The New Creation in Colossians 1:15-18
The New Creation in Colossians 1:15-18
TRANSLATION OF THE PASSAGE
This passage is most accurately examined from any of the following: any Interlinear translation, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible, Young’s Literal Translation or The New American Bible. Below we present the text from the UBS Interlinear Translation, but in properly arranged English:
“…who is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation, because in him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the visible things and the invisible things, whether thrones or lordships whether rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him; and he is before all things and in him all things have been held together, and he is the head of the body, the church; who is its beginning, first-born from the dead, that he might be the one who is holding the first place in everything.”
STRUCTURE OF THE PASSAGE
James Dunn (the leading christologist) reminds us that this is a pre-Pauline hymn, with its language being poetical and not conceptual, made up of two strophes. He tells us that the context indicates that: “the two strophes were not dealing with two clearly distinct subjects (cosmology and soteriology).” The subject is, in fact, not that of the original creation as Karl-Joseph Kuschel notes when he says: “this text does not provide any encouragement for a hypostatization of Christ so that he becomes an independent ‘creator deity.’” So, if any passage is poetic, as this one is, and as shown in its layout in the New American Bible, then one has to be doubly careful in interpreting it by making a very careful examination of its grammar and context.
THE GRAMMAR AND IMMEDIATE CONTEXT OF THE PASSAGE
The use of the present tense indicates that this is about Jesus at the time Paul wrote the passage i.e. in his exalted position at Yahweh’s right hand. The context shows that the subject of these verses is the pre-eminence of Christ in his post-resurrection glory. So, this passage is not about the past or any pre-existence but concerns Jesus at the time of writing after his exaltation, and further examination of the context will confirm this. Furthermore, the immediate context shows that this passage applies to the New Creation i.e.:
Vs. 12: “…the inheritance of the holy ones” (NAB).
Vs. 13: “…transferred us to the kingdom” (NAB).
Vs. 14: “…in whom we have redemption” (NAB)—which brings about the Kingdom creation.
Vs. 20: “…and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross whether those on earth or those in heaven” (NAB).
Indeed, this whole passage concerns the kingdom inheritance which has as its basis the reconciliation of humans to Yahweh through the ransom sacrifice of Christ Jesus. The context is absolutely not about the physical creation. So, we shall now look at Colossians 1:15-18 point by point.
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Verse 15: ♦ “…who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (pre-eminent one) of all creation.”
The present tense here indicates that Jesus is spoken of here as “the image of God” in his exalted status since his resurrection. So, Jesus is only fully this image after his resurrection, having become immortal. (Heb. 1:3, 1 Cor. 15).
The following verses show that Jesus is firstborn in pre-eminence because of his resurrection and in his position in the Congregation: “…in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29 ESV) and “…He is the beginning the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18 Mounce) and this occurred, “…when He raised him from the dead and seated him at His right hand (rank) in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:20 NASB). Although “firstborn” can be used of timing, the usage in Colossians 1:15 is contextually of pre-eminence. Jesus is elevated to become firstborn because of his personal worthiness which Adam lost. So here Jesus is not firstborn in time but, as the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:47), he is firstborn in terms of rank and is therefore worthy of a double portion. As God says of the Messiah: “I myself shall place him as firstborn” (Ps. 89:27). Firstly, this is a future event and secondly Messiah was to be granted or “placed” in the firstborn position. This means that Jesus replaces the first Adam as firstborn. In fact, The Zondervan Encyclopaedia of the Bible p. 540 states: “Christ is the ‘firstborn’ of the Father having the pre-eminent position over others in relation to him ... above those related to him in the new creation.” Also, Scholar Paul van Buren makes the point that:
There is no clear indication that the priority [of Jesus] was intended in a temporal sense. We may conclude that for the earliest Church, Jesus was accorded the priority in reality that the rabbis assigned to the Torah. If one were to make the claim of priority in a temporal sense, one would be claiming that Jesus of Nazareth, born of Mary, had existed with God before the creation of the world. That claim would be worse than unintelligible; it would destroy all coherence in the essential Christian claim that Jesus was truly a human being, that the Word became flesh…Jesus of Nazareth began his life, began to exist, at a definite time in history: the Word became flesh.
A Theology of Jewish Christian Reality, 1983, p. 82.
The ‘creation’ described in verse 15b is defined by several factors:
- As shown above, the immediate context of verses 12-14 and 20 concerns the kingdom inheritance which has as its basis the reconciliation of humans to God through the ransom sacrifice of Christ Jesus. It is not about the original creation, but entirely applies to the New Creation.
- Colossians 1:16 concerns creation of things “in the heavens and on the earth” rather than the creation of the earth or the heavens. The creation of “the visible things and the invisible things” spoken of in Colossians 1:16 are, “thrones or lord-ships or rulers or authorities.” The creating of an authority is not the physical creating of people. So, these are not things of the material creation, but, in harmony with the immediate context and the general forward-looking movement of the Christian Greek Scriptures they are of the New Creation. Similarly, the Apostle Peter wrote of, “angels, _authorities, and powers” being made subject to Christ (1 Pet. 3:22) and so creating a new administration under him.
- The parallel letter of Ephesians (Eph.1:9-23 and 2:10) speaks only of the New Creation and gives a precise doctrinal correlation with Colossians 1. This further demonstrates that Colossians 1 applies to the New Creation. Nothing here applies to the inception of the original creation. (Please also note the parallel phrases: Col.1:12/Eph.1:11; Col.1:16, 17, 20/Eph. 1:10, 21, 22). So, when we come to Colossians 1:15-17 we get the same picture of Jesus as the agent/creator of ‘the new creation.’
Because the New Testament Scriptures look forward to what is coming i.e. “the New Heavens and New Earth,” that is, a new order of society and which will be based on “the New Creation” of godly people since Jesus’ sacrifice was made, so, too, Colossians 1:15-17 also simply describes that “creation” with its focus on reconciliation of man to God through Jesus.
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Verse 16:♦ “Because in him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or lordships whether Rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him.”
The phrase ‘in him’ means: “incorporated into” according to Bible scholar William W. Klein. Also, according to Bauer’s Greek-English Lexicon it means ‘in union (or connection) with’, ‘in association with’, or ‘by reason of.’ In context this verse does not mean ‘by’ or ‘by means of’ as in many translations, but according to the following texts: “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), “…in him all things have been held together. He is the head of the body” (Col. 1:17 UBS), and “…to head up all things in Christ—the things in heaven and the things on earth. In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession” (Eph. 1:10, 11 NET). Again, we note that the phrase, ‘all things’ must be understood in its context, which, in this case is in the normal limited sense concerning “thrones, lordships, rulers or authorities” and concerning “the body, the church” (Col. 1:18). So, this phrase also does not concern the creation of the entire universe.
An important figure of speech used in Colossians 1:16 is called ‘encircling’ but which the Romans called ‘inclusio’ (Gk epanadiplosis). When this figure of speech is used, it marks what is as within a particular circle and so gives clear context. This means that in Colossians 1:16 the “all things” includes only “thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities” and not all things absolutely—not the universe. Furthermore, a parallel account in Ephesians shows Jesus, after his exaltation to God’s right hand, as seated:
“…far above all rule and authority and power and dominion…And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:21, 22 ESV).
So, at this stage of things there is no point for Paul to refer back to the physical creation of animals, flowers, birds etc. Hence the “all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible” are thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities i.e. the arranging or ordering of things and not the physical making of things which was the work of only Yahweh in, “stretching out the heavens alone, spreading forth the earth by myself” (Isa. 44:24).
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Verse 17:♦ “He is (not the past tense ‘was’) before all things and in him (not ‘by’ or ‘by means of’) all things have been held together.”
From this phrase shouldn’t we deduce that Jesus existed before the physical creation? No, we should not! The reason is that, just as in verse 15 it says “He is” i.e. in the present tense, and does not look backward to the past, so also in verse 17. Furthermore, the phrase “before all things” (Greek pro panton) can properly mean “above all things” i.e., ‘before’ in the sense of superiority or pre-eminence. In fact, in the Greek phrase pro panton the word pro has three common uses:
1) in the sense of place, i.e. in front of.
2) in the sense of time, i.e. prior to.
3) in the sense of pre-eminence i.e. above in importance.
Karl-Josef Kuschel notes concerning pro panton when he says:
However this ‘before’ is not a speculative temporal category, but a confessional category, indicating the status of the one who is ‘the first born of all creation.
Also, in 1 Peter 4:8 and James 5:12 pro panton is translated literally as “above all things.” In fact, in Colossians 1:17 neither place nor timing _are involved contextually. Therefore, in this case pro has the sense of “above” and harmonizes with the statement that God seated Christ:
“…far above all rule and authority and power and dominion…And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:21, 22 ESV).
Also, the phrase “in him all things have been held together” does not refer to any holding together of the physical creation. This is again because of the context that refers to Christ’s activity toward the Christian Congregation and is parallel to Paul’s reference to “the fullness of him who fills all in all.…” (Eph. 1:23).
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Verse 18: ♦ “…he is the head of the body, the church; who is its beginning, first-born from the dead, that he might be the one who is holding the first place in everything.”
Becoming “first in all things” means that Jesus is now pre-eminent, and James Dunn notes that: “Christ only gained the status as ‘pre-eminent in all things’ as a consequence of his resurrection.”
Rendering of Colossians 1:15-20 Noting
All Grammatical Points
All Grammatical Points
“He is the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; because it was with him in view that everything in heaven and on earth was created by God. Yet, the things we can see and the things we cannot see—whether thrones or dominions, rulers or authorities—all these things are created through him and for him, 17so that he is above everything; and because of him everything holds together. Yes, he is the head of the body, the community of believers—he is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that in these things he would become pre-eminent. For God, in all the fullness, was pleased to live permanently in him, and through him to reconcile everything to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross.” The kingdom of God Version.
NOTE 1: The phrase “with him in view…” literally reads as “in (Gk en) him…” However, according to Moulton and Milligan (A Grammar of New Testament, 1963, 3:253) this has the causal meaning, “because of” or “for his sake,” or “with him in view.” This also fits the context that “these things are created through him and for him.”
NOTE 2: The phrase “created by God” is the aorist of “create.” The passive is the divine passive, i.e. “were created by God. There are some 96 occurrences of the divine passive in the Synoptic gospels.
The conclusion is that Colossians 1:15, 16 speaks of God’s New Creation made through Christ in providing the ransom by his shed blood to reconcile those who become God’s holy ones and are transferred into the kingdom. No physical creation is mentioned; not the creation of the earth or the heavens, but rather it is the things upon earth and things in heaven: thrones, lordships etc. This may mean that Jesus has now been given authority to restructure the arrangements of angels as well as being the agent for the creation of the Christian Assembly on earth.
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