15 Who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him: 17 And
he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might
have the preeminence. 19 For
it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20 And, having made peace through
the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I
say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through
death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith
grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which
ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;
whereof I Paul am made a minister;
(Col 1:15-23)
The
Person of the Lord Jesus Christ
This is one of the clearest and most important passages of Scripture to tell us
WHO Christ is, and how He represents the Father in exact nature, features, and
purpose. Our Lord Jesus Christ was the Son of God from all Eternity past. He
was the Son before there was any other son. He is not simply the first-born in
order of time, but in character and privilege. He is the first-born in time of
all creatures; but He is also the first-born of all who belong to God by way of
His death, burial, and resurrection to life. “Who is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” He is the exact
image of God, and how could it be otherwise, for He is God. He and the Father
bear an exact likeness in every way. This one passage 1) clears up all doubt
about the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and destroys the false prophets
(i.e. Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Universalist, and even ECUSA, etc.) who would
tell us otherwise; 2) It reveals who Christ truly is, and who He is not; 3)
Jesus is first and foremost (Preeminent) among all; and, 4) Jesus is God in the
fullest sense bearing the exact likeness of the Father. The term ‘image’ here
used means ‘eikon’ – Greek. It does not simply mean “looks like” but is
alike in every detail. Jesus Christ perfectly represented the Father in every
respect. He is Emmanuel, or God With US!
The Advent of Jesus Christ denies the claims of the false teachers and reveals
their deceptions. It destroys the claim that God is withdrawn and not a party
to the sufferings of man. Jesus came and dwelt among us, and finally gave His
life for us. That truth demonstrates that God cares for us – more, even,
than we care for ourselves. See what great meaning God packs into just a single
clause of His Holy Word. This is additional evidence that the Bible is
literally the Word of God for no man has ever been able to achieve its literary
perfection, beauty, and majesty of expression. Consider all that Jesus has
shown us of the Everlasting Father:
1.
The fact He descended to earth from His Father
demonstrates He is the Supreme Person able to accomplish our salvation. “And
the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:14) No other is full of grace and truth; no other is glorious; no other
comes from the Glorious Kingdom, but Christ.
2.
The fact that Jesus came down to us and
became our Emmanuel shows that He is always near and not far away. His life and
sacrifice demonstrates God’s great love for us – even considering us to be His
friends: “Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” (John
15:13-14)
3.
The fact that
Jesus proclaimed, always, salvation to His chosen, proves that God is a Savior.
4.
The fact that
Jesus pronounced judgment upon evil, and warned men of the destruction that it
brings, shows that God is just.
“For
by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
When we ask a child who it was that created the world, they will correctly
respond, “God!” That is true, but the Executive Power of Creation was the Lord
Jesus Christ. He created all things. “All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3) So in the Elohim of Genesis 1:1, we see the name of God
(Elohim) used as a singular-plural, a term that we lack in the English
language. The perfect singular would be Eloah. It means “more-than-one-in-one.”
God the Father presided over Creation. God the Son executed the works thereof,
and the Holy Spirit gave expression to Creative Mind of God. “1 In the beginning God (Elohim) created
the heaven and the earth. 2 And
the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:1-2)
One point we may miss, unless we are
careful in our textual analysis, is the fact that Christ created the Angels as
well – spiritual beings as well as physical. Science that attempts to
construct, through fantasies, hypotheses, and theory, the means by which
the earth came into being makes them professors of science, falsely so-called. “.
. . avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science
falsely so called: 21 Which
some professing have erred concerning the faith.” (1 Tim 6:20-21) We either believe God, who designs
and gives life to the gnat as well as the elephant; or we believe the folly of
false men of science who cannot even create a living amoeba!
“17 And he is before all
things, and by him all things consist.” He is before all things in Preeminence but not
chronologically speaking for Christ is apart and beyond the Space-Time
Continuum beyond whose limits men cannot see – scientist or otherwise. Not only
did our Lord make all things, all things consist, moment-by-moment, by the
power of His Word. Your life is just as surely in His grasp, and more so, than
the great galactic masses at the limits of our man-made telescopes. Surely we
would consider our consciences more astutely if we believed the very biblical
sermon of the great Jonathan Edwards in which he tells us that the sinner is
kept above the flames in “the hands of an angry God.” Would we so readily
offend the Great Sovereign of the Universe if we were aware that only His hand
holds us from the flames of Hell?
A decapitated body cannot live; in fact, it is already dead if the head does
not rule its life-forces. “18 And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things
he might have the preeminence.” Just as Adam was the first
born of the flesh, so is Christ the First-Born of all who live. He is the HEAD
of the Church. What part of the body makes decisions, executes judgments,
exercise moral responsibility? Is it the foot, the hand, the stomach, the lungs?
No! It is the Head. The Christian surrenders his so-called free will which was
in bondage to Satan for the perfect will of Christ. He becomes a part of the
Living body of Christ (Church) which, if it is legitimate, will only act with
the Will of its Head – Jesus Christ. Christ is not only Preeminent in Heaven,
on earth, and in the remote stretches of the Universe, but in the heart and
mind of those who profess Him with a sincere profession.
“19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness
dwell.” This fullness represents a completed essence. Decreed in
the Counsel of Heaven before the Suns were made, Jesus Christ would be the
Savior. Once the decree was issued, the thing was as good as done. Once God
speaks, the matter is settled even before its time. That fullness which dwells
in the resurrected Christ is the finished purpose of His sacrificial death,
burial and resurrection for us. It is the perfection of all things that conveys
to Christ the nature of the Preeminent One. He is the central figure of the
Holy Trinity. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who bled and died for our sins, and,
so, the Holy Ghost does not speak of Himself, but points always to the
resurrected Christ.
“20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him
to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in
earth, or things in heaven.” Since the wages of sin is
death, and all have sinned, (Rom 3:23 & 6:23) the justice of God demands
that the sentence be executed. In His grace, God sent His Son to die in our
stead on the cross where we should have rightly suffered as payment for the
sins of all who received that grace.
“21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of
his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable
in his sight:” “Enemies in your minds” means
that we retained that will of ours to sin that we inherited from Adam; but when
we come to Christ, we put on that Mind that was in Him – His Will! There is no
human being on this earth that is, of his own goodness, unblameable and
unreproveable; but Jesus paid the price for our redemption with His blood at
Calvary. If we are His people and have accepted that sacrifice through hot
tears of repentance, then we shall have the IMPUTED righteousness of Christ as
our banner before God on the last day.
The stipulation to owning that IMPUTED righteousness is given here: “23 If
ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every
creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.”
I do not believe the Lord loses out of His hand any soul that truly comes to
Him; but the false professors who mimic so convincingly, the nature and
characteristics of the Christian shall not stand at the Judgment Seat of God.
By the way, if we have heard and believed, we also have an obligation to give testimony
of that Gospel. Blind Bartimaeus could not be silenced any more than the blind
young man whose sight was restored. If you have received your sight and vision
of the Lord, how dare you remain silent in the face of such a glorious Gospel!
