Colossians 1:15-20
The Supremacy of Christ
Well, today, we step right into the thick of it. These verses were pivotal in the early years of Christianity. There were a lot of discussions early on in church history in trying to determine the deity of Christ. Many variations of beliefs and thoughts about Christ came out of this time. The early church fathers used these important verses to formulate the creeds and set proper beliefs. This was mainly in response to refute the Arian heresy (Christ was a created being).
In verses 15-20, Paul interrupts his description of his prayers for the Colossians with a song of praise. These verses are generally recognized as an early Christian hymn celebrating the supremacy of Christ.[1] The hymn to Christ has a much broader application beyond the Colossian situation. Major themes are addressed which provide a theological overview within which readers can know more about the beauty, majesty, and supremacy of Christ. The contextual key that opened Paul to this description of the Person and work of Christ is in verses 12–14, where the kingdom of Jesus, the beloved Son, is described and the believers’ place in that kingdom. All Christians may legitimately see themselves exactly as the Colossians did: as sharers in the kingdom of God. By belonging to the King, the blessings of the kingdom are available.
From Paul’s petition that the Colossians be enlightened about God’s redemptive working in their lives, he moved naturally into his epistle’s main emphasis—the exaltation and preeminence of Christ. In this paragraph (vv. 15–20) Paul mentioned seven unique characteristics of Christ, which fittingly qualify Him to have “the supremacy” (v. 18). Christ is: (1) the image of God, (2) the Firstborn over Creation, (3) Creator of the universe, (4) Head of the church, (5) Firstborn from the dead, (6) the fullness of God, and (7) the Reconciler of all things. No comparable listing of so many characteristics of Christ and His deity are found in any other Scripture passage. Christ is the supreme Sovereign of the universe!
There are so many important words and phrases in these few passages (firstborn[prototokos], image[eikon], Christ as the Creator) that there have been so many books and articles posted just on these words that it is far too much for us to discuss here. Also, the point of these posts is to provide a brief overview of the main parts and a devotional look at the passage. For good resources, you can look at Precept Austin for a good deep dive overview of the verses and various views on the keywords, as well as many great books out there like Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. DTS also offers some free classes about salvation and Christ that will touch on these topics. I will touch on some of these today, but these will be brief and not as in-depth as you will find in commentaries and scholarly articles.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- The deity of Christ is unmistakable. He was no less than God, and continues to be fully divine
- In His work toward us as revealer of God, He manifests God to us. In His work toward creation, He is prominent over it.
- All of creation was touched by sin. The world was out of order and needed a correction. This was provided in Christ. He reconciled all things to Him.
Closer Look:
As mentioned above, Paul uses seven unique characteristics or descriptions of Christ, which show His supremacy
Verse 15: First, Christ is the “image of the invisible God.” Besides the obvious meaning of likeness (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4), “image” implies representation and manifestation. Like the head of a sovereign imprinted on a coin, so Christ is “the exact representation of [the Father’s] being” (Heb. 1:3). As Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Anyone who saw Christ, the visible manifestation of the invisible God, has thereby “seen” God indirectly. For “no one has ever seen God, but God the only Son … has made Him known” (John 1:18). Paul wrote of the “invisible” God (1 Tim. 1:17), but Christ is the perfect visible representation and manifestation of that God. Though the word “image” (eikōn) does not always denote a perfect image (cf. 1 Cor. 11:7), the context here demands that understanding. Indeed, like the word “form” (morphē; trans. “nature” in Phil. 2:6–7), eikōn means the very substance or essential embodiment of something or someone. In Hebrews 10:1 “shadow” and “the very image” (eikōn), which is Christ, are contrasted (cf. Col. 2:17). So Christ’s supremacy is first shown in His relationship with God the Father. Christ is the perfect resemblance and representation of God.
Second, Christ’s supremacy is shown in His relationship to Creation. He is the “Firstborn over all Creation.” “Though it is grammatically possible to translate this as “Firstborn in Creation,” the context makes this impossible for five reasons: (1) The whole point of the passage (and the book) is to show Christ’s superiority over all things.”[2] (2) Other statements about Jesus in this passage (i.e., Creator of all [1:16], upholder of Creation [v. 17]) clearly indicate His priority and superiority over Creation. (3) The “Firstborn” cannot be part of Creation if He created “all things.” One cannot create himself. (Jehovah’s Witnesses wrongly add the word “other” six times in this passage in their New World Translation. Thus they suggest that Christ created all other things after He was created! But the word “other” is not in the Gr.)[3] (4) The “Firstborn” received worship of all the angels (Heb. 1:6), but creatures should not be worshiped (Ex. 20:4–5). (5) The Greek word for “Firstborn” is prōtotokos. If Christ were the “first-created,” the Greek word would have been prōtoktisis.[4]
“Firstborn” could denote a priority in time or in rank. “Firstborn” denotes two things of Christ: He preceded the whole Creation, and He is Sovereign over all Creation. The word does not describe Christ as the first being created in time because the hymn proclaims that all things were “created by Him” and that “He is before all things.” In the Old Testament a firstborn child had not only priority of birth but also the dignity and superiority that went with it (cf. Ex. 13:2–15; Deut. 21:17). When Jesus declared Himself “the First” (ho prōtos; Rev. 1:17), He used a word that means “absolutely first.” Jesus is the eternal One who was before all creation. “Firstborn” also implies sovereignty. The description “firstborn” was not a fairly common Old Testament designation of the Messiah-God.[5] “I will also appoint Him My Firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27). While this regal psalm refers to David, it also designates the Messiah, as seen in Revelation 1:5, where Christ is called “the Firstborn from the dead (cf. Col. 1:18-20) and the Ruler of the kings of the earth.” The idea of firstborn in the Hebrew culture did not require that one be the first son born.[6] This was not the case with either Isaac or Jacob. But they were the firstborn in the sense that they were rightful heirs to the line of their fathers. Being firstborn referred more to rank and privilege than to order of birth. Since Christ is God, He is supreme in rank over all creation. Yet He is not only the transcendent deity who created us; He is the One who died on our behalf (Phil 2:6-18) and was subsequently raised from the dead. Thus, He is also the firstborn from the dead, the first One who experienced the true resurrection. So “Firstborn” implies both Christ’s priority to all Creation (in time) and His sovereignty over all Creation (in rank).
Verses 16–17: Verse 16 emphasizes the superiority of Christ over all creation. The third characteristic of Christ is that “by Him all things were created.” In fact, all things were created “through Him” (di’ autou, instrumental Cause), “for Him” (eis auton, final Cause), and in/by Him (en autō) they hold together (He is the constituting or conserving Cause).[7] Christ is not only the One through whom all things came to be but also the One by whom they continue to exist. Two other New Testament verses parallel this description of Christ: “Through Him all things were made” (John 1:3), and Christ the Son is the One “through whom also [the Father] made the world” (Heb. 1:2). Hebrews 1:2 also points to everything being created for Jesus’ purposes since He is said to be the “heir of all things.” The Father, then, is the ultimate Source (efficient Cause), and the Son is the mediating Cause of the world. The Son was the “master Workman” of Creation, “the beginning (archē) of the Creation of God” (Rev. 3:14, NASB).
Christ is the One who created all things, and that includes “all” things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, material or immaterial. These indicate the entire universe, both material and immaterial. This idea is in direct contradiction to the false teaching, later known as Gnosticism, that was developing in the Colossian church. In general, Gnostics believed that various angelic beings were the creators of the earth and that Christ was one among many of these angels.[8] The hierarchy of angelic beings—thrones (thronoi) or powers (kyriotētes) or rulers (archai) or authorities (exousiai)—indicate a highly organized dominion in the spirit world, a sphere in which the Colossians were engaged in the worship of angels (Col. 2:18) and over which Christ reigns supreme (cf. Eph. 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Phil. 2:9–10; Col. 2:10, 15).
Christ is before all things both in time and in supremacy. Because of Christ’s supreme authority and oversight, all things hold together.
Verse 18: Now, this passage proceeds to proclaim Christ’s authority over the church. Fourth, Christ is the “head of the body, the church.” Besides being the Lord of the universe, He is also the church’s Head (cf. Eph. 1:22–23; 5:23). The reference here is to the invisible or universal church into which the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the moment they believe in Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). This work of the Spirit began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:1–2; 11:15–16). It is a special body in which there is “neither Jew nor Gentile” (Gal. 3:28) but a whole new creation of God (Eph. 2:15). The church is a “mystery … which was not made known to men in other generations” (Eph. 3:4–5; cf. Rom. 16:25–26; Col. 1:26). No one should underestimate the significance of the church, for it is, in fact, Christ’s body. The sovereign Creator of the universe, as head of the church, provides leadership and oversight over it. It is no wonder then that Jesus cares for the church so much ( 1 Cor 3:16-17).
Fifth, Christ is the “beginning” (archē) and “the firstborn from the dead” (cf. Rev. 1:5). Christ was the first to rise in an immortal body (1 Cor. 15:20), and as such, He heads a whole new order as its Sovereign. Also, Christ’s resurrection marked His triumph over death (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8). He was the “Firstfruits” of those who die (1 Cor. 15:20) since, unlike others, He rose never to die again. He “was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). So He continues to live “on the basis of the power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16). All this is so that in everything He might have the supremacy. Christ is given first place over all Creation. He is preeminent. The same eternal Word (Logos, Jn 1:1) who “became flesh” (John 1:14) and “humbled Himself” (Phil. 2:8) is now “exalted” by God the Father “to the highest place” and has been given “the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9).[9] His own resurrection guarantees that the church will one day be resurrected (1 Cor 15:12-28).
Verse 19: The sixth description of the exalted Christ is that all God’s fullness dwells in Him. Later in Colossians, Paul wrote, “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (2:9). Colossians 1:19 is one of the most powerful descriptions of Christ’s deity in the New Testament (cf. Heb. 1:3). “Fullness” (plērōma), a key word in Colossians, is used in 1:19 and 2:9. (The verb plēroō is used in 1:9, 25; 2:10; and 4:17.) The noun means “completeness” and is used for a wide range of things including God’s being (Eph. 3:19), time (Gal. 4:4), and grace in Christ (John 1:16). [10]This full and complete Deity is said to “dwell” (katoikēsai, “abide lastingly or permanently”) in Christ. The opponents of Paul, and later the Greek Gnostics, seem to have used this word as a technical term for the sphere between heaven and earth where a hierarchy of angels lived. The Gnostics viewed Christ as one of many spirits existing in this hierarchy between God and all people. However, Paul used the term fullness to refer to the complete embodiment of God. Christ is the only Intercessor for human beings and fully embodies all of God’s nature (1 Tim 2:5). No other intermediary is able to stand in our place before the Father. Only Jesus can do this.
Verse 20: The seventh feature of Christ is that He is the Reconciler. Through Christ, God will reconcile to Himself all things. The phrase “all things” is limited to good angels and redeemed people since only things on earth and things in heaven are mentioned. Things “under the earth” (Phil. 2:10) are not reconciled. It is important to note that people are reconciled to God (“to Himself”) not that God is reconciled to people. For mankind has left God and needs to be brought back to Him. In 2 Corinthians 5:19 “reconciliation” was used by Paul in a judicial (vs. an actual) sense in which the whole “world” is made savable through Christ’s death. Paul spoke of “the many” (i.e., “those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace”) being “made righteous” through the Cross (Rom. 5:19). To make peace through His blood means to cause God’s enemies (Rom. 5:10; Col. 1:21) to become, by faith, His friends and His children (cf. Eph. 2:11–19).
In addition to the key takeaways, let’s take a moment to summarize the major theological themes of this section.
- God has caused Christ to rule. He has enthroned Him. Christ rules supreme over creation and redemption, over the world and the church.
- Jesus is the central figure in creation and redemption.
- All of existence is united in Christ. There is unity and order in creation and redemption.
- God’s will is known because of and through the work of Christ on the cross.
- Ultimately, redemption means that Jesus will present a restored and ordered creation to God the Father. The function of the second person of the Godhead is to administrate the affairs of earth and to subdue those who resist.[11]
- Jesus is the God-man and the mediator between humanity and God. There is no need for another and only He can fulfill this role
We can talk for much more on these six verses, but there is not enough time or space.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 1562.
[2] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 672.
[3] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 672.
[4] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 672.
[5] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 672.
[6] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 1562.
[7] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 673.
[8] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 1562.
[9] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 673.
[10] Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1985), 673.
[11] Melick, Richard R. “Colossians,” in The New American Commentary. N.p.. Nashville, Tenn: Broadman Press, 1991.