So Who Is Jesus Christ? Colossians 1:13-23
“13) For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us into the Kingdom of His Beloved Son, 14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. 15) And 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—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:13-16
The question now becomes; “Is Jesus Christ equal to the task of redeeming us from the domain of Satan and darkness and transferring them into His own kingdom?” The Old Testament parallel was God bringing the children of Israel out from under the slavery of Egypt and into the Promised Land. That was a monumental undertaking. The question they had to answer; “Was their God greater than the gods of Egypt and the surrounding nations?” Was He equal to the task? We now face the same questions related to our salvation.
To answer these questions, Paul launches into an in depth study of the identity of Jesus Christ. We we tackle only a few of his claims in this post.
He starts in verse 13 by stating that Jesus Christ is King over the kingdom of light. This opens the discussion of which is more powerful, light or darkness? Think about it, the smallest light can illuminate the darkest place. Life thrives in the light. One of the initial acts of creation was separating light from darkness. (Genesis 1:4)
He then introduces the concept in verse 14 that Jesus is the Redeemer of mankind. The idea is that He purchased us to set us free. His work on the cross paid for our sins and provided for our forgiveness. He became our basis for freedom from sin and Satan. Salvation is based on His work and not any attempt to save ourselves.
Without skipping a beat, in the first part of verse 15 Paul states that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. This is reminiscent of Hebrews chapter one. Verse 3 says, “He is the radiance of His glory and exact representation of His nature.” He is God. The serious Bible student should study Hebrews chapter one for a full understanding of this statement.
Paul then finishes verse 15 by saying that Jesus Christ was “the first born of all Creation.” The idea here is that before anything in the physical realm came into existence, Jesus already was! He was the Eternal Self-existant One.
Things get even more profound with the next verse. Verse 16 unequivocally states that Jesus Christ was the Creator of both heaven and earth. He created everything, both visible and invisible. This verse also implies that He created both the angelic realm and all human domain. Everything was created by Him and for Him. He owns it all!
Ok, slow down! Don’t skip over these points quickly. These claims are worthy of very serious thought… and belief! The Creator is infinitely greater than anything created. But you ask; “are there other texts in the Bible that makes these claims?” For starters, I would refer you to both John 1:1-5 and Hebrews 1:2-14. Both present Jesus Christ in these exact same terms.
Paul is far from done with his Revelation of Jesus Christ in this context, but in these few verses he has given us plenty to chew on for a long time? Here is the point, you will never move deeper in your Christian life than your true view of Jesus Christ!
If your view of Jesus is small… your faith will be small. If your view of Satan is bigger than your view of Jesus Christ, you will live in bondage, defeat, failure and poor spiritual, mental and physical health. You will not and cannot experience greater victories or miracles in your life than your true view of Jesus Christ.
So if you are stuck in life, do what Paul does in Colossians chapter one. Launch into a study of the identity, person and work of Jesus Christ. Expand your truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Your true view of Jesus Christ is the pivot point of what happens in your life whether small or great. He and not self must become our focal point.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
