Colossians 1:15-20 (part 1)

Introduction

Colossians 1:15-20 is one of the most beautiful, and challenging, passages in Colossians. At its highest level, Paul makes his point clearly: The Son is supreme over all of creation! However, the more one digs into the details, the more questions arise, both exegetical and theological. Aside from a couple of remarks about the possible structure of the passage, my methodology for this study will be to walk through it phrase by phrase. Because of the density of the passage, I have broken this into to separate posts.

Structure

While the structure is not entirely clear, I see reasonably good evidence for breaking it into two parts. Colossians 1:15-17 demonstrates that the Son is supreme over all of creation. Colossians 1:18-20 demonstrates that the Son is supreme over New Creation, that which he has reconciled to God through the cross. Verses 15-17 focus on the Son’s creative work. Verses 18-20 focus on His reconciling work. 

Consider the following parallels (or close parallels):

Colossians 1:15-17	Colossians 1:18-20
“The firstborn over all creation” (15)	“The firstborn from among the dead” (18)
“The Son is the image of the invisible God” (15)	“God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (19)
“In him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth” (16)	“Through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or in heaven” (20)
“He is before all things” (17)	“He is the beginning” (18)

So, each part focuses on some aspect of Christ’s work – creation and reconciliation – while simultaneously showing the common theme: the Son’s supremacy. 

The Son is supreme over all Creation

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

The Image of the Invisible God

First, this phrase presents the Son as the true human. Adam and Eve were formed in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Now Christ stands in their place as the “image of the invisible God.” Elsewhere, Paul sees Jesus as the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45). Whereas Adam brought death into the world, Christ brings life (Romans 5:15). The Son fulfills what it means to be the “image of God,” to be truly human.

Second, this phrase presents the Son as the full revelation of God. If we want to know what God “looks like” we can look to Jesus. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:4). Or, as John puts it: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18). 

The Son is visible, in contrast to the Father’s invisible nature. And, while we no longer physically see Jesus’s body, the things he did in his physical body, his works, his message, his death, and his resurrection, all reveal God’s character.

The firstborn over all creation

The word “firstborn” will be used later in the passage (“firstborn from among the dead”). The Greek word has two senses. The dominant sense, used here, is one of being “first place” or “preeminent.” The firstborn son is the one who will carry along the familial authority from the father. The king can be referred to as the “firstborn.” Of David God says, “And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth” (Psalm 89:27). The second sense, used below, has to do with order – the first to do something. The context helps us understand the meaning.

Paul uses this idea of order/preeminence throughout the passage. For instance, when Paul says that the Son “is before all things,” he means both in time and in supremacy. He existed before the dawn of creation and stands over and above that creation. Again, when Paul says that the Son “is the beginning” (18) he means that the Son marks the beginning of the new creation in his resurrection, but also that he is the head and authority over that new creation. 

In him all things were created

Some translations say “by him” (KJV, NASB, CSB) while others say “in him” (NIV, ASV). The Greek preposition has a wide range of meanings, so either translation could be correct. “In him” is more literal, but “by him” might help the reader more easily understand what Paul is trying to say. His point is that the Son is the agent of creation. He acted along with the Father and the Spirit to bring creation into existence. In the words of John “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3).

New Testament scholar Scot McKnight sees something beyond agency, and prefers the translation “in him.” What would it mean for all of creation to be made in the Son? It would mean Christ “is the sphere in which creation occurred” or that “Christ created within the domain of his own powers” or that Christ is “the essential source of life in creation.” If McKnight is correct, then the phrase may mean something similar to the phrase used later in the passage, that in the Son “all things hold together.”

To help us understand the comprehensiveness of the “all things” that were created in Jesus, Paul expands using three phrases: Heaven/earth, Visible/invisible, Thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities. Christ is not only the agent of creation over the physical and visible world but also over the spiritual and invisible one. Paul may have in mind both human and spiritual powers when he refers to thrones, powers, dominions, and authorities. Whatever the authority, Christ created it. 

All things have been created through him and for him

Paul now extends the Son’s role in creation from means (“by”) to agent (“through”) and purpose (“for”). The Son stood before all of creation and also stands as its goal. The cosmos points to the Son and finds its fulfullment in the Him. Paul wants to give us the widest possible lens in order to grasp the scope of the Son’s supremacy in creation.

He is before all things and in him all things hold together

McKnight refers to verse 17 as a “recapitulation” or a restatement of what has already been said. 

Indeed, “before all things” should remind us of the phrase “firstborn over all creation.” The two refer to the same realities. The Son is before all things in time. And, He is before all things in hierarchy, that is, he is “above all things.” 

I see a subtle but important distinction between Paul’s description of the Son’s work in creation and his description of the Son holding all things together. The former puts an emphasis on bringing the world into existence and standing as it’s supreme King. It may be possible (though difficult) to construe a clockwork deity from this description alone. God wound up the clock at the beginning of creation. He’ll come back at the end. But in the meantime, He is distant. 

“In him all things hold together” excludes this interpretation. Not only does the cosmos owe it’s initial creation to the Son, but it’s ongoing existence as well. As Hebrews 1:3 puts it: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” 

Interlude

Before we move on to 18-20 I want step back from the passage and offer a philosophical challenge and then a pastoral comfort. 

First, the challenge: We have just spent a fair amount of time considering the Son’s supremacy over creation. Everything was created by him and through him and for him. Everything owes it’s ongoing existence to him. That is all well and good when we think about all of the beautiful parts of creation. 

But what do we do with those things which currently stand in rebellion? What about those things which bring us pain and suffering? What about dark spiritual forces? What about wicked and oppressive rulers and authorities? In short, we are brought up against the problem of evil.

There are different paths one can take here. For instance, one could embrace a form of theistic determinism: Yes, God is the creator and author of all of those things, even those things which we find evil or unpleasant, but they are part of God’s greater plan to bring about some ultimate good. That greater good is the glory of God and the salvation of His elect. Indeed, for many Christians, this seems both to be logically required and also greatly comforting. For, it gives us a lens to view all of our suffering: It is part of something much larger than we can comprehend. It has purpose. It is not “out of control.” The Son, who loves us, knows what he is doing. 

Nevertheless, this interpretation is not without its challenges, for it runs the risk of either diminishing the evil of evil (can it truly be evil if was always part of God’s eternal plan) or making God the author of evil: He created evil in order to bring about a greater good. Of course, we may appeal to mystery at this point. We know two things: First, we know that God is sovereign over all of creation (in a deterministic way) and we know that God is not responsible for evil. We only find difficult in reconciling those things because we approach them from such a limited perspective. We are “out of our depths” in trying to answer such questions. We are best to leave the “how” to the mystery of God.

The second path is to see God’s sovereignty as more general (he stands as an ultimate authority) and less particular (he’s responsible for all the details). In creation he granted some amount of authority to his creatures – to humans and spiritual beings. Ideally, his creatures would have exercised this authority by trusting and obeying their creator. Instead, they rebelled. Through that rebellion they brought evil into the world. That evil brought suffering, death, and alienation from their Creator. Creatures (human and spiritual) bear responsibility for evil and suffering. 

This path commends itself because it seems to do a better job – to my mind at least – of following the narrative arc of the Bible. However, we are still left with the challenge of what it means for the Son to be sovereign. We may say that the Son merely allows evil to occur. But, if God could stop it, but doesn’t, is that really different from simply causing it in the first place? I think there is, but some might say that allow vs. cause, when we are speaking of an all powerful being, is a distinction without a difference. We’re still left with the question of why God allows it in the first place. And, we’re likely to end up at about the same place: God allows it to occur because of some greater purpose that is outside of our ability to fully understand. 

Both of these paths have been taken (plus a thousands flavors in between) by Christians throughout the centuries. My point here, is to raise the tension.

I raise the tension not to leave the reader unsettled, but to hint at where the author is going to go in 18-20, and thus leave us with some pastoral comfort. Whereas 15-17 focuses on the Son’s work in creation, 18-20 focuses on his work in reconciliation. That the Son needs to reconcile all things to himself means that there exists some form of division, distance, rebellion, and enmity between the Son and creation. Things are not as they should be. Paul doesn’t spell it out here (though he will in 1:21) but it’s nevertheless implied in the story he tells. The Son created. The Son reconciles. Therefore, there must be some need for this reconciliation to occur.

And here is the comfort: Consider the power of the Son! By Him all things were made. By Him all things hold together. Now carry that power forward towards his work in reconciliation! If he is powerful enough to create all things, is he not powerful enough to reconcile all things? Is he not powerful enough to set all things right? Is he not powerful enough to overcome the problem of evil? Can he not even raise the dead?

Things are not as they should be, but we can trust in the power of the Son who stands with the Father and the Spirit in creation, to also reconcile that same creation to himself. And that is where we will turn next.