Friday the 18th of December, 2020
After making a lot of OPs lately I have now exhausted things to post about!
I am now scaling back my activity on RF
However: I have decided that every day on my personal blog I shall examine a Christian scripture
I shall also post what I write on my blog here on RF, in the journals section
In it I shall share the thoughts I have about various scriptures from the Holy Bible
These posts shouldn't be taken as authoritative and I'm no expert
But I'm on a journey. And you can join me on this journey!
It is my hope that together we can improve our understandings of things
I shall try and update it each day but reserve the right to miss the odd day every now and then
This is a link to my blog: Edward's Mission
Colossians 1:15-16 (Good News Translation)
15 Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. 16 For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him.
To begin, let's unpack this scripture:
So - according to this, Jesus created what we know as "everything", i.e. the universe (I think that's what Paul means)
It says that to see Jesus is to see God - that Jesus is what God looks like, which would mean together they are a single entity
And it mentions an "invisible God" who is not Jesus
Which means God The Father
The way I understand it is that God The Father is superior to Jesus, but that they are both parts of the same God even though they are somehow separate (the mystery of the trinity!)
I think "first-born Son" means favourite, or most senior, out of all entities who are subordinate to God The Father. In that he is more important than any of the angels, or any human being.
It says that "through him God created the universe" - so according to this Jesus was the creative means by which God The Father created everything!
This scripture explicitly says that God The Father created the universe, using Jesus Christ
However, I think this raises certain issues! As we shall see shortly!
So yes, God The Father created the universe, but did so using Jesus...
So, when he created the universe, was Jesus working for God? Creating it on his Father's behalf?
Did God The Father create the universe by proxy, using Jesus Christ to do all the creating?
I think that's what this scripture indicates...
Now then, here's another issue: When it says that Jesus is "superior to all created things" does that mean Jesus was himself created or that he was not created? I don't think it's at all clear. Is he created thing himself, or is he uncreated? This is not clear. Come on, Paul, get your act together!
My personal view: God The Father created Jesus Christ. And then used Jesus Christ to create the universe. So Jesus Christ pre-dated what we refer to as "creation" but was himself created at some point in time - or more accurately some point before time. Out of God's divine substance. That's what I think, anyway...
I think Jesus is God's son in that God created him. If he didn't create him why would we call him "son"? "Son" implies creation. If he was some other part of God who had always existed then it would be inaccurate to call him "Son". Again, that's what I think, anyway...
Issues this raises to look into:
John 1:1 says that "in the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God"
"The Word" refers to Jesus Christ
But what about before the beginning? Did he exist then???
I think "The beginning" refers to "the beginning" of this universe, of this creation. I believe that God existed before this. And if he did, then it is possible that he created Jesus before "the beginning". This would make sense, if we remember that Jesus is described as God's "son" - by definition a son is created and didn't always exist alongside his father. That's what I think, anyway. I think Jesus being called God's "son" leads to this conclusion. That him being called that is a massive clue!
I don't have any answers to the other issues.
But they are certainly something to consider.
Check out my blog! Follow this link
After making a lot of OPs lately I have now exhausted things to post about!
I am now scaling back my activity on RF
However: I have decided that every day on my personal blog I shall examine a Christian scripture
I shall also post what I write on my blog here on RF, in the journals section
In it I shall share the thoughts I have about various scriptures from the Holy Bible
These posts shouldn't be taken as authoritative and I'm no expert
But I'm on a journey. And you can join me on this journey!
It is my hope that together we can improve our understandings of things
I shall try and update it each day but reserve the right to miss the odd day every now and then
This is a link to my blog: Edward's Mission
Colossians 1:15-16 (Good News Translation)
15 Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. 16 For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him.
To begin, let's unpack this scripture:
So - according to this, Jesus created what we know as "everything", i.e. the universe (I think that's what Paul means)
It says that to see Jesus is to see God - that Jesus is what God looks like, which would mean together they are a single entity
And it mentions an "invisible God" who is not Jesus
Which means God The Father
The way I understand it is that God The Father is superior to Jesus, but that they are both parts of the same God even though they are somehow separate (the mystery of the trinity!)
I think "first-born Son" means favourite, or most senior, out of all entities who are subordinate to God The Father. In that he is more important than any of the angels, or any human being.
It says that "through him God created the universe" - so according to this Jesus was the creative means by which God The Father created everything!
This scripture explicitly says that God The Father created the universe, using Jesus Christ
However, I think this raises certain issues! As we shall see shortly!
So yes, God The Father created the universe, but did so using Jesus...
So, when he created the universe, was Jesus working for God? Creating it on his Father's behalf?
Did God The Father create the universe by proxy, using Jesus Christ to do all the creating?
I think that's what this scripture indicates...
Now then, here's another issue: When it says that Jesus is "superior to all created things" does that mean Jesus was himself created or that he was not created? I don't think it's at all clear. Is he created thing himself, or is he uncreated? This is not clear. Come on, Paul, get your act together!
My personal view: God The Father created Jesus Christ. And then used Jesus Christ to create the universe. So Jesus Christ pre-dated what we refer to as "creation" but was himself created at some point in time - or more accurately some point before time. Out of God's divine substance. That's what I think, anyway...
I think Jesus is God's son in that God created him. If he didn't create him why would we call him "son"? "Son" implies creation. If he was some other part of God who had always existed then it would be inaccurate to call him "Son". Again, that's what I think, anyway...
Issues this raises to look into:
- Was Jesus created by God The Father or like God The Father did he always exist???
- Did Jesus Christ create the universe, or was he the means through which God The Father created it? Is he the architect of the universe or merely a pencil in the hand of God? Is he architect or builder - or both??? Maybe God The Father commissioned Jesus to create the universe???
- If Jesus did design and create the universe yet he himself was created and designed by God The Father does that mean that ultimately God The Father can take responsibility for creation, rather than Jesus Christ??? Is God The Father our father or is Jesus our father? Can creation be transitively attributed to God The Father as he created the creator???
- If Jesus created everything surely that would make him our father, not God The Father? Unless Jesus was merely the means through which God created us??? If Jesus is our father (in that he created us) does that not make God The Father our heavenly grandfather???
John 1:1 says that "in the beginning the Word already existed; the Word was with God, and the Word was God"
"The Word" refers to Jesus Christ
But what about before the beginning? Did he exist then???
I think "The beginning" refers to "the beginning" of this universe, of this creation. I believe that God existed before this. And if he did, then it is possible that he created Jesus before "the beginning". This would make sense, if we remember that Jesus is described as God's "son" - by definition a son is created and didn't always exist alongside his father. That's what I think, anyway. I think Jesus being called God's "son" leads to this conclusion. That him being called that is a massive clue!
I don't have any answers to the other issues.
But they are certainly something to consider.
Check out my blog! Follow this link
