Image of the Invisible God: Meditations on Col 1.15-20, Pt 5

for in him all the fullness

was pleased to dwell

and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself

All Things

whether on earth or in heaven

by making Shalom [peace] through the blood of his cross.

There has been a major shift in Paul’s melody since the first half of his song. Those "lyrics"  focused upon Jesus’ cosmic work as Creator, and the grace that brings to us.  Now the tune is cosmic work of Christ as Redeemer. This pairing, “creation” and “redemption,” is something Paul gets from his Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).   Both creation and redemption strike the cord of God’s cosmic, eternal, unending love! Sing Psalm 136 to see how the Bible turns these themes into almost a mantra.  God’s world began in an act of creative love (Genesis 1-2).  Yet God’s creation was vandalized by Sin (Genesis 3-11). Think of the most beautiful “THING” you can imagine. Multiply that beauty by a billion. Now you may have some notion of the Art of God in creation.  Now imagine that beautiful THING with the most disgraceful GRAFFITI … this is sort of like the Vandalism of Creation by Sin.

Paul strains at the notes in this new hymnic verse because the Cosmic Christ reaches out with even greater love (if that is possible!!) to win back, to restore, to renew, to repair, to undo the Fall of All Things! of All Creation! 

The scope of the Gospel of the Cosmic Christ is breathtakingly beautiful.  It is stunning in fact.  Why? Because the One who created all THINGSrefuses to give up on all those THINGS. The conflict that has inhabited God’s creation since Genesis 3: the hatred, the mistreatment, the oppression, the loneliness, the racism, the vandalism of creation, the sexism, the selfishness, the plain ugliness of evil …  Jesus in, and through, his own material physical body (1.21) made of the very THINGS he had created … reconciled it all … resolved the conflict, brought redemption and SHALOM through that body of flesh for the purpose of redeeming not only his own human body but EVERYTHING in heaven and earth, visible and invisible that he had created.

Through Jesus, the Image of God, God brought about peace {shalom} between himself and all that has been created. This includes you, me, us, what is above, what is seen and what is not.  The lyric of Paul is simply breathtaking. It leaves me speechless.

Musings: How big of a gospel do you believe in? Is the Gospel beautiful?

Prayer

Ask God to give you eyes to see the universe, and everything in it, as something that Christ created and for which he died … and for which he conquered death for. God open my eyes.

Read More

Image of the Invisible God: Meditations on Col 1.15-20, Pt 4

He is the beginning

the Firstborn from the dead

so that he might come to have first place in everything

With the beginning of this new verse, Paul begins to point in the radical new direction of redemption and renewed creation.  To say that Jesus is “the beginning” here does no refer to Creation which was the refrain of the previous verses.  Rather Jesus is now seen, not as Creator, but rather the one who has participated in the most common human trait across every race in the world – death.  But Jesus did something that is not common, he did not stay dead. A new reality has begun.  The new age has broken in because Jesus, the Creator, has conquered the grave (one of those “dominions” … Revelation 20.14). Jesus came back and is thus the “Firstborn from the dead!”  This is Resurrection.  Easter. The new Age of hope.  The Future is Now in Christ’s Resurrection from the dead.

Do you want to know why Jesus is Lord? Do you want to know why Jesus has “first place” in “everything?” Do you want to know why Jesus is not second to George Bush, Barak Obama, Buddha, Mohammad, Bobby Valentine … or even you? There is one simple reason according to Paul. That reason is Mohammad when he died, and he did die, remained dead.  When Confucius died, and he did, he turned to dust. If Bobby Valentine dies, he will remain in the grave. Because he is dead.  Jesus is first and foremost for the simple fact of history (not make believe) that though he did die – he did not stay dead! This is what makes Christ different, unique, and in a category that none can touch.  He was killed on the cross.  That is a fact! On the third day the earth shook and the gates of death were destroyed by the Image of God! That is almost unbelievable.  And what is more is that because of Jesus’ resurrection Bush, Obama, Muhammad, Buddha, and Bobby Valentine … and you … will also be raised from the dead one glorious day. 

God created the cosmos through the Cosmic Christ.  When the world became vandalized the creator became its one chance of hope … Thus Jesus died to save what he made.  Through his resurrection he brought the future into the now.

MUSINGS: Do you believe what Paul sings? Is Christ “first” that is supreme in everything? What in your life have you not surrendered to Christ.

Prayer

Father God, grant me insight through your Holy Spirit into the magnificence of your Christ. Grant that my faith will grow into unshakable faith in the bodily resurrection of your Son, Christ Jesus. Help me Father to truly make Jesus the Lord of my life as he is already the Lord of the universe.  Take any part of me not surrendered to him and make it his. Defeat me when I resist his direction and claim to be First in all I say, do, or think.  Amen.

Read More

Image of the Invisible God: Meditations on Col 1.15-20, Pt 3

And he is before All Things 
and in him All Things hold together
and he is the head of the body, the Gathered People

As we move through Paul’s wonderful song (Col 1.15-20 is a song) it important to keep the train of thought before us (context). We have seen that Jesus is God’s AVATAR, that is the very picture of God himself.  He has said that Jesus is Supreme because he is actually the instrument for Creation of anything that happens to exist.

The Good News of Jesus (the Gospel) is cosmic in scope. It is as big as the universe that Christ created.  It is Good News that the God, through his Christ, created the universe because we have a reason for being here. It is incredible news that Jesus holds it all together. This song, one of Paul’s greatest hits, ties the whole Gospel message together. The Cosmic Christ has created the cosmos. The Cosmic Christ holds all the planets, galaxies, and the spirit world together.  And … the Cosmic Christ did not do this “just for me.” Jesus created, Jesus holds it together, and Jesus redeems for the sake of US.  You, Me and All Things. Not Me. But for all of us!  That is what “he is the head of the body, the Gathered People” means.  It means the universe was created to provide a place for God’s family.  It means the invisible, and visible, universe is held together for the sake of the family.  The Gospel places not me, but us, in cosmic relationship with one another because of Him.

One of the most intense cravings of our times is companionship. It it totally ironic that with our Facebooks, Instagrams, twitter, Tumbler, and even the “old My Space” people feel more isolated than ever. The Postmodern world has paid a heavy price for the Sin of Modernity … all I need is ME! But our cravings show us that we need one another.  The Good News of Jesus, that Paul sings, is that because of Jesus, the Avatar of God, we belong to the most important “in group” in the universe – The Gathered People. Or we sometimes call it “church.”  But idea is that of people who have been gathered from the four corners of the Earth by the mysterious power of God and made his Family.  We are Family.  The Gospel makes us the Cosmic Family for whom the entire universe is held together. The family that Jesus himself is the “head” of. 

MUSINGS: Which thought disturbs you the most, being alone? or having a great friend? Do you think your answer reflects the fundamental nature of the Gospel of Christ that Paul sings about?  Why or Why not?

Prayer

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you not only believe the Cosmic Gospel but to appreciate it. Ask him to help you see that the “Gospel is for me,BECAUSE it is for us!

Read More

Image of the Invisible God: Meditations on Col 1.15-20, Pt 2

for in him were created All Things
in heaven and earth
things visible and invisible
whether thrones or dominions
whether ruler or powers
All Things have been created through him and for him.

There are a lot of THINGSin the universe. Galaxies. Stars. Planets. Moons. Comets. Meteors. Lions. Tigers. Bears. Men. Women. Rainbows. Flowers. These are just some of the visible THINGS. There are also atoms, neutrons, protons, quarks, radio waves, angels, spirit beings. These are just some of the invisible THINGS.  

The Apostle Paul had memorized Genesis 1.1 just as you have from his infancy: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But in Colossians 1.16 he makes the astounding assertion that one of the IMAGES of Christ is none other than God actually used the Messiah (i.e. Christ) to do the creating. This speaks to the supremacy of Jesus.  He does not stand behind anyone in all creation in rank.  Paul, like you, could think of a lot of THINGS. Let your mind wander across the universe and Paul dares to claim the person we know as Jesus made those galaxies, stars & planets. Think about those THINGS that cover the world. Paul dares to claim Jesus made those things. But Paul knew the universe has THINGS in it that no eye has ever seen: your spirit, the angels, the invisible stuff the apostle claims Jesus is greater than all them too because he created them. The words “thrones” or “dominions” “ruler” or “powers” refer to the non-material spiritual realm.  Paul tells the Colossian disciples that one reason they have no fear of the evil forces in the world is that Christ, the IMAGE of God, is incomparably superior to them in every conceivable fashion. We live in confidence because Jesus is on our side.

Paul does not say everything in the universe is friendly but he does say that everything will sooner or later serve Christ.  The Universe was created both by Christ and for Christ. We exist for him.

MUSINGS: Read Psalm 104 and note the magnificent diversity of “all things” that are visible that have been created.  Note how “all things” are in God’s visible world are objects of his steadfast love.  Marvel at those things … what does this say about “God.”?

Prayer

End your time praising the Lord for the security we have in him.  Praise him for his creativity and the beauty he has placed in the visible realm. Praise him that one of the THINGS he has created, in His own Image, is YOU.  Ask him to help you grasp that truth.

Read More

Image of the Invisible God: Meditations on Col 1.15-20 #1

For the next few days I will be offering a series of short meditations on the Christ Hymn in Colossians 1. It is my prayer that they be helpful ... 

He is the IMAGE

of the invisible God

the firstborn of all creation (1.15)

Facebook. YouTube. Pinterest. Tumbler. Instagram.  How many followers? How many “likes?” Ours is a culture, more than ever before, that is obsessed with the word “image.”

We all post on at least one of these social media outlets most of us more than one, and some probably all of them. We want people to see that we have an interesting life.  That we have it together. That we have our mojo on. That we have our game together. What we do not do is post bad pictures of ourselves.  We avoid those certain angles.  We untag ourselves in those pix that a friend graciously put online that are funny but uncomplimentary.

The Bible tells us that God is just as concerned about his “image” as we are of ours. The images that so many have of him do not actually come from his own Facebook account. People often tag him in a status or picture that is not him at all.   The false pictures show up repeatedly in the “Old Testament” when people would create images of God.  God calls such false pictures idolatry.  Thus Israel was forbidden making images of the Lord in any fashion or any form.  We did not listen and kept making false pictures of God.

God’s reply to all humanity is this: If you want to know who I am, if you want to know what I look like, if you want to know how I think … here is the “image” of myself so you can know.  That image is Christ. 

He is the IMAGE of the invisible God.  When God took his iPhone or Droid and took a picture of himself and posted it on FB, or istagram, what was uploaded was Jesus. What this means is that what you know about Jesus you also know about God. Jesus, as the Image of God, tells you what God is like.  Pictures of Jesus are “images of God.”

Musings: Recall the IMAGES of Jesus that you know.  Write down those images.  What do those images tell you of God? 

  

PrayerThought

End your time this morning thanking God for the Images of himself that he has given us in Jesus.  Commit to the him that you will spend more time looking at his Facebook, Instagram, Tumbler and Pinterest accounts.  They have the names: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Read More