15 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. – Colossians 1:15-20 ESV
In these verses, Paul launches into a densely packed defense of Christ's preeminence or superiority. This carefully crafted rhetorical flourish follows his reminder that God had rescued the believers in Colossae from the kingdom of darkness and transferred them into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased their freedom and forgave their sins. Jesus was not to be overlooked, taken for granted or discounted in any way. Paul defends the deity of Christ because this foundational doctrine of the faith has come under attack from men who claim to speak with apostolic authority. Epaphras informed Paul that these unnamed individuals were teaching false doctrines concerning Christ, which had left the Colossian congregation confused and dangerously close to diminishing the fruitfulness for which Paul had graciously complimented them.
To redirect the focus of his letter to Christ, Paul adeptly and somewhat abruptly shifts the emphasis from God the Father to Jesus Christ the Son. Following his reminder of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross and its eternal implications for their redemption and justification, Paul states, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15 NLT). In His incarnation, Jesus, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity made God visible and knowable to mankind. He became the visible image of the invisible God on earth.
In his gospel account, the apostle John elaborates on this unique aspect of Christ’s earthly ministry.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 ESV
And John boldly proclaimed that Jesus was more than just another messenger from God. He was God Himself.
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known. – John 1:18 BSB
The author of Hebrews expands on the God-reflecting nature of Jesus and further solidifies the doctrine of His divinity.
The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names. – Hebrews 1:3-4 NLT
For Paul and these other New Testament authors, Jesus' divinity was an essential doctrine that must be defended at all costs because it was the hinge upon which the door of salvation swung. If Jesus was not divine, then His death on the cross was ineffective because His sinlessness was the key to His death’s effectiveness. As John explains in his first letter, Jesus’ righteousness was the basis for His sacrifice being acceptable to God the Father.
…we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins… – 1 John 2:1-2 BSB
But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. – 1 John 3:5 BSB
His sinlessness satisfied the just demands of a holy God and made His atoning death worthy of the Father’s approval. Paul stresses another aspect of Jesus’ atoning work that was being questioned by these self-proclaimed apostles. As a member of the Godhead, Jesus’ substitutionary death was the work of the Creator laying down His life for those He created. Jesus wasn’t a man who served as a martyr for a cause. He was the Son of God and fully divine. That is why Paul stresses Jesus’ divine credentials by promoting His eternality and the essential role He played in creating all things.
…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. – Colossians 1:16 ESV
Once again, the apostle John provides ample support for Paul’s claim.
He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. – John 1:2-3 BSB
Paul presented this same argument for Christ’s role in the creation account when writing to the believers in Corinth.
…there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist. – 1 Corinthians 8:6 BSB
As the Creator-God, Jesus was responsible for all that existed, including the believers in Colossae. He was not just a Messiah who came to save them, but He was the God who had created them. He was not only responsible for their salvation but for their very existence as well. He had formed them and forgiven them. He breathed in them the breath of life and became their hope for experiencing new life, and by His divine power, Jesus would hold them safe and secure to the end.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. – Colossians 1:17 ESV
Paul is going out of his way to stress the unique nature of Christ. He was determined that the believers in Colossae grasped and appreciated the significance of Jesus’ life-giving and life-transforming role as the Son of God. Jesus had been much more than a teacher, Rabbi, healer, and miracle worker. He was superior and supreme in all things. He had no equal, and no one could replicate His accomplishments or diminish His one-of-a-kind status as the sovereign Savior of the world. That is why Paul stresses the headship of Christ over the church and promotes His well-deserved status as the unequaled and unparalleled Lord of all.
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. – Colossians 1:18 ESV
The church would not exist without Christ. Had He not died and risen again, there would be no church because there would be no Christ-followers. Jesus was not a martyred teacher who cultivated a faithful host of committed followers to propagate His teachings. He was the “firstborn from the dead” who, through His death and resurrection, made possible the spiritual transformation of countless men and women.
There were those who taught that Jesus's resurrection was a fable or myth and downplayed its importance to the Christian faith. Paul addressed these dangerous “false teachers” 'misguided musings in his first letter to the church in Corinth.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:12-14 ESV
Christ’s resurrection made possible the redemption of condemned humanity and guarantees the future resurrection and glorification of all those who accept His free gift of salvation. Again, Christ was more than a gifted teacher with a message of life transformation based on behavior modification. He had not come to model a new way of living. His teachings were not intended to provide a road map for living a better life. He came to offer His life as a sacrifice for the sins of men so that they might receive new lives and new natures that would reflect His own.
Paul emphatically states that Jesus is preeminent and one-of-a-kind. He has no equal. Jesus was the sole means by which God chose to redeem fallen humanity, and that is why Paul claims, “God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ” (Colossians 1:19 NLT), and no one else. It was only through Christ that “God reconciled everything to himself” (Colossians 1:20 NLT). No one else could take credit for the role that Jesus played in God’s grand redemptive plan. God used Jesus to reconcile sinful humanity to Himself, and anyone who diminished Jesus’ role as Savior or presented another means of salvation was to be avoided at all costs.
You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. – Galatians 1:6-8 NLT
You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. – 2 Corinthians 11:4 NLT
It seems quite evident that Paul held strong views concerning this topic. He was obsessed with defending the doctrine of Christ at all costs. He would not tolerate anyone who attempted to diminish Christ’s divinity or who tried to devalue His role as the God-man who, through His life, death, and resurrection, made it possible for sinful men to be made right with a holy God.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
