Refocus: Humility in Ministry
Christ is the Image of the Invisible God
Colossians 1:15
“He is the image of the Invisible God”
One concept that truly separates Christianity from any other religion across the face of the planet is our perception of Jesus. For instance, there are many religions and cults that hold the view that Christ was a prominent figure in history. There are even religions and cults that deem Christ as being prophetic and powerful in his speaking, and even provoke correction to wrongdoing. Yet, they fail to acknowledge Him as being truly who He is. The church at Colossae exemplifies this.
At Colossae, one of the primary religions that was upheld was that of Gnosticism. Within the realm of Gnosticism is the belief that God is good and matter is evil. Also within this view, they believe that Christ is just one of many emanations that have been sent from God, place Christ on a level with all the other emanations that descended. This, in itself, automatically discredited Christ from being who He truly was, as He was being compared with others that were on His same “level.” It has also been thought that with this belief came the concept that there needed to be a higher and deeper knowledge, beyond Scripture, that was needed for salvation.
This is the reason for the writing of Colossians. It has been thought that Paul had never actually visited the church, but when hearing of this, was prompted by the Spirit to write them. Thus, his reason for writing is two-fold. First, he wanted to make sure to correct this heresy that was being taught; he wanted to put an end to Gnosticism. He did not want to stop there; he wanted to correct the church in right doctrine. Because of this, it is easy to see the theme of the book as “the Supremacies of Christ.” Paul, throughout chapter one will focus on seven different supremacies of Christ in an attempt to define Christ to the Colossians.
In order to fully understand these different characteristics to be presented, it is important to begin reading just a bit earlier in the passage. Verse 13 states “for He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and has transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” The “He” referenced within this passage is referring back to “the Father” mentioned in verse 12. It is also imperative to note that verse 13 shifts focus from speaking of the Father to speaking of the Son, as it states” …and has transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Essentially, everything that will be stated after this point, through the end of the paragraph, will be concentrated upon the Son, Christ.
Now that that Paul has shifted focus, he will begin describing the different supremacies of Christ. He begins in verse 15 with this characteristics; the first of which is stated as “He is the image of the invisible God.” This passage, especially this verse, completely contradicts the theory that the longer you are a believer, the easier the Bible is to read. Essentially, this passage is one that requires much contemplation and meditation in order to find proper meaning and application. It is easy to look at the verse and think “OK, Christ is the image of the invisible God,” and move on. How much is missed if this is the case, though. There are so many passages throughout the Word of God that have a prerequisite for diligence in study as they are not fully understandable upon skimming.
Digging deeper, the word “image” presented in verse 15 suggests that Christ is the very likeness of God. Not only is He just God’s Son, He is the exact representation of who God is. Paul is indicating that Christ was more than just a prophet; Christ was more than just some emanation that descended from God; Christ is the exact image of who God is. To be more specific, Christ can be seen as deity wrapped in humanity. For instance, Christ was fully God, yet fully man. Through Christ, the invisible God was made visible. Christ truly was God; He is the express image of who God is (John 1:14, Phil 2:6). Hebrews provides insight into this concept as well, as the writer indicates that Christ is “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature…” (Hebrews 1:3).
A chapter later in the book of Colossians, we find an even more direct statement that supports this same concept. Paul states “for in Him, all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form…” (Col. 2:9). Going back to the concept of Gnosticism, matter was taught to be evil while the spirit was good. In this case, Paul was blatantly refuting this teaching by stating that incarnation of Christ was a reality, and that Christ, in human form, was the very representation of who God was.
For believers, this adds such a sense of reality. It is so easy to get trite in our relationship with Christ, even to the point where we simply go through the motions and do everything right, but in reality, our hearts are not in the right place. Being reminded that Christ is the very image of God is something that seems to provide a staunch wake-up call. This is absolutely essential in ministry. The reality of Christ’s person should drive us daily.
Christ is the Image of the Invisible God
Colossians 1:15
“He is the image of the Invisible God”
One concept that truly separates Christianity from any other religion across the face of the planet is our perception of Jesus. For instance, there are many religions and cults that hold the view that Christ was a prominent figure in history. There are even religions and cults that deem Christ as being prophetic and powerful in his speaking, and even provoke correction to wrongdoing. Yet, they fail to acknowledge Him as being truly who He is. The church at Colossae exemplifies this.
At Colossae, one of the primary religions that was upheld was that of Gnosticism. Within the realm of Gnosticism is the belief that God is good and matter is evil. Also within this view, they believe that Christ is just one of many emanations that have been sent from God, place Christ on a level with all the other emanations that descended. This, in itself, automatically discredited Christ from being who He truly was, as He was being compared with others that were on His same “level.” It has also been thought that with this belief came the concept that there needed to be a higher and deeper knowledge, beyond Scripture, that was needed for salvation.
This is the reason for the writing of Colossians. It has been thought that Paul had never actually visited the church, but when hearing of this, was prompted by the Spirit to write them. Thus, his reason for writing is two-fold. First, he wanted to make sure to correct this heresy that was being taught; he wanted to put an end to Gnosticism. He did not want to stop there; he wanted to correct the church in right doctrine. Because of this, it is easy to see the theme of the book as “the Supremacies of Christ.” Paul, throughout chapter one will focus on seven different supremacies of Christ in an attempt to define Christ to the Colossians.
In order to fully understand these different characteristics to be presented, it is important to begin reading just a bit earlier in the passage. Verse 13 states “for He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and has transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” The “He” referenced within this passage is referring back to “the Father” mentioned in verse 12. It is also imperative to note that verse 13 shifts focus from speaking of the Father to speaking of the Son, as it states” …and has transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Essentially, everything that will be stated after this point, through the end of the paragraph, will be concentrated upon the Son, Christ.
Now that that Paul has shifted focus, he will begin describing the different supremacies of Christ. He begins in verse 15 with this characteristics; the first of which is stated as “He is the image of the invisible God.” This passage, especially this verse, completely contradicts the theory that the longer you are a believer, the easier the Bible is to read. Essentially, this passage is one that requires much contemplation and meditation in order to find proper meaning and application. It is easy to look at the verse and think “OK, Christ is the image of the invisible God,” and move on. How much is missed if this is the case, though. There are so many passages throughout the Word of God that have a prerequisite for diligence in study as they are not fully understandable upon skimming.
Digging deeper, the word “image” presented in verse 15 suggests that Christ is the very likeness of God. Not only is He just God’s Son, He is the exact representation of who God is. Paul is indicating that Christ was more than just a prophet; Christ was more than just some emanation that descended from God; Christ is the exact image of who God is. To be more specific, Christ can be seen as deity wrapped in humanity. For instance, Christ was fully God, yet fully man. Through Christ, the invisible God was made visible. Christ truly was God; He is the express image of who God is (John 1:14, Phil 2:6). Hebrews provides insight into this concept as well, as the writer indicates that Christ is “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature…” (Hebrews 1:3).
A chapter later in the book of Colossians, we find an even more direct statement that supports this same concept. Paul states “for in Him, all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form…” (Col. 2:9). Going back to the concept of Gnosticism, matter was taught to be evil while the spirit was good. In this case, Paul was blatantly refuting this teaching by stating that incarnation of Christ was a reality, and that Christ, in human form, was the very representation of who God was.
For believers, this adds such a sense of reality. It is so easy to get trite in our relationship with Christ, even to the point where we simply go through the motions and do everything right, but in reality, our hearts are not in the right place. Being reminded that Christ is the very image of God is something that seems to provide a staunch wake-up call. This is absolutely essential in ministry. The reality of Christ’s person should drive us daily.
Happy reading,
CBMaxwell
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