Colossians 1:15-20. In yesterday’s reading Paul told the Colossian believers that their love and dedication to God prompted him to pray for them all the time. He wanted them to keep learning about Jesus. He wanted them to learn more and more about how to honor God with their lives and to keep living for God. He would pray that they would be made strong by God. Probably more of a mental and emotional (maybe even spiritual) strength to keep them living for God. He also wanted them to be steady, patient, and have joy, more things that tell us the strength was more internal and probably not about muscles. He then gave a reason for why we should live for God; the reason behind the kinds of things he was asking God for is that we are citizens of a new kingdom. The old kingdom we were part of is described as being dark (being in the dark, complete darkness, is very uncomfortable it probably symbolizes all that is bad or evil). We see that darkness is bad because Paul tells us we have been rescued from it and now are in the kingdom of Jesus who paid the price so we cold be forgiven for our disobedience and rebellion (sin). This last part confirms that the kingdom of darkness was bad; it is where we would have been without Jesus, separated from God for eternity.

Experts say today’s reading is a song or hymn about Jesus. Even with the little bit of Colossians that we have read so far it is clear that somebody was challenging the believers in Colosse about their relationship with God. In verse 6 Paul told them that they had heard and understood the truth. In verse 5 he told that that their hope of being with God in Heaven one day was based on truth that they had heard. He told the Colossian believers that he prayed regularly and asked God that they would be filled with knowledge and understanding and wisdom of God’s will. Clearly some one was challenging them to know more, to understand more. If you read the “Intro to Colossians” you know that some experts think the Colossians were being challenged by and old belief system called “Gnosticism”. That system would challenge people in just the way we see the Colossians being challenged. Gnosticism really didn’t become a belief system for until many decades after Paul wrote to the Colossians. There was a branch of the Jewish religion, a group called Essenes, that was also in love with spirits and mysteries that may have been the challenge. Paul’s answer so far has been Jesus. The trust and belief of the Colossians was in the “Chosen One” (Christ), Jesus. It was Jesus who brought them out of darkness and in to his kingdom. So it seems fitting that Paul would take a little time to talk more about Jesus and he does that in today’s reading. The fact that verses 15-20 seem to be a song just makes this information that much more memorable, at least if you know Greek.

Scholars disagree on how the “song” might be divided, what the stanzas or verses are. By the way, this song may not have even been set to music, making it more of a poem that a song. Based on the contents of the song there are two different parts. The fist part is verses 15-17 and the second part is verses 18-20.

In verses 15-17 we see Jesus in relationship to the creation. First we are told that Jesus is the “image” of the invisible God, the “firstborn” of all creation. The word “image” contains two ideas that are always part of it. The first idea is the idea of a symbol. You might think of the idea of a “logo”. When you see a logo you think of the product or company that it represents. The symbol doesn’t’ have to be abstract though because the Greek word used here also was used for a reflection in a mirror. Obviously what we see in a mirror isn’t the real thing but it certainly looks like it. The other idea that the word contains is the idea of appearance. That doesn’t mean the way something looks like, “She appeared sick.” It’s the idea of “showing up personally” like, “Spiderman appeared at just the right time to save the girl.” We sometimes us the word “manifestation” to mean the actual appearance of someone or something. What Paul is saying here is that Jesus is the exact visible appearance of the invisible God. In Hebrews 1:3 we are told that Jesus is the “exact representation of God’s nature.” The word translated “nature” means actual real existence or being. In Jesus we see God, not because he is a reflection, but because he is God.

Second we are told that Jesus is the “firstborn” of or over all creation. In the Greek there are only three words: “Firstborn”, “all”, and “creature or creation”. There is no preposition, that is why some translations say “of” and others say “over”. The word firstborn can sometimes means a person who is born first but it is only used that way once in the New Testament. It is usually used to describe someone who has first position in terms of leadership. The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew but was eventually translated into Greek. It seems that the Greek translations was used a lot in Jesus’ day. In that translation the Greek word used here was used repeatedly for this idea of the child who would be the head of a household or for other people who had the head position of leadership (Psalm 89:27, David (v. 20) was clearly not God’s physical child or even the first king ever born, but he would be the king among kings). So Jesus is the head over all of creation.

Verse 16 tells helps us see that is what Paul meant because in that verse Jesus is described as the creator of all things in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible. Paul uses the words heaven, earth, visible and invisible to describe what Jesus created. Some scholars think that Paul arranged the words in a pattern called a chiasm, there are parallel ideas that are arranged like they are reflected in a mirror. If the there are two ideas, A1 and B1, then their parallels are A2 and B2. The chiastic arrangement is A1-B1-B2-A2. So Heaven is parallel with invisible and Earth is parallel with visible. Heaven can have different meanings in the Bible, but in this case it is parallel with invisible and means the invisible created realm of spirits. In the second part of verse 16 he uses four words all that deal with authority: thrones, rulers, dominions, and authorities. These may refer to authority on the earth but in Ephesians 6:12 Paul uses very similar language to describe authority in the spirit realm. Remember that Paul wrote Ephesians at the same time he wrote Colossians. Also later in Colossians (2:18) we see that some people had been trying to get the Colossians to worship angles. It is more likely that Paul is talking about “spirit” authorities to point out that Jesus is master over them along with everything else. In the end of verse 16 Paul makes sure we understand that since Jesus created all things that all things exist for whatever purpose he has for them.

Verse 17 Paul gives a summary by telling us that Jesus existed before everything that was created (visible and invisible, everything) and that he also keeps the whole thing running. Jesus not only was the creator but his actions continue in his creation every day.

In verses 18-20 we see Jesus as the head of a new creation too. In Genesis 3 the original creation was cursed because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that was part of the consequence of their sin (see Romans 8:20-22). According to Romans 8:19 the whole creation is waiting for the “sons of God” to be revealed or seen. It is clear from the rest of Romans 8 that the “sons of God” are believer in Jesus and the whole creation is waiting to be set free from the effects of sin along with us. The Greek word that is translated “church” means “to call out”, like when people are picked to be on a team. Paul explains more about this team when he uses the idea of “firstborn” again this time in relationship to death.

The “dead” is parallel to church in this verse and is a description of what we are without Jesus; we die physically and are dead spiritually too (separated from God). In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Jesus is called the “first fruits” of those who are asleep (dead). It is similar to the idea of being “born” first. Also in Colossians 1:18 we are told he is the “beginning” that word is also parallel to “firstborn”. Jesus was the first to come back to life permanently from physical death. His resurrection proved his power or authority over physical death and helps us know he has power to restore our relationship with God too. So the idea of “leader” and “authority” is still here too.

Verse 18 ends by telling us that what Jesus has done leads to him having “first place” in everything. Again the idea of authority, but now it is not just over the “called out ones” but over everything.

In verse 19 we are told that it pleased God to have all “fullness” live or dwell in Jesus. The fullness is talking about all that God is; all that was in Jesus. Jesus was 100% God and !00% man. Verse 20 tells us why this was pleasing to God. Because Jesus, as the eternal God-Man, was able to pay the eternal price for the sins of all mankind (1 John 2:2). He was reconciling (the word means to restore a previous time of harmony) and bringing back peace between God and all things both in heaven and on earth. This was done as he died on the cross.

Jesus’ death on the cross was enough to pay the price for the sins of all mankind opening the door for us to live in peace and harmony with God forever. His actions also affect the whole physical universe that has been winding down and wearing out since Adam and Eve sinned. Once all of mankind who will turn back to God do, there will no longer be any need for a broken world to remind us of our broke relationship with God and the world will be restored to it’s former perfection too. Jesus, in his life, death, and resurrection proved that he is God in human flesh and has the power and authority to fix it all. Paul wanted the Colossians, who were being tempted to think that they needed more than Jesus, to see that Jesus is all that there is, and he is all that we need.

God I’m not great at singing but I do appreciate who you are and the fact that you love me. Help me remember always who you are and what you have done. Let my life be a song to you, honoring you and praising you through my thoughts and actions. Help me remember that you made it all and yet you became a man to remake me, and others too. Thank you for such a great love, help me remember that you are all there is to live for.

Colossians 1:9-14. Yesterday we started reading a letter written by Paul to the church at Colosse. The church was started by a guy named Epaphras who probably heard about Jesus in Ephesus from Paul and then traveled back to his hometown and told people what he had learned. Paul considered Epaphras a fellow servant of Jesus. Epaphras had kept in touch with Paul and kept him informed about how the new believers in Colosse were doing (By the time Paul wrote Colossians the church there was between 5-8 years old).

Paul heard that the believers there were filled with hope about their eternal future with God. They had a strong trust (faith) in what they had been taught about Jesus and were living their lives dedicated to serving God through serving others. This love was prompted by the Holy Spirit living in and motivating each believer. In verses 9-14 Paul tells them that their faith and lives encouraged him to pray to God for them all the time.

In verse 9 Paul uses two words to describe his how he talked to God: Pray and ask. The first one basically means to “talk to” although he used a prefix that seems to make the word more personal. The second word means “to crave, desire, want, or beg.” What we see here is Paul strongly and sincerely asking God to act in the lives of the believers in Colosse. Specifically he was asking God that they would know what God wanted them to do (the knowledge of his will) and that their understanding would include the spiritual part of life too.

In verse 10 we see that he was asking God to help them understand so that their lives would honor Jesus (worthy of the Lord), would please God, would be “fruitful”, and would help them understand even more. Lives worth of the Lord involve sacrifice and service. Jesus came to earth to give his life as the payment for all our disobedience and rebellion (sin, the price of sin is death, spiritual separation from God. Mark 10:45, Romans 3:23). When we want the same things that God wants and live that way it pleases God. This includes “bearing fruit”. That doesn’t means we turn into a tree and grow oranges from our fingertips. Fruit is often a metaphor for our actions (Matthew 3:7-12), in this case Paul wants them to live lives that honor God. Paul also wants them to keep understanding more and more about God and their relationship with him.

In verses 11-12 we see that the power to live for God comes from God and that that power makes us stable in our relationship with God. We also see tat this is source of joy and thankfulness to God. At the end of verse 12 Paul brings what he is saying full circle back to the “hope” of verse 5. As his request to God is fulfilled and the Colossians live more and more for God each day, their lives are filled with thanks to God; thanks for lives that prove the reality of what they had been hoping for; living with him for eternity. The light at the end of verse 12 is probably a metaphor for Jesus (see Matthew 4:16; John 1:5). Verse 13 echoes the quote in Matthew 4:16. We are all in a dark place spiritually but Jesus helps us see and understand spiritual reality and provides a way to return to God. In verses 13-14 we see that God is helping us return to the “kingdom of his beloved son”. We need to remember that God is one but exists as three persons all at the same time. Sometimes it is difficult to separate the persons and what they have done since ultimately there is one God (see  “Three or One?”). Was God the creator or Jesus? Is the kingdom God’s or Jesus’? Both, all three, don’t forget the Holy Spirit. Don’t get too stuck on trying to completely understand it all, know that the information we have about God and Jesus in the Bible is completely accurate. That, by the way, is part of Paul’s point here, our faith is based on facts and reality. If you read the “Intro to Colossians” you would know that part of what Paul is doing here is combatting people who are trying to get the believers in Colosse to become more Jewish, even to follow some of the stranger Jewish groups or sects. The Essenes were heavily into supernatural stuff, things that mysteries are made of. Paul is using word and examples that are here and now and out in the open; no mysteries just real life stuff out in the open.

There are lots of cults and religions in our world just like in the days of Paul. God’s not like that though. Everything is out in the open; God wants us to know about sin and separation, His son and salvation. The only mystery is why people would reject God’s offer of a free anew relationship with Him, one that will last into eternity and one that is filled with joy and peace. God has given hope to a hopeless world. If you don’t think your world in hopeless look at all the darkness in our entertainment, movies and games, and books and TV shows about Zombie Apocalypse and the Undead. Stories about an ugly bleak future. That is what we invent. God gives us hope for a new and renewed eternity. One filled with light and goodness, where there is no death, nor sorrow, no hunger nor thirst (Revelation 21:4, 7:16) One where we live with him forever. Wow I feel like Paul’s prayer is being answered in my life too.

Thank you God for showing me. Thank you for helping me learn more about you each day. Thank you for making the truth of your word, the Bible, more and more obvious each day. Give me the strength to keep on keeping in your word. Thank you for paying for me, thank you for forgiving me, thank you for a great future home, help me show this reality to others.