(Part One) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five) (Part Six)

I introduced part one in this series on The Functional Centrality of the Gospel by writing, “One of my main concerns for preachers and teachers of the Word is that the gospel would not merely have the stated centrality (i.e. “The gospel is central in all that we say and do here.”) but also the functional centrality in the life of the church.” This was Paul’s main concern for the church at Colossae. So, using creation language, he begins his epistle to the Colossians by stressing the absolute centrality of the gospel in God’s redemptive activity not only in the whole world but also in Colossae (Colossians 1:5-6).

The Functional Basis (continued)

Notice what Paul does in Colossians 1:15-18 to take us deeper into this gospel-centered New Creation thinking that he introduced in verses 3 to 6. There are two key parallel phrases, though they are not exact parallels, which open and close these rich Christo-centric verses; and if we are to follow Paul’s line of New Creation thought, it is important that we discern how these two phrases are related.

Colossians 1:15-18 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. [17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead…

In what sense is the Messiah “the firstborn of all creation”? Paul tells us in verse 16. He is the firstborn of all creation in that it was “by him that all things were created.” He is not the firstborn of all creation in that he was the first to be created but rather in that he was the agent through whom the original creation was made and is sustained (verse 17). It makes sense, then, that the pre-incarnate Messiah, the Father’s agent in creation, would become man in order to bring about the renewal or recreation of the created order, which is with what the second phrase—the firstborn from the dead—is concerned. So verse 15, then, tells us that the pre-incarnate Messiah was uniquely qualified for the redemptive work of verse 18 where Paul refers to him as “the firstborn from the dead.”

Therefore, given the creation language of verse 6 and the parallel phrases in verses 15 and 18, we are to understand that the Messiah is not only the one through whom the original creation came into existence and is sustained, but that he is also the one through whom humanity is redeemed from the dead—death being the climactic effect of the corruption of sin upon the world—and ultimately the one through whom the entire created order is renewed (cf. Romans 8:18-21). So what Paul is doing in this section of Colossians is identifying what exactly is at the heart of this gospel that is bearing fruit and growing, namely, the New Creation work of the Messiah in redemption (Colossians 1:6). As I will argue in future posts, if we are to interpret and apply the imperative sections of Colossians properly (Colossians 3:1ff), the New Creation work of the Messiah must be central in our thinking.