Beholding Glory

Well, yes, you can, if you would
please begin turning once again to Paul’s letter to the Colossians. Looking forward to this section
in the past few weeks, several of you have expressed your anticipation
of these words, these verses. We’re all in for a joyful experience
as we delve into these particular verses because this next section
is one of the clearest and most important passages about our
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a uniquely Christological
passage, to use a big theological word. It’s true that the Bible
Really, throughout the Bible is the story of Jesus Christ,
but this passage is like the apex of the most majestic mountain. It is a detailed and unsurpassed
description of our Savior, His nature, and His work. We learn
in these particular verses about our Savior, his relationship
with his Heavenly Father, his relationship with the world in
general, and his relationship with the church. Listen to how
magnificently the passage is described by one astounded writer. John Eady, one of my favorite
Scottish commentators, says it this way. The clause dazzles
by its brightness and awes by its mystery. The invisible God,
how dark and dreadful the impenetrable veil. Christ, his image, how
perfect in its resemblance and overpowering in its brilliance. We must worship while we read,
and our exegesis must be penetrated by profound devotion. There are few passages that are
this magnificent about Christ, focused on Christ. The only passages
that could be compared to it, I’ll have you turn to a few,
just because we want to honor Christ and Alongside of this
particular passage, flip over back a couple of books to Ephesians
chapter one. In Ephesians chapter one, Paul
is praying for his people and he prays for some very specific
things. If you get to Ephesians one,
glide down to verse 18. where Paul says, I pray that
the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, an interesting image
there, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what
are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe. These, that is these things,
the hope, the riches, the power, are in accordance with the working
of the strength of his might, which he brought about in Christ. And here, Christ is lifted up. He brought about in Christ when
he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age,
but also in the one to come. Our passage this morning parallels
that great articulation of Christ. Flip over one book, if you would,
to Philippians chapter 2, another uniquely Christological passage. And you’re familiar with these,
but Philippians chapter 2, and just, of course, down to verse
6, verse 5, I guess. have this attitude in yourselves,
which was also in Christ Jesus, and it’s fascinating that he
doesn’t tell us what the attitude is initially, have this attitude,
which is in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form
of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being
made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on the cross. That’s the attitude that Paul
is urging upon the Philippian believers. Look at verse 9. Therefore also God highly exalted
him. and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Back, if you would,
to Colossians chapter 1, where we come to an equally magnificent
Christological passage. And here in Colossians 1, in
the verses leading up to these, really all those verses that
we’ve been considering, verse 3 through 14, Paul has been exalting
in the blessing of God’s redemption of sinners, including you and
I, and including even himself. But here in verse 15, Paul exalts
in the Redeemer himself. so that what we come away with
is a sense of absolute confidence that we can have as believers
in the salvation that we enjoy. In this particular section, verses
15 through 20, Paul was very likely And I would add, not so
subtly, countering the erratic breezes of heresy that were blowing
through the region of Colossae. Doubts about God himself, as
well as denial of Christ’s deity, his humanity, his work. We are
not surprised. that there was some attempt to
lead this church into error. This is forever the devil’s way,
isn’t it? These unrelenting attacks on
both individuals and on churches, the devil would like to do away
with us all. Paul never directly details any
specific errors. that were taking place there
in Colossae. But sometimes it’s best or necessary that we articulate
the truth as opposed to error. Sometimes it’s more important
not even to mention the specific error, but to dwell upon the
truth. And that is what seems to be
Paul’s approach here. It’s better to teach and to solidify
the truth so that error may be more easily recognized. We know that there were problems
in this church, but we only know of some of the particulars by
what Paul teaches. By truth, we will know falsehood. And this is what Paul begins
to do in the section before us, is to lay out the truth about
Christ. If you would, we’ll read only
verses 15 through… Well, we’ll read verses 15 and
16, and then I want to circle back to some additional verses. He is the image of the invisible
God. the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have
been created through him and for him. We’ll come back to those
verses in just a moment, but before we throw ourselves headlong
into that wonderful and powerful section, allow me just to briefly
chart the course for the weeks ahead. I want to provide you with a very
basic outline of The six verses that lie before us, verse 15
all the way through verse 20, the first section, as I just
pointed out, this whole section rather, focuses on the nature
and the work of Jesus Christ. As we begin to draw a bit closer,
the first two verses, which verses we just read, they declare Christ’s
divinity. And we’ll start on these this
morning in just a moment. Verse 17 stands alone, really,
and it tells of Christ’s preeminence, that he is before all things
and that all things hold together in him. That’s quite a statement.
Verses 18 through 20, the third subsection of this greater section,
it speaks of Christ’s responsibility. His position is that of head
of the church, and his specific work is that of reconciliation,
making peace with those who are currently God’s enemies. He is
reconciling all things to his heavenly Father. It’s a simple
outline, but one that encompasses every profound thoughts, rather, about
Christ, and it will take us really some time to work through this
section, verses 15 through 20. For our purposes this morning,
I only want to look at the beginning of verse 15. We’re looking at
the nature and work of Christ, beholding, if you will, His glory,
where we are getting glimpses of the Redeemer’s nature. And
the first thing that Paul wants to tell us about is the Beloved
Son’s face. Look at verse 15. He is the image
of the invisible God. And he, first of all, gives us
Christ’s identity. Who is this individual about
whom Paul refers to here in verse 15? And right away, I’ll point
out that among our translators, there’s somewhat of a tussle
going on with this verse. Almost every translation has
it one of two ways, but they either have it one way or the
other. They either translate it, who
is the image, or as the NAS has it here, he is the image. What’s
the difference? When it’s all said and done,
not much. But we do have this yet unanswered question, who
is referred to? when the translators say who
is or he is. Who is being referred to? The
Greek word in question is the masculine relative pronoun who. Not the masculine personal pronoun
he. If we’re honest and we want to
translate this sentence literally, it’s, who is the image? And it’s not asking a question.
It’s referring back to something that Paul has said. Verse 16
really is just a continuation of Paul’s statement here. Paul
is looking back and referring to something that he has said
previously. Now, in the previous section,
verses 9 through 14, Paul was primarily speaking of God the
Father. Let me show you this. Look, if
you would, back at verse 9. In verse 9, Paul speaks of the
knowledge of His, that is, the Father’s will. In verse 10, He
does briefly turn his attention to Jesus, walk in a manner worthy
of the Lord, and we saw that that mention of the word Lord,
which could be either God the Father or Christ, there it is
the Lord Jesus Christ that comes quickly and briefly into focus. But by the end of verse 10, his
attention is back to the Father. Look at the end of verse 10,
he speaks of there of increasing in the knowledge of God, very
general. Verse 11, strengthened according to his, that is God
the Father’s glorious might. Verse 12, Paul speaks there of
giving thanks to the Father who rescued us and transferred us
to the kingdom of watch this, his beloved son. It’s talking
about the father there primarily. This is the point of the this
whole transition from a focus on the heavenly father to a focus
on his son, the Lord Jesus. And now back, if you would, to
verse 15, where only having just now referred to God’s beloved
son, Paul refers directly back to him by adding who is the image
of the invisible God. The same relative pronoun used
in verse 14 to bring out the detail that God’s beloved Son
is the one in whom we have redemption, without any doubt, it is Jesus,
God’s beloved Son to whom Paul is referring here in verse 15. And there’s yet something very
important to acknowledge here about Christ’s identity. When
Paul says here in verse 15 that he is the image of the invisible
God, the verb form is very definitive. It’s not that Jesus was the image
of God in eternity past or that he will be in eternity future. Both of those things are true.
But it is important to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the image
of God at this present moment. Paul does not speak of Christ
in his image here simply in his pre-incarnate state from eternity
past. But as he is in his essential
being, Christ is the image of God past, present, and future. Even now, in His exalted state
at the Father’s right hand, He represents His Father. Jesus
Christ is the image of God. There’s a second little detail
that Paul provides for us about the Son’s face, the beloved Son’s
face. Not only His identity, but His
representation. We want to go back. I want you
to look, if you would, at verse 15 again. He is the image of
the invisible God. Now, building upon what we’ve
already noted, this is God’s beloved Son who is the image
of the invisible God. And please note, first of all,
one subtle but very crucial observation here. And it’s that little word, is,
where commentators want to suggest that at one point he was, or
in the future he will be, as we just considered, but it’s
who Christ is by nature, not by occasion. It’s almost as if
Paul is presenting here a previously unknown individual to some group. so that he goes out of his way
to describe the Lord Jesus, what is the form of his appearance? Brace yourself, the word that
Paul uses here, translated as image, is the Greek word icon. You heard it there because it’s
pronounced the same way in English as it is in the Greek. It’s important
for us to pause and back away and consider the original meaning
of this word, icon. Because the use of this word
in our culture is just butchered. We use this word often to describe
someone who’s achieved relative greatness in some regard, sports,
or film, or philanthropy, or business. He’s an icon. Needless to say, the word here
is used quite differently. In Scripture, the New Testament
and its use of this word icon means an image, something that
is made to resemble the quality of something or someone else. An image has to look like what
it is supposed to represent. It’s supposed to be a copy, if
you will, of something else. like our face in the mirror.
It would be an image, an icon. In Matthew 22, Jesus uses this
word. Matthew records there that some
hateful men, you remember, came. They were trying to test Jesus,
and they asked, is it lawful to give poll tax to Caesar? Do
you remember what Jesus did and said? Jesus knew their hearts,
and he turns the question around on them, and he says, whose likeness
is on the coin? Whose icon is it? The image of
Caesar’s head was stamped on the coins of that day. That’s
our word, icon. Whose image is there? The same
word is used to speak of statues as in Romans 1, where the heathen
were busy making statues in the form of corruptible man. They
used the image of man to make icons. And it’s some image that
represents someone or something. That’s what an icon is. And an
image here implies a pattern, something after which it is modeled,
so that when you look at the icon, you immediately think of
that which it was taken after. Sometimes this is done quite
intentionally, a portrait of a person, or naturally, when
a child is born, that child tends to resemble his or her parents. That’s an icon. Now, speaking
of corruptible man, this word, as you likely already know, is
also used of us as human beings. Humans are made in the image,
the icon of God. In the opening chapter of the
Bible, Genesis, now it’s using Hebrew there, but the idea is
the same. Genesis 1 says, let us make man
in our image according to our likeness. And as with all other
of God’s proclamations, it was so. And that fulfillment is captured
in the very next verse. God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created
him. Male and female, he created them. They were made as icons,
if you will, of God. And so that at creation, the
image of God is stamped upon humanity, both male and female. And we have echoes of that in
the New Testament. in that delicate passage that
we studied on head coverings, 1 Corinthians 11. Paul says that
man is the image and glory of God. James sternly rebukes the
practice of slandering others. Why? Because they are made in
the likeness of God. Human beings, we, even though
we’re not perfect, we are said to be a visible representation
of God. There is much of God’s image
that we do retain. We’re rational beings. We can
think. At least we have the ability
to do so. We have individual personalities. We are complete
with feelings and volition. We make choices. But the image
of God is not perfect in us because the moral aspect of that image
has been tainted. It’s been marred. It’s been rendered
imperfect by the sin of Adam and Eve. Only for believers in
Christ is that moral image restored. And that’s a process. This is
what Paul will proceed to tell us later on in this very epistle.
In chapter 3, verse 10, he says, our new self is being renewed
to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created
him. Little by little, through the
process of sanctification, we are being restored to the image
of God as seen in Christ. This is precisely what Paul says
in Romans 8, 29. that those whom He foreknew,
He predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. Initially,
we hear God’s sovereignty and salvation in that verse declared
so clearly, setting His love on His elect for salvation, but
the ultimate implication there is that God’s design is our sanctification. conformity to the image of God’s
Son. He says essentially the same
thing in 2 Corinthians 3 18. We all with unveiled face beholding
as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into
the same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord the
Spirit. Little by little, through the
process of sanctification, confession of sin, awareness of sin, appeal
for God’s grace, through that detailed process of sanctification,
we are being transformed into the image of God as seen in our
Lord Jesus. The image of God, as it was intended
for us to be at creation, is restored to us through Christ.
So, and this is where we come back to Jesus Christ here. If weak and sinful man can be
said to be ultimately the image of God, how much more so is God’s
own Son, our Lord Jesus? If God reveals Himself at His
creation and inhumanity, pardon me, inhumanity as bearing His
image, how much more so is God revealed in His own Son? And
this is the consistent and unmistakable testimony of Scripture, isn’t
it? That Jesus Christ is the external and outward expression
of His Father. The writer of Hebrews proclaims
it in his opening words of the epistle. He, that is Christ,
is the radiance of his, that is the Father’s, glory, and the
exact representation of his nature. The Gospel of John is exceptionally
rich in the declarations of Christ as the image of God, John 1,
14. The very line that prompted the title of the message this
morning, Beholding Glory, John 1.14 says, The Word became flesh
and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. And John
records this buildup. that not only did Jesus exist
before Abraham in 858, not only did he claim to be one with the
Father in 1030, but that he who has seen me has seen the Father
in 1409. So it’s not surprising that this
is a foundational truth articulated in Paul’s writings as well. Philippians
chapter 2 verse 6, which verse we just read, Jesus Christ existed
in the form of God. 2nd Corinthians 4.4, speaking
of incredibly sobering news that there are some people to whom
the gospel message comes and it is veiled. Paul says there,
of them he says, the God of this world has blinded the minds of
the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. Whether or not Jesus is beheld
and received as such, he is the manifested image of God. And this image is not generally
accurate, so that you might tell that it represents a man, any
man, but it represents a particular individual. That’s how the word
image implies, like it’s the image of Caesar or Zeus. You
know who it’s an image of. The features are accurate. They’re
accurate representations of the original, the hair, the eyes,
the facial features. So when Paul says here that Jesus
Christ is the icon, the image of God, he’s telling us that
Jesus is a perfect likeness of God. When we look at Christ,
we see an exact representation of the Father, so that Jesus
is seen not only as a representation of God, an image that resembles
His Father, but Jesus is a manifestation of God. He reveals the Father
as He is. Christ is the perfect image of
God. He perfectly represents the Father
in all of his divine and distinctive characteristics. As the church
has maintained from its inception regarding the doctrine of Christ,
it implies that Jesus is in complete equality with his Father. No
difference. The Son is in every way like
the Father, except in his individual personality. And I hearken back
to John chapter 1, where Jesus was literally face-to-face with
God, implying there are two separate personalities in the Godhead,
and even a third, the Holy Spirit. As John put it in his gospel,
Jesus Christ has explained the Father so that without Christ
we cannot know God. When you see the Lord Jesus Christ,
you have seen the Father. There’s a third element that
Paul wants to highlight here regarding the beloved son’s face. Not only his identity, He is
the image of God, his appearance that he is imaged after God himself,
but his resemblance. He is the image of the invisible
God. His third element, Christ’s resemblance,
captures more precisely who or what Christ resembles. We know
that it’s an image. And here he says he is the image
of the invisible God. That alone makes for a fascinating
consideration, doesn’t it? Because the invisibility of God
harkens all the way back to how is it that something is invisible
ends up producing an image? with a likeness or representation
of something that cannot be seen with the eye, what would that
look like? Paul’s apparent conundrum here is intentional. It’s designed
to stop people in their tracks and to make them ponder, to meditate
on what seems to be a mistake. That Jesus Christ is the image
of something or someone that is invisible. First, let’s consider
what Paul means when he speaks of God being invisible. The word
is only used five times in the New Testament. Four of them are
about God himself. There is, of course, Romans 1.20.
You’re probably familiar with this verse. We know it. Paul’s
declaration there is that God has revealed himself to all humanity. There’s nobody that can wag a
finger at God in the day of judgment and say, you never told me about
yourself. Oh, yes, he did. Paul there makes
the same play on words that he does here. His invisible attributes
have been clearly seen. You have the same conundrum,
seeing something that is invisible. As I said, it’s a play on words.
It’s a kind of oxymoron. Paul is not mistaken here. The
play on words, as I said, is intentional. How, though, has
God revealed himself? Well, he’s revealed himself by
means of his invisible attributes, Paul goes on to say. Paul isn’t
talking about God’s physical attributes, hair color or his
size. He’s talking about his spiritual
attributes, attributes of character. And you say, well, how is it
that you see those? You don’t. Because by nature
they are invisible. And yet Paul says these invisible
qualities of God are clearly seen. Clearly seen. The invisible is made visible. The unseen is seen. And here
too Paul says that what we cannot see with our eyes, God has nevertheless
revealed by his creation. Through what has been made. And
it’s the same with Christ. He has made God’s invisible attributes
visible. In addition to the other two
uses of this word, both in the passages in front of us, Colossians
1, 15 and 16, Paul uses the word again in 1 Timothy 1, 17. The passage is essentially a
doxology there in 117. It’s an outburst of praise. Just
listen. Paul there has just given his
personal testimony. When he suddenly exalts, now
to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor
and glory forever and ever. Amen. Paul rejoices in the God
whom he had come to know, and he declares that he cannot be
seen by the physical eye. He’s invisible. And then lastly,
the writer of Hebrews uses this term once in relation to God. Hebrews 11.27 tells us of Moses,
who left Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king, Pharaoh, For
he endured as seeing him who is unseen.” He’s invisible. And yet Moses saw him. And the thought here carries
us all the way back to Exodus, doesn’t it? To chapter 33. And there Moses implored God,
show me your glory. But as you know, God refused
him. explaining to Moses, you cannot see my face, for no one
can see me and live. It wasn’t that Moses lacked permission
or experience for such a sight. Rather, it was impossible for
a mere man to see God, to see his face. And the writer of Hebrews
tells us that Moses had long since deposited his faith in
the unseen God. Beyond the direct use of this
word invisible, as I said, it’s only used five times, but we
also have the idea of God’s, if you will, unseen-ness. In Scripture, We see it in several
places. At the end of his letter to Timothy
in 1 Timothy 6.16, Paul speaks of the unseenness of God when
he says that he alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable
light, whom no man has seen nor can see. That’s such a fantastic
description of God’s invisibility, isn’t it? That he dwells in unapproachable
light. Paul here, rather, pictures God
as residing behind an intense and impenetrable light. Glory,
the glory of God. And in that sense, he’s invisible. He cannot be perceived beyond
that light. Jesus himself painted a picture. He told the woman at the well
that God is a spirit. Speaking of God’s unseenness,
Jesus did not say that God is a spirit, as if he’s but one
of many, but that he is spirit in the sense that he is immaterial
and therefore invisible. He is completely unique in his
being. That his spirit means that he
is a most pure and excellent form of existence, is God. And the implication is that God
is not made of flesh and bones, like you and I. He is not comprised
of matter, and as such is neither dependent on matter or interconnected
with matter. God is altogether separate. but
God does desire to be known. He desires to walk in fellowship
with his children. And in his son, the invisible
God reveals himself. Jesus Christ is the image of
the invisible God. The Lord Jesus makes the invisible
God visible in his being and in his attributes and in his
character. Jesus makes the unknowable God
knowable. And this too is declared throughout
the New Testament. The apostle John said as much
in the opening chapter of his gospel in 118. No man has seen
God at any time. The only begotten God who is
in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Only Jesus
Christ has explained the Father. This doesn’t mean simply that
we do not have the ability to see God with our physical eyes,
but more that without God choosing to reveal Himself, He cannot
be discovered. He’s beyond figuring out. We
can’t figure him out by mere reason, by scientific experiment,
by philosophical reason. But in the Lord Jesus Christ,
God has revealed himself. He has made himself known. Jesus
Christ is the image, the visible representation, indeed, God’s
revelation of himself. We’re just at the beginning of
the process of this passage of Scripture, beholding glory, verses
15 through 20, where we’re capturing glimpses of the Redeemer’s nature.
And here in verse 15, we catch this initial glimpse of the Beloved
Son’s face, that He is the image of the invisible God, And there’s
much more to learn about the Son through these verses, but
even before we’re out of verse 15, we learn secondly, of the
beloved Son’s position. He is the firstborn of all creation. By God’s grace, we’ll take up
that consideration next Lord’s Day, but I want to ask you first,
have you seen God? I mean, we just learned that
no man can see God and live. He is the unseen God. He is imperceptible because of
his glory. And yet I would ask you, have
you seen God? Because when Paul says that Jesus
is the image of the invisible God, he means something very
particular here. And it’s really quite simple. Let me just put it this way,
if you have found your Lord Jesus to be gentle and patient, that’s
how Paul presents him in 2 Corinthians 10. Paul speaks about the meekness
and gentleness of Christ. You know that of Christ? Have
you sensed that of Christ? That’s the Christ that we know,
isn’t it? who wouldn’t break a bruised reed or extinguish
a dimly burning wick. Don’t you know Jesus that way?
If you found the Lord Jesus to be gentle and patient, then you
have seen the image of the Father. If you found the Lord Jesus to
be loving, And why shouldn’t we? Because we know from Paul’s
testimony in Romans 5, 8, that he loved us to send his son who
died for us while we were yet sinners. And then he sets about
to care for us lovingly throughout our entire lives here on earth.
If you found the Lord Jesus to be loving, then you have seen
the image of the Father. If you found the Lord Jesus to
be good, righteous, he is, as Paul reminds in 2 Timothy 4.8,
he is the righteous judge. And he always does good to us
because he is good. You’ve seen and found the Lord
Jesus to be good and righteous, then you have seen the image
of God. If you have found your Lord Jesus
to be holy, sinless, even as Christ’s enemies declared Him
to be as they judged Him, tempted, yes, in all things, even as we
are yet without sin. If you found the Lord Jesus to
be holy and sinless, then you have seen the image of the Father. If you have found your Lord Jesus
to be sovereign, already reigning, seated at the right hand of God.
Paul says of him that he is the blessed and only sovereign, the
king of kings and the Lord of lords. 1st Timothy 6. He’s in the process of putting
all his enemies under his feet. 1st Corinthians 15. If you found
the Lord Jesus to be sovereign, already reigning on His throne,
then you have seen the image of the Father. If you found your
Lord Jesus to be true, faithful, true to His word, 1 John 5, 20,
we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding
so that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is
true, in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. If you have found your Lord Jesus
to be true, faithful, then you have seen the image of the Father. And if you have found your Lord
Jesus to be merciful, gracious to you, a sinner, as Paul speaks
of the kindness of God, our Savior, Titus 3, If you found the Lord
Jesus to be merciful and gracious, then you have seen the image
of the Father. Would you humble yourselves before
our God?