The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. – Colossians 1:15

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 22, 2015): Colossians 1

The United States has lamented that it could not send a higher level government official to the Paris march on January 11 in memory of the victims of a terrorist attack on the French Capital earlier this month. In fact, it is rumored that President Obama himself wished that he could have attended, although there was no mention of what it was that had kept him away. The unfortunate political reality is that the President’s handlers probably felt that an Obama presence at the march was too much of a security risk, risking not only the life of the President of the United States, but also the lives of the other world leaders who would dare to link arms and march with the President. Still, the image of the American President standing on foreign soil and marching with instead of dictating to world leaders would have been a powerful picture – and, to be honest, it is a portrait that the world desperately needs to see right now. If it could have only been made a reality.

However, this seems to be the picture that Paul is painting with respect to God. In his opening statement to the Colossians Paul states that Jesus is the very image of the invisible God. The word used for image is a strong word, and it doesn’t mean to merely resemble, like a son can often resemble the looks of the father, Paul uses a word that means image, as the thing that we see when we look in a mirror, or the likeness of a king or queen that is placed on a coin. The idea is that the Son is the very image or reflection of the invisible Father. Where God cannot be seen, the Son can be seen. Where God, because he is invisible, is unknowable, the Son, because he is visible, is knowable. Jesus phrased it this way - If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him – John 14:7. In Jesus, the Father is both known and seen.

But Paul takes a step even further than that and calls Jesus the first born over all creation. And the terminology can seem to be a bit – well, confusing. I have often gone into a tirade over the phrase “the only begotten of the father” – a phrase that is taken from the King James Version of John 3:16. My problem with the phrase is that I think that it makes it sound like Jesus was born – not just to Mary just over 2000 years ago, but to the eternal Father as well. As part of my tirade I often say that my Jesus is not begotten, he is eternally one with the Father – he has the same relation with God the Father as you or I have with our reflection in a mirror – the two are not just similar, they cannot be separated.

Paul’s use of the phrase “first born over all creation” seems to argue against that point. But it really doesn’t. Paul was speaking out of his Pharisaical background. Ancient Rabbis have long called God “the firstborn of the world.” In fact, there is an ancient teaching that says that God began with the act of creation – not that the being we call God did not exist before creation, that being is undoubtedly eternal. But this eternal being did not become God until he began the process of creating the world. It is the same as saying that I have not always been a father, but my children have known me as nothing else, because in the moment that they were born, I was changed. Paul seems to be stressing this very point. If God is “the firstborn of the world” and Jesus is “the first born over all creation,” what exactly is the difference? And Paul’ answer would have been – nothing.

As well as this comparison of Jesus with God, the term first born was also a common way of indicating the reign of the coming Messiah. Speaking of the Messiah, the Psalmist wrote these words –

And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,
    the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.
 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure – Psalm 89:27-29.

In this simple phrase, Paul confirms what it is that as Christians we have always professed to believe – that Jesus is eternally one with the Father, and that he is the Messiah. And in coming into the world God sent the highest representative of heaven possible to march with us – he sent himself.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Colossians 2