Colossians 1(15–23)

Introduction

Yvonne and I have finished watched ‘The West Wing’ for the third time. It’s a great drama which is set in the White House and it’s about President Bartlett and the people he works with to govern the USA. And from time to time, President Bartlett and his staff reflect on what they have achieved. And this is especially the case near the end of the programme which coincides with the end of his second term in office. So, what did they achieve? Did they accomplish anything good in the eight years he was in office? In the beginning, they had all kinds of hopes and expectations and dreams about what they could accomplish and how they could make the United States a better place for all its citizens. But, of course, many of their plans were frustrated. And the President and his team fell short of achieving what they hoped to achieve. Instead of spending all their time and energy on changing the country for the better, they were forced to deal with one emergency after another. So, what did they achieve at the end of eight years? Near the end, the President’s wife tried to reassure her husband that he had done a lot of good. But you get the impression that he’s not too sure about it. Yes, he was able to do some good, but not enough. And I’m sure that real politicians and leaders feel the same way. They start off with lots of hopes and dreams and big plans, but they never accomplish all that they wanted to do; and no doubt, when they step down, there’s a feeling of disappointment.

And then, it was the anniversary of the Queen’s death on Friday. She was the longest reigning monarch, reigning for 70 years. And I’m sure that she saw lots of changes in those 70 years. Many of those changes were for the better, but many others were for the worse. Life in the United Kingdom has improved in many ways, but it has also declined in many ways. When the Queen came to the throne, she may have been hopeful about what progress could be made. But what did she think as she reached the end of her life and looked back on her years on the throne? No doubt there was sadness because of all the things that had not improved, but had worsened.

And that’s always the case, isn’t it? Our life on earth is a mixture of progress and decline. We have lots of resources available to us to improve things. And so, we optimistically look forward to a better future. But everywhere we look, we’re confronted with our sin and misery.

If only people were better, then the world would be a better place. If only people were more patient and less selfish and more thoughtful and more understanding and more considerate and kinder and more loving, then the world would be a better and happier place. But we’re not like that; and so the world is full of misery.

And so, people turn to religion, don’t they? They seek help from above to overcome our sin and misery. However, instead of seeking help from the one true and living God, people by nature flee from God to false gods. As the Apostle Paul puts it in Romans 1, we suppress or, we might even say, we repress the truth about God. Because we’re sinners, the truth about God is unacceptable to us. We can’t stand it. We can’t bear it. And so, we bury the truth about God deep down inside the darkest part of our mind, even though the truth about God is clearly revealed in the whole world in the things God has made. And instead of worshipping the one true and living God, we sinfully substitute other things for God. So, we were made to worship God; but instead of worshipping him, we worship other things, created things. And we rely on those created things to make us happy, when true and lasting happiness is found in being reconciled to God, who is the source of all that is good. And our sinful hearts create all kinds of other religions and myths to replace the true religion and the true God.

And the reason I’m saying all of this is because that’s what was happening in Colosse. These false teachers had come along and had introduced a new religion, which, I’ve said before, was a kind of Jewish mysticism. It was an amalgamation of different ideas drawn from Judaism and from paganism. Paul refers to their hollow and deceptive philosophy. He says it depended on human tradition and on the basic principles, or the elemental spiritual forces, of this world. He refers to their holy days and special diets and to circumcision. He mentions how they worshipped angels. And he refers to their visions and to their pride. And he says that what they believe does not depend on Christ; and that they have lost connection with the Head. That is, they have lost connection with the Lord Jesus Christ.

At least one commentator (Arnold) suggests that the false teachers were advocating these things in order to ward off evil. So, they believed that much of the misery in life is caused by evil spirits. And so, here’s a way to protect yourself from those evil spirits. Another commentator (Beale) suggests that the false teachers were promoting these things as a way for the people to gain access to God’s heavenly temple. So, they were teaching a kind of higher life. Do you want communion with God in heaven? Do you want to gain access to the heavenly temple? Well, follow our directions in order to reach a higher life.

We’ll say more about what the false teachers believed when we come to chapter 2. But for now we should see what Paul is doing. He’s making clear to his readers the glory of Christ. Christ is supreme in every way and he has done everything necessary to reconcile God and sinners and to present us holy in God’s sight and without blemish and free from accusation. He’s the one to trust in order to be delivered from our sin and misery.

And so, if we’re ever tempted to turn away from Christ and to turn to other faiths or philosophies, we should remember and believe that Christ is supreme in every way and there is no other Saviour of the world. And so, we should trust in him and in him alone; and we should continue in the faith, because salvation is found in him and in him alone.

Verses 3 to 14

In the verses leading up to today’s passage, Paul wrote about how he always gave thanks to God for the members of the church in Colosse. Paul had never been there, but he’d heard about their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for their fellow believers and their hope of eternal life in the presence of God, which they heard about in the gospel message which Epaphras proclaimed to them. And Paul was writing to say to them that he always thanked God for them.

And then he went on to say that he kept praying for them, asking God to fill them with a knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that they would please God in every way. And that means bearing fruit in every good work or filling our life with good deeds. And it also means increasing in our knowledge of God. And it means being strengthened in order to put up with suffering. And it also means giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to inherit eternal life. Everyday we ought to give thanks to him for rescuing us from the dominion of darkness and for bringing us into the kingdom of his Son. And in the Son, we have redemption, which means we’re delivered from our sin and misery and from the tyranny of the Devil, and we receive the assurance of sins forgiven and the hope of everlasting life.

I didn’t mention this last week, but the false teachers were giving the people all kinds of rules about what they should and shouldn’t do and what they should and shouldn’t eat and what they should and shouldn’t touch. All these rules which they had to follow in order to have a higher life. But Paul was making clear to them and to us that none of those rules will do us any good; and what we need instead is wisdom and understanding which comes from the Spirit of God in order to know God’s will as revealed in the Scriptures. That’s how we learn how to please God.

And having mentioned the Son in verse 14, Paul goes on to speak about the Son’s supremacy in verses 15 to 23.

Outline

These verses can be divided into two main parts with a hinge in the middle. First of all, in verses 15 to the first part of verse 17, Paul shows us that the Lord Jesus is supreme over creation. And then in verse 18 he shows us that the Lord Jesus is supreme over the new creation. He’s supreme over the old creation which began when God created the heavens and the earth and all that they contain in the beginning; and he’s supreme over the new creation which began when Christ was raised from the dead and which will be consummated when he comes again. In both the old and the new creation, Christ has the supremacy.

And then there’s the hinge in the second part of verse 17 where Paul writes that in him all things hold together. So, all things — the old creation and the new creation — hold together in him, because he’s supreme over all and he’s Lord of all. He’s Lord of creation and he’s Lord of the new creation. And then in verses 19 to 23 Paul goes on to write about how we’re reconciled to God through Christ.

Verses 15–17

So, in verse 15 we’re told that he’s the image of the invisible God. When we see a boy who looks like his father, we say he’s the image of his father. We say that because they look alike. But Paul doesn’t mean that God the Son looks like God the Father. Instead he’s conveying to us the idea that the Father and the Son are alike in terms of their nature. They are not different from one another, but they are the same as one another. As the writer to the Hebrews puts it, the Son is the exact representation or imprint of God the Father’s being. Just as there’s an exact correspondence between an ink stamp and the mark it leaves on the page, so there’s an exact correspondence between the Father and the Son. The Son is not different from the Father, but he’s a repetition of the Father. And so, when we put our faith in Christ, we’re not putting our faith in a lesser being than God; we’re putting our faith in God, because the Lord Jesus Christ is God. And, of course, this also means that the Son is not part of the creation. He’s not part of the creation, because he’s God who is above and beyond creation.

And Paul goes on to say that the Son is firstborn over all creation. Now, we need to be careful here and state what Paul is not saying here. He’s not saying that the Son was the first thing to be created. He’s not saying he was the first to be created. That’s what people have sometimes thought Paul was saying. And throughout the history of the church, there have been people who have used this verse to argue that the Son is not equal to the Father. Jehovah’s Witnesses will use this verse to argue that.

But they’ve got it wrong. They haven’t understood what the word ‘firstborn’ means in the Bible. In fact, they haven’t understood what Paul says here at all, because he’s about to go on and say that all things were created by him. And if all things were created by him, then he can’t be part of the creation. So, they haven’t understood what Paul says here and they haven’t understood what the word ‘firstborn’ means in the Bible. In the Bible, the firstborn son was not only the first son to be born, but he also possessed certain rights and privileges, because the firstborn was special and unique and supreme. For instance, the firstborn son received a double-share, or even all of the father’s inheritance. And he possessed other rights as well. That’s why it was such a shameful and foolish thing for Esau to do when he sold his birthright to his younger brother, Jacob. He was prepared to exchange his special status and all the rights and privileges of being the firstborn for a bowl of stew. It was a shameful thing to do, to give up his special status as the firstborn. And then, in Exodus 4, the Lord referred to the Israelites as his ‘firstborn son’. Now, he wasn’t saying that they were the first nation to be born. Instead he was saying that they were his special people: the only nation he had chosen to be his own. So, in the Bible, the word ‘firstborn’ conveys the idea that someone possesses a special status and a dignity and a uniqueness and a supremacy. And that’s the way Paul is using the word now. The Son is the firstborn over all creation in the sense that he is supreme over all creation.

And then it’s also possible that Paul is using the word ‘firstborn’ here to convey to us the idea that the Son will inherit all creation. You know, just as the firstborn son inherited a double-portion or even all of the father’s property, so God the Son receives all of creation. And that interpretation is possible, because in verse 16 Paul goes on to say that all things were created by him and for him. And Paul makes clear that he’s talking about all of creation, because he mentions things in heaven and things on earth; visible things and invisible things; thrones and powers and rulers and authorities. Whatever exists, exists because of him; and they exist for him. Think of when God created Adam and he placed him in the Garden of Eden and said to him: ‘This garden and all it contains is for you to rule over and enjoy.’ Well, after he created all things in the beginning, God the Father said to his Son: ‘This universe and all it contains is for you to rule over and enjoy.’

So, think of the background to this letter. Think of the false teachers who claimed to have special knowledge of spiritual powers and authorities and angels and how they could be conquered and kept at bay. Or think of the people today who go to these spiritist fairs where they can buy all kings of books about spirituality and the spiritual world and the stars and angelic beings. There are people today who claim to have special knowledge of these things and they can tell you the secret of how to tap into these powers. But Paul is writing in his letter and he’s saying to his original readers and he’s saying to us: whatever spiritual powers exist, and whatever human powers exist, they were all created by the Son of God. And he rules over them all. So, if Jesus Christ is your Saviour, don’t worry about these so-called powers, because they’re nothing compared to him.

And then in verse 17a, Paul adds that the Son is before all things. And Paul is referring to the Lord’s pre-existence and to how he existed before everything else. And he existed before everything else, because he’s the Eternal Son of God, without beginning and without end.

People come along and claim to possess some ancient wisdom or ancient knowledge which no one has ever known before. And they want us to listen to them. However, you’ll never come across any kind of wisdom or knowledge that pre-dates the Son of God, because the Son of God is before all things. So, why would we ever turn away from him and go and seek wisdom and knowledge from someone else, because in Jesus Christ we have all we need for everlasting life.

So, Paul makes clear that the Son of God is supreme over creation. Unlike anything else in all creation, he alone is the image of the Father so that he and the Father are exactly alike. He’s also the firstborn over all creation, which means he has this special, exalted status over creation. And all things were created by him and for him, so that whatever exists is for him and he rules over it all. And then he is before all things, pre-existing everything else.

And did you notice the way Paul repeats the word ‘all’? Firstborn over all creation. By him all things were created. He is before all things. There is nothing that is not under his supremacy and his authority. And so, we ought to bow before him and worship him, because there is none like him.

Verse 18

However, Paul is not finished. In verse 18 he tells us the Son is supreme over the new creation. And he begins by telling his readers that the Son is the head of the body. And by ‘the body’ he means ‘the church’. And the church, of course, comprises all those who, through faith in Jesus Christ, have begun a new life and who are being renewed inwardly day after day by his Spirit. And so, the members of the church are already part of God’s new or renewed creation; and God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is its head. So, he’s the one who rules over the church; and he’s the one who is in charge and who controls and directs the church. So, once again, Paul is referring to the Lord’s supremacy, because he’s not a member of church; instead he’s the head of the church. He’s got this unique role and responsibility in the church.

And Paul goes on to say that the Son is ‘the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead.’ When Paul says he’s the beginning, he perhaps means he started the new creation. That is, he founded it. We talk about someone being the founder of a company, because they started it, and without their energy and ability and vision, and drive, it would never have existed. They were there at the beginning and made the company what it is. And the Son of God is the beginning of the new creation in the sense that he founded it; and without him, and without his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension to heaven — from where he poured out his Spirit upon his people to renew us — there would be no new creation.

So, he’s the beginning of this new creation. And, according to Paul, he’s also ‘the firstborn from among the dead’. There are two things to notice here. Firstly, we need to remember that the word ‘firstborn’ conveys the idea of a special status, and a uniqueness and a supremacy. But then secondly, when Paul says that he’s the firstborn from among the dead, he’s teaching us that, while Christ was the first to rise from the dead, there will be more to follow. The Son of God was the first to rise from the dead. So, he has this unique and special and supreme status. But he won’t be the last.

The false teachers in Colosse were teaching the believers about these spiritual powers and authorities. And they were saying that the secret to the higher life and to worship in the heavenly temple lies in following all their rules. And still today, people are taught to believe in all kinds of spiritual powers and angelic beings, and they’re taught that there are all kinds of things we need to know and to do in order to tap into their power. But here’s Paul, reminding us of the supremacy of the Son and how our life in the future is safe and secure in his hands, because he’s already laid the foundation of the new creation, because he himself is the founder of it. And all who are united through faith with the Risen Son already possess in this life the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. So, since he has the supremacy in everything, in everything, why would we ever turn to lesser beings and to lesser authorities, when we are united through faith to the one who is supreme over all?

Verses 19 to 23

In verse 19, we read that God the Father was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son. This again speaks to us of his supremacy and his glory. He’s not part of the creation, because he is truly God and therefore he’s above and beyond the creation. And it also means that the Son is the person we ought to turn to and to believe in if we want to find God. Someone wants to know how they can find God. One person says: Over here in this religion. Another person says: Over here in what I believe. Another person says: By doing this. But in the Bible we learn that we find God by trusting in his Son. And through faith in his Son, sinners are reconciled to God the Father, because the Son made peace between God and sinners by his blood, shed on the cross.

Isn’t that interesting? When a husband offends his wife, it’s up to the husband to do something in order to make up for what he’s done wrong. The one who has done wrong has to do something to make things right. But in the gospel we discover that it is God — the one we have offended — who has done everything necessary to make peace between us. And he’s made peace between us by his Son.

Once were were alienated from God, Paul says in verse 21. Once we were his enemies. But now we’ve been reconciled to God through his Son’s death. And through him, we’ll one day come before God, and we’ll be presented to him, holy in his sight, without moral blemish and free from all accusation, because all our sins have been paid for by Christ and they’ve been covered over by his precious blood. The words ‘holy’ and ‘without blemish’ and ‘free from accusation’ or ‘blameless’ recall the Old Testament sacrificial system. Only offerings which were holy and spotless and blameless could be offered to God. And Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross was all of those things, because he is holy and spotless and blameless. So, his sacrifice of himself was the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice which was necessary to make up for all that we have done wrong. And because he gave up his life as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, then we will come one day into God’s heavenly temple and there we too will be holy and spotless and blameless.

Conclusion

And so, what should we do? Look at verse 23. We should continue in the faith. The believers in Colosse were being tempted to turn away from Christ and to pay attention to the things the false teachers were saying. And so, Paul reminded them of the glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He’s the image of God. Firstborn over all creation. All things were created by him and for him. He pre-existed all things. And he’s the head of the church and the founder of the new creation and the firstborn from the dead. And he is fully God. And in him we’re reconciled to God, because he’s the one who died for sinners. There is none like him. And so we’re to continue in the faith, trusting in Christ and in him alone. And we’re to give thanks to God for him. And we’re to live a life worthy of him and which pleases God in every way.