Jesus Christ makes visible the invisible God. Colossians 1:15-28

By mmayer

Colossians 1:15-28

¹⁵The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

²¹Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of^[a] your evil behaviour. ²²But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – ²³if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

Paul’s labour for the church

²⁴Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – ²⁶the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

²⁸He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.

Video

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation (Col 1:15). Jesus the Christ. Christ (literally the ‘anointed one’) has always been the Son of the Father. He has always been part of the very fabric of creation, because everything was made through him, and is being drawn to completion in him. This world has never been totally lost or totally evil and meaningless. At the very heart of it is the love of Christ. It is the matrix that supports us all. 2000 years ago that was revealed in a new way, in the very human Jesus from Nazareth. Paul and John, looking back after Easter and Pentecost, realized that the Christ was always part of creation.

Paul was very realistic about sin. He describes us as once being estranged from God, hostile in our attitude. But now, through the blood of Christ shed on the cross, we have peace with God. We are reconciled, blameless, and we experience the mystery of Christ living in us.

The love of Christ continues to come alive in us, who are part of the church. We all share in the God-given gift of making what is invisible visible. OK, I’m a besotted first-time grandparent. I’m assured I won’t lose that. I’m delighted to hold this visible form of the love between our daughter and her husband. But it’s not just babies. You have all created things that have never been seen or done before. You’ve all come up with solutions to problems. You’ve all developed your way of doing something that has never been done that way before. Those are simple ways in which the love of Christ becomes visible. Treasure that, enjoy it and trust it.