The Image of the Invisible God: Reflections on Colossians 1:15-19

By William S. Stob

Twelve centuries before Christ, Colossae was a large and important city; twelve centuries after Christ it had completely disappeared, save only for a few unexcavated ruins. At the time Paul wrote to the Colossians, the city was far into its decline, and considered the least important community to which the apostle had any correspondence. Nevertheless, the Epistle to the Colossians is the most important of all the apostle's letters in defense of the deity of Christ and the sufficiency of His life and death.The Colossian Church was only five or six years old at the time Paul addressed his letter to them, yet insidious heresies were already threatening the purity of this Body from within her own ranks. False teachers were beguiling the believers "with enticing words" (2:4) and "through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (2:8). Although the exact nature of the so-called "Colossian heresy" cannot be definitely determined, yet it seemed to be a three-pronged attack on Christ's relationship to God, creation, and the Church. In response Paul addressed these issues, respectively, by declaring Jesus to be "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" (1:15) and "the firstborn from the dead" (1:18).Like their close neighbors at Laodicea, who eventually "were neither cold nor hot" (Rev. 3:15) toward the things of Christ, the believers at Colossae apparently did not heed the apostle's advice and instruction. Sometime later Paul told Timothy, "This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me" (2 Tim. 1:15); a statement from which many Bible commentators conclude that there was large-scale departure from the faith in the Churches of Asia Minor. The Colossians had much in common with the Laodiceans, who within the span of a single generation, might still have been able to quote some scripture and explain the plan of salvation, but gave no evidence of its influence in their lives.The Epistle of Paul to the Colossians is especially relevant today, as many in our Churches, while still recognizing the prominence of Christ, yet fail to give Him preeminence in their lives.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1549658948
• ISBN13: 9781549658945
• Release Date: September 2017
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.1" x 6.0"