Scripture Reading: Col. 1:15-19
In the traditional teaching prevailing in Christianity, Christ is considered to be the Creator. Although as God Christ is the Creator, no verse in the Bible says explicitly that Christ created the heavens, the earth, and all the things in the universe. When some hear this, they may wonder about John 1:3. This verse says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being which has come into being.” This verse does not say that Christ created all things. It says that all things came into existence through Christ. The King James Version of this verse says, “All things were made by him.” This, however, is not an accurate translation. The Greek preposition should be rendered through and not by. Hence, this verse does not say that all things were created by Christ, but that all things came into existence through Christ. This indicates that Christ is the means of creation.
Some may think that Heb. 1:10-12 says that Christ is the Creator. However, these verses are a quotation from Psalm 102 that indicates that God is the Creator. Here they are quoted to prove that Christ is God.
Christ is in fact the Creator of all things. But the point we are emphasizing here is that the Bible does not say specifically that Christ is the Creator. Rather, the Bible speaks of Christ as the means of creation, as the means through which all things came into being. If we speak of creation in a general sense, it is correct to say that Christ is the Creator. But if we wish to speak more definitely, it is better to say that Christ is the means of creation.
Colossians 1:16 says, “In Him were all things created.” The King James Version says, “By him were all things created.” This rendering is not accurate. The Greek preposition used here is more accurately translated by the English word in. To say that all things were created in Christ indicates that He is the means of the creation of all things. However, if this verse is rendered, “By him were all things created,” it will say that Christ is the Creator, not the means of creation.
In 1:15 Paul says that Christ is the image of the invisible God. This means that Christ is the expression of the unseen God. At this point we need to ask in what way Christ expresses God. The answer is that He expresses God in creation. However, Christ does not express God in creation simply by creating all things in an objective way. If Christ were merely an objective Creator, not the subjective means of creation, Christ could not express God in creation. Keep in mind that all things were created not by Christ, but through Christ. This points to a process that took place in Christ.
In his note on Colossians 1:16 in his New Translation, J. N. Darby says that the words “in Him” mean in the power of Christ’s Person. As Darby says, “He was the one whose intrinsic power characterized the creation.” Commenting on the meaning of the Greek preposition used in the phrase “in Him were all things created,” Darby says that it is “used generally for the character in which a thing is done” (Collected Writings, Vol. 33, p. 87). He also states that the “creation of all things was characterized and wrought by the inherent power which is in the Lord Jesus Christ, and all things subsist together as one ordered and law-governed whole by the same constant and inherent power” (Collected Writings, Vol. 31, p. 188).
Christ is the active instrument through which creation was processed. In this process God’s power is expressed; it is made manifest. This is revealed clearly in Romans 1:20. This verse says that the “invisible things of Him from the creation of the world, being apprehended by the things made, are clearly seen, both His eternal power and divine nature.” In all created things God’s power is made manifest. Hence, in Darby’s words, creation bears the characteristics of Christ’s intrinsic power.
Christ is related to creation in a subjective way. Christ did not create the universe merely in an objective way as an objective Creator. He did not, so to speak, stand apart and call everything into being. On the contrary, the process of creation took place in Him, that is, in the power of His Person. Christ is the unique power in the universe. His very Person is this power. Therefore, creation was processed in Him. This means that He was not simply an objective Creator, but also the subjective instrument through which creation was processed. For this reason, creation bears the characteristics of Christ’s intrinsic power. Instead of saying that Christ created the universe, the Bible says that all things came into being through Him or were created in Him. The words “by Him” are objective, whereas the words “through Him” and “in Him” are subjective.
The use of gasoline as the source of power in an automobile may be a helpful illustration. An automobile is operated by the driver, but it receives its power supply from gasoline. Since gasoline provides the power, an automobile bears the characteristics of the power of gasoline. But gasoline does not supply an automobile as an objective power; it empowers it subjectively by operating within certain mechanical parts of the automobile. If the power of gasoline were objective, an automobile would not bear the characteristics of the intrinsic power of gasoline. But since gasoline is subjectively related to the automobile, the vehicle driven by it bears the characteristics of its intrinsic power.
The King James Version of Colossians 1:16 says that all things have been created for Him. It is better to render the Greek “unto Him.” “For Him” is objective, but “unto Him” is subjective. All things have been created in Christ, through Christ, and, ultimately, unto Christ. These expressions indicate that Christ has a subjective relationship to creation. Creation is not simply for Him; it is also unto Him. This means that it consummates in Him. The three prepositions in, through, and unto were used by Paul to point out the subjective relationship of Christ to creation. Creation took place in the power of Christ’s Person, through Him as the active instrument, and unto Him as its consummation. Such a relationship is altogether subjective. Because of His subjective relationship to creation, Christ expresses God in creation. Creation expresses the characteristics of Christ who is the image of the invisible God.
In verse 17 Paul goes on to say, “All things subsist together in Him.” This means that all things exist together by Christ as the holding center. For creation to subsist in Christ is a further indication that Christ is subjectively related to creation.
It is important to differentiate between the words exist, consist, and subsist. Colossians 1:17 does not say that all things exist in Christ or consist in Him; it says that all things subsist in Him. To exist is to be, to consist is to be composed or constituted, and to subsist is to hold together for existence. Imagine a wheel with its rim, spokes, and hub. All the spokes subsist together in the hub. The only way for the spokes to subsist is to be held together at the hub in the center of the wheel. This illustrates Christ’s relationship to creation with respect to the fact that all things subsist in Himself.
We have pointed out that all things came into being in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ. Nothing should be regarded as separate from Him. All things were made in the intrinsic power of Christ’s Person, through Him as the active instrument, and unto Him as the consummate goal. Furthermore, all things subsist, are held together, in Him as the hub. Because all things were created in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ and because all things subsist in Christ, God can be expressed in creation through Christ who is the image of the invisible God.
In 1:19 Paul says, “For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” The fullness here is virtually the equivalent of the image in verse 15. The image of the invisible God is the full expression of the unseen God. For the fullness to dwell in Christ means that all the expression of God, all of His image, was pleased to dwell in Him.
Verses 15 through 19 make up one section of the Epistle to the Colossians. In this section Christ is revealed as the first both in the old creation and in the new creation. As the One who is first in both of God’s creations, Christ is the expression of God. God is expressed in Him because all things have come into being in Him, through Him, and unto Him, and they subsist in Him. This is true not only of the old creation, but even the more of the new creation. The new creation, the church, is Christ’s Body, of which He is the Head. Through His subjective relationship to creation, Christ is the fullness of the unseen God, the image of the invisible God. The fullness in verse 19 is not a thing; it is a person who is the expression, the image, of the Triune God.
In verses 20 through 22, it is difficult to determine to whom the various pronouns refer. Verses 19 and 20 say that in Christ the fullness was pleased to dwell, and “through Him to reconcile all things to Him.” If the fullness were not a person, how could it be pleased to dwell in Christ? The fact that the fullness can be pleased indicates that it is a person. The fullness was pleased not only to dwell in Christ, but through Him to reconcile all things to Him. In verses 19 and 20 two infinitives — to dwell and to reconcile — are joined by a conjunction. Hence, the fullness was pleased to dwell and to reconcile. The phrase “through Him” is used twice in verse 20. Both times it refers to Christ as the active instrument through which reconciliation was processed. But what is the antecedent of the pronoun Him, to whom all things are reconciled? The antecedent is the fullness spoken of in verse 19. This is the reason that in his New Translation, J. N. Darby uses the pronouns itself and it, in verses 20 and 22, to refer to the fullness in verse 19. The Greek pronouns, however, should not be regarded as neuter, but as masculine. This means that instead of saying “it,” we should say “him.” Therefore, all things have been reconciled to the fullness. In verses 21 and 22, we who were enemies have been reconciled by the fullness in the body of flesh through death so that we may be presented holy and blameless and without reproach before the fullness. How meaningful is this understanding of the passage! It is the fullness that dwells in Christ, it is the fullness that reconciles us, and it is to the fullness that we shall be presented. This fullness is God Himself expressed. This fullness was pleased to dwell in Christ, to reconcile us, and to present us to Himself.
The Christ revealed in Colossians is all-inclusive. He is not only God, but also the firstborn of creation. All things came into being in Him and through Him. Furthermore, all things are unto Him and subsist in Him. Therefore, through Him is expressed all that God is. We have seen that all the fullness in verse 19 does not denote the riches of what God is, but the expression of those riches. The full expression of God in all His rich being, both in creation and in the church, dwells in Christ. The rich being of God is expressed both in the old creation and in the new creation through Christ as the One in whom, through whom, and unto whom all things came into being and as the One in whom all things subsist. It is in such a way that the invisible God is expressed.
When we consider the universe and the church, the old creation and the new creation, we see all the fullness of the Triune God. We behold the expression of the Triune God. This fullness was pleased to dwell in the Son and to reconcile all things to Himself for His expression. Furthermore, this fullness will present us holy, blameless, and without reproach to Himself so that He may have His expression in the new creation.
Colossians 1:15 says, “Who is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation.” The relative pronoun who refers to the Son of God’s love (v. 13). This means that the Son of the Father’s love is the image of the invisible God. In verse 15 Paul puts the phrase “firstborn of all creation” in apposition to the phrase “the image of the invisible God.” Grammatically this indicates that these expressions are synonymous. The image of the invisible God is the firstborn of all creation. The fact that verse 16 begins with the word because indicates that it gives the reason Paul said that the image of God is the firstborn of all creation. The reason is that “in Him were all things created in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and unto Him.” Why is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation? He is the firstborn because all things were created in Him, through Him, and unto Him.
We have seen that as the image of God Christ is the expression of God. If a person had no physical form or image, he could not be expressed. A person is expressed through his physical image. Although God is invisible, He is expressed through His image, which is His Son. The Son of the Father’s love is the expression of the invisible God. This expression is firstly the firstborn of all creation, because all things were created in Him, through Him, and unto Him. The creation that came into existence through Him expresses God’s eternal power and divine nature. Both the divine nature and the eternal power are the expression of the invisible God. If you study the universe in a thoughtful way, you will confess that it testifies of the eternal power and of the divine nature. Even many scientists realize that in creation some kind of extraordinary power exists. This power is Christ as the image of the invisible God.
The three prepositions used in verse 16 — in, through, and unto — indicate that creation is subjectively related to Christ. There is a subjective relationship between creation and Christ because of the process of creation and because of the goal, the consummation, of creation. In Christ and through Christ creation came into being. This indicates that creation is subjectively related to Christ because of the process by which it came into existence. Moreover, all of creation is unto Christ. This indicates that creation is subjectively related to Christ as the consummation, the goal, of its existence. Both in the process of creation and in the goal of creation Christ is expressed. Therefore, creation cannot be separated from Christ as the image of the invisible God.
Christ is both God and Christ. As God He is the Creator, but as Christ He is God’s anointed One and appointed One. As God’s anointed and appointed One, Christ carries out God’s commission. As God Christ is the Creator, but as Christ He is the instrument, the means, of creation. Therefore, in John 1:3, the emphasis is not that Christ is the Creator, but that He is the means through which creation was processed and came into existence. The same is true of Colossians 1:16. The process of creation was carried out in Him, through Him, and unto Him. He is the means, the instrument, through which and in which creation came into existence.
Verses 16 through 18 are a definition of verse 15. The items found in these verses are related to Christ as the image of the invisible God. This means that Christ as the image of God is related to the process and goal of creation, to the firstborn of creation, to the subsistence of creation, and to the firstborn from among the dead. The issue of these items is all the fullness, the fullness in the old creation and the fullness in the new creation, spoken of in verse 19. Hence, the fullness in verse 19 is the image in verse 15.
How does Christ, the image of the invisible God, express God? As the Son of the Father’s love, He expresses the Triune God because He is the One through whom both the old creation and the new creation came into being. Furthermore, He expresses the Triune God because He is the firstborn of both creations. This makes Him the full expression of God. All the fullness in verse 19 denotes the very Person of Christ. This is the reason that in the following verse Paul uses a masculine pronoun to refer to the fullness.
Praise the Lord that Christ is all-inclusive! In Paul’s words in Colossians, Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, and the firstborn from among the dead. As the Son of the Father’s love, He is the full expression of God, seen both in the old creation and in the new creation. As God, Christ has no beginning. But as the firstborn of creation, He had a beginning. Let us set aside the natural concept, believe the pure Word of God, and praise the Lord that as the all-inclusive One He is the full expression of the Triune God.
