Paul’s use of the imagery of a “body” to describe the Church tells us “at least three things: (1) that the church is a living organism, composed of members joined vitally to one another, (2) that the church is the means by which Christ carries out his purposes and performs his work, and (3) that the union that exists between Christ and his people is most intimate and real” (Curtis Vaughn). There is a interrelationship and partnership between Christ and His bride. There is also an interrelationship between the individual members of the body of Christ, as we all serve a different function but are equally necessary (1 Cor. 12:12-26). Christ functions as the leader of the Church and the source of its redemption.

His authority over the Church is derived from the fact that He “is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” He is “the beginning” because He was the first one to be resurrected from the dead, thus initiating redemptive history. Richard Melick correctly notes, “It should be translated, ‘He is the beginning, that is, the firstborn from the dead’.” He initiated a new order of creation history which both creation and believers will be brought into at His coming (Rom. 8:19-23; 1 Cor. 15:50-52). It was because of His obedience on the cross that the Father exalted Him as head of over creation and the new creation (cf. Rom. 1:4; Phil. 2:6-11; Rev. 5:9). When all things are brought under His rule and authority, He will have “preeminence” over all things.

Creation was something that was attributed to God alone (cf. Matt. 19:4; Mark 13:19; Eph. 3:9; Heb. 2:10; Rev. 4:11; 10:6.). By attributing creation to Christ, Paul identifies the deity of Christ. His creation of all the heavens and the earth validates the claim that He is the “firstborn over all creation”. If He made all things, certainly He has the right to rule over all things.

In partnership with His Father, the Son brought all things into existence by His power and ability. All things have been created with the goal of bringing glory to the Son. “Everything exists to display his glory, and ultimately he will be glorified in his creation” (Melick). His creation includes things that are “visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.”

Paul’s inclusion of the scope of His creation serves two purposes. First, it refutes those false teachers in Colossae who claimed that other spiritual beings were other ways to salvation. Bruce writes, “Whether invisible or visible, all had Christ has their original creator, and all have him as their final disposer” (Bruce).

Second, it reveals that He has been and will be victorious over the powers of darkness that were openly hostile towards Him (cf. 1 Cor. 2:8).

Paul calls Jesus “the image of the invisible God” and “the firstborn over all creation.” These two descriptions or names for Jesus signify how He is related to His Father. The first name can be translated as “the exact likeness of the unseen God” (AMP). F.F. Bruce writes, “To say that Christ is the image of God is to say that in him the nature and being of God have been perfectly revealed–that in him the invisible has become visible.”

In Christ, the God who is invisible to the human eye has become known to us. All that the Father is, the Son became in human flesh. John writes, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (Jn. 1:18; cf. Heb. 1:3; 2 Cor. 4:4-6). As Paul will tell us, in Christ “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

He is called “the firstborn over all creation.” In the Jewish family, the firstborn sons was given “a special place in the family” (J.B. Lightfoot). The firstborn son was given the responsibility of managing his father’s house and was the heir of his land and possessions. This title has been given to Jesus as the beloved Son of the Father who has been given all the kingdoms of the earth (cf. Matt. 3:17; Col. 1:13).

This title almost certainly comes from the Psalms where God speaks about David as the king of Israel. He says, “Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27). It is important to see that He is not of creation, but He is over creation. Jesus was not created, but He has been given the privilege of ruling over creation as the worthy Lamb of God. If all things were created by Him, then how could He Himself be a created one? He is the “supreme owner and master of creation” (Soderlund).

The Father has “qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” In Ephesians, Paul says that no immoral person “has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (5:5; cf. 1:14). God the Father has provided a way into this Kingdom by sending His Son to die for our sins. His blood is the atonement for our sin which qualifies us for His Kingdom (Phil. 3:9). His Kingdom is one of Light because His faithful subjects love righteousness, holiness, and truth.

Not only has the Father qualified us, but “He has delivered us from the power of darkness” (1:13a). In this verse there is a contrast of light and darkness, and God’s Kingdom and Satan’s kingdom. Christ is our deliverer because He has given us salvation from sin and death, and invited us into a life of righteousness, peace and joy (Rom. 14:17). When we were helpless against the powers of darkness, He came and rescued us (Rom. 5:6-8).

Finally, after qualifying us and rescuing us, He has “transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (1:13b-14). This statement emphasizes that it is the work of Christ on the cross that has accomplished both our rescue and qualification. Two words are used to describe our salvation experience: salvation and redemption. “Redemption” is a term that conveys the idea that God paid for our sins and set us free from slavery. “Forgiveness” stresses the wonderful love and grace of God. They emphasize two natures of God’s character which are His love and His justice. His justice demanded punishment for the sin of mankind, and His love urged Him to save us from our sins. “The cross represents the interrelationship of two aspects of God’s nature. His forgiveness and justice go hand in hand” (Melick).

As we groan in our bodies (Rom. 8:23), His power is available to us that we may act with godly character in every area of our life as we wait for our resurrection. F. F. Bruce states, “an endowment with divine power will enable them to stand firm in the face of trial and opposition and everything else that may come to test the quality of their faith.”

The natural response to the unveiling of God’s will to us is a thankful and worshipful heart. Richard Melick writes, “The text describes this as heartfelt, genuine thankfulness that grows out of the experience of salvation.” Paul will state the reasons for his thanksgiving in the next section (1:12b-14), and continues on in rapturous praise (1:15-20). Notice how prayer begins with thanksgiving (1:3-8), continues on with a request (1:9-12a), and ends in thanksgiving and worship (1:12b-20). All three of these expressions should be included in our prayer life.

Richard Melick writes, “Paul’s purpose was clearly ethical rather than intellectual; it is related to character more than to abstract thoughts.” By having knowledge of His will, our walk is strengthened in order to please Him, bear fruit, and grow in our knowledge of Him. To “walk worthy of the Lord” means “to live a life that is commensurate with what the Lord has done for us and is to us. It may also suggest acting in conformity with our union with Christ and with his purpose for our lives” (Vaughn). We are to be obedient to our calling as those who are “holy and beloved” (Col. 3:12).

The imagery of walking gives the impression that our obedience is to be normal, consistent, and natural. Our walk is to be exemplified by three characteristics. First, we are to “please Him in all respects” (NAS). Every area of our life is to be under His lordship as we further understand His will for our lives. The fruit of the Light is to discover “what is acceptable to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10; cf. 1 Thess. 4:1). This discovery comes as we ask Him for understanding and commit to learning His will.

Second, he prays that they would be “fruitful in every good work” (1:10; cf. 1:6). Understanding what God has saved us out of and who He is making us into, equips us to bear fruit that remains. Paul writes, “If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward” (1 Cor. 3:14). The type of work that remains is done with an attitude of humility and love.

The third characteristic of a worthy walk is an increase “in the knowledge of God” (1:10). F. F. Bruce writes, “obedience to the knowledge of God which has already been received is a necessary and certain condition for the reception of further knowledge.” As we experience His pleasure in our obedience, we are able to learn what His will is and what pleases Him.

David understood that the full counsel of the will of God was in the synergy of the word of God and His spirit given to David by faith. A surer knowledge of His will flows from the inner transformation and renewal of our minds by the Holy Spirit.

It is to this reality that Paul is pointing when he asks for “all spiritual wisdom and understanding”. He is contrasting the wisdom of the flesh with the wisdom of the Spirit in anticipation of his rebuttal of those teachings that are contrary to Christ (cf. 2:13). In 1 Corinthians he writes, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (2:12-13).

There is a war between the Spirit and the flesh (Matt. 26:41; Jn. 3:6), because flesh does not understand the will of God. But we have been given the “mind of Christ” in order to understand His will (1 Cor. 2:16).

His desire is that “all things” would come into right relationship with Him. In attempting to accomplish this, He was pleased to send His Son as the “image of the invisible God” (1:15). He goes on to say, “To them [the saints] God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (1:27). The centerpiece of the gospel is that Christ dwells in believers as an agent of renewal and a promise of future glory (3:1-4). Understanding His will is to be captured by His covenant commitment to redeem a people for Himself. We are to look back to His cross, and look forward to our future glory. Paul wants the believers to have deep understanding of His desire because “right knowledge leads to right behavior” (F. F. Bruce).

Paul begins his prayer by saying, “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you” (1:9a). He is compelled to pray because of his thankfulness over the good fruit that has been produced in the Colossian church. He also has in mind the danger of heresy in their community that he will address, and is praying that God would protect them from these heresies. Richard Melick writes, “The words of the prayer clearly reveal Paul’s concern about the future of the church. Thus, while the grammar looks backward to the heritage of the church, the content looks ahead to the danger faced by the congregation.”

He continues his prayer, “that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (1:9b). In Paul’s writings, the word “knowledge” often refers to a personal knowledge of God. It was this knowledge that the faithful Israelites pursued. “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD” (Hos. 6:3). This type of knowledge is not an intellectual pursuit or an understanding of what we are to do in specific situations, but an intimate understanding of God’s ways and heart. It is “heart-transforming and life-renewing” because it understands God’s redemptive purposes in Christ Jesus. Paul is praying that they would have a deep understanding of His will.

In Colossae, the gospel has been “constantly bearing fruit and increasing” (1:6). The fruit that has been produced by the gospel is faith in Christ and a love for the saints (1:4). This increase of godly character has strengthened their testimony to unbelievers. F.F. Bruce writes, “The message of the gospel, which was producing the vigorous and ever multiplying fruit of the Christian life and testimony at Colossae, was doing the same, it is said, throughout the world” (1:6). It is good to remember that the Christian faith is universal and experienced by many different people with different understandings and expressions. Pausing to consider its global impact gives us a greater appreciation for its power and lets us feel part of a community comprised “of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” (Rev. 7:9).

Paul and Timothy have been informed of their “love in the Spirit” (1:8) from Epaphras. He was an evangelist and minister who is highly spoken of by Paul and they may have shared imprisonment together. Paul trusted and respected him for he had effectively taught them the gospel. He had informed them of the love that the Colossian believers had, but also of some of the dangers in the city. Paul will address the dangers further on in his letter (2:6-23), but presently focusses on the fruit of love that is seen in them.