Peace Through the Blood of His Cross
Eternal God,
The refuge of all your children, in our weakness you are our strength, in our darkness our light, in our sorrow our comfort and peace. May we always live in your presence and serve you in our daily lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Boniface)
Colossians 1:15-23 NRSV
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him – provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
Theodoret of Cyr
Paul did not say, “he was made before all things,” but “he is before all things.” He is not only the maker of all, but also he manages the care of what he has made and governs the creature, which exists by his wisdom and power.[1]
Michael Green
This mention of ‘redemption’ leads Paul into a profound meditation on the person of Jesus. He is the precise image of the God we cannot see (man was originally created in God’s image, but spoiled it through rebellion, and it has been minted afresh in Jesus). He is the firstborn (a word indicating both priority and sovereignty) of the whole of creation. Everything in heaven and earth was created by him, including the alien spiritual powers which the Colossians were beginning to worship (1:16). Everything was created by him and for him. So, he is both the source and the goal of the whole universe! He is prior to everything else, and he is the principle of coherence in the world: the laws of nature are his laws (1:17). What an exalted understanding of Jesus! But there is more to come. This cosmic Christ is the church’s Christ. He is the head of the body in which they are all limbs. ‘Firstborn’ in creation, he is also firstborn in the new creation: he launched a new chapter for humanity by his resurrection. Thus, in creation and redemption he is supreme. The Father has decreed that all ‘fulness’ (probably a word the Colossians were using of the idolatrous forces they were worshipping [1:16]) should reside in Jesus alone. For he had reconciled the whole runaway world to God and brought about a state of peace between man and God through the blood of his cross. What a Saviour![2]
Lord Jesus, Master Carpenter of Nazareth,
On the Cross through wood and nails you wrought our full salvation: Wield well your tools in this, your workshop, that we who come to you rough-hewn may be fashioned into a truer beauty by your hand; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, world without end.
Amen.
(Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019)
Uncreated One
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Ancient Christian Devotional Year C, p. 174
[2] Michael Green, Through the New Testament with Michael Green: Matthew to Revelation (Nashville, TN; Bath, England: Kingsley Books, 2019), 248.
