THEOLOGY IN COLOSSIANS 1:15-29

Paul's epistles are generally organized as follows: opening greeting, blessing, thanksgiving, body (doctrinal issues followed by applications), closing greetings, and benediction. According to this scheme, the doctrinal content of the Letter to the Colossians is located in the second half of Chapter 1.

Those who are more accustomed to the practices in the more liturgical churches than I am will be familiar with the various forms of catechisms which are taught to the youth prior to their confirmation. By contrast, in the majority of the non-liturgical churches I have attended, such detailed material is generally found in the more or less detailed statements of faith to which one must subscribe before joining the congregation. These generally take the form of personal declarations such as “I believe in...”

But one will probably look in vain throughout the New Testament writings for such such vital information concentrated in one convenient place. Instead it must be read into the text, and for the Epistles such material is generally concentrated in the verses following the section containing the opening thanksgivings. So I have attempted below to paraphrase the statements in Colossians 15-29 into the form of a sort of catechism.

I believe that:

    Even though we cannot see God, his image can be seen in the person of Jesus (Col. 1:15a). Guthrie comments: “Man was created in the image of God, which relates to his moral nature. Even more essentially is Christ the image of God...It is because man bore God's image that it was possible for God to become man. In this way what otherwise would be invisible becomes visible to man.”

    Christ was not a created being but existed eternally (Col. 1:15b). For more on that subject, see my post titled “Was Christ created? (Colossians 1:15).”

    All things in heaven and earth were created through and for Jesus Christ (Col. 1:16).

    Christ existed before the creation, which is continuing to function only through Him. (Col. 1:17)

    Christ was placed as the head of the church. (Col. 1:18a) Ralph Martin says of 17-18a that “it goes on to assert that Christ acts as a unifying principle which holds the universe together. As such he is its head.”

    Christ showed us the way by being the prime example of resurrection from the dead. (Col. 1:18b) “Already described and labeled as Eikon and Prototokos over all creation (1:15-16), the exalted Son is now depicted in redemptive categories. In 1:15-17 there is a primordial or essential primacy, while in 1:18-20 the primacy is the achievement of the resurrection.”

    The fullness of God is present in Jesus Christ. (Col. 1:19) The fullness of God [is] “a technical term for the plentitude of deity.., not merely the divine attributes but the divine nature.” (Metzger)

    Christ's death on the cross makes it possible for us along with all creation to be reconciled to Him. (Col. 1:20) Raymond Brown says, “By divine election God in all fullness dwells in Christ. That is why through him all things can be reconciled to God.”

Summarizing verses 15-20, Geisler says:` “No comparable listing of so many characteristics of Christ and His deity are found in any other Scripture passage. Christ is the supreme Sovereign of the universe!”

We are all sinners and can only be considered blameless before God though appropriating Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. (Col. 1:21-22) “The many allusions to the former lives of the readers suggest that most were gentile converts. They had once been utterly out of harmony with God, enmeshed in idolatry and slavery to sin, but God had reconciled them to himself.” (O'Brien)

It is necessary to persist in our faith if we wish to be saved. (Col. 1:23) This is perhaps the most controversial theological point in this whole passage. My own personal view on the subject is best expressed by N.T. Wright, who says, “This promise, like most, has a condition. The hope holds good, if Christians hold on to it...Paul knows that true Christian faith is the beginning of a life which given by God, will be brought to completion by him (Phil. 1:6). He also knows that genuine faith is seen in patient and steadfast day-to-day Christian living, while counterfeit faith, so hard in its early stages to distinguish from the real thing, withers and dies. From God's point of view, genuine faith is assured of continuing to the end. From the human point of view, Christians discover whether their faith is of the genuine sort only by patient perseverance, encouraged (cf. Rom. 5:1-5) by the Christian hope.”

Preachers and teachers have been provided by God to make it possible to continually grow in our faith and knowledge of what God requires of us. (Col. 1:24-29) Ashby clarifies the meaning of one key word in this section: “A mystery is not something which must be kept secret, but rather a concealed truth which God is pleased to unveil when the time is ripe.” If you wish more on that particular subject, Beale and Gladd have written a helpful 400-page book titled “Hidden But Now Revealed: A Biblical Theology of Mystery.”

One could expand this list by comparing it with (a) the doctrinal sections found in the other Epistles, (b) the teachings of Christ while on earth, (c) the information concerning heavenly matters and the Last Days contained in the Book of Revelation, and (d) timeless teachings and examples found throughout the Old Testament.

Complications

Of course, each denomination and/or congregation has compiled its own list of such statements after deciding which ones are of primary concern and which are secondary or tertiary beliefs. And these quite often disagree with one another.

Then to complicate the situation, it is not at all unusual to find church leaders who are supposed to hold to the official teachings of that particular group, but in practice no longer do so. In some cases, they do not really believe in all of them and in other cases they actually add to the official list their own particular opinions on a variety of subjects.

Finally, since the Bible contains a variety of material written over a long time period and in a variety of genres, there is the question of which of the biblical books takes precedence over the others, with some groups interpreting the New Testament in light of the Old Testament and others feeling we must do the exact opposite.

Finally, since the Bible contains a variety of material written over a long time period and in a variety of genres, there is the question of which of the biblical books takes precedence over the others, with some groups interpreting the New Testament in light of the Old Testament and others feeling we must do the exact opposite.