A Christian Hymn
It is widely agreed that verses 15-20 represents an early Christian hymn, most likely already formed[1]. This assumption is based upon analysis of the structure and language of the passage.
Structure and Language
When read out loud the passage stands out for a number of reasons; first its use of language that is not typical of the Apostle Paul. P.N. Harrison in his critique of the Pastoral Epistles identifies a number of words in the Pauline letters that appear no where else in his writings, he called these Hapax Legomena [2]. Harrison’s work is relevant here because when we apply his methodology, we do in fact find imagery and wording that is not characteristic of Paul’s writing. We should not, however, make any assumptions based solely on this fact. In recent years there have been a number of problems discovered with Harrison’s methodology, namely its failure to account for variation of vocabulary in regard to audience. And secondly it is academically dangerous and perhaps irresponsible to attempt a major analysis of such a short work, since the results are often suspect in nature.
Apart from its linguistic peculiarities, the passages structure appears to be intentionally laid out. F.F. Bruce, along with others, believes that the passage should be divided into two strophes: vv. 15-16 and 18-20, with verse 17 serving as a transitional link between the two[3]. This arrangement into strophes is typical of first century Christian hymns, though some have warned against making to great of study of this, since the Hebrew structure is largely lost in translation. Yet regardless of this possibility, it can not be denied that the passage possesses a certain rhythm that is unique from the surrounding passages.
Authorship and Purpose
Working under the assumption that this is in fact a hymn, we are presented with a couple of questions, namely that of authorship and purpose. Who wrote the hymn? Did the Apostle take an already formed hymn and redact it to fit his purpose, or did he compose it at an earlier date and is only now including it in this letter[4]?
As to whether or not Paul borrowed the hymn we may never know, there is simply not enough evidence to arrive at a consensus. We may however get some idea of his purpose for including it, to accomplish this we need to look back on previous verses and even his previous letters.
Throughout the Apostolic letters, we find allusions to a certain heresy, or false teaching within the church. Scholars have debated and argued over the nature of this heresy, but in lieu of insufficient evidence, they’ve been unable to arrive at a consensus. Here is a brief, non-exhaustive list of some of the philosophies that have been suggested: a Jewish form of Gnosticism, Jewish mysticism, a Hellenistic mystery cult, neo-Pythagoreanism, and finally Platonism. More recently the trend among scholars seems to be a combination of sociological/religious influences, which yields an eclectic catch all philosophy. To me this seems to be awkwardly convenient.
Because of the lack of hard evidence surrounding this issue, a greater level of academic responsibility is warranted, or as the New Interpreters Bible puts it: “The very number and variety of proposed solutions to the identity of the philosophy should caution against any overly confident claims to reconstruct it.[5]” With this in mind we can tentatively say that because of the wording within the text it is probable that the philosophy alluded to is a pre-Christian form of Gnosticism.
The encyclopedia of Religion dates the earliest forms of Gnosticism to A.D. 50[6], so even if we take a conservative estimate that the book of Colossians was written around A.D. 59[7] we are well into the birth pains of the Gnostic heresy. Although mature Gnosticism was not systematized until the second century, the characteristics of this early Christian heresy is simply too similar to dismiss.
Now that we know a little about the heresy Paul was fighting, we come back to our initial question: why would he want to use a hymn to espouse the nature of Christ? F.F. Bruce gives one possibility in regard to this passage, he writes:
“This statement was not introduced merely for rhetorical effect. It occupies this position because an intelligent appreciation of the doctrine of Christ is the best safeguard against most forms of heretical teaching[8]”
This heresy was a major attack on the nature of Jesus. The Gnostic heretics were teaching a view that grossly depreciated the humanity of Christ, and thus nullified the gifts of grace and forgiveness. Paul was attempting to firmly articulate the true nature of the son of God. What better way stress the importance of a teaching than to incorporate it into the Churches corporate worship?
1:15a He is the image of the invisible God…
Throughout this passage there are three major proclamations made concerning the role and nature of Christ. The first is his relation to God, the second his supremacy before creation, and finally his authority over the Church[9]. To describe Christ’s deity the author employs say that he is the Image of the Invisible God.” The Greek word for “Image” can be translated in two fashions: the first means that Jesus is the exact “likeness” of the creator (Heb. 1:3). As a mirror reflects exactly what it is shown, so Jesus is the reflection of God.
The second meaning is that of “manifestation,” which implies that Jesus reflects both the nature and spirit of God. Returning to the Genesis account, we are reminded that all of humanity was created in the “image of God”, so in terms of likeness we all share the likeness of our creator, but as to our nature we wear the distorting scars of carnality. It is in this sense that Jesus stands alone, he is in every way pure and faultless and through him we receive grace and truth (Jn 1:18). This grace is given with the very authority of the Lord, since Jesus is his manifestation, and therefore also divine (John 1:18, 14:9, 10:30).
1:15b-16…the firstborn over all creation 16. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
Continuing with the idea of “eikon”, the author now takes it a step farther by describing Christ as the “firstborn” (prototokos), over all creation (Heb. 1:2). Paul is telling us that since Jesus is the manifestation of God, he is also the creator and ruler of all that exists (John 1:1). There are some that would read this verse and assume that Jesus is part of creation, but this is not the case. If Jesus were a part of God’s creation, this verse would be contradictory, for how could “all things” be created by him if he himself were a part of that creation? No, the logical interpretation takes into account Jesus’ status as the “manifestation” of God. And as that manifestation of God’s sovereignty and power, all things material and immaterial, earthly and spiritual are subject to him.
It is also important to note that the Apostle doesn’t merely say that Jesus is Lord over the Earth, but expands his authority to cover “things in heaven and on Earth.” This need to declare Christ’s authority over angels may have stemmed from an element of Angel worship within the Colossian heresy[10], since we have evidence throughout the New Testament that this was a problematic practice (Gal. 1:8, 1 Cor. 6:3, Heb. 1:4, 2:5, 2:16).
The use of the words “by him and for him”, seems to point toward God’s omnipotence and sovereignty: in that from the very beginning, creation anticipated the need for a savior (Gal. 4:4-6). We are told in 1 Peter 1:20 that Christ was “chosen before the creation of the world”, and Revelation 13:8 goes as far as to say that he was “slain from the creation of the world.”
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
In accordance with the previously mentioned division of the passage, verse 17 seems to transitional verse in which a previous thought is restated and then expounded upon. “He is before all things” is quite similar to verse 16 and can mean that he is before all things in time and authority, while “In him all things hold together” is an expansion of Christ’s role as creator. We see now that he is both the author of substance and the agent of sustenance. The writer of Hebrews affirms this when he says “…he is sustaining all things by his powerful word.[11]” Scientists call this mysterious cohesion[12] of matter “cosmic glue,[13]” we simply call it Jesus.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
As we transition into the last strophe of the hymn, we are given another aspect of Christ’s sovereignty; he is the head of the body, the Church. This reference to the Church as a body is typical of Paul’s writing and once again lends support to his authorship of the hymn(Rom.12:4-5, 1 Cor. 10:17, 1 Cor. 12:12-27, Eph. 5:29-30, ). The image of a living body with Christ as the head may denote a number of things: 1) That we are all member of a symbiotic body, over which Christ has authority 2) we as the body are the agents of change within the world 3) the body is a living entity with various roles and priorities 4) the body apart from the head will die.
In the latter half of verse 18 we see an evolution of the former imagery of “firstborn”, now here applied in terms of redemption. Christ is the beginning a new Covenant not based not upon the law, which can only lead to sin and death (Romans 7:7-10). And so he is the firstborn of many that will be free from the shackles of sin and law. Romans 8:29 puts it another way, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness (eikon) of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” The similarity between this passage and Romans 8, specifically the combined usage of likeness (eikon) and firstborn (prototokos), seems to lend support to Pauline authorship.
“So that in everything he might have supremacy”, appears to be a final statement in regards to Christ’s authority, first over creation, then over the spiritual realm and now over the Church.
19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
While verses 15-18 have described Christ’s supremacy verses 19-20 confirm why he has authority. The first reason is that the “fullness” of God dwells within him. The Greek word for fullness is “pleroma”, and in the Septuagint it would have described the totality of something, i.e. the fullness of the earth. In the New Testament the ordinary usage of the word is similar, but in time it began to take on theological overtones: for instance Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). And we know for certain that by the end of the first century it was being used by the Gnostics to describe the heavens, specifically the space between God and the Earth[14]. So we are given two options: either Paul was intentionally utilizing language that the Gnostics would have been using in their teaching, or they later distorted the Apostles words for their own purposes. Yet when we look at the nature of the Gnostic heresy: the depreciation of the humanity of Jesus, his physical death on the Cross, even their terminology, we can not help but notice a certain emphasis.
For instance if we look at Ephesians 1:22-23 we see a striking similarity to the imagery of verses 18-19, it reads, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over the Church which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Italics added) And in verse 20 of our passage we again see a vivid emphasis on the “blood shed on the cross”. This would have been a grotesque thing for a Gnostic reader, as they viewed their blood as carnal and repulsive. But regardless of which heresy Paul was addressing, it is this description of the Christ’s relationship to the cosmos, the father, and the Church which transcend time and circumstance.
These final verses of the second strophe bring the hymn to a close by showing the reconciliation of the world through Christ. In the verses 21 and following the authors tone becomes more personal as he gives specific provisions for attaining this salvation that Christ has made available on the Cross.
[1] NIGTC James D. G. Dunn. 83. For more in depth research see E. Norden, Agnostos Theos (Berlin/Leipzig, 1913), and J.M. Robinson, “A Formal Analysis of Colossians 1:15-20”
[2] P.N. Harrison, The Problem of the Pastoral Epistles
[3] F.F. Bruce The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. 56
[4] Anthony Ash, The College Press NIV Commentary Page 158
[5] New Interpreters Bible, Page 561
[6] Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition, Page 3515
[7] The Complete Biblical Library, Galatians-Philemon, Page 15
[8] F.F. Bruce The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. 55
[9] The Expositors Bible Commentary, Vol. II, page 181
[10] The Expositors Bible Commentary, Vol. II, Page 182
[11] Hebrews 1:2-3
[12] Lightfoot, Heb. 1:3, page 156
[13] William Lane Craig Audio
[14] The Complete Biblical Library, Greek to English Dictionary Pi-Rho, Page 216
