becomes His friend (2 Cor. 5:18–20). In adoption, the sinner stands before God as a stranger, but is made a son (Eph. 1:5). A complete understanding of the doctrine of salvation would involve a detailed study of each of those terms. In Colossians 1:20–23, Paul gives a concise look at reconciliation.
Typically in Scripture it involves persons because the Bible was written to transform human life. Reconciliation usually involves two prerequisites: Both parties must have a willingness to be reconciled, and there must be an occasion that brings them together. God has demonstrated his willingness and provided the occasion by taking the initiative to send Jesus as reconciler. The willingness is produced by the work of the Holy Spirit. A felt need, often prompted by circumstances of life, provides the occasion. Thus reconciliation is normally voluntary and volitional.
The Bible gives us a glimpse of what the restored creation will be like.
There will be dramatic changes in the animal world. In Isaiah we learn that
The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain. (Isa. 11:6–9)
“The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord. (Isa. 65:25)
The changes in the animal world will be paralleled by changes in the earth and the solar system:
Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before His elders. (Isa. 24:23)
The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted. (Isa. 30:26)
No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory. Your sun will set no more, neither will your moon wane; for you will have the Lord for an everlasting light. (Isa. 60:19–20)
Tremendous, dramatic changes will mark the reconciliation of the world to God. Paul writes, “The creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption” (Rom. 8:21). God and the creation will be reconciled; the curse of Genesis 3 will be removed. We might say that God will make friends with the universe again. The universe will be restored to a proper relationship with its Creator. Finally, after the millennial kingdom, there will indeed be a new heaven and a new earth, as both Peter and John indicate:
According to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Pet. 3:13)
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away. (Rev. 21:1)
The Lord will make everything new.
The grim reference to Christ’s “blood” and “cross” brings us down from the lofty heights of preeminence and fullness to the squalid depths of human pain and suffering. These two words are combined to express cost and violence. Blood refers to death by violence (see Matt. 23:30, 35; Rev. 6:10; 19:2); the cross refers to humility and shame (Phil. 2:8). The head of the church is the one who was shamefully crucified (see Col. 2:9, 14, 20; 3:3). These last lines affirm, however, that God’s ultimate purpose is not to judge and to destroy, but to reconcile and to renew—to make peace (see Rom. 5:1–5; 2 Cor. 5:19).
“Reconcile,” the essential meaning of which is “to change” (from enmity to friendship), suggests the effecting in man of a condition of submission to, and harmony with, God (cf. Rom 5:10, 11; 2 Cor 5:18–20; Eph 2:14, 15). The Greek verb, a double compound form, probably has intensive force: to change completely, to change so as to remove all enmity.
He redeemed us (v. 14a). This word means “to release a prisoner by the payment of a ransom.” Paul did not suggest that Jesus paid a ransom to Satan in order to rescue us from the kingdom of darkness. By His death and resurrection, Jesus met the holy demands of God’s Law. Satan seeks to accuse us and imprison us because he knows we are guilty of breaking God’s Law. But the ransom has been paid on Calvary, and through faith in Jesus Christ, we have been set free.
Because Jesus Christ is God, He is able to do what no mere man could ever do: reconcile lost sinners to a holy God. When the first man and woman sinned, they declared war on God; but God did not declare war on them. Instead, God sought Adam and Eve; and He provided a covering for their sins.
The natural mind of the unsaved sinner is at war with God (Rom. 8:7). The sinner may be sincere, religious, and even moral; but he is still at war with God.
How can a holy God ever be reconciled with sinful man? Can God lower His standards, close His eyes to sin, and compromise with man? If He did, the universe would fall to pieces! God must be consistent with Himself and maintain His own holy Law.
Perhaps man could somehow please God. But by nature, man is separated from God; and by his deeds, he is alienated from God (Col. 1:21). The sinner is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1ff), and therefore is unable to do anything to save himself or to please God (Rom. 8:8).
If there is to be reconciliation between man and God, the initiative and action must come from God. It is in Christ that God was reconciled to man (2 Cor. 5:19). But it was not the incarnation of Christ that accomplished this reconciliation, nor was it His example as He lived among men. It was through His death that peace was made between God and man. He “made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20).
Humanity’s condition is terrible, but God’s reconciling purpose is “to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (v. 22). While the Scriptures paint the darkest possibilities for man apart from Christ, they also give us the highest, noblest vision of man known to any religious conception anywhere! When one is reconciled to Christ, he or she will be presented before him as holy, without blame, and beyond reproach. This person is a “co-heir” of Christ’s promises (Romans 8:17) and will remain eternally glorious and holy. If we have been reconciled, this is our position before God right now, and it will be increasingly true in our life as we grow into his image. R. C. Sproul tells us:
Luther used a simple analogy to explain it. He described the condition of a patient who was mortally ill. The doctor proclaimed that he had medicine that would surely cure the man. The instant the medicine was administered, the doctor declared that the patient was well. At that instant the patient was still sick, but as soon as the medicine passed his lips and entered his body the patient began to get well. So it is with our reconciliation and justification. As soon as we truly believe, that very instant we start to get better; the process of becoming pure and holy is underway and its future completion is certain.
He is eternal God … and in Our lives He deserves to have the preeminence.
Is Jesus Christ preeminent in your life?
He is the Fullness!” Colossians 2:9 says it even more explicitly: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” “Fullness” means that the totality of divine power and attributes is in Christ. “The whole fullness—the full fullness”—Jesus Christ is the “exhaustion of God.” Moreover, the fullness is said to “live in him.” It is not temporary. It was, and is, there to stay.
Remaining Firm and Established in the Faith. Paul addresses the past, present, and future for believers: their former plight (“once,” v. 21), their rescue (“now,” v. 22), and their responsibility to guard their future hope (“if,” v. 23). All creation still awaits the consummation when it will be drawn into complete harmony with the Father. If believers are to be presented as holy, blameless, and above reproach, they must continue to be stable and steadfast in the faith.
1:21 alienated … enemies. The Gr. term for “alienated” means “estranged,” “cut off,” or “separated.” Before they were reconciled, all people were completely estranged from God (cf. Eph. 2:12, 13). The Gr. word for “enemies” can also be translated “hateful.” Unbelievers hate God and resent His holy standard because they love “wicked works” (cf. John 3:19, 20; 15:18, 24, 25). Actually, there is alienation from both sides, since God “hates all workers of iniquity” (Ps. 5:5). reconciled. See note on v. 20.
1:23 continue in the faith. Cf. Acts 11:23; 14:22. Those who have been reconciled will persevere in faith and obedience because, in addition to being declared righteous, they are actually made new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17) with a new disposition that loves God, hates sin, desires obedience, and is energized by the indwelling Holy Spirit (cf. John 8:30–32; 1 John 2:19). Rather than defect from the gospel they heard, true believers will remain solid on Christ who is the only foundation (1 Cor. 3:11), and faithful by the enabling grace of God (Phil. 1:6; 2:11–13). For discussion on perseverance of the saints, see note on Matt. 24:13. preached to every creature. Cf. Mark 16:15. The gospel has no racial boundaries. Having reached Rome, where Paul was when he wrote Colossians, it had reached the center of the known world.
This conclusion also contains a warning. If believers are to be holy, without blemish, and free from accusation in the future, they must remain steadfast in the faith in the present. They cannot take their new status for granted, be nonchalant about its responsibilities, or be fooled into thinking that other avenues to God exist. Christ alone offers the solution to human alienation in the world.
Humans have worshiped false gods and have become enslaved to sin so that the ways of the true God seem alien. Being “enemies in your minds” (cf. Rom. 5:10; 8:17) does not limit the hostility only to the intellectual aspect of our lives. When we are out of relationship with God, it mars our entire life. Thoughts and behavior are intertwined. Chronic sinful behavior twists the mind so that it becomes even more at enmity with God, and the twisted mind hurtles us into ever greater depravity. The depraved mind then commends evil behavior as good or natural or as an alternative lifestyle. It produces and condones fear and suspicion of others and an urge to hurt and destroy them. Those who become enemies of God become Sin’s lackeys, and Sin inflicts only ruin on them as their lives spiral out of control.
We exult because we know that we do not live in a God-indifferent world. We also exult because we know that we have nothing to fear. God is with us through Christ, and God will deliver us in Christ. We need to cultivate more the spirit of praise we see in the psalmists (Ps. 8; 19; 33; 104) and in the New Testament’s poetic praise that glorifies Christ.
Paul insists that “life will ultimately work only one way—God’s way made manifest in the humanity of Jesus once and for all.” If we ignore that way or spurn it, we will face the same fate as the builders of the tower of Babel, who exalted themselves over their Creator. The only way we can ever make sense of life and find our own way in it is to recognize that Christ is the converging point of the transcendent God’s activity in the arena of human history. He is the interpretive key for understanding the meaning of creation, the purpose of life, and its goal (John 14:6).
The hymn affirms that all things “hold together” in Christ, and this fact justifies our own attempts to bring order to the lives of individuals and to society as a whole. The hymn affirms that God will reconcile all things through Christ, and this fact blesses all our efforts to bring reconciliation to others. We identify ourselves with what God is doing in the world through Christ when we seek to become peacemakers. The hymn affirms that good will triumph over evil. When we give our lives to Christ, no matter what the cost, we know that we will triumph with him.
On April 15, 1912, the White Star Liner Titanic raised her stern high above the frigid waters of the North Atlantic and began a slow, seemingly calibrated descent as her lighted portholes and towering stern slid silently toward the ocean floor. That famous night saw the extremes of human behavior—from abysmal cowardice to the terrible beauties of sacrificial love. But with the Titanic gone and her lifeboats spread upon the icy waters among the crying, drowning swimmers, the story was almost totally devoted to self-serving cowardice, for of the 1,600 people who were not able to get into the lifeboats, only thirteen were picked up by the eighteen half-empty boats that hovered nearby.
In Boat No. 5, when Third Officer Pitman heard the anguished cries, he turned the boat around and shouted, “Now, men, we will pull toward the wreck!” But the passengers protested, “Why should we lose all our lives in a useless attempt to save others from the ship?” Pitman gave in. And for the next hour No. 5, with forty people on board and a capacity of sixty-five, heaved gently on the calm Atlantic, while the forty listened to the fading cries of swimmers 300 yards away. The story was much the same on the other boats. In No. 2, Fourth Officer Boxhall asked the ladies, “Shall we go back?” They said no, so Boat No. 2, about 60 percent full, likewise drifted while her people callously listened. On Boat No. 6, the situation was reversed as the women begged Quartermaster Hitchens to return, but he refused, painting a vivid picture of the drowning overturning the boat. The women pleaded as the cries grew fewer. Of the eighteen boats, only one boat, No. 14, returned to help—and this was an hour after the Titanic’s sinking, when the thrashing crowd had “thinned out.”
The purpose of the resurrection is stated here as “so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” In light of this context, the word “everything” must be understood as the creation, over which Jesus reigns as king, and the order of redemption, over which he reigns as head. He is the central figure, therefore, in both domains. Just as creation depends on him for its existence and order, redemption depends on him, and he is the primary figure in it. Jesus is both a model and an integration of the two realms. The integration occurs because of Jesus’ central place in creation and redemption. He ties the two together in his person. The model is that he embodied both the old order, in a physical body, and the new order, in a resurrection existence. Both dimensions owe their existence to him, the preeminent one.
In contrast to this more technical usage is a nontechnical definition. The term may express simply “totality.” As modified in 2:9, the term means “the full measure of deity,” and 1:19 must bear the same sense. Therefore, it expresses that Jesus was completely God. Everything that God is, Jesus is. As the following section reveals, however, God is more than Jesus. God includes the Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus is only one aspect of God, but he is every bit God. Paul could easily state that God and Jesus are in some sense different, while at the same time stating that they share the same essence.
Paul addressed the responsibility of the Colossians in the interval between reconciliation and Christ’s return. He stated, “If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (v. 23). His words, “if you continue,” are significant. They are part of a first-class conditional sentence in Greek. Some have suggested that the construction implies an element of doubt.125 However, there is no doubt about the outcome of the condition. Paul fully expected them to continue in the faith.
Two factors support Paul’s optimism in this context, one grammatical and the other theological. The grammatical element is the force of the first-class condition. The first-class condition presents a logical relationship which should best be translated “assuming that (the protasis) is true, then (the apodosis).” This passage should be translated “assuming that you continue.…” The theological matter concerns the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Paul taught that those who know the truth will continue in the truth. They will not fall away. Indeed, the personal commitments made at conversion naturally produce a positive, lifelong commitment to Jesus. P. O’Brien correctly states, “If it is true that the saints will persevere to the end, then it is equally true that the saints must persevere to the end.”
Apallotrioō (alienated) means “estranged,” “cut off,” or “separated.” Before their reconciliation, the Colossians were completely estranged from God. In a similar passage, Paul writes, “You were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:12–13). Non-Christians are detached from God because of sin; there is no such thing as an “innocent heathen.” All unbelievers suffer separation from God unless they receive the reconciliation provided in Jesus Christ.
The question arises as to whether man is reconciled to God, or God to man. There is a sense in which both occur. Since “the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God” (Rom. 8:7), and “those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8), reconciliation cannot take place until man is transformed. “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17–18).
There is also God’s side to reconciliation. From His holy perspective, His just wrath against sin must be appeased. Far from being the harmless, tolerant grandfather that many today imagine Him to be, God “takes vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies” (Nah. 1:2). “At His wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure His indignation” (Jer. 10:10). The one who refuses to obey the Son will find that “the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). Because of their sin, “the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6). Man and God could never be reconciled unless God’s wrath was appeased. The provision for that took place through Christ’s sacrifice. “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom. 5:9).
It is “Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). He bore the full fury of God’s wrath against our sins (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24). After all, “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9).
Holy (hagios) means to be separated from sin and set apart to God. It has to do with the believer’s relationship with Him. As a result of a faith union with Jesus Christ, God sees Christians as holy as His Son. God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph. 1:4). “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Blameless (amōmos) means without blemish. It was used in the Septuagint to speak of sacrificial animals (Num. 6:14). It is used in the New Testament to refer to Christ as the spotless Lamb of God (Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19). In reference to ourselves, reconciliation gives us a blameless character.
Beyond reproach (anegklētos) goes beyond blameless. It means not only that we are without blemish, but also that no one can bring a charge against us (cf. Rom. 8:33). Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10), cannot make a charge stick against those whom Christ has reconciled.
Christ’s reconciliation makes believers holy, blameless, and beyond reproach before Him.
God sees us now as we will be in heaven when we are glorified. He views us clothed with the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. The process of spiritual growth involves becoming in practice what we are in reality before God. We “have put on the new self” and that new self “is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Col. 3:10). The Christian life involves “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord [which covers us before God, and] being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).
Of all the marks of a genuine Christian presented in Scripture, none is more significant than the one Paul mentions here. People give evidence of being truly reconciled when they continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast. The Bible repeatedly testifies that those who are truly reconciled will continue in the faith. In the parable of the soils, Jesus described those represented by the rocky soil as “ ‘those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away’ ” (Luke 8:13). By falling away they gave evidence that they were never truly saved. In John 8:31, “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.’ ” Speaking of apostates, the apostle John writes in 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.”
God sends His people forth as ambassadors into a fallen, lost world, bearing unbelievably good news. People everywhere are hopelessly lost and doomed, cut off from God by sin. But God has provided the means of reconciliation through the death of His Son. Our mission is to plead with people to receive that reconciliation, before it is too late. Paul’s attitude, expressed in verse 20, should mark every Christian: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”