Colossians Chapter 1 - An Unfinished Study (Continued)

by T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead, U.K. | Category: Colossians Chapter 1 - An Unfinished Study (Continued) | Dec 1982

Chapter 1:12-15

Before embarking on his matchless exposition of the excellencies of the Son of God, which forms the leading theme of this section of the epistle, the apostle pauses on a note of thanksgiving. The harmonious execution by the holy Trinity of the decrees which lay at the base of man's redemption is a recurring feature in Paul's writings. An outstanding example of this occurs in Ephesians 1:3-14. In our present passage he gives thanks to the Father, "who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light". "Made us meet" implies "fitness" (qualified, RSV, NIV). What a wonderful transformation! We who "were once darkness" are "now light in the Lord" (Eph. 5:8), and we have an indisputable right to our part in the inheritance divine grace has bequeathed to us. This inheritance is the "living hope" of the believer and is described by the apostle Peter as "incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (I Pet. 1:4). Each believer has been "sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is an earnest (guarantee) of our inheritance" (Eph. 1:13,14).

The believer's translation "out of the power of darkness" (v. 13) signifies complete severance from that fearful domain; he is now permanently located in a region where light and love hold sway. The designation "the kingdom of the Son of His (the Father's) love" occurs only here, and may well answer to "the heavenly places" ("the heavenlies") a term used five times in the epistle to the Ephesians.

An interesting problem arises at this point: Where does Paul's Prayer for the Colossian church, announced in v.9, conclude? Is the remainder of the paragraph, to v.23, petition or exposition? The answer to these questions may well be that no border-line should be inserted. All true prayer is worship; and Paul was a worshipping preacher. "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in gospel of His Son", he wrote to the saints in Rome (1:9). So, Moses-like, with unshod feet we await the sublime unfolding of the glories of Christ which the divine Spirit is about to impart through the worshipping apostle.

"The Son of His love!" It seems as if the writer having pronounced this unique ascription is swept along by the inspiring Spirit to unscalable heights. All else is lost to view. "The Son of His love" His ineffable relationship to the Father; His priority in redemption; in the universe, past, present and future; and in the vast spiritual empire of which He is Head, all blend in this exquisite outline of glory unsurpassed.

In the introduction to this series of articles we referred to what has been called "the Colossian heresy". It is clearly stated in the epistle that false teachers were at work in the Colossian church (2:8,16-23). To what extent

error had gained a foothold in the minds of the saints there we do not know. Alford comments, "The false teaching was yet in the bud". Be that as it may, the dangers, however latent, brought grave anxiety to both Epaphras and Paul. Again, commentators differ as to the precise nature of "the Colossian heresy". Did the false teachers all belong to a particular school, possibly Judaistic, advocating a single rival system, or were there differing philosophies competing for the minds and hearts of the saints? What can be said with certainty is that the false teachers were advocating spurious theories about the Christ Paul knew and served. They conceded to Him a crucial role in the design, support and destiny of the universe and in the saving purpose of God for mankind. But they claimed knowledge that in the heavenly hierarchy there were other dignitaries to whom worship was due and whose favours may be invoked. And in addition to disseminating a defective view of the Person of Christ, these trouble-makers were attempting to impose on the Colossian church a code of strict rules and ritual which had no place in the Faith once for all delivered to the saints.

The apostle's rejoinder to these "grievous wolves" was uncompromising. They were "puffed up". Far from being spiritually enlightened, they still clung to "the precepts and doctrines of men". Paul had "seen the Lord"; he had been appointed "to hear a voice from His mouth", and he had counted "all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus" his Lord. Surely none was more fitted by the Spirit of God than he to convey to the Colossian saints, and to us, this portrait of the authentic Christ contained in the first two chapters of the epistle under consideration.

It is a feature of those epistles addressed by Paul to churches of God that when he discerned error in doctrine or practice developing, his method was to exalt the Person of Christ as the supreme Antidote. There are many examples of this. If we may quote three: to the Ephesian church it was "the Christ of the heavenly places"; to the Philippians, "the Christ of the lowly mind", and to the Colossians, "the Christ in all things pre-eminent". Each of these presentations of the incomparable Christ had a definite corrective purpose and should be viewed in its setting. The virtues extolled in them give the clue to a particular or potential spiritual defect in the church addressed. To the believer, no less than to the unbeliever,

What think ye of Christ? is the test,

To try both your state and your scheme;

You cannot be right in the rest

Unless you think rightly of Him.

In whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins: who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation" (vv. 14,15). The Greek work here translated "redemption" (apolutrosis) belongs to a group of New Testament terms which have to do with "loosing on payment of a ransom". The emphasis varies according to the context, and may include one

or more of the following elements:

(1)Man is in bondage to a ruthless, alien power (the Old Testament type of Israel's bondage in Egypt is the prominent illustration of this; Exod. 2:23).

(2)Man has no means of rescuing himself from his bondage. He is "Under sin" (Rom. 3:9).

(3)Liberation can be effected only on payment of a ransom. The ransom price has been paid by Christ Jesus (I Tim. 2:5,6).

(4)Man is redeemed (set free) in order to serve God (Exod. 9:1; Titus 2:14).

In our passage "our redemption" is equated with "the forgiveness of our sins". This may be classified under (3) above. The Greek word translated "forgiveness" (aphesis) has to do with "removal, sending away". In this case it is the removal of our sins. And divine forgiveness is total. The psalmist's well-known words emphasize its comprehensiveness:

He hath not dealt with us after our sins,

Nor rewarded us after our iniquities...

As far as the east is from the west,

So far hath He removed our transgressions from us.

(Psa. 103:10,12)

While rejoicing in the completeness of divine forgiveness may we never forget "the love we owe for sin forgiven": "Ye are not your own; for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19,20).

As we follow Paul as he develops the theme of Christ's preeminence we should keep in mind the connecting phrase "in whom" (v.14), which governs what follows, thus focusing thought on the one glorious Person "the Son of His (the Father's) love". This title, as we have observed, not only defines His relationship with the Father in the Godhead, but also affirms the reciprocating love which is its eternal bond. Having referred briefly to the redemption the Son has provided for us, the apostle proceeds to expound His primacy in two other areas; first in the revelation of God to His creatures; second, in His relationship to the entire universe of God. In the one, "the Son of His love" is "the image of the invisible God"; in the other, He is "the firstborn of all creation". Clearly, these two areas of divine administration were coming under fire from the false teachers at work in Colossae.

Since man's fall in Eden there has been a gradual process of divine self-revelation. The communicators were the Old Testament prophets "who spake in the name of the Lord" (Jas. 5:10). "I have put My words in thy mouth", God said to Jeremiah (1:9), "Whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak" (1:7). In over three hundred Old Testament passages the prophets of Israel prefaced their utterances with the definitive phrase, "Thus saith the LORD". This era of developing revelation is summarized for us in the opening words of the epistle to the Hebrews: "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways" (NIV). It culminated in the incarnation and ministry of the great Prophet (Deut. 18:15,18; Acts 3:22), "God

hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in His Son", who said, "I spake not from Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He hath given Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:49).

The Hebrews statement, "God ... hath spoken unto us in His Son" indicates that the prophetic phase of divine revelation is now complete. It is true, of course, that the ministry of the apostles and prophets of the New Covenant had prophetic content but this was derived from the teaching of their Master:

Thus the witness of the apostles is an integral part of the great complex of divine utterance that is covered by the phrase: God has ... spoken ... in His Son. The teaching of Christ and apostles forms a unity, and that unity, embodied in our New Testament, is God's last word to man.

J.I. Packer

But not only by His words is the Son of God the perfect expression of the Father's will. He is also "the image (Gr. eikon) of the invisible God", a title belonging solely to the Divine Son. "In Greek thought an image shares in the reality of what it represents. The essence of the thing appears in the image" (Flender). "Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us", said Philip. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Shew us the Father" (John 14:8,9). In character and ways, in nature and essence, in what He is and what He does, He is the exact Replica of the Father:

True image of the Infinite

Whose essence is concealed;

Brightness of uncreated light,

The heart of God revealed,

Worthy the name of Jesus now

That every knee therein should bow.

In Him alone, unsullied holiness, unerring wisdom, power beyond measure,

and infinite love, are in perfect symmetry:

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, ... lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!

(Isa. 40:9)

T.M. Hyland, Birkenhead, U.K. | Dec 1982
Colossians Chapter 1 - An Unfinished Study (Continued)