Simple Exposition of Colossians - Part 2

Chapter 1:15-23

Continued from Part 1.

15 He is the image of the invisible God

Eager to destroy the Colossians’ fascination with angels, Paul directs their attention to the exceeding dignity of Christ. Him He calls the “image of the invisible God.” For once God was obscure and not readily approachable, but now His goodness and splendor are wholly manifest in Christ, apart from whom the Father is but vaguely apprehended. It is as if the Son is a kind of picture in miniature of the Father. Paul thus exhibits Christ for perusal, that the Colossians might contemplate in Him the divine majesty, otherwise incomprehensible.

15 (cont’d) the firstborn of all creation.

Paul goes further, hailing Christ as the “firstborn of all creation,” thereby signaling his absolute preeminence, for He proceeds from the Father in an ineffable manner before the ages, as radiance from a wellspring of light, and through Him the Father brings about His handiwork, as through His living and active Wisdom. And now, since the passion, even the humanity of Christ is exalted above all things, immersed in the mystery of the Father, whence the Son proceeds and returns.

16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

All things are by, through, and for Christ, even the angelic powers. Yet Paul does not denigrate the angels, but honors them with noble titles: “thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.” For he is well aware of their high office. But he shows how inferior they are to Christ! Indeed, he introduces an immense gulf between Christ and all things, which are His crafts and subjects. Someone will ask, “Then should we honor angels?” Surely, in moderation, as we honor men of lofty station and great sanctity. Paul’s purpose is not to belittle his fellow citizens of heaven, but to rebuke the false teachers who introduce absurd speculations and enchantments.

17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He heaps praise upon praise, trying to express the magnificence of Christ, the primordial Wisdom of the Father, who orders and unites all things. Thus he checks the false teachers, who cannot possibly offer anything greater than this One.

18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Now Paul situates Christ with respect to the church. Again He is foremost. For Paul likens the church to a body, and he calls Christ its Head, hinting at the intimate bond between Christ and His members, and exalting Him as the source of authority and motion. And he insinuates that the church is the new creation, of which Christ is the beginning and firstborn, for, having risen from the dead in glory, He has sparked the renovation of the world.

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

Literally, “for in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” There is much dispute about the word “fullness” (pleroma), but the controversy is unprofitable. Paul’s aim is to persuade the Colossians that they can find in the Son every divine blessing and heavenly treasure, for He possesses the plenitude of deity from the Father, and displays the same in His holy flesh. He makes God known, and present, in Himself, being true Son of God.

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

On account of sin all things were in tremendous contention with God and one another. The Father put forth Christ as a cure for these breaches and discords, and by His death Christ removed the cause of wrath and estrangement. It was as if the old world perished in Him, and the new was born.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

Paul reminds the Colossians of their former misery, how they were separated from God and opposed to Him inside and out, by thought and act. He wishes to chasten them and make them admire the grace of Christ.

22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,

Christ, he says, concluded the antagonism between God and man, extinguishing the curse of sin by dying in the “body of flesh,” which phrase emphasizes the weakness and corruption of our nature apart from the grace of Christ.

22 (cont’d) in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

He demonstrates the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice by marking the great change it accomplished: before they were alienated, hostile, evil; now they are holy, blameless, above reproach. He proposes for their esteem the work of Christ, which makes them utterly innocent and exceedingly acceptable.

23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

They are enticed by various falsehoods, which threaten to lead them this way and that, without rest. Hence Paul urges persistence in the faith received, and adherence to the hope delivered. For their well-being is located in this word, the gospel, which Paul is charged to announce, and they were privileged to hear, and bound to remember.

To be continued.