note of prologue
a lot of these terms were 'loaded' to the original audience/context.
this next section combines a lot of greek and hebrew thought concerning
god and the universe ('wisdom' [jewish], 'logos' [stoic/greek],
'image' [platonic/greek]), etc.
so understand that some things that seem odd are referencing other thoughts -
Paul is able to refer to a wealth of meaning with a well-placed word.
there is also some thought that some or all of this section may be a hymn.
how are we to know this sort of thing just reading through the section?
read an expert (commentary).
we won't have the background to catch references to other first
century ideas (unless we have read a lot of first century literature).
1. image of God (v15)
note that god is described as 'invisible' - that provides a clue as to what 'image'
refers to.
how are we (men) to understand a spiritual god unlike us?
how is man, in the physical world, to know of the invisible/spiritual
god?
"a common answer was found in the term 'image'" (nigtc commentary,p87)
in light of the effect of salvation (peace and unity with god),
this makes lots of sense.
we should also consider the revelation contained in the incarnation
itself however. (merry xmas)
christ is *the* revelation of god from the spiritual world to the physical
2. first born of all creation, all things were created by and for him (v16)
'first born'?
this must be taken as establishing supremecy, not origin
as verse explains that everything was created through him.
(contrast with arian heresy [christ was the first created being])
'image' and creator'
not only is the image of God to our world...
...but he is the author of our world.
why were things created?
for him (v16)
('why' is normally critically important when they're provided)
this answer may not seem significant until you consider what
gives things value...
christ is fully superior to our world/concepts - he created our world
by his own power, for himself.
3. all things hold together (v17)
christ's role/supremacy extends beyond creation...
(missler's strong nuclear force...good grief)
christ is the maintainer of our world; supreme over all aspects
4. head of the body, the church (v18)
(see notes on item 5 [first born from the dead])
5. the beginning, the first born from the dead (v18)
having established that christ is over creation, paul now shows Christ's role
in the creation that is to come.
christ is over the new church, the new heavens/earth.
christ is supreme in the future (the eschatalogical future)
6. the fulness dwells in him (v15)
fulness of what?
compare to 2:9 "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form"
fulness here is understood as :
at minimum, christ is the summary and completeness of everything
possibly, this idea may be specifically expressing the fulness of diety (as in 2:9)
christ is the summary of all
7. reconciled all things to himself (v20)
the perfect transition to the next section, and the tie to the previous
reconciliation of this fallen world to god is through christ
this is all part of what we call the 'pre-eminence of christ'.
pre-eminence : high status or importance owing to marked superiority (WordNet)
we gloss over the nature of christ because he is too hard for us to comprehend
we shouldn't
1. our salvation is that much more weighty when viewed next to the nature of christ
(hebrews 2:3 "how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation")
2. this weight increases when viewed next to the sinfulness of man
v21 - And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
romans 5:6-11
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for
the good man someone would dare even to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we
shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
And not only this, but we also exult in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
note paul's use of the term redemption
used of the ransom of a captive or of a prisoner of war from captivity.
strong parallel to romans 3 and romans 6 (esp)
it also reinforces the 'kingdom' language in 13,14.
note that this is through the "father's good pleasure"
we are saved because it was god's pleasure to do so
is that saying that we can lose our salvation?
this is debated!
it is probably better to say that we must endure.
1 john 2:19 - "they went out, in order that it might be shown that
they all are not of us"