ColossiansSample

Just after Paul welcomes the church of Colosse with love and warmth, he drops the real intention of his letter. They had been led astray into believing that Jesus was not God. This is everything to us! Our God stepped down from Heaven to be with us, to die for us, and to be raised to life- saving us from what we were powerless to do on our own.

Paul knew this was important, so here we see his plea to bring them back. “He is the image of the invisible God…”. The word used for “image” here is eikon, which in Greek means likeness as a reflection and manifestation of. If Paul were trying to say Jesus was like God, he would have used the word homoioma. But no, Paul says Jesus is the manifestation of God here on earth!

This passage is so rich. Paul drops the truth that Jesus always was- he was not created. “BY him all things were created..” in verse 16. “He is before all things” in verse 17. What a wonderful, awe-inspiring thought! God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit have always been. And they worked together for creation. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created…”. So God created? But then it says in Colossians 1:17 that BY Jesus, all things were created? How does that make sense? I’ve recently heard it like this: The Father spoke creation, and Jesus formed creation. God inspired, and Jesus completed.

We feel this, too, don’t we? Some creation simply takes your breath away. The stars and constellations. The roaring or peaceful ocean. The pink to cascading orange sunset. The complexity of our body’s function. These things demand attention to a perfect creator.

Paul uses the term “firstborn” to describe Jesus, which traditionally implies that he was created, but that’s not the point Paul is making. Here, the title firstborn gives Jesus all the rights and privileges of God’s creation. It means dominion. It means authority.

1. Get in nature and appreciate the wonder of creation!
2. How should Jesus being God change your relationship with him?