Colossians part 2

Before we continue, take a look at this chapter called "The Idea of Salvation in Greece and Italy" from an old book. It does an interesting job of discussing the ways in which Roman and Greek ideas of salvation and punishment after death were eventually synchronized  with those of Christianity, even though they were very different to begin with.

Now we turn to verse 15 of Colossians chapter one. This starts a theological description of the person Jesus Christ. "He is the image of the invisible god." What exactly does that mean? The Greek word for image here is the same word from which we get the modern word icon. It is a representation or likeness. A statue or painting of a god would be the god's icon. In ancient times the priests treated the icons (idols)  as if they actually were the god the represented. Does that mean Jesus was as much god as an ancient statue of a god was that god?

Next we are told Jesus was "the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.......all things were created for him and by him." Being the firstborn in Jewish society means he is the favorite and the heir. This creation bit seems quite blasphemous if you are Jewish. The god of the Hebrews was supposed to be the creator. Why didn't he previously mention any first born by which he created everything? God supposedly had a couple thousand years to tell them, yet he never mentioned it. And how exactly did an invisible god have a son, plus use the son to create stuff?

Verse 18 tells us "He is the head of the body, the church..." This body symbolism is prevalent in Christianity. The church (universal) is often called the body of Christ. Christ being the head obviously means he is above the body, the one in charge and in control. Except what exactly does he do? People tend to control their own lives, for the most part, unless they are under a visible authority. Invisible authorities can't do much on their own, so they need visible ones to enforce the rules. There are plenty of people eager to assume authority in order to "help" the invisible god. It sounds like Paul was one.

Next Paul says Jesus is "the beginning and the first born from among the the dead, so that in everything he might have supremacy." So, Jesus is first at everything, even at being raised from the dead. But what about Lazarus or Jairus's daughter or the widow's son? Paul's letters were most likely written before the gospel accounts were ever penned. Beside that, he prided himself on getting his info about Jesus directly from revelation, not from people. His work shows that he knew next to nothing about the actual activities and teachings of Jesus, as represented in Matthew Mark, Luke, and John. Perhaps Paul meant first  at being made into a heavenly being after being resurrected. Those people Jesus raised had to live out the rest of their lives and die again. There was no guarantee that they would be resurrected after their second death.

Verse 19 says "god was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him." So, if all god's fullness dwelt in Jesus then was god still omnipresent? How is it possible to be everywhere yet have all of your being in a single container? I say it's not. If god dwelt in Jesus, was Jesus just a god container, not the god himself? We end up back in icon territory. Is the physical representation of a god a god itself? This would explain why ancient gods were territorial. They only existed for the people where there were icons made specifically for those gods. Yahweh of the old testament did not allow his people to create an icon of himself. He lived where he chose to live, in a cloud, a pillar of fire, a burning bush, a temple, but he was still not omnipresent. He belonged to the nation of Israel alone.

More to come.