IBS Application for Colossians 1:13-15

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

I have been seeking to deepen my relationship with Jesus this past week, because that is what He is leading me to really focus on, above all the other things I’ve been given stewardship over in this time. In seeking Him, I’ve been lead to study Colossians for the time being. And in studying the first chapter, this section struck me as a great indicator of God’s character, and as a reason as to why Christ’s incarnation is such a miraculous truth.

I think that this section, and verse 15 in particular, sticks out to me particularly because of what God has been showing me in the stories of the Old Testament. I cannot help but look at the history of Israel in particular and wonder why they did not seem to understand the purpose of the Law, the purpose of the sacrifices necessary for the forgiveness of sins, nor why they always seemed to slip away from God. But God’s spoken to me about this before, even within the Old Testament. Even in the examination of Abel that the writer of Hebrews did that I wrote about in the last IBS shows us the answer: that they did not know God nor His grace.

God has said many times within the Old Testament that He does not desire that we sacrifice animals to atone for sins; rather, He wants us to know Him like He knows us, and to realize our need for brokenness over our sins, and our need for Him to restore us to Himself. We see this in the 51st Psalm, where David states that God doesn’t find burnt offerings pleasing, and that true sacrifices offered to God require broken and contrite hearts, that repent of their wretchedness and take comfort in Him. God Himself, speaking through the prophet Hosea, says that He desires “steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” God was saying even back then that He only ever wanted His creation to know Him and to receive His love. He never desired for His creation to work for that which they could never earn. So why did they try?

As I’ve said, it’s because they did not truly know Him. Again, as He Himself said through Hosea, He desired that they would know Him the way that He knew them, which suggests that most did not know Him. And in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we have a truth that confirms this, in that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God.”

Before Jesus entered into the world as a man, God’s character was indiscernible. While several were in relationship with Him, such as Abraham, David, and Jacob, most had not met God in their own lives, for His ways were indiscernible. Job’s testimony supports this; his entire story focuses upon how unknowable God’s ways are to man.

But when Jesus came to us as one of us, we see the character of God on full display, and the world saw for the first time what God’s intention for mankind always was in: for us to know Him, and to receive His grace by faith in Jesus. And He did it all by way of infinitely descending down to our level in order to suffer at our hands willingly, in order that our sins may be taken away. Isn’t that remarkable? If that doesn’t make anyone marvel at the grace of God, I do not know what will.

But all that to say, it makes sense now why Israel could not see what God intended for them to have and to be. They often couldn’t see God for who He really was. And He allowed it all to happen in order that we may all see just how blind and helpless all people are when they try to fulfill the Law. The Law was instituted in order for the world to see how the redemption we all need cannot be earned. We cannot do good by our works! There is no way to see salvation by any work of our own. 

What hope do we have then, if we cannot earn forgiveness? We see that hope displayed in Jesus Christ, who showers us all with grace freely, without making us pay the price required, because He has paid the price for us. In Jesus, we see that grace has always been God’s will for the earth, and that we only have to receive that gift with gladness and joy in order to be saved. In Jesus, the will of God, which was so unknowable at one time, is now made known to all.

Aren’t we all so blessed to live in this time of the light of Jesus, who has shined upon the world in order to show us who our Lord is? Isn’t it a joy to live in such a time as this, when we can know what God’s will is for us? Because there was a time before Christ that was so darkened by the lostness of people who couldn’t see what God wanted for their lives. Though He often tried to show them, no man could not see apart from grace what God wanted before Jesus came to us. Isn’t that such a great blessing, to know that God wants us to see what He wants? It would have been so easy for Him to just give up on us and leave us in our darkness and lack of understanding, but in Christ, He has made known His own character.

This passage is a bit more difficult to come up with a practical application for. But I believe that the best thing I could do to move forward from here is to reflect more upon and remember the truths that God has showed me in this word in the days to come. Seeing the character of God revealed in the act of the incarnation alone, and how it has made God’s grace apparent to us all is an important thing to keep in mind. Beyond this, I will start to examine the life of Jesus in order that I might see more of God’s character revealed to me through the gospels.