Part 1: The TRUE Meaning and Misunderstanding of Colossians 1:15.
The True Meaning and Misunderstanding of Colossians 1:15
By Simon Brown
Quick Facts
Colossians 1:15 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the New Testament.
Many Christians are taught that the phrase “firstborn of all creation” proves that Jesus pre-existed before His birth and that He created the Genesis creation.
But is this what Paul actually meant?
In Colossians 1:15, Paul clearly makes a distinction between:
Jesus Christ, who is the image of God,
and
the invisible God Himself.
Paul does not say Jesus is the invisible God.
Paul says Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
That is a very important difference.
Colossians 1:15
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
Let us begin with the first part of the verse:
“He is the image of the invisible God.”
The Greek word translated image is εἰκών — eikōn.
This word means an image, likeness, representation, copy, or visible expression of someone or something.
So Paul is saying that Jesus is the image, likeness, and visible representation of His God and Father.
But please notice what Paul does not say.
Paul does not say:
“Jesus is the invisible God.”
If Jesus were the invisible God Himself, surely Paul could have said so plainly.
Instead, Paul says Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
An image is not the original.
An image represents the original.
This is simple and important.
Who Is the Invisible God?
Jesus said:
“God is Spirit.”
John 4:24
Paul also wrote:
“Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.”
1 Timothy 6:16
Notice carefully:
“No one has ever seen or can see.”
Paul also wrote:
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Timothy 1:17
So we have three clear facts:
God is invisible.
No man has ever seen God or can see God.
The Father is called the only God.
Jesus Himself confirmed this when He said:
“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
John 5:44
Therefore, when Paul says Jesus is the image of the invisible God, he is not saying Jesus is the invisible God Himself.
He is saying Jesus perfectly reveals and represents the invisible God.
Jesus Was Seen Because Jesus Was a Man
The invisible God cannot be seen.
But Jesus was seen by many.
People saw Him.
People touched Him.
People heard Him.
People watched Him suffer and die.
Why?
Because Jesus was a real man.
As Scripture says:
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 2:5
This is why Jesus could be the visible image of the invisible God.
He revealed the Father perfectly.
Hebrews 1:3 says:
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.”
And 2 Corinthians 4:4 says:
“Christ, who is the image of God.”
Again, Jesus is called the image of God.
He is not called the invisible God Himself.
Image Does Not Mean Original
This is a simple fact many overlook.
Being the image of someone does not make you the same person as the one you are the image of.
Genesis 1:26 says:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
Man was made in the image of God.
But man is not God.
So when Paul says Jesus is the image of God, this does not mean Jesus is God Himself.
It means Jesus is the perfect human image, reflection, and representation of His Father.
Paul’s Own Teaching
Paul did not teach that there are two Gods.
Paul wrote:
“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 8:6
Paul identifies the one God as the Father.
This agrees perfectly with Jesus’ own words:
“This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
John 17:3
Jesus did not call Himself the only true God.
Jesus called His Father the only true God.
So if Colossians 1:15 is used to teach that Jesus is the same God as the Father, then that interpretation contradicts Jesus and Paul.
The Firstborn of All Creation
Now let us look at the second part of Colossians 1:15:
“The firstborn of all creation.”
Many Christians are told this means Jesus was alive before the world began and was the firstborn before all created things.
But is that what Paul meant?
Paul explains his own meaning just a few verses later:
“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
This is the key.
Paul connects Jesus being firstborn with His resurrection from the dead.
Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.
He is the first to receive immortal resurrection life.
He is the beginning of God’s new creation.
He is first in rank, honour, authority, and preeminence.
Other Scriptures Confirm This
Paul also wrote:
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
1 Corinthians 15:20
And again:
“Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:23
Romans 8:29 says:
“That He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Acts 26:23 says:
“That the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Revelation 1:5 says:
“Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead.”
So the Bible itself explains what firstborn means.
Jesus is firstborn because He is the firstborn from the dead.
He is the beginning of the new creation.
He is the first glorified man.
He is the one God has exalted above all others.
Firstborn Means Preeminence
The word firstborn does not always mean the first person born in time.
It can also mean first in rank, honour, inheritance, authority, and importance.
Jesus is firstborn because God has made Him supreme over all things in the new creation.
He has preeminence.
He has superiority.
He has greatness.
He has excellence.
He has distinction.
He has prominence.
He has authority.
He has been exalted by God.
But if Jesus were God Himself, He would not need to be given authority.
Yet Jesus said:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”
Matthew 28:18
If authority was given to Jesus, then the one who gave Him that authority is greater than Him.
That is why Paul wrote:
“The head of Christ is God.”
1 Corinthians 11:3
God Created Alone
If Jesus pre-existed and created the Genesis creation, then we must ask a serious question:
Why does God repeatedly say He created alone?
Isaiah 44:24 says:
“I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who alone stretches out the heavens; who spreads out the earth by myself.”
This is very clear.
God says He created:
alone
and
by Himself.
Genesis 1:1 says:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
Genesis 1:27 says:
“So God created man in His own image.”
Matthew 19:4 says:
“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?”
Jesus Himself says the Creator made them male and female.
Jesus does not say, “I created them.”
Jesus does not say, “We created them.”
Jesus points back to God as the Creator.
No Claim of Joint Creation
There is no verse where Yahweh the Father says His Son was with Him creating the Genesis creation.
There is no verse where Jesus says He was alive with the Father before the world began creating all things.
Instead, Scripture says God had His Son in His plan and foreknowledge before the foundation of the world.
1 Peter 1:20 says:
“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.”
Notice the word:
Foreknown.
It does not say Jesus was already living with God before the foundation of the world.
It says He was foreknown.
Acts 2:23 says Jesus was delivered up according to:
“The determined plan and foreknowledge of God.”
This shows that Jesus was always central in God’s great plan.
God created with His Son in mind.
God’s purpose was always to bring salvation, authority, and new creation through His beloved Son.
Why This Matters
If we say Jesus is the invisible God, then we contradict Paul, who said Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
If we say Jesus is the Creator alongside God, then we contradict Isaiah 44:24, where Yahweh says He created alone and by Himself.
If we say Jesus is God Himself, then we create confusion between the one God and the Son of God.
This can lead people away from the true man Christ Jesus and into belief in a pre-human being, a spirit being, an angelic being, or a false Christ who is not the real Son of God revealed in Scripture.
The Bible teaches:
There is one God, the Father.
There is one Lord, Jesus Christ.
There is one mediator, the man Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
Colossians 1:15 does not teach that Jesus is the invisible God.
It teaches that Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
Colossians 1:15 does not prove Jesus created the Genesis creation.
It points to Jesus as the firstborn from the dead, the beginning of God’s new creation, and the one God has exalted above all.
Jesus is the perfect image of His Father.
Jesus is the true Son of God.
Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus is the firstborn from the dead.
Jesus is the man whom God has appointed, raised, glorified, and placed over all things.
Next time, we will examine Colossians 1:16 and ask:
Is Paul speaking about the Genesis creation, or is he speaking about God’s new creation and authority through Christ?
The common view is that Jesus' title "firstborn of all creation" proves His divinity and pre-existence.
But is this accurate?
Paul's teachings contradict this idea.
In 1 Corinthians 8:6, he affirms the Father as the only one true God alone. If Jesus pre-existed and created all things, it would clash with biblical teachings (Matthew 19:4-5, Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 44:24).
Jesus and God never claimed joint creation.
Scripture consistently shows God created alone (Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 44:24). Saying Jesus is God or co-creator raises questions about His true nature which makes a false christ and not the true man and Christ, but would be some kind of hybrid or an Angel.
So, what does Colossians 1:15-16 mean?
Join me next time as we uncover the truth about Jesus as the "firstborn" and what Paul meant by the creation through Him 😊.
Simon Brown.
Original article here: The TRUE Meaning and Misunderstanding Of Colossians 1:15.
No comments:
Post a Comment