A Portrait For Christmas

Colossians 1:15-20

(Hymn to Christ’s Preeminence)

15Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

He existed before God made anything at all

and is supreme over all creation.

16Christ is the one through whom God created everything

in heaven and earth.

He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—

kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities.

Everything has been created through him and for him.

17He existed before everything else began,

and he holds all creation together.

18Christ is the head of the church, which is his body.

He is the first of all who will rise from the dead,

so he is first in everything.

19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,

20and by him God reconciled everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth

by means of his blood on the cross.

Psalm Link

Psalm 89:11

The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;

everything in the world is yours—you created it all.

At Christmas we are constantly presented with the image of the cute little Christ child in the manger. Not good enough, says Paul.

At Easter we are presented with the image of the dying Jesus, hanging on the cross. Not good enough, says Paul.

Paul says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” Commentator William Barclay tells of a letter written by a Greek soldier to his father. At the end of the papyrus letter, he writes: “I send you a little portrait of myself painted by Euctemon.” The word translated as “portrait” in that letter is the same word translated as “image” in Colossians 1:15. The word is also used in the context of Greek legal documents.

The contracting parties were required to list their personal characteristics and distinguishing marks (their “image”) so there would be no question about who signed the document.

Jesus is the portrait sent to us by the Father, and in him are all the personal characteristics of God. “God in all his fullness” was in Christ.

This Christmas, when you read the traditional Christmas story in Luke 2, read again this untraditional Christmas story in Colossians 1 to get the complete picture or, shall we say, the full portrait.

Infant holy, infant lowly, for his bed a cattle stall;

Oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the Babe is Lord of all.

Swift are winging, angels singing, noels ringing, tidings bringing,

Christ the Babe is Lord of all; Christ the Babe is Lord of all.

POLISH CAROL, TRANSLATED BY EDITH REED

Bible Networking

Compare this passage with John 1:1-18. Both give a glorious portrayal of Jesus, the Son of God.

Notable Quotable

“Can we read this passage and not feel that it glows and moves with a personal joy in believing? Paul is not only discussing; he is worshiping.”

H. C. G. MOULE