The Image of God

​Colossians 1:15 ~ “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
 
Let us take this moment today to consider the LORD Jesus and cast our gaze upon Him. The Scriptures is filled with the knowledge of the Son of God, and through His word we discover a treasury of truth that we should know Him. In the Gospel of John, 5:39-40, Jesus told us that the Scripture speaks of Him, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” So, this day we shall take a look at who He is. And, if you have never known Jesus as Savior and LORD, then let this day be the day you bend your knee to Him and receive His grace and mercy. Jesus prayed in John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
 
We begin with the opening of our text: “He is the image of the invisible God.” To try and fully comprehend the nature of God, we would drown ourselves in the overwhelming knowledge of His grandeur. God, dear Christian, is invisible. He is beyond the mortal mind to try and understand. If His was the ocean of understanding, ours is a molecule of water—and even that is too weak a comparison. God is invisible—not that He cannot be known, but that we cannot of our own understanding know Him. He is beyond our view. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” For us to know God Almighty, we must be given a view that He has revealed. Jesus, beloved, is that view. He is the image—the manifest Person of God. Jesus said this Himself. We read in John 14:9, “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?’” Every aspect of Jesus is a revelation of the nature of God. He is God the Son, revealed to us through His word. If you want to know who God is, you must look to the LORD Jesus Christ—for there is no greater or more glorious view.
 
And we also see that Jesus is the, “firstborn of all creation.” Not only is Jesus the very image of the Divine, but He is also the greatest of all mankind. Humanity was created to glorify God and obey His commands, to fill the earth and subdue it. Genesis 1:28 says, “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” To be the “firstborn” is to be the inheritor of the estate. He was second only to the father of the estate, and in regard to all other family and hired hands, held authority over them. Jesus, my friends, has inherited all of creation as His own. The Father has given it to His Son so that the LORD Jesus can rule and reign over all that has been made. He is the firstborn, the preeminent One. All others are under His authority. Consider Psalm 2:7-8, “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.’”
 
And now, as we look upon the text in its whole, we discover a great truth: Jesus Christ is both God and Man. He is the image of God, and He is the Firstborn of creation. He is not merely partially God and partially man. He is fully both and deserving of worship, honor, praise and glory. He did for us what could only be done if He were both fully God and fully Man. As God Almighty, Jesus had the power to make a way of salvation through His resurrection. As Perfect Man, Jesus had the capacity to be the propitiation on behalf of those who would believe. So, beloved, let us draw near to Christ and yield ourselves to this King and Savior—to the one who is both Almighty God and Perfect Man. In Isaiah 57:15 God says, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” Let us open His book, draw near to Him today, and discover Jesus.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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