1. The Characteristics of Christ
Colossians 1:15-20

2.  Written by Paul
 Written to believers in Colossae
 Written from Rome
 Written in 61 AD
 Written because of the Colossian heresy
 Written to show the supremacy of Christ

3.  For what are we qualified? v 12
 How are we qualified? v 13
 Why are we qualified? v 14

4.  He is the image of God, and the first born of creation,
v 15
 He created all things, v 16
 He is before all things, and He is the sustainer of all
things, v 17
 He is the head of the Church, v 18
 He is God, v 19
 He is the Reconciler, v 20

5.  … for He rescued us from the domain of darkness,
transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom
we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins;
Colossians 1:13-14
 As believers in Jesus Christ we (Jews and Gentiles) have
been given a share in the inheritance (v 12), i.e. the
Kingdom of His beloved Son (v 13).
 We are transferred because we have been redeemed
(purchased from slavery to sin, Rom 6:17-18); we become
slaves of righteousness when our sins are forgiven.
 Our sins are forgiven through faith in Christ, Eph 1:7, Rom
3:26

6.  Only the righteous (people with their sins forgiven) are
in the Kingdom.
 Jewish judgment: Ezekiel 20:37-38
 Gentile judgment: Matthew 25:31-46
 Saints in “white robes” return with Christ: Rev 19:14
 So, what qualifies Christ to redeem us, and to forgive
our sins, whereby we are given a position in the
Kingdom?
 Verses 15-20! The characteristics of Christ

7.  Greek word, εἰκων, or icon.
 He is the exact representation of God
 Primarily speaks of His attributes, i.e. holy, sovereign, just,
loving, patient, kind, faithful
 We are created in God’s εἰκων, Genesis 1:26
 Our attributes coincide with His
 Sovereignty = choice, Holiness = conscience
 We cannot see God in all His glory, Exodus 33:20
 We can only see an εἰκων of Him
 If we have seen Christ, we have seen the Father, John 14:9

8.  Two possibilities:
 First created being, i.e. the first thing born into creation
OR
 He is pre-eminent in creation
 Jehovah’s Witnesses believe He is the “first created”
 “other” inserted into this passage 4 times in verses 16-17
 Similar to the Gnostic idea of creative emanations,
dualism
 First created would be πρωτοκτισισ
 BUT, He is the “firstborn” πρωτοτοκος

9.  He is pre-eminent; He has first place in all of creation
 “Firstborn” is a tile that represents position
 Jacob and Esau, Gen 25:31-32, 27:18-29
 Manasseh and Ephraim, Genesis 48:18, Jeremiah 31:9
 As “firstborn” of creation Christ has been given a
Kingdom, v 13
 He will take dominion of the earth
 Then He will give it back to God the Father, 1 Cor 15:20-26

10.  “for” in Him all things were created… v 16
 Subordinate clause, because of the word “for”
 He is “firstborn” because He is the Creator
 Created all things, visible and invisible
 Created all levels of angels
 He is superior to them, Eph 1:21, Phil 2:9-10
 Fallen angels are who we do spiritual battle against, Eph 6:12
 Refuting the Colossian heresy, there is no “demiurge”
 He is “firstborn” because all things were created for
Him
 Doxological purpose

11.  He is eternal
 “Before” all things in time
 “I Am,” Exodus 3:14
 YHWH
 vowels added later to make Yahweh
 JeHoVaH is the Latin equivalent of YHWH
 Jesus is “I Am” John 8:58
 Literally, I (am) I am
 Same translation in LXX of Exodus 3:14 as John 8:58

12.  Hold together OR consist
 Bring things into being, as in 2 Peter 3:5
 The word of God “formed” all things
 Once formed, be held together
 By the “word of His power” Hebrews 1:3
 Both of these ideas contain a tremendous amount of
power!
 Nuclear fission – the atomic bomb, nuclear reactors
 Nuclear fusion – the sun, hydrogen bomb
 Christ holds the entire universe together!