Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians
November 16, 2025
Opening Prayer
Key Word: All
Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation. 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. 17 And he is
before all things, and in him all things hold together. 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. 19 For in
him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through
him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
An Ancient Hymn?
This section of the letter is poetic, and many think it is a
hymn – perhaps written by Paul himself.
It has two parts – focusing on Christ as Creator and as Reconciler
A Crash Course in Christology
The hymn proclaims Christ as
-
God – he is the image (v. 15) and fullness (v.
19)
-
Creator – in, through, and for him.
-
Preserver – all things hold together
-
Head of the Church
-
Beginning – of creation, salvation, and faith
-
Resurrected one – firstborn from the dead
-
Reconciler
-
Sacrifice of propitiation – by the blood of the
cross
1:15
… who is the icon of the invisible God …
Just to be clear, who are we talking about?
What does God look like?
What is the “image of God”?
-
In Genesis, mankind is made in God’s image.
-
Jesus is the new Adam, the truly human man.
Notice the connections
Adam Christ
Created in
the image of God Is
the image of God
Desired to
be like God Did
not grasp for equality with God
Sought to
exalt himself Humbled
himself
Disobeyed Obeyed
Lost the
divine image for humanity Restores
the divine image to humanity[1]
At the center of the Christian faith is the story of
humanity’s loss of God’s image to sin, and the restoration of that image through
Christ as it is delivered to believers through the Word and Sacraments.
Even the ethics of the Christian life are connected to this
account and tied to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
The issue of idolatry and images of God
Exodus 20:3-6 – “You shall have no other gods
before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a
carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You
shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God,
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but
showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my
commandments.”
More than “looks” – Jesus is how we know God.
John 1:18 – No one has ever seen God; God the
only Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
… firstborn of all creation …
Many English translations add the definite article “the” before
firstborn, but it is not there in the original text. So what?
-
Implications from the Arian heresy and the
Nicene Creed.
o
It seemed to them that this said that Jesus was
part of the creation
o
They would argue that he was the firstborn in
connection with the Incarnation
-
The orthodox position remembers that
o
Jesus is elsewhere called the “only-begotten”
Son. These must be held together and informs how we understand “firstborn.”
o
The following verses (16-17) show that Christ
created all things.
The term “firstborn” was used as a designation of privilege
rather than birth order.
-
Israel is called YHWH’s firstborn son in Exodus
4:22
-
Notice, also, that later he is called, “firstborn
from the dead” indicating he is the cause of others’ resurrection. Similarly,
Jesus is the cause of creation.
1:16
… for in him all things were created …
Notice that this is different from the translations in most
English Bibles. Jesus’ creative work is more than a feat of artistic or
engineering brilliance. It is deeply connected to his self and presence. It was
made by … but that is not quite strong enough language to capture
the full sense of the words.
All things, including
-
Things in heaven and on earth
-
Visible and invisible
-
Thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities? What
is this?
All things were created
-
In him
-
Through him
-
For him
1:17
He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together.
Before
-
Chronologically
-
By importance
-
By placement
In him …
-
Creation exists in relationship with Jesus
Do we take the notion of creation for granted?
Do we believe it?
What is important about seeing this world as a created
thing?
What is important about seeing ourselves as creatures?
1:18
And he is the head of the body …
-
Important imagery for being “in Christ”
-
This emphasizes unity – which exists as a gift
of grace and we cannot create apart from Jesus and his Word.
-
Individual Christians are united with one
another essentially through our unity with Jesus
o
This is why agreement in doctrine is so
important.
The church
-
This is an important word and concept. It is the
root of the word ecclesiastical.
-
It roughly means “called out” and it was used of
gatherings
-
Even in secular Greek, this word indicates a
public assembly
-
“[The church] is the assembly of all believers
among whom the gospel is purely preached and the holy sacraments are
administered according to the gospel. For this is enough for the true unity of
the Christian church that there the gospel is preached harmoniously according
to a pure understanding and the sacraments are administered in conformity with
the divine Word. It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church
that uniform ceremonies, instituted by human beings, be observed everywhere.” –
Augsburg Confession VII
Jesus is:
-
The beginning
-
Firstborn from the dead
-
Preeminent
Here we are seeing him as causative not only of creation,
but of redemption as we look ahead to v. 20.
1:19-20
… for/because in him all the fullness of God was pleased
to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, making peace by
the blood of his cross, whether on earth or in heaven.
We started out talking about “beginning” and “firstborn” and
looked at how this language took us back to Genesis. We talked about the “image
of God” which humanity lost, but Jesus is the image of God. Now this last piece
of the sentence (or last sentence as it is translated in the ESV) proclaims the
“fullness of God was pleased to dwell” in Jesus.
-
Everything that makes God, God is in Jesus.
-
The whole account of Creation and Reconciliation
is rooted “in Him”
Reconciliation
-
Bringing two parties together who have been
alienated from one another.
-
Genesis 3:15
To himself
-
Who is doing the action?
All things
-
Not just people!
-
The whole creation is in rebellion and is being
reconciled to God in Christ.
-
Think of the hymn we sing at Christmas time –
“Joy to the World.”
Making peace by the BLOOD
-
Indicates
o
Incarnation & humanity of Jesus
o
It recalls the language of O.T. sacrifice.[2]
o
It points us to the Lord’s Supper – “take and
drink”
o
It emphasizes the piercing of Jesus’ side where
blood and water flowed
§
The Lord’s Supper
§
Baptism
The blood of the cross – a story that ends at the empty
tomb of the resurrection. He reminds us of the whole by mentioning the part.
Interestingly (maybe), Paul says this reconciliation is for all
things, whether on earth or in heaven.
-
This is the opposite of the order in v. 16 in
which Jesus created all things in heaven and on earth.
-
This is an artistic way of tying the two things
together. But to what end?
Jesus created all things and he re-creates all things in his
ministry of reconciliation. This gospel is larger than the message that your
sins are forgiven. It is a message that all things will be set right and that
everything will be as God intended from the beginning.
Wrapping Up
What is one insight/word of comfort/challenging idea that
you hope to hold onto from these verses?
How will the lessons learned from these verses impact your
faith life?
[1]
This chart is from Paul Deterding’s commentary on Colossians from the Concordia
Commentary Series, CPH, 2003. I will try to footnote Deterding’s quotes, but
this whole study echoes the commentary and I am deeply indebted to his
scholarship.
[2]
Deterding points out that death by crucifixion is a form of suffocation, and
that was the cause of Jesus’ death. The use of the word “blood” here is
intended to point to the sacrifices of the old covenant which were done with
the blood of animals.
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