Colossians 1:15-20
What Child Is This?
Every year carries with it
many of the same feelings and thoughts about Christmas. What is Christmas really about this year? People will make
the futile attempt to redirect people’s attention to what they feel is the true
meaning of Christmas is, and yet at the same time they themselves missing the
point. Churches will say it is about the birth of Jesus, and yet will
themselves neglect or refute what He said during His life, while many ignore or
else fail to care about what was done at the summation of His earthly ministry.
In other words, in the end there is a sort of moral conscience that activates
during such times of the year, and therefore it must be appeased, but only so
far as to shut it up. And this is further evidenced when Easter comes around,
especially in light of the fact that little to no attention is given publicly
to the actual meaning of Easter, nor
is little attempt made to rectify this. Instead He is replaced with a rabbit,
and His sacrifice is repaid with worthless eggs. And like Christmas, He is
mentioned, but completely disregarded in what He actually said and did. And
when the churches make a bigger deal of the event of His birth than that of His
life and death, a clear fact can be discerned: we’ve lost almost all attention
to what child this actually was.
He is the image of the
invisible God…
First and foremost is the
fact of His deity. Let’s get this out of the way: Jesus Christ is God. The term
“image” does not mean “a copy of Him,” as much as it means “perfect representation.” You can’t see God right
now. I know, simple fact, right? But what I mean is, you really cannot see Him. Because you would die! (Ex. 33:20) So who is
Jesus Christ? He is the exact representation of the invisible God who you
cannot see lest you die. He is the version of God that you are allowed to see
without perishing, although He Himself still bearing the “likeness/fullness” of
God being the “Son of God,” not as offspring, but One who is the fullness of God
but not being the Father whose very perfection kills that which is sinful
(contrary to His nature). This is why anyone who rejects Jesus Christ rejects
in turn the Father Himself, since they are one in the same person (Luke 10:16).
Now let us put this into
perspective. This is not some offspring (creation) of God entering the world in
the manger scene. This is the non-lethal version of God descending to earth in
the form of man, with the primary difference being that He had no sin in the
flesh, because God cannot have that which (by its very definition) is opposite
of Him. So this child that Mary birthed and to whom the shepherds came to see
and the wisemen brought gifts to, was not some man, nor a great prophet, nor
the closest thing to God. He was God in the flesh among us (Emmanuel), not in
similar traits or some general likeness, but in full reality.
…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.
And yet this Jesus bore a
separate role from the Father, despite being One with Him. He is the Creator,
the maker of all things, and being so He is not merely descending to sinful
man, but to His own creation. John details this in Chapter 1 of his gospel, as
the Light entered the world of darkness, and His creation did not recognize
Him. And perhaps it is a natural reaction when we read that, and say “Those
evil Jews, how could they not see it?” We recreate the scene where Joseph and
Mary enter Bethlehem, and there is no room in the Inn! Oh, what a tragedy, how
we would have had room for them were we to be there! And yet we fail to see
that we would probably have been less hospitable than those who did not have
the room, seen in the light of how we treat God today. We claim to have to have
room for Christ in the flesh, but cannot even make room for Him in our busy
schedule. Oh, yes, we would let Him in for a night, but don’t expect Him to
stay! (see Rev. 3:20) We can hardly bear the thought of hearing His Word on
Sunday, much less any other day of the week.
If Jesus came to earth in
the same fashion today, the world would still not recognize Him. Why? Because little
has changed in regards to sin since the birth of Christ, save for its
adaptation to His grace, using it as reason for sin. But the sin of the
creation is not that it did not know who He was, but rather that they rejected
what He said. Amidst all of the creation, there is a common theme: God tells
the moon to rise and the sun to set. He calls the stars by name, and tells the
dawn to know its place. The wind and sea listened to Him, and in the very
beginning of all things He told them to exist, and they did. As He describes
Himself in Job 38 through to the end of the book, He is the One who tells
creation what to do, and it does it. But there is one glitch in that whole
system. While the stars and moon and wind and sea all say “Yes!” mankind looks
up and says “No!” Mankind is infected with sin- abject rebellion- and we love
it. We adhere to it like a set of laws, managing to constantly mold it into
whatever situation we find ourselves in, justifying the worst of sins with the
best of excuses. And so when Jesus Christ, the Creator, enters into the world,
its sin is not found in the fact that it didn’t know Who this was, as much as
when it heard Him speak and rejected what He said, they crossed the ultimate
line. It is one thing to know God exists, it is a whole different matter to do
what He says. So it matters little whether you “have room for Him,” because a
failure to do what He says will reveal your hypocrisy and condemn you all the
more.
He is before all things, and
in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come
to have first place in everything.
He is literally the
sustainment of all things. The air we breathe is given by Him, and the blood
that flows through us was supplied by Him. The food we eat, the clothes we wear
and the life we have is from Him and held by Him, so He can cease any of these in
His own time. No amount of exercise or healthy eating can change this, nor is
there a way around it. He keeps you alive, and holds the cells of all created
things together. And at the end of all things, He will end them all in the
first creation, before the Judgement. So let’s get this understood up front:
the child in the manger was holding that manger together, and woman who birthed
His earthly flesh was kept alive by Him. He was not ignorant nor helpless, but
in full control. Thus, the humility shown by those who attended, and seen in
the angels who came to worship Him. Though the creation did not know Him, He
still received the treatment of a king at His birth- just not by those who, to
this very day, fail to see Him as He is.
He would also found the
church, which we claim to be a part of. Therefore when the church should
worship in memory of His birth, it ought not to be in common vanity, but it
distinct separation of our time and energy from the usual to the Divine. We are
to give our all to Him, claiming to be His own, and it is in the very knowledge
of who He is. Because unlike the world, we do
know the nature of this King, that He is God. And that knowledge should
result in complete devotion to Him, not a vague memory of Him when it is
profitable to me.
And finally, He is the
firstborn of the dead. Before Him there was no sufficient sacrifice for sins,
nor were there any after Him. He is the culmination of God’s plan and grace,
and fulfilled the Law to the very end that He might die for those who did not.
You see, it was of little concern that the world did not know Who this was, and
He was not here to show them who God was. They were not ignorant, nor would the
knowledge of God’s existence save them. Rather, He came regardless of the
attention they would give Him, good and bad, as there was a more specific
reason He came. He did not come to show people that He is the Creator, because
that wasn’t the problem. Sin is, and always has been. So He came to deal with
sin, not ignorance (which He “overlooked” (Acts 17:30)). And He therefore has “first
place,” bearing the rights over death and Hell and the right to open the book
of life (Rev. 1:17-18).
For it was the Father’s good
pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all
things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through
Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
And here we find ourselves
again. The Father’s fullness (His attributes, His perfection and His will)
filled up Jesus, and made Him separate (holy) from the rest of the world. And
in this deity, He came to reconcile men to Himself, to free them from their
master (sin) and purchase them to Himself, so that He might change who they
are. He redeemed us through the work of the cross, and that by the hands of
those He came to save. It was the ones who spit at Him of whom He said “Father,
forgive them!” But He does not leave us in ignorance and sin, but pulls us out
for the purpose that we would be righteous in His sight, intentionally
glorifying Him through holiness in nature and works. And this righteous which
each Christian bears comes through the cost of His blood, since we ourselves
had little desire for salvation from the Lake of Fire and absolutely nothing to
show in regards to good works before Him.
And it is through this God,
this Creator of all things, that Paul writes in Colossians 1. The Bible is not
some mere book of philosophical sayings, but the words of God the Creator to
us. We are not to acknowledge His existence and leave it at that, as the world
will do that in His second coming, but will do so with hatred and bitterness. Whereas
to us His will is revealed, that we would purposefully do it. So when we celebrate Christmas (and Easter alike), we are
celebrating the One who came to do the will of the Father, and to show us how
we ought to live, and finally gave us the ability to do so, and the right to
become children of God Himself so that we would never drift away again. Do not
celebrate Christmas in ignorance or arrogance, but in the knowledge of the Truth.
What Child is this? Jesus, the God of righteousness and Creator of all things,
who saved those who would believe. And it is His Word that carries more weight
than any ruler or authority, so let’s read it as such.
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