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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Col_1:15-20
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions 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. 18He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Col_1:15-20 This wonderful poetic passage may reflect an early church hymn or creed. It deals with (1) the cosmic lordship of Jesus and (2) His redemptive acts. The same dual aspect is seen in Heb_1:2-3. It reflects several Gnostic terms, "firstborn," "fullness," and concepts like the angelic levels (i.e. aeons) of Col_1:16, and Jesus' true humanity and death in Col_1:20.
Notice the term "all" is used seven times (cf. Col_1:15-16 [twice],17 [twice],18,20). Jesus' ministry is inclusive, all that is, is from Him.
1. by Him all things were created
2. all things have been created through Him
3. He is before all things
4. in Him all things hold together
5. He himself will come to have first place in every thing
6. all the fullness to dwell in Him
7. through Him to reconcile all things to Himself (the pronoun "Himself" probably relates to the Father)
Notice how often the pronoun "Him" is presented with different prepositions.
1. "in Him," Col_1:16-17; Col_1:19
2. "through Him," Col_1:16; Col_1:20
3. "unto/into Him," Col_1:16; Col_1:20 (notice this same thing in Eph_1:3-14)
Col_1:15 "He is the image of the invisible God" The same word (eikôn) is used of Jesus in Col_3:10 and 2Co_4:4. A similar theological expression occurs in Joh_1:18; Joh_14:9; Php_2:6; Heb_1:3. The Heb_1:3 passage has the stronger Greek term (charakter, which means an exact representation, cf. Gen_1:26-27; Gen_5:1; Gen_9:6; 1Co_11:7; Jas_3:9). To see Jesus is to see God! The invisible God has become visible! Deity has become a man (cf. Joh_14:9).
Jesus' ministry was to restore the image of God in humanity. In one sense Eden had been restored through Jesus, the second Adam (cf. Rom_5:12-21; 1Co_15:20-28; Php_2:6). It is even possible that heaven will be a restored Eden:
1. the Bible begins with God, mankind and the animals (cf. Genesis 1-2) and ends with God and mankind in a garden setting (with the animals by implication, cf. Revelation 21-22)
2. the prophecy of Isa_11:6-9 describes children and animals together in the new age
3. new Jerusalem comes down to a recreated earth (cf. 2Pe_3:10-13; Rev_21:2)
▣ "the firstborn of all creation" This was an OT metaphor for Jesus' unique and exalted position.
1. the rabbis said it meant preeminence (cf. Exo_4:22)
2. in the OT it was used for the eldest son as heir and manager of the family
3. in Psa_89:27 it was used in a Messianic sense
4. in Pro_8:22 it referred to Wisdom as God's first creation and agent of creation. In context options #1 and #2 combined seem best
This phrase is not to be understood as Jesus being the first creation (#4). This would have played into the hands of the Gnostic teachers, who taught that Jesus was the highest angelic level next to the high god. It must be interpreted in its Jewish OT setting. Jesus was deity's unique son (cf. Joh_1:18; Joh_3:16; Joh_3:18; 1Jn_4:9), yet Jesus was always Deity (cf. Col_1:17; Joh_1:1; Joh_5:18; Joh_10:30; Joh_14:9; Joh_20:28). He became a human in time, at Bethlehem, so that fallen mankind could comprehend and understand Deity (cf. Joh_1:14; Joh_1:18).
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Col_1:16 "by Him all things were created" Jesus was God's agent of creation, both of the visible and invisible, earthly and heavenly spheres (cf. Joh_1:3; Joh_1:10; Rom_11:36; 1Co_8:6; Heb_1:2; Heb_2:10). This refuted the Gnostics' world view of the antithetical relationship between spirit (God) and matter. It was Jesus who spoke the cosmos into existence (cf. Genesis 1). It was Jesus who formed Adam and breathed into him the breath of life (cf. Genesis 2).
The verb "created" is used twice in Col_1:16. The first is aorist passive indicative and the second at the end of the verse (in Greek) is perfect passive indicative. The thrust is that Jesus is the agent in creation but the Father is the primary cause. Creation was in (en) Jesus, through (dia) Jesus and for (eis) Jesus!
▣ "thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities" In some contexts these terms could refer to earthly governmental leaders (cf. Romans 13), but in the context of Colossians they refer to the false teachers' angelic levels (aeons, cf. Rom_8:38; 1Co_15:24; Eph_1:21; Eph_3:10; Eph_6:12; Col_1:16; Col_2:10; Col_2:15; 1Pe_3:22). The ancients saw the world not only in physical cause and effect relationships, but as a spiritual realm as well. It is impossible to have a biblical worldview and deny the spiritual realm. See Special Topic: Angels in Paul's Writings at Eph_6:12.
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▣ "and for Him" Jesus was not only God the Father's agent in creation, but the goal of creation as well (cf. Rom_11:36; Heb_2:10).
▣ Col_1:17 "He is before all things" There has never been a time when Jesus was not! Jesus is preexistent Deity (cf. Joh_1:1-2; Joh_8:58; Joh_17:5; Joh_17:24; 2Co_8:9; Php_2:6-7; Col_1:17; Heb_10:5-7)! Notice the emphatic use of "He" (autos) in Col_1:17-18, "He, Himself, is before all things" and "He, Himself, is head of the body"!
NASB, NRSV,
NJB "in Him all things hold together"
NKJV "in Him all things consist"
TEV "in union with him all things have their proper place"
This is a perfect active indicative of the "syn" compound "to stand with" (sunistçmi) which implies "to continue," "to endure," or "to exist."
This is the doctrine of providence (cf. Heb_1:3) and it is personal! "All things" refers to creation-material and spiritual. Jesus is the sustainer as well as creator of all things. In the OT these functions describe the work of Elohim (God).
Col_1:18 "He is also the Head of the body, the church" As Jesus was preeminent in creation; so He is in the Church. This refers to the universal church (cf. Eph_1:22-23; Eph_4:15; Eph_5:23; Col_1:18; Col_2:9). Believers are both individually (cf. 1Co_6:19) and corporately (cf. 1Co_3:16) the body of Christ (i.e., the new temple). Paul often spoke of the church as the body of Christ (cf. 1Co_12:12-27), but it is only in Ephesians and Colossians that Jesus is said to be "the Head" of that body. In reality He is Head of all things, even the principalities and powers (cf. Eph_1:22).
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▣ "He is the beginning " At first glance this looks like another allusion to creation (cf. Gen_1:1), but the context has changed to the church. In this setting the term "beginning" probably relates to the Greek sense of origin or source. Jesus is the Head or source of life of the new people of God, Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female (cf. Col_3:11; Gal_3:28). He is the new Adam (cf. Rom_5:12-21). The head of a new race, Christian (cf. Eph_2:11 to Eph_3:13).
▣ "the firstborn from the dead" The definitive NT passage on the resurrection is 1 Corinthians 15. Jesus is preeminent, "the first born" (see Special Topic at Col_1:15) in resurrection as He was in creation (cf. Col_1:15; Rom_1:4; Rev_1:5). His resurrection is a promise and a sign that all believers will be resurrected.
In 1Co_15:20; 1Co_15:23 Jesus is called the "first fruits." This is a synonymous OT metaphor. Jesus is the forerunner in all areas. He is both "first born" (cf. Rev_1:5) and "first fruits."
▣ "so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything" This summary statement is similar to Eph_1:22-23. The Father has made the Son supreme and preeminent in all things (cf. 1Co_15:27-28).
Col_1:19 This starts with "for" (hoti, a purpose clause). It states God's will for the Messiah which is (1) the fullness of deity to be revealed in Him (cf. Col_1:19) and (2) the reconciliation of all things through Him (cf. Col_1:20).
NASB "for all the fullness to dwell in Him"
NKJV "that in Him all the fullness should dwell"
NRSV "For in him all the fullness of God. . .to dwell"
TEV "that the Son has in himself the full nature of God"
NJB "all fullness to be found in him"
This is a play on the word "full" (plerôma), which was used by the false teachers to describe the angelic levels between the good high god and sinful matter (cf. Col_2:9; Eph_1:23; Eph_3:19; Eph_4:13). This was a startling statement to describe a carpenter from Nazareth who was executed for treason! To see Jesus is to see God!
Col_1:20 "and through Him to reconcile" The term (cf. Col_1:22) meant "to change from hostility to peace" especially between persons. Sin has caused a separation between the creator and the created. God acted in Christ to restore the fellowship (cf. Rom_5:18-19). This is a double compound word (apokatallassô) for theological emphasis (cf. Col_1:22). Paul used the same word in Eph_2:16 and the same root in 2Co_5:18-20.
▣ "all things" This refers to all creation, visible and invisible (cf. Rom_8:18 ff; 1Co_15:27-28; Eph_1:22-23).
▣ "to Himself" This could theologically refer to the Father or the Son. Context is the only guide. Here the Father seems best.
▣ "having made peace through the blood of His cross" This referred to Jesus' sacrificial death (cf. Rom_5:9; Eph_1:7; Eph_2:13; Eph_2:16). The reconciliation was not without great cost! The emphasis was possibly on His humanity (blood) as well as His vicarious atonement (sacrifice, cf. Isaiah 53; 2Co_5:21). The false teachers would have affirmed His deity but denied His humanity and death.
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▣ "His cross" Deu_21:23 asserted that anyone who hung on a tree was under a divine curse (cf. Php_2:8). Originally this referred to public impaling after death instead of a proper burial. However, by Jesus' day the rabbis interpreted it as crucifixion. Jesus took sinful mankind's curse, the curse of the Old Covenant, on Himself (cf. Col_2:14; Gal_3:13; Php_2:8).
▣ "whether things on earth or things in heaven" This phrase is directed to the false antithesis between "spirit" (heaven) and "matter" (earth, cf. Col_1:16).