{"id":51626,"date":"2022-08-30T10:25:31","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T17:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/?p=51626"},"modified":"2023-05-09T14:54:16","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T21:54:16","slug":"christ-the-colossus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/christ-the-colossus\/","title":{"rendered":"Christ the Colossus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>One of the most poetically beautiful passages about Christ in all of Scripture is in Paul\u2019s letter to the Colossians. The passage is beautiful in its structure, using balance, repetition, and diversity for emphasis and importance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the beauty of the passage is most directly displayed in its subject\u2014Christ. From every angle, Paul displays the magnificence of who Jesus is and what he\u2019s accomplished. The beauty of Jesus shines through all the different ways Paul describes him. See for yourself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#d0d0d0\"><em>The following are some comments on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=col+1%3A15-20&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Colossians 1:15-20<\/a> from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product.php?productid=77375\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">For Everyone Commentary Series<\/a> by N.T. Wright and John Goldingay.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-colossians-1-15-20\"><strong>Colossians 1:15-20<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/IMG_7CA8308B7505-1-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/IMG_7CA8308B7505-1-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/IMG_7CA8308B7505-1-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/IMG_7CA8308B7505-1-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/IMG_7CA8308B7505-1-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Christ the Head<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The poem we are now looking at \u2013 and I\u2019ve laid it out like a poem so you can see how it \u2018works\u2019 \u2013 is based on the different meanings of the Hebrew word for \u2018head\u2019. As in English, so in Hebrew, the relevant word can carry several different ideas, and Paul is cleverly exploring and exploiting some of them. Watch how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Jesus Christ, he says, is the <em>firstborn<\/em>. That\u2019s the first meaning, which comes twice (in verses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=col+1%3A15&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">15<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=col+1%3A18&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">18<\/a>).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Jesus Christ is <em>supreme<\/em> (verse <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=col+1%3A17&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">17<\/a>). I\u2019ve translated it here as \u2018ahead\u2019 to hint at the same point.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Jesus Christ is the <em>head<\/em> of the body, which is the church (verse <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=col+1%3A18&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">18<\/a>).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Jesus Christ is the <em>beginning<\/em> (also verse <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=col+1%3A18&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">18<\/a>).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"975\" height=\"646\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-4.png 975w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-4-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-4-768x509.png 768w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-4-270x180.png 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Christ the Point<\/strong> <strong>of it All<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of growing up as a Christian is learning to take delight in the way in which God\u2019s truth, whether in physics or theology or whatever, has a poetic beauty about it. But of course Paul isn\u2019t writing this poem just to show off his clever intellectual fireworks, or to provide a sophisticated kind of literary entertainment. He\u2019s writing this (or, if the poem was originally written by someone else, quoting it) in order to tell the Colossians something they badly need to know. What is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What they need to know above all, if they are to grow as Christians, increasing in wisdom, power, patience and thanksgiving, is <em>the<\/em> <em>centrality and supremacy of Jesus Christ<\/em>. The more they get to know, and know about, Jesus Christ, the more they will understand who the true God is and what he\u2019s done; who they are as a result; and what it means to live in and for him. Much of the rest of the letter, in fact, is an exploration of the meaning of the poem. Look on to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=col+2%3A3&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2.3<\/a>, for instance, where Paul declares that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s worth, then, going quite slowly through the poem and pondering the depths of meaning that are to be found in it. Christianity isn\u2019t simply about a particular way of being religious. It isn\u2019t about a particular system for how to be saved here or hereafter. It isn\u2019t simply a different way of holiness. <strong>Christianity is about Jesus Christ;<\/strong> and this poem, one of the very earliest Christian poems ever written, is as good a place to start exploring it as any. This is what the Colossians needed to know, and we today need to rediscover it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Christ the Image of God<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are three things in particular which the poem points us to about Jesus Christ and about what God has done in and through him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>First<\/strong>, it\u2019s by looking at Jesus that we discover who God is. He is \u2018the image of God, the invisible one\u2019. Nobody has ever seen God, but in Jesus he has come near to us and become one of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If there is somebody sitting in the next room, I can\u2019t see them because there\u2019s a wall in the way. But if there is a mirror out in the hallway, I may be able to look out of my door and see, in the mirror, the mirror-image of the person in the next room. In the same way, <strong>Jesus is the mirror-image of the God who is there<\/strong> but who we normally can\u2019t see. We may be aware of his presence; many people, many religions, many systems of philosophy have admitted there is \u2018something or somebody there\u2019. But with Jesus we find ourselves looking at the true God himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"975\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1.png 975w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-1-270x180.png 270w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The great thing about that is that the more we look at Jesus, the more we realize that the true God is the God of utter self-giving love. That\u2019s why this poem comes right after Paul\u2019s prayer that the Colossians will learn how to be grateful to God. When you realize that Jesus reveals who God is, gratitude is the first and most appropriate reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Christ the Keeper<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Second<\/strong>, Jesus holds together the old world and the new, creation and new creation. <strong>Jesus Christ<\/strong>, says the poem boldly, <strong>is the one through whom and for whom the whole creation was made<\/strong> in the first place. This isn\u2019t just a remarkable thing to say about an individual of recent history. It is also a remarkable thing to say about the \u2018natural\u2019 world. The world was his idea, his workmanship. It is beautiful, powerful and sweet because he made it like that. When the lavish and generous beauty of the world makes you catch your breath, remember that it is like that because of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"975\" height=\"651\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-2.png 975w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-2-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-2-768x513.png 768w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-2-270x180.png 270w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-2-770x515.png 770w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But it\u2019s also full of ugliness and evil, summed up in death itself. Yes, that\u2019s true too; but that wasn\u2019t the original intention, and the living God has now acted to heal the world of the wickedness and corruption which have so radically infected it. And he\u2019s done so through the same one through whom it was made in the first place. This is the point of the balance in the poem. The Jesus through whom the world was made in the first place is the same Jesus through whom the world has now been redeemed. He is the firstborn of all creation, <em>and<\/em> the firstborn from the dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Christ the Reconciler<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Third<\/strong>, Jesus is therefore the blueprint for the genuine humanness which is on offer through the gospel. As the head of the body, the church; the first to rise again from the dead; as the one through whose cruel death God has dealt with our sins and brought us peace and reconciliation; and, above all, as the one through whom the new creation has now begun; in all these ways, <strong>Jesus is himself the one \u2018in whom\u2019 we are called to discover what true humanness means in practice.<\/strong> We have so often settled for second best in our human lives. Jesus summons us to experience the genuine article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is much more that could be said about this wonderful poem. I hope what we\u2019ve already said will encourage you to explore it further and meditate on it more deeply. But let me end with a pointer, which is in fact another key to the meaning of Colossians as a whole. In the Judaism of Paul\u2019s day, quite a lot that he has here said about Jesus had already been said about the rather shadowy figure of \u2018wisdom\u2019. Part of Paul\u2019s point is precisely this: if it\u2019s wisdom you want, Jesus is where you have to look. What that meant for the Colossians we shall see as we go along. What it means for the twenty-first century is up to each of us to explore, with delight and \u2013 yes, once again \u2013 with gratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>For Everyone Commentary Series<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ForEveryoneCommentarySeriesBookSetInApp-1024x580.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ForEveryoneCommentarySeriesBookSetInApp-1024x580.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ForEveryoneCommentarySeriesBookSetInApp-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ForEveryoneCommentarySeriesBookSetInApp-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/ForEveryoneCommentarySeriesBookSetInApp.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, this is an excellent resource for those looking for an easy-to-read and yet informative commentary. For each passage of the Bible, these two scholars provide their own translation and comments for the reader. Available in individual copies or complete sets, these accessible commentaries are perfect companions for any Bible reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product.php?productid=77944\" style=\"background-color:#77aa3c\">OT FOR EVERYONE<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product.php?productid=78007\" style=\"background-color:#77aa3c\">NT FOR EVERYONE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button aligncenter\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product.php?productid=77375\" style=\"background-color:#77aa3c\">NT and OT FOR EVERYONE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most poetically beautiful passages about Christ in all of Scripture is in Paul\u2019s letter to the Colossians. The passage is beautiful in its structure, using balance, repetition, and diversity for emphasis and importance. But the beauty of the passage is most directly displayed in its subject\u2014Christ. From every angle, Paul displays the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":51636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7849,5338],"tags":[5996],"class_list":{"0":"post-51626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentaries","8":"category-new-testament-articles","9":"tag-for-everyone-commentary-series"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Christ the Colossus - Olive Tree Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\/christ-the-colossus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christ the Colossus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the most poetically beautiful passages about Christ in all of Scripture is in Paul\u2019s letter to the Colossians. The passage is beautiful in its\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\/christ-the-colossus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Olive Tree Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OliveTreeBible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-30T17:25:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-09T21:54:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/thales-botelho-de-sousa-21AiwkRfAnY-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hoffman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OliveTreeBible\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OliveTreeBible\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hoffman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/christ-the-colossus\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/christ-the-colossus\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hoffman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a5aa5788c774e9c21340b24cb3f5091b\"},\"headline\":\"Christ the Colossus\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-30T17:25:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-09T21:54:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/christ-the-colossus\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1328,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/christ-the-colossus\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/08\\\/thales-botelho-de-sousa-21AiwkRfAnY-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"For Everyone Commentary Series\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentaries\",\"New Testament\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/christ-the-colossus\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/christ-the-colossus\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/christ-the-colossus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Christ the Colossus - 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