03/24/2008
15 [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation;
16 because by Him everything was created,
in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
18 He is also the head of the body, the church;
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that He might come to have first place in everything.
19 For God was pleased [to have] all His fullness dwell in Him,
20 and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself
by making peace through the blood of His cross—
whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Islam believes that Jesus lived, but that he was simply a prophet. Many New-Age religions also acknowledge Jesus, but only as a good teacher. And I think many times, even as Christians, we trivialize who Jesus really was.
It is easy for us to look on Jesus as friend and teacher—even as someone higher than us. But can we really grasp who He was completely?
Paul very eloquently states above who Jesus is. Let’s take a look at a few of his points.
Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” For ages humans worshiped a God they could not see. The closest we come to seeing God is manifestations like the burning-bush, or the pillar of smoke and fire that led the Israelites through the desert. But those were only manifestations, not true images of God. When Jesus came, He was the image of the invisible God. Note that Jesus did not *become* the image of the invisible God, He *was* the image of the invisible God. That is because He *is* God.
By saying that Jesus was the “firstborn of all creation” does not imply that Jesus is a created being, but rather, in human terms, the firstborn Son became the patriarch over the estate of the father. In the same way, Jesus is in charge of all creation. He existed before all things and has dominion over all things.
Jesus is also “the head of the church”. We must remember this. It is too easy for us to try to put some person our counsel at the head of the church but Jesus is the head and we should always keep that fact central to our theology as well as our daily lives.
“God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in [Jesus].” This tells us that while Jesus was entirely human, He was also entirely God. God dwelt in Jesus, completely.
What, then, does it mean by “making peace”?
Some may take this to mean that this implies peace on earth; but rather, it means to settle accounts. Think of it this way. If your mortgage holder wanted to be your friend, but he knew that the mortgage would always be in the way, he pays (not dismisses) the mortgage himself so that you can again be friends.
Jesus came to settle our accounts through His blood on the cross to allow us to approach him without the encumbrance of that debt.
In these days after Easter, we remember the cross, representing the death of Jesus—and the payment of our debt. But finally, we see Jesus as the “firstborn from the dead.” By this we know that Jesus was raised from the dead—by His own authority. And thereby, we also have the promise of resurrection and life with Him.
Take a few moments to contemplate all these things and honor God and Jesus for who He truly is.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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