“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created …” (Col 1:15-16a, NKJ)
In the verses preceding this section of Col 1 the premise of this mystery that we have mentioned in the previous teaching is revealed to a large degree. Verse 15 and the first part of verse 16 explain it as follows: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible …”
Apart from the incarnate Christ being the representation of the invisible God – who was “seen” by so many and whom they touched with their own hands (John places much emphasis on this in 1 John 1:1) – He also represents all the words of God, the “outer form”, the visible manifestation of God in language. Heb 1:2-3a states that God appointed Jesus to be “heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of His power …” Take note here: Christ carries (represents, embodies, epitomises) ALL THINGS through the word of His power”! This “power” Strongs explains as “ability, abundance, meaning, might”, the dunamis, the Spirit of the Living God, who is of course the breath of the living Christ. Thus Ps 33:6 states it like this: “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.”
Indeed: “to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ” (Eph 3:9), is to realise the TRUE status if the word of God. That which you hold in your hand as the Bible, the Word of God, carries in it, in language, the perfect image of Christ. Thus He is the Genesis and the Revelation. Thus He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning- and end letters of the Godly alphabet. When He spells it out in Rev 22:13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last”, then you should understand why He says that NOTHING should be added to or taken away from this Word (Deut 4:2; 12:32; Prov 30:6; Matt 15:6-9; Rev 22:18) – indeed He is perfectly and completely inscribed here in language, despite human fingerprints! No minuscule grammatical symbol, jot or tittle (Matt 5:18) that He is written with may be changed. Like the Passover lamb (1 Cor 5:7), the WHOLE (Ex 12:10) Christ must be eaten, in totality – you may not let anything remain.
- Sela: Pray about what the implications are for you regarding what is presented in this teaching.
- Read: 1 Sam 7; Ps 123 & 124 ; Luke 4
- Memorise: Ps 124:7 & Luke 4:19
