Imaginary Jesus: Colossians 1:15-20
Imaginary Jesus
(Colossians 1:15-20)
WHO IS JESUS?
Who is Jesus? Is he a reincarnation of Krishna or Vishnu? Is he a prophet? Is he a Bodhisattva? Was he a teacher of morals? Is he Satan’s brother? Is he Michael the Arch Angel? Is he someone who only exists in my mind, a psychological projection of my own thoughts, feelings and aspirations, an imaginary person? Was he the God/Man who came to save you from sin and death?
Knowing the true Jesus, the historical Jesus will change your present world and your eternal destiny.
Is the Jesus we follow the Jesus of the Bible? Or, is He a Jesus who has been made in our image? Is this the magic of your Jesus, that he is little more than an extension of your deep inner desires? I’m not saying this to be critical of your faith, but simply to ask a question about who do you believe Jesus is? Will you accept him to be the Jesus that the Bible says that he is?
TO ME, JESUS IS …
We live in a day when Jesus means so many things to so many people. Ask 10 people who Jesus is and you may get 10 different answers. There are two very different questions to answer, it seems. Who is Jesus to me? Who is Jesus?
Who is the Jesus in your mind? Is he the same Jesus that the ancient texts describe? If the Jesus that exists in your mind is different than the real Jesus, which will you choose?
As we make our way through Colossians, we come across several very profound statements about who he is? Consider these statements about Jesus.
9 THINGS YOU NNED TO KNOW ABOUT JESUS
(Colossians 1:15-20)
(1) JESUS IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD
“The Son is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15).
Jesus makes it possible for us to know God, to touch God, to see God.
Idolatry Makes Sense
The Bible says that idolatry is sin. Making images and worshipping images is forbidden in the law of Moses (Exodus 20:3-6). However, idolatry makes sense. After all, God is spirit. Who can see him? How can we approach him? How can we touch him? How can we know him? To answer this question people have made images. Images represent the god and give the worshipper a chance to approach the god, to know the god, to touch the god.
Jesus Answers Idolatry’s Question
In this verse, we read that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the “icon” or “idol” of God. Here we see that the Father is answering the need we have to be able to see God, touch God and know God. Jesus was not a statue. He was a real living human being, a man. Yet in him all the fulness of God lives in a human body (Col. 2:9).
The Father knows our desire, our urge to reach out and touch him. But he knows the impossibility, since He is spirit. He does not want us to make images of what we think he is like. Instead, He sent His Son, the image of God, to show us who He really is. Find Jesus, touch Jesus, see Jesus, know Jesus and you have found God, you have touched God you have seen God, you will know God. We The Bible also says is this way, ” The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Hebrews 1:3).
(2) JESUS IS THE FIRST BORN OVER ALL CREATION
“… he first born over all creation” (Col. 1:15).
In a patriarchal culture, the first son is the highest ranking among all the children. So, Colossians 1:15 means that Jesus is the highest ranking over all creation. It does not say that he was the first created being, because Jesus was not created. Rather, he holds preeminence over all creation. He holds power over all creation.
In another text, Jesus is called the first born from the dead in Revelation 1:5. Here, he is declared as being the person who holds the power over the resurrection. When decides that the resurrection will occur, it will happen. Like a firstborn son, Jesus has all the rights
The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it (Psalms 24:1).
(3) JESUS IS THE CREATOR
“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.” (Col. 1:16).
Jesus created everything. Then Paul gives a list of all the categories of created things. To state that Jesus is the creator is to state that He is God. This elevates him above all prophets, gurus, Bodhisattvas and moral teachers. This is a bold claim.
(4) JESUS HAS NO BEGINNING AND IS ETERNAL
“He is before all things …” (Col. 1:17).
Here is a statement about time and eternity. We must return tot he beginning. Before there was anything at all was made, Jesus “IS.” This is interesting. It was not said that Jesus “was.” Rather, Jesus is. Before anything, He is. The grammar indicates his eternity. He never had a beginning. Although all created things have a beginning. Jesus did not have a beginning. Before creation was, He is.
This is especially intriguiging because we know that Jesus was born as a man in Bethlehem, 2000 years ago. Yet, Paul stated that Jesus always existed. He had not beginning. This remark is tantamount to Jesus being both God and man.
(5) JESUS IS THE SUSTAINER
“… and in Him all things hold together …” (Col. 1:17).
This is amazing. Not only did Jesus create all things, but he holds everything together. The universe and all its elements, humanity and human institutions would disintegrate , crumble, shatter, decompose should Jesus cease to hold everything together.
(6) JESUS IS THE LEAD PASTOR
“And he is the head of the body, the church;” (Col. 1:18).
Jesus is the leader of the church. Elsewhere he is called the Great Shepherd or the Head Pastor of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20).
This is a liberating statement. In the end, no human pastor or priest is your leader. Come out from under human leaders and place yourself under Christ. I know this sounds arrogant. But Christ only Christ is the Head Pastor. Be free under his leadership.
(7) JESUS IS THE LEAD PASTOR
“He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy,” (Col. 1:18).
Jesus is the beginning … of the church. It is important to fill in the blank that Jesus is the beginning of the church and once again, the first born, highest rank over the resurrection. He was the first one raised from the dead. His resurrection body is the prototype of our future resurrection body. At His command, all people will be raised from the dead. First, the believers will be raised. The second resurrection occurs after the millennium. What power! With his spoken word, Jesus will raise all people from the dead.
The consequence of all this is that Jesus is above and greater than everything and everyone.
(8) ALL OF GOD’S FULLNESS EXISTS IN JESUS WITH PLEASURE AND DELIGHT
Now, this is an interesting Bible verse. This is the word for word translation.
“… because in Him was pleased all the fulness to dwell…” (Col. 1:19).
Most translations insert the word “God” in order to make explicit what is implied in the text. The Father was fully pleased for all his fullness to dwell in His Son.
This is perhaps one of the most beautifully poetic mechanisms used to describe the union of the Father and the Son. The Father’s pleasure with the Son as a separate person is expressed at the baptism (Matthew 3:16,17) and transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). But this is a statement of the Father’s pleasure to have all his fullness to live in. It is a statement of the union f the Father and Son.
(9) JESUS IS THE GREATEST RECONCILER
And through him to reconcile all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Col. 1:20).
God does not like broken relationships. God begins to repair all relationships by repairing the our broken relationship with him. He took the first steps to make bring us back and no longer have us wandering off, walking away, living alone, isolated and distant from him. Through the blood of Jesus, we can be forgiven and brought back to
SO … WHO IS JESUS
It is important to accept Jesus for who he is.
It is just as important to come back home to God. Don’t be so distant. His invitation stands. Come home.
