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He is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal.
It was by Him that everything was created:
the heavens, the earth, all things within and upon them, all things seen and unseen,
thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities.
Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes.
He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together.
He is the head of this body, the church. He is the beginning,
the first of those to be reborn from the dead, so that in every aspect, at every view, in everything—
He is first. God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son who,
as predetermined by God, bled peaceG1517 into the world by His death on the cross
as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—
all things in heaven and all things on earth.
Colossians 1:15-20 (VOICE)
The MacArthur Study Bible has a good note on this passage:
1:15–20 One component in the heresy threatening the Colossian church was the denial of the deity of Christ. Paul combats that damning element of heresy with an emphatic defense of Christ’s deity. (91)
Jesus is the exact image of God meaning the incarnate Jesus was God in a form man could see. However, Jesus has also existed eternally and not only was present at creation but was, indeed, the one who created everything, spoke the world into being, breathed life into Adam, and is still the glue that holds everything together. If one planet strayed a tiny amount out of its orbit, the entire solar system might end up colliding. Jesus not only orders our lives but is the one who makes sure that everything in the universe stays on course! He is the firstborn from the dead meaning that he is the first person resurrected to never die again, and we will follow Him into that life if we have trusted in Him on this earth. In everything, Jesus is first, before, or in some translations “preeminent”. Jesus is before all things in the sense that he was present at creation. He is first in the sense that he is supreme, above all things. We found a great article on this passage at GotQuestions.org:
Colossians 1:15–23 contains the apostle Paul’s counterargument against false teachings about the nature and divinity of Jesus Christ. This important section of Scripture is given titles such as “The Preeminence of Christ” (ESV) or “The Supremacy of the Son of God” (NIV). False teachers were claiming that Jesus may have been prominent but not the foremost, highest-ranking being in all creation. As part of his case, Paul stated, “He [Jesus] is before all things” (Colossians 1:17, ESV), meaning Jesus Christ existed before anything else was created. Since only God can exist before all of creation, Paul affirmed that Jesus Christ is God. (92)
All of God’s “fullness” was in Jesus meaning that he was equal in power with God the Father. Jesus was fully God and fully human at the same time, a concept difficult for our finite minds to grasp. He needed to be human in order to meet the qualifications of being the perfect, sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God provided His own sacrifice to make peace with us. Jesus’s purpose in becoming a man was to reconcile people to God. To do that, he had to satisfy the righteous wrath of God by being our substitute on the cross. We deserved the death penalty for our sin, our disobedience to God. Truly, we were filthy, covered in our sin and incapable of making ourselves right with God. Jesus “bled peace into the world” by his sacrifice on the cross. His blood is the only cleansing agent capable of removing the stain of sin from our lives. Jesus, in his love for us, chose to lay down his life in order to wash away everything that would separate us from God forever. The only way to have peace with God is to trust in, rely on, Jesus’s finished work on the cross, surrendering our lives to His control. Just as Jesus was raised from the dead to have a new body that could never die, so will we be given a new body like His when we are resurrected from the dead to live in peace with God forever.
Do you have peace with God? That is the beginning point in order to have any other kind of peace. If you are not absolutely sure that your sins are forgiven and Jesus is preparing a place for you (John 14:1-3), please turn to the “Jewels of Salvation” section in this book and/or contact a Bible teaching pastor, Sunday school teacher, or Christian friend to discuss in full how you can have peace with God. If you already have peace with God, you now have the responsibility and privilege of sharing that Good News with others! Remember: Jesus came to give us abundant life, a life full of peace, love, and joy!
John 10:10 (AMP) The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
Father, we thank you that our lives are made full and joyful because we have trusted in Christ’s completed work on the cross and believed in His resurrection from the dead. Thank You that this abundant life cannot be stolen by Satan because You hold us securely in Your hand. (John 10:27-30).
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace and peaceG1515 to you from God our Father.
Colossians 1:1-2
As with the letter to the Ephesians, Paul was writing to believers, those who had trusted Jesus, at Colossae and then at Laodicea, as many of his letters were read in one place then shared with another church. Paul indicated that Timothy was with him and sent greetings as well. Paul was not a loner. He often worked as a team with another minister. In fact, Timothy was one of Paul’s spiritual children, a man he had discipled and helped to grow in his faith to the point that he ultimately sent Timothy out to pastor a church. Paul extended his usual greeting to the recipients of the letter by pronouncing grace and peace to them from the Lord. We’ll look at grace and peace in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and then dive deeper into the full meaning of grace by looking it up in The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament:
G5485 Charis – . . .graciousness of manner or act: lit. fig., or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life . . (88)
G1515 eirḗnē, i-ray’-nay; probably from a primary verb eírō (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication, prosperity:—one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again. (89)
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
G5485 cháris – (III) (B) Of the grace, favor and goodwill of God and Christ as exercised toward men: where cháris is joined with eirḗné (1515), peace, éleos (1656), mercy, and the like in salutations, including the idea of every kind of favor, blessing, good, as proceeding from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal. 1:3). Also, in the introduction to most of the epistles (Eph 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:2, Titus 1:4, Phile. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:2, 2 Pet. 1:2; 2 John 1:3; Rev. 1:4). (90)
Zodhiates, Spiros, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament
Grace as defined above was asking the Lord to effect transformation in their lives and bestow blessings on them. With the word peace, Paul was indicating his desire that the Lord set their lives in order, make them whole, and give them rest. He was believing the Lord would extend every kind of blessing to them. Perhaps we need to revive this greeting in our own letters, emails, or when we meet up with our Christian friends.
In your opinion, could we revive the greeting of “Grace and peace to you from God the Father?” Why or why not? Could we use this greeting with non-believers or with Christians only?
Father, let us pray for Your grace and peace in other believers’ lives. Let it not just be a way to begin a letter or greet a friend but our true prayer for them.
Pronouncing a blessing was not new to the Apostle Paul. We find a benediction that has been set to music many times in Numbers 6:24-26. Listen to one of our favorite settings. By the way, if you memorize this song, you have memorized Scripture!