Understanding Colossians 1, Col 1:15-17, "by him all things were created"

 

Understanding Colossians 1:15-17, “By him all things were created”

The context of Colossians 1 is the Gospel message of the Kingdom and the hope of the resurrection. This is indicated by the preamble of Col 1:1-14 preceding the preeminence passage of Col 1:15-20, as well as the passage of Col 1:21-29 coming right after the preeminence passage. That is, the preeminence passage of Col 1:15-17 is bracketed by contextual references to the gospel. Moreover, the preeminence passage references the gospel within itself, as seen in Col 1:18-20. The explicit references in Colossians 1 that clearly frame Col 1:15-17 in the context of the Gospel, are as follows:

• “.. since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus ... because of the hope laid up for you in heaven... of this you have heard.. the gospel” (Col 1: 4-5)
•  “...  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.. he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1:12-14)
• “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things.” (Col 1:18-19)
• “And you.. he has now reconciled… if indeed you continue in the faith… not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” (Col 1:21-23)
• “... the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27)

 

The key to understanding Colossians 1 is that it pertains to the Gospel and that this is prophetic (speaking toward the future). This is speaking of a prophetic reality that is coming into fulfillment as an actualized reality. It is a divine reality before it is fully seen as being realized (compare Heb 2:8) Just because an English translation is clearly in either the past, present, or future tense, it does not necessarily mean that this is what is implied by the original. One often encounters the use of the “prophetic perfect”, where a prophecy of something that has not yet come to pass is in the perfect tense, and so is often translated with the English past tense, e.g. …with His stripes, we were healed (Isaiah 53:5), when from the perspective of the prophet, he was speaking of something in the future.

Colossians 1:16 says that “by him all things were created” and that “all things were created through him and for him.” However, in the context, we see that this pertains to the new creation as the passage speaks about inheritance, the coming kingdom, and redemption. It speaks to Jesus being the firstborn of all creation in the sense that Jesus is preeminent over all creation (the most favored by God) and that “he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” And it speaks to God's motive: “that in everything he might be preeminent” and so God through him could “reconcile to himself all things”. Colossians 1 is forward-looking and is speaking prophetically as it says, “he is before all things” (not that he was). Accordingly, Colossians 1 is not a message about the original creation, but rather about the gospel of our salvation—the inheritance into the coming kingdom of God (the new creation, Col 1:12-13). Several verses in the first few chapters of Revelation confirm the understanding that firstborn of all creation corresponds to preeminence and firstborn from the dead (Rev 1:5, Rev 1:17-18, Rev 2:8, 10, Rev 3:14, 21) and not that Jesus was the first thing that God created. Jesus is the first and the last of the new creation, through whom all who are saved will have life and be part of the new heavens and the new earth. 

Colossians 1:12-20 (ESV), He is the firstborn of all creation—he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Revelation 1:5 (ESV), Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

Revelation 1:17-18 (ESV), I am the first and the last—I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death 

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Revelation 2:8, 10 (ESV), Words of the first and the last, who died and came to life

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life…  Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Revelation 3:14, 21 (ESV), The beginning of God's creation—The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne

“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation... The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

For more on this, see: https://preexistenceofchrist.com/ – Understanding in what sense Christ preexisted

https://TrueUnitarian.com- The basis for Biblical Unitarianism

Integrity Syndicate—For the restoration of 1st Century Christianity https://integritysyndicate.com

Integrity Syndicate YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/IntegritySyndicate

Integrity Syndicate Discord: https://discord.gg/wM7HtbeQeX