The Divine Redeemer

The theme of the epistle, the Divine Person of Christ, is so full and varied that it extends to several verses, and Christ’s relation to creation (v. 15-17) is now to be paralleled by His relation to the spiritual world.

1. His Relation to the Church (v. 18)

The familiar word “Church” deserves careful study both here and in the companion Epistle to the Ephesians, because the reference is to a spiritual organism, not an ecclesiastical organisation. The word “Church,” representing the Greek “Ecclesia,” was originally applied to a gathering of Greek citizens who were summoned from their homes and private capacities to some public assembly where the people met together. In the Greek version of the Old Testament it is the translation of a Hebrew word referring to the gathering of the people of Israel. It is also used in Acts 19:41 to describe the meeting of the people of Ephesus. In the Christian sense it always indicates a meeting of Christian people, some¬ times in a city or other place (Acts 8:1), but here and in Ephesians referring to the entire number of believers. This thought of the Church Universal as consisting of those who are spiritually united to Christ and form His Body is, as the late Bishop of Durham points out, the primary idea of the Church, and all other meanings are to be regarded as strictly secondary to it. It is probable that between the first mention of the word “Church” in Matt. 16:18, and the use of the term in Ephesians and Colossians there is no other reference to the Church as a whole, but only to particular parts of it in their earthly manifestations. This widest, fullest, and, of course, truest sense of the term is well defined in some familiar words: ‘‘the blessed company of all faithful people.”

It is also particularly interesting to notice the difference of treatment, even of this doctrine of the Church in Colossians, when compared with the teaching of Ephesians. In Colossians more emphasis is placed upon the Head, Christ Jesus, while in Ephesians the stress is laid on the unity of the Body. In both Epistles Christ is, of course, the Head, but it is singularly suggestive to observe the difference in the appeal made in both Epistles in regard to the same practical duties. Thus, for instance, in Colossians men are to avoid untruthfulness because of their relation to Christ (3:9), while in Ephesians the same duty is inculcated from the standpoint of other Christians (4:25). This is only one of a number of comparisons in which this aspect of truth is seen.

The thought of Christ as the Head of the Church implies the three great principles of life, unity and sovereignty. He is at once the Source of our spiritual life, the Guarantee of all spiritual unity, and the supreme Authority. He is the One who because He bestows life, controls all Christians, who are therefore expected to render Him love and loyalty. The more this thought of our union with Christ as the Head is realised, the truer will be the expression of our life in fellowship and obedience.

Then Christ is described as “the beginning,” and the word is naturally reminiscent of the Greek term in verse 16 rendered “principalities.” It teaches that Christ is the Beginning of everything in connection with the Church, His Body. Then follows a further statement, “the first¬ born from the dead,” and again the thought looks back

The Divine Redeemer, 1:18-20 to verse 15, where He is spoken of as the first-born of every creature. The thought here, however, is associated with the resurrection, and indicates priority in regard to His own resurrection, and, because of this, the Source of our resurrection as well. By the resurrection He was “designated Son of God with power” (Rom. 1:4), for although Son of God already by reason of His eternal relationship with the Father, He became by His resurrection the Source of spiritual power to all who receive Him (Rom. 1:16; Eph. 1:19; 2:5).

All this spiritual relation and position is intended for one purpose: “that in all things He might have the pre-eminence.” He was already pre-eminent in creation (v. 15), and now He is shown to be similarly supreme in the realm of grace (Phil. 2:9-11). While this thought is, of course, intended to apply to the whole Church (Eph. 1:10), it is impossible to avoid noticing the sad and solemn contrast with the only other place where the word “pre-eminence” is to be found (3 John v. 9). Those who love to have the pre-eminence cannot possibly recognise the pre-eminence of Christ.

II. His Relation to Redemption (vs. 19, 20)

The basis of what has been said is now shown to be due to the Deity of Christ, for only thus could there be anything like His position in the universe of nature and grace. And so we read that “it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness permanently dwell.” The Father’s pleasure concerning Christ is noteworthy here and elsewhere (Matt. 3:17), and shows at once the loving interest of the Father in the redemptive work of His Son, and at the same time the vital necessity of that redemption being accomplished by none other than a Divine Being. The word “fulness” expresses what has been called “all the plenitude of Deity,” and it includes “whatever is contained in the Divine nature in all its depths of eternal existence, righteousness, wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, truth, love.” The term is found in this and the companion Epistle, and it is particularly interesting to notice the association of the word and thought with each Person of the Trinity (Eph. 3:19; 4:13; 5:18). It is also found elsewhere in this Epistle, indicating, as here, the entire fulness or completeness of the Godhead (2:9). Of the eleven occasions in which this word “fulness” is found in St. Paul’s Epistles no fewer than six are in Ephesians and Colossians, and there is no doubt that with the use of a word implying permanent abode, Christ’s Godhead is regarded as altogether apart from time and other limitations. “Any limitation of the meaning of pleroma (fulness) which would make the indwelling of the fulness of the Godhead in Christ a matter either of the future or of the past only is inconsistent with what is said of the indwelling of the pleroma in Him in ch. 1 :19; 2:9. The reference in both passages is to the timeless and eternal communication of the God¬ head from the Father to the Son” (Rutherford, p. 56).

This permanent fulness, betokening Deity, is intended for the purpose of reconciliation: “To reconcile all things unto Himself.” St. Paul teaches similarly elsewhere that God is reconciling the universe to Himself through the Person and Work of Christ (2 Cor. 5 :19). In Ephesians it is interesting to notice the illustration of the emphasis placed on the unity of the Church in the fact that this reconciliation is connected with the Jews and Gentiles, both being made into one body for the permanent habitation of God (2:14-22). When it is said that Christ reconciles “all things,” it seems to mean that there will be no discord, but it has often been pointed out that the phrase “things under the earth” (Phil. 2:10) is significantly omitted here. While there will, of course,

The Divine Redeemer, 1:18-20 be submission to Christ, either willing or unwilling, in order that He may be acknowledged by all as Lord (Phil. 2:11), yet here, where spiritual reconciliation is mentioned, there is a limitation to “things in earth” and “things in heaven.” The description of reconciliation as affecting all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, is perhaps a hint of what is found elsewhere, that somehow or other creation has been affected by human sin (Rom. 8:19-22). “As there seems to be a physical unity in the universe, if we may believe the guesses of science, so, says Holy Scripture, there is a moral and spiritual unity also in Jesus Christ.”

The method of this reconciliation is “the blood of His Cross,” by which God has “made peace” in Christ. It is particularly noteworthy that the One who makes the peace is God the Father. This is another reminder that the Atoning Sacrifice was not due to the love of the Son only, but also to the love of the Father. “God so loved the world, that He gave” (John 3:16); “Christ loved us and gave Himself” (Eph. 5:2).

As the entire passage clearly teaches what God thinks of Christ, it becomes a necessary and important inquiry to ask what we think of Christ. If He is all this to God, it follows that He ought to be everything to us, and the whole passage may be summed up by saying that Christ should be to us and should have from us these four realities: — (1) Life. He is at once the Source and Support of it. And our life should belong to Him. (2) Love. This should be both a proof to others and a power for helping them. (3) Lordship. As He is first in the uni¬ verse and in the Church, He ought to be “pre-eminent” in our individual experience. (4) Loyalty. This naturally and necessarily follows from all that has preceded. Loyalty comes from a French word associated with “law,” and has been well defined as “legality with love.”