“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15).

In the first century world, Asia Minor was a place one could find almost any type of religion. On a major trade route from east to west and north to south, every idea and philosophy moved through this area. It became a syncretistic society, adopting and adapting many ideas into worship. We know that Gnostic beliefs arose in this area. John writes with this in view in the last quarter of the first century. Paul also addresses this in Colossians. Recent studies have discovered that emperor worship, or what is known as the Imperial Cult, began in Asia Minor as well. There victorious kings had temples built to themselves and as such drew worshippers. When Rome conquered the area, the leaders did the same for the Roman general and later emperors. From here it spread west where the early emperors were declared a god after their death. Some tried to do so before they died but the Roman Senate revoked that after their deaths.

In the book of Colossians, Paul is addressing this mixture of religion and politics. He speaks of deceptive philosophies, powers and authorities and contrasts that with the fact that Jesus is Lord. It certainly was a message that would draw attention, a challenge to both beliefs and authorities. Part of the problem that John and Paul faced was the syncretistic views that could work new ideas into the old. Gnosticism came out of such. It separated good and evil and from their founded different views of Jesus that made Him less than what He was. Other ideas were also thrown into the mix. We see some Jewish elements in 2:16-23; keep in mind that these are just parts and not a full fledge Judaism. That has led us to see the Law of Moses in 2:14 rather than an indictment against us.

As is common with Paul’s letters, the first part deals with the theme he is emphasizing, in this case that Jesus is the only Lord and the second part in how we live that theme out in our lives. The text that we will look at in this article is Colossians 1:15-20. Colossae is in the Lycus Valley on a trade route with two other cities, Hieropolis and Laodicea, about one hundred miles east of Ephesus. One of the underlying ideas in reading Colossians is what has become known as the Colossian heresy. There is much debate about what that was and the above relates to it. An important aspect of the heresy is how they viewed Jesus; hence the emphasis on His Lordship.

Jesus is all Lord. The word “all” is used around thirty times in the book. We find that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus answered the question of Philip by saying that if you have seen Me you have seen the Father (John 14:9). Likewise the Hebrew writer makes it clear that Jesus is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus is fully God and God is fully Jesus, difficult as this might seem. The deity of Jesus and the Godhead or Trinity has been debated for twenty centuries. Grasping how this can be has been the subject of numerous illustrations, as far as they go. The distinctions in Gnostic thought between good and evil, flesh and spirit, led to a Jesus who was more human and mystical than God. Paul is addressing indirectly such a view.

We find that Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. The idea here is that of supremacy or preeminence, and not time. “For in him all things were created…” says Paul. Notice that that means everything in heaven and on earth and that He is over all. He is over the powers, authorities, thrones, and rulers. That would have been a surprised to the Romans since they ruled the world at the time. This is a challenge to those who rule; they do not want to be ruled over by another, that way they do not have to be held accountable for their actions and decisions. We do not have to look far for lying politicians, greed, and immoral behavior.

Beyond this, Jesus is Lord of creation. He spoke and the storm was calmed. He spoke and the fish gathered in a net. He spoke and a tree died. He is Lord of creation. This contradicts the modern environmental movement who sees earth alone as worthy of worship. God created the universe and the world, a world in which humans were made especially in His image; a world in which humans would subdue the planet and rule over it in responsible fashion; a world that was meant to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18)(1). Why has the environmental movement reject Jesus? Once again, accountability to the image bearers contradict their views of who is destroying the environment.

All creation exists for the greatness of Jesus. This includes the church. Jesus is Lord of the church. Or is He? One has to wonder sometimes when we speak about those in authority in the church. I think we have missed something. If Jesus is Lord, and has all authority (see also Matthew 28:18-20), then why are we so concerned about authority? Why are we not concerned about service? Fredrick Nietzsche declared that God was dead, that is, the god of the 19^th Century philosophers and theologians (2). He then realized that the powerful controlled things and was the direction for life. We find various shades of this today including “what’s in it for me” or “getting my way.” Some will reject Jesus as Lord so as to do what they want in controlling others. Some state that they have been given authority by Jesus, reasoning that someone has to make decisions, so as to get their way. The way some have tried to “rule” the church makes one wonder who really is lord. Until we recognize that Jesus is Lord, we are probably more Nietzscheian than Christian.