{"id":2050,"date":"2012-10-30T05:00:05","date_gmt":"2012-10-30T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=2050"},"modified":"2023-02-02T08:31:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T14:31:35","slug":"colossians-115-17-the-preeminence-of-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/?p=2050","title":{"rendered":"Colossians 1:15-17 \u2014 The Preeminence of Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

15<\/sup> He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

16<\/sup> For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities\u2014all things have been created through Him and for Him.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

17<\/sup> He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

Paul, in these verses, is countering the Gnostics’ denial of the deity of Christ.<\/h3>\n

image (v.15) = exact likeness (Hebrews 1:3<\/a><\/span>) and manifestation \u2014 The nature and being of God are perfectly revealed in Christ. \u2014 Christ is God in bodily form (Colossians 2:9<\/a><\/span>).<\/h3>\n

firstborn (v.15) \u2014 priority in time and<\/span> supremacy in rank \u2014 not<\/span> that He was the first created being but that He is before and above all creation.<\/h3>\n

for (v.16 – first use) = because<\/h3>\n

by Him (v.16) \u2014 within the sphere of His personality \u2014 His creative will and energy<\/h3>\n

all things (v.16) = “the all things” \u2014 the entire universe of things<\/h3>\n

were created (v.16) \u2014 tense indicates a definite act at a particular time<\/h3>\n

in the heavens and on earth (v.16) \u2014 everywhere<\/h3>\n

visible and invisible (v.16) \u2014 everything material and immaterial \u2014 everything, as seen from the human point of view<\/h3>\n

The words “thrones, dominions, principalities and powers” refer to both holy and fallen angels, to demons and man. The passage is aimed at the angel-worship of the Colossians; showing that while they have been discussing the various grades of angels which fill the space between God and men, and depending on them as media of communion with God, they have degraded Christ who is above them all , and is the sole mediator. \u2014 Wuest, page 184.<\/span><\/h3>\n

have been created (v.16) \u2014 tense indicates a result \u2014 “stand created” as an abiding state<\/h3>\n

through Him (v.16) = by means of Him, by His agency<\/h3>\n

for Him (v.16) = unto Him \u2014 all things depend on Him and serve Him<\/h3>\n

He (v.17) \u2014 emphatic<\/h3>\n

He is<\/span> (v.17) \u2014 timeless present, apart from time<\/h3>\n

consist (v.17) = hold together (Hebrews 1:3<\/a><\/span>)<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities\u2014all … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-colossians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2050"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7415,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2050\/revisions\/7415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versebyverse.carpelibra.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}