11th Sunday after Pentecost: Colossians 1:15-20 (notes)
INTRODUCTION
We’ve seen how Paul opens his letter to the Colossians by giving thanks for the fruit of the gospel in their lives and praying that they would have the knowledge to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. As I noted last week, vv. 15-20 (and 21-23) are technically still a part of this prayer, serving as a further reason for joyfully giving thanks to the Father. In light of this Paul’s message in 15-20 is that we are to joyfully give thanks to the Father because of the universal supremacy of Christ in Creation and Recreation. What we find in these verses is a striking poetic expression of this truth. There are four balanced stanzas w/ the first and the last beginning with “Who is…” and the middle two beginning with “And He is.” The first and the last tell us move from who Christ is to what He does in creation and recreation, while the middle two briefly focus upon who He is in creation and recreation. There are also a number of recurring themes and phrases:
“Firstborn” in creation/recreation. (15, 18)
“First/before” in creation/recreation. (17, 18)
Creation/recreation concern “all things.” (16 2x’s, 17 2x’s, 18, 20)
Creation/recreation both come “through him.” (16, 20)
Essentially the poem shows how the “Wisdom” (Prov. 8:22) by which God created the world (Gen. 1:1) is embodied in Jesus Christ.
I. Stanzas 1-2: The Universal Supremacy of Christ in Creation. (15-17)
A. Stanza One: Who He is and what He does in Creation. (15-16)
1. Who He is. (15)
a. In relation to God. (15a)
i. The image of the invisible God.
ii. In JC the invisible God is visible, clearly revealed.
iii. Picking up the new creation context, He is the last
Adam, who in his person/work perfectly images the Father.
iv. In 2TJ “Wisdom” was said to be the “image” of God’s
goodness – this revelation is fulfilled in JC.
v. In Paul JC as “image” is always the pattern after which
the Xtn is transformed (3:10; 2 Cor. 3:18).
vi. IOW Jesus shows us what it means to be both God and man.
b. In relation to Creation. (15b)
i. The firstborn of (not “over”) all creation.
ii. In the OT applied to Israel (Ex. 4:22) and the Messianic
King (Ps. 89:27) re: their primacy in God’s purposes.
iii. In the NT exclusively applied to Jesus re: his supremacy (see Rom. 8:29).
iv. Jesus bears a unique relation to creation as both prior to, and supreme over it. [That supremacy is now explicated…]
2. What He does. (16)
“For” – what follows proves, or demonstrates his supremacy.
a. Its nature. (16a)
i. By/in Him all things were created.
ii. Should read “in” to preserve the parallel w/ v. 19.
iii. “Were created” is the divine passive – JC is the sphere
of God’s creative activity (nothing done outside of him).
iv. The tense of the 1st stresses the historical act while the second stresses the continuing existence of creation.
v. JC is the “master workman” of God (Prov. 8:30).
b. Its scope. (16b)
i. “All things” (2x’s) emphasized by chiasmus (were created all things…all things…were created.)
ii. The whole is then further specified by two couplets.
iii. Heaven/earth, visible/invisible – i.e. EVERYTHING!
iv. Thrones/dominions, principalities/powers.
(a). Hierarchies of angels active in the government of the world.
(b). In 2:10 he is said to be their head and in 2:15 they are disarmed by his death.
(c). Thus they include those angelic powers in the service of Satan at work in the unbelieving world.
(d) JC not only created them, but:
c. Its goal. (16c)
i. For him!
ii. Everything made in and through him exists for Him, that
is for his glory.
iii. Though the principalities and powers oppose him, he is their true lord, having created and defeated them (2:15).
B. Stanza Two: Reiteration of Who He is Creation. (17)
1. His universal supremacy. (17a)
a. And He is before all things.
b. This phrase intros the two short stanzas and is emphatic!
c. The prep “before” has the senses of both time (“in the beginning
was the Word”) and rank (“he is first by virtue of his p/w”).
2. His universal power. (17b)
a. And in Him all things consist.
b. This goes beyond the preceding, but is implied by it.
c. Not only all things created “in Him,” but literally are held
together “in Him.”
d. The tense of this verb indicates that this is continuing activity of Christ that began at a point of time in the past.
e. Apart from the power and wisdom residing in Christ, the world would literally come apart.
f. And this is a truth that needs to be emphasized as much (if not more) in our day than in Paul’s.
II. Stanzas 3-4: The Universal Supremacy of Christ in Recreation. (18-20)
Who Christ is and what he does in Creation sets the stage for who he is and what he does in recreation.
A. Stanza Three: Introduction of Who He is in Recreation. (18a)
Standing at the outset of this new creation is a person, a body, a new man to carry out God’s purposes for creation.
1. His supremacy.
a. And he is the head of the body.
i. In relation to this new body, Christ is the head.
ii. That is, he is in the position of control over the body.
iii. The body sustains a vital relationship to him and is
dependent upon.
2. His people.
a. The body which is the church.
i. This new body is identified as the church.
ii. In the LXX it translates a word used to describe the
people as summoned for some special purpose.
(a). Dt. 4:10 - "On the day when you were a church before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people as a church to me..."
iii. In the NT it the term describing the people called out of the world into communion with Christ and one another.
iv. It is the visible, local, entity entrusted with the word, sacraments, and discipline of Christ and marked by unity, holiness, and apostolic faith.
Christ’s headship over the church follows from:
B. Stanza Four: Who He is and what He does in Recreation. (18b-20)
1. Who He is. (18b-19)
a. In relation to Creation. (18b)
i. Who is the beginning.
(a). Just as wisdom was in the beginning, even so
Jesus is the beginning.
(b). The term usually means source, or first principle.
(c). The next phrase explains its sense here.
ii. The firstborn from the dead
(a). Refers to his resurrection from the dead.
(b). Its uniqueness/primacy stems from its being the
beginning of God’s new creation.
(c). When he burst forth from the tomb, the new creation burst forth into the world.
(d). This act established Jesus as the founder of this new generation.
iii. Purpose: that in all things He may be first.
(a). He’s always been first by right, as Creator/Lord.
(b). But to become so in fact, required him to defeat
sin and death, which is declared in his resurrection.
(c). See Phil. 2:5-11.
(d). Note, not simply first in all things!
It is fitting that JC should be first in all things for:
b. In relation to God. (19)
i. God in all His fullness was pleased to dwell in Him.
ii. Throughout the OT is pictured as filling places with His
presence, His glory, His knowledge.
iii. In this connection the verb “pleased” is often used to indicate God’s good pleasure esp. re: his dwelling place.
(a). Ps. 68:16 – Zion is the mountain in which God is pleased to dwell forever.
iv. Jesus is now the place in which God is pleased to dwell.
v. And to dwell in the fullness of all his divine attributes.
And to what end does all the fullness of deity reside in Jesus?
2. What He does. (20)
a. Its nature: Reconciliation.
i. God by Him reconciles to Himself.
ii. The word means to bring together two parties that are
estranged, whose relationship is marked by hostility.
b. Its scope: All things.
i. Those in need of this reconciliation are “all things.”
ii. God, by Christ, has brought “all things” back into a right
relationship with God: Men, Angels, the Cosmos.
iii. In reconciliation the heavens (angelic powers) and earth (man/world) have been brought back into God’s intended order under the rule of a New Adam.
c. Its goal: Establishing peace.
i. Through this New Adam, God has made peace between Himself and all things.
ii. This peace is either freely accepted by faith or sovereignly imposed by force: every knee will bow!
d. Its ground: The blood of His cross.
i. Since sin is the reason for the estrangement and hostility, the ground of reconciliation is the blood of the cross.
ii. By the shedding of his blood atonement is made and peace is effected between God and man.
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
So on the basis of what we’ve seen in this hymn, you are to give thanks to God because of the supremacy of Jesus Christ in creation and recreation, redemption. Just as the Colossians were tempted to seek salvation somewhere else, you’ve been reminded that salvation is found, and can only be found, in Jesus Christ. And just as many Christian’s are tempted to seek growth somewhere else, you’ve been reminded of the centrality of the church in bringing about the new creation. This new creation and rule of Christ are most clearly seen here is the assembly of His redeemed people. But this rule and new creation are to spill out from the church to the four corners of the earth. And as they do so, be reminded that Jesus is Lord of it all. As Abraham Kuyper said, there is not one square inch of the earth over which Jesus doesn’t say Mine!
We’ve seen how Paul opens his letter to the Colossians by giving thanks for the fruit of the gospel in their lives and praying that they would have the knowledge to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. As I noted last week, vv. 15-20 (and 21-23) are technically still a part of this prayer, serving as a further reason for joyfully giving thanks to the Father. In light of this Paul’s message in 15-20 is that we are to joyfully give thanks to the Father because of the universal supremacy of Christ in Creation and Recreation. What we find in these verses is a striking poetic expression of this truth. There are four balanced stanzas w/ the first and the last beginning with “Who is…” and the middle two beginning with “And He is.” The first and the last tell us move from who Christ is to what He does in creation and recreation, while the middle two briefly focus upon who He is in creation and recreation. There are also a number of recurring themes and phrases:
“Firstborn” in creation/recreation. (15, 18)
“First/before” in creation/recreation. (17, 18)
Creation/recreation concern “all things.” (16 2x’s, 17 2x’s, 18, 20)
Creation/recreation both come “through him.” (16, 20)
Essentially the poem shows how the “Wisdom” (Prov. 8:22) by which God created the world (Gen. 1:1) is embodied in Jesus Christ.
I. Stanzas 1-2: The Universal Supremacy of Christ in Creation. (15-17)
A. Stanza One: Who He is and what He does in Creation. (15-16)
1. Who He is. (15)
a. In relation to God. (15a)
i. The image of the invisible God.
ii. In JC the invisible God is visible, clearly revealed.
iii. Picking up the new creation context, He is the last
Adam, who in his person/work perfectly images the Father.
iv. In 2TJ “Wisdom” was said to be the “image” of God’s
goodness – this revelation is fulfilled in JC.
v. In Paul JC as “image” is always the pattern after which
the Xtn is transformed (3:10; 2 Cor. 3:18).
vi. IOW Jesus shows us what it means to be both God and man.
b. In relation to Creation. (15b)
i. The firstborn of (not “over”) all creation.
ii. In the OT applied to Israel (Ex. 4:22) and the Messianic
King (Ps. 89:27) re: their primacy in God’s purposes.
iii. In the NT exclusively applied to Jesus re: his supremacy (see Rom. 8:29).
iv. Jesus bears a unique relation to creation as both prior to, and supreme over it. [That supremacy is now explicated…]
2. What He does. (16)
“For” – what follows proves, or demonstrates his supremacy.
a. Its nature. (16a)
i. By/in Him all things were created.
ii. Should read “in” to preserve the parallel w/ v. 19.
iii. “Were created” is the divine passive – JC is the sphere
of God’s creative activity (nothing done outside of him).
iv. The tense of the 1st stresses the historical act while the second stresses the continuing existence of creation.
v. JC is the “master workman” of God (Prov. 8:30).
b. Its scope. (16b)
i. “All things” (2x’s) emphasized by chiasmus (were created all things…all things…were created.)
ii. The whole is then further specified by two couplets.
iii. Heaven/earth, visible/invisible – i.e. EVERYTHING!
iv. Thrones/dominions, principalities/powers.
(a). Hierarchies of angels active in the government of the world.
(b). In 2:10 he is said to be their head and in 2:15 they are disarmed by his death.
(c). Thus they include those angelic powers in the service of Satan at work in the unbelieving world.
(d) JC not only created them, but:
c. Its goal. (16c)
i. For him!
ii. Everything made in and through him exists for Him, that
is for his glory.
iii. Though the principalities and powers oppose him, he is their true lord, having created and defeated them (2:15).
B. Stanza Two: Reiteration of Who He is Creation. (17)
1. His universal supremacy. (17a)
a. And He is before all things.
b. This phrase intros the two short stanzas and is emphatic!
c. The prep “before” has the senses of both time (“in the beginning
was the Word”) and rank (“he is first by virtue of his p/w”).
2. His universal power. (17b)
a. And in Him all things consist.
b. This goes beyond the preceding, but is implied by it.
c. Not only all things created “in Him,” but literally are held
together “in Him.”
d. The tense of this verb indicates that this is continuing activity of Christ that began at a point of time in the past.
e. Apart from the power and wisdom residing in Christ, the world would literally come apart.
f. And this is a truth that needs to be emphasized as much (if not more) in our day than in Paul’s.
II. Stanzas 3-4: The Universal Supremacy of Christ in Recreation. (18-20)
Who Christ is and what he does in Creation sets the stage for who he is and what he does in recreation.
A. Stanza Three: Introduction of Who He is in Recreation. (18a)
Standing at the outset of this new creation is a person, a body, a new man to carry out God’s purposes for creation.
1. His supremacy.
a. And he is the head of the body.
i. In relation to this new body, Christ is the head.
ii. That is, he is in the position of control over the body.
iii. The body sustains a vital relationship to him and is
dependent upon.
2. His people.
a. The body which is the church.
i. This new body is identified as the church.
ii. In the LXX it translates a word used to describe the
people as summoned for some special purpose.
(a). Dt. 4:10 - "On the day when you were a church before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people as a church to me..."
iii. In the NT it the term describing the people called out of the world into communion with Christ and one another.
iv. It is the visible, local, entity entrusted with the word, sacraments, and discipline of Christ and marked by unity, holiness, and apostolic faith.
Christ’s headship over the church follows from:
B. Stanza Four: Who He is and what He does in Recreation. (18b-20)
1. Who He is. (18b-19)
a. In relation to Creation. (18b)
i. Who is the beginning.
(a). Just as wisdom was in the beginning, even so
Jesus is the beginning.
(b). The term usually means source, or first principle.
(c). The next phrase explains its sense here.
ii. The firstborn from the dead
(a). Refers to his resurrection from the dead.
(b). Its uniqueness/primacy stems from its being the
beginning of God’s new creation.
(c). When he burst forth from the tomb, the new creation burst forth into the world.
(d). This act established Jesus as the founder of this new generation.
iii. Purpose: that in all things He may be first.
(a). He’s always been first by right, as Creator/Lord.
(b). But to become so in fact, required him to defeat
sin and death, which is declared in his resurrection.
(c). See Phil. 2:5-11.
(d). Note, not simply first in all things!
It is fitting that JC should be first in all things for:
b. In relation to God. (19)
i. God in all His fullness was pleased to dwell in Him.
ii. Throughout the OT is pictured as filling places with His
presence, His glory, His knowledge.
iii. In this connection the verb “pleased” is often used to indicate God’s good pleasure esp. re: his dwelling place.
(a). Ps. 68:16 – Zion is the mountain in which God is pleased to dwell forever.
iv. Jesus is now the place in which God is pleased to dwell.
v. And to dwell in the fullness of all his divine attributes.
And to what end does all the fullness of deity reside in Jesus?
2. What He does. (20)
a. Its nature: Reconciliation.
i. God by Him reconciles to Himself.
ii. The word means to bring together two parties that are
estranged, whose relationship is marked by hostility.
b. Its scope: All things.
i. Those in need of this reconciliation are “all things.”
ii. God, by Christ, has brought “all things” back into a right
relationship with God: Men, Angels, the Cosmos.
iii. In reconciliation the heavens (angelic powers) and earth (man/world) have been brought back into God’s intended order under the rule of a New Adam.
c. Its goal: Establishing peace.
i. Through this New Adam, God has made peace between Himself and all things.
ii. This peace is either freely accepted by faith or sovereignly imposed by force: every knee will bow!
d. Its ground: The blood of His cross.
i. Since sin is the reason for the estrangement and hostility, the ground of reconciliation is the blood of the cross.
ii. By the shedding of his blood atonement is made and peace is effected between God and man.
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
So on the basis of what we’ve seen in this hymn, you are to give thanks to God because of the supremacy of Jesus Christ in creation and recreation, redemption. Just as the Colossians were tempted to seek salvation somewhere else, you’ve been reminded that salvation is found, and can only be found, in Jesus Christ. And just as many Christian’s are tempted to seek growth somewhere else, you’ve been reminded of the centrality of the church in bringing about the new creation. This new creation and rule of Christ are most clearly seen here is the assembly of His redeemed people. But this rule and new creation are to spill out from the church to the four corners of the earth. And as they do so, be reminded that Jesus is Lord of it all. As Abraham Kuyper said, there is not one square inch of the earth over which Jesus doesn’t say Mine!
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