5. Your Testimony – Jesus Bids Us Shine (3)

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Hymns: RHC 56 Jesus! The Very Thought of Thee 80 The Day Thou Gavest 87 I Know Whom I Have Believed

Colossians 1:15-23

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; 

Jesus Bids Us Shine (3)

OUTLINE

In Your Testimony – Jesus Bids Us Shine (Col. 1:9-23)

  • Glowing For Jesus (v9-14)
    • In Knowledge (v9 cf. 15-23)
    • In Fruitfulness (v10)
    • In Testimony (v11)
    • In Gratitude (v12-14)
  • Grounded in Him (v15-23)
    • He is God (v15)
    • He is Creator (v16-17)
    • He is the Head of the Church – The Pre-eminence (v18)
    • He is Saviour (v19-22)
    • He is the Good News (v23)

Continue…

  • Grounded In Him (v15-23)
    • He is God (v15)

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Jesus is image of the invisible God. Jesus is God. 

John 1:18 (KJV) No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John 14:9 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

John 15:24 (KJV) If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (KJV) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

2 Corinthians 4:6 (KJV) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to givethe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:6 (KJV) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Hebrews 1:3 (KJV) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

The author of Hebrews strengthens with yet another truth to proof the Deity of the Son in describing the superiority of the Son. This writer proposed that “and” is in the ascensive use expressing a final or point of focus and translated by “even”[1] Colossians 1:15 “[Christ] is the image of the invisible God.” 

The word “image” means a precise copy or a reproduction or exact image. Cleon aptly illustrated rendering as impression, stamp, referring to an engraved character or impress made by a die or a seal indicated as exact reproduction.[2] The Son is the exact representation of God the Father. Colossians 1:19 further in Christ “should all fulness dwell.” 

The Son is the outshining of God’s glory because He is the exact representation of the God the Father. Friberg rendered as God’s essence. It is used twice only in the New Testament, Hebrews 1:3 and Hebrews 3:14. Jesus testified He is the exact representation of the Father in John 14:7, “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (KJV) A characteristic of the glory of the Son is that it is “full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

 Matthew Henry gave an apt description of the Son in His glory on earth  

Although He was in the form of a servant, as to outward circumstances, yet, in respect of graces, His form was like the Son of God His Divine glory appeared in the holiness of His doctrine, and in His miracles. He was full of grace, fully acceptable to His Father, therefore qualified to plead for us; and full of truth, fully aware of the things He was to reveal.

Mac Arthur applied to believers today when he commented 

Christ was not only God manifest but also God in essence. Christ is God, yet He is distinct in His own person. In spite of that, men continue to reject Him. They continue to remain blind, never knowing God, and being forever separated from God and all that is good and gracious.[3]

Christ’s Ineffable Glory – Who being the brightness of his glory, indeed the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact represention of His Being.

Jesus proves His deity is His ineffable or unspeakable or unutterable glory. The ineffable glories of the Deity of the Son so clearly taught here. 

Understood together means “an effulgence or to shine with splendour or brightness”[4] translated “the glory”. The Son is superior to the prophets in that “He is the outshining of God’s glory”. 

The shekinah glory of the God is displayed in His Son to prove His Deity in the account that was clearly recorded in Matthew’s gospel witnessed by Peter, James and John in Jesus’ transfiguration in Matthew 17:2 “And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” (KJV) Truly, this is a description of the Deity of the Son. Jesus is truly God. 

Christ’s supremacy in eternity is boldly proclaimed as Paul says he is the “image”
of the invisible God. He is supreme! Jesus is no second-rate emanation from the true God. He is God. This not only tells us about Christ —it also tells us about ourselves, because as Jesus is the image of God, He is what we were meant to be in terms of character: we were created in His image (Genesis 1:26, 27). Jesus is supreme in eternity, and we ought to give Him first-place in our lives. As “image” emphasizes Christ’s relationship to the Father, “the firstborn over all creation” introduces His relationship to creation. Here also He is supreme. [R. Kent Hughs, Colossians and Philemon – The Supremacy of Christ]

  • He is Creator (v16-17)

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.

Jesus is the Creator. 

John 1:3 (KJV) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

1 Corinthians 8:6 (KJV) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Ephesians 3:9 (KJV) And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 1:2 (KJV) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

The first quality for the proof of the Deity of the Son is that He is heir of the universe. No man can claim such glory except God Himself. Jesus Christ is the “heir” or of the universe.

Buchanan gave an appropriate illustration for the origin of the word “heir” when he observed

The word is derived from the term “lot’ and referred to a situation in which lots were drawn to divide property or select a winner; the one who drew the lot was the heir. The word came to be used for dividing the property that a father left to his children when he died. Only one Son meant only one heir.[5]

Therefore, the contrast can be observed that whereas the former revelations were given through a definite class, the prophets, the new revelation is given through one who is a son as distinguished from a prophet.[6]

God has appointed Christ to be the heir of all things.

The word “heir” is first used three times in the gospels (Matthew 21:38, Mark 12:7, Luke 20:14) from the parable of the husbandman whose son was the heir who will inherit the vineyard, God is the husbandman and Christ, God’s Son is the heir to inherit the vineyard. 

In Romans 4:13, 14 and Hebrews 11:7, Abraham was singled out by the Apostle Paul as the heir of the world through the righteousness of faith. The word “heir” is further developed in Romans 8:7 and Galatians 3:29 as believers are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Louw and Nida explains “the focus is upon receiving an unearned gift.”

In the biblical sense ‘heirs of God’ are those who will receive the blessings that God has for his people.” Titus 3:7 gave the meaning of heirs for believers as “heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (KJV). 

In James 2:5, believers are “heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him”. In Hebrews 1:2, the context showed that Christ is the appointed heir of God. The word in the genitive shows possession. This uses of the genitive defines, describes, and set limits denoting ownership. All of the material world belongs to the Son. God appointed Christ to be the only heir of all things. An important function of Christ, being heir of all things was highlighted again quoted in Hebrews 2:10 was that He can be the captain of our salvation. 

Christ is Creator of the Universe – by whom also he made the worlds – The second quality of the Son is that He is the Creator of the universe. This is the second statement that proof the Deity of Christ. The preposition is translated “by” because Christ is the agency, more specifically “ablative of agency” meaning someone who causes a thing to happen. The presence of the relative particle in the genitive “whom” can be rendered “By whom”. “And” is rendered “even” as ascensive use to show a climax as the first two relative clauses are compared.[7] Christ is heir of the universe for He made the universe showing that there is a relationship between the two relative clauses. The other uses of “and” mere connective which is hardly the rendering here. The adjunctive use “also” is another possibility to give the meaning that not only is the Son heir but He is also Creator.

“Made” come from the root word which means “do or make”. According to Friberg Analytical Greek Lexicon, the word in the plural is rendered as “a spatial concept, of the creation as having a beginning and moving forward through long but limited time universe, world”[8]

In this context, it means causing the universe to be made. What is the significance of the word “the worlds”? How is in important to the recipients of the letter? Creation belongs to the domain of God. But here it is declared that Christ made the universe or world by His spoken word. It is observed that the Son is extraordinary in that the Son created made the world. The superiority of the Son here is contrasted with the group of prophets. He also spoke as a prophet but He is no ordinary prophet in that His spoken word created the universe. 

The aorist tense of “made” that it is a point in time past that the creation of the universe took place and it is in the third person singular to refer to the Son. And linked to this thought is the earlier relative clause that Christ is heir. Christ is the rightful heir of the universe in that He created it. This explains why the author of Hebrews declared that the Son is only heir of “all things”. All things here included both the physical and the spiritual world because in the creation account, the angels were also created. 

Jesus is the Creator is clearly taught and confirmed by the analogy of scriptures in John 1:3 revealed this truth “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The phrase is therefore translated “By whom he even made the universe”. The message is very clear here to declare that the Son is Creator of the universe. 

Christ is the “Perfect Revelation” of God. Jesus is the Logos-the Word (John 1:1). He is the Message or the Revelation of God. To the question – “What is the meaning of the Word?”- Gresham Machen answered, “The simplest answer is that the term merely designates Jesus as the revealer of God. ‘The word of God’ is a common phrase, referring to divine message which comes either through the Scriptures or through the lips of a prophet or apostle. But God has not only spoken in written or oral language. But God has not only spoken by written or oral language; he has also spoken through a person. That person was Jesus Christ. The Son is God’s final ‘Word’ to men.” (The New Testament: An Introduction to its Literature and History, ed W John Cook [Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1976], 221). John says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten of the Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus as the Logos fully reveals who God is. He is the Perfect Revelation.

 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). [R. Kent Hughs, Colossians and Philemon – The Supremacy of Christ]

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!

Why? Because Christ is Creator. “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him” (v. 16a). Jesus is the agent of creation ex nihilo, from nothing. The extent of His creation is dazzling. It includes even the things in the heavens and the invisible. In fact, it even includes the angels. The Scriptures and Jewish literature reveal that the four descriptions “thrones … powers … dominions or rulers … principalities or authorities” refer to four classes of angelic powers, with the last two referring to the highest orders of the angelic realm. [R. Kent Hughs, Colossians and Philemon – The Supremacy of Christ]

17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

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 by him all things consist or 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 the word of His power” (1:3). 

Christ is Sustainer of the Universe – and upholding all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3).

The next proof of the Deity of the Son is in this next phrase is a description of the Son as Sustainer of the universe or the world, the word “upholding” in the same form is used earlier in John 19:39 comes from the word meaning “carry or bear”. The syntax used in Hebrews 1:2 the Son gave the meaning that Christ is the agent by which the world is made and sustained. Christ by His spoken word sustains all things. “His” confirm that it is the Son that is sustaining all things. Christ is referred to as the Word in John 1:1. Jesus is the Word from God. Logos is used interchangeably with rhema to refer to the spoken Word by Christ. Hebrews 11:3 the world was created by the Word of God. 

To be continued…

[1] Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996, 670.

[2] Cleon L. Rogers, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House,1998), 516.

[3] John MacArthur, The Superiority of Christ, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 36.

[4] Wesley J. Perschbacher, The New Analytical Greek Lexicon, (USA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999), 59, 36. 

[5] Cleon L. Rogers JR. & Cleon L. Rogers, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998), 516. 

[6] Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, (Virginia, MacDonald Publishing Company), 379.

[7] William Douglas Chamberlain, An Exegetical Grammar of the Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), 56-58. 

[8] Friberg Lexicon, [BibleWorks 6.0]