Praise the Lord! The Lord has been good to us throughout the past week and we are about to experience His continuous compassion and faithfulness more than ever before in this new week in our life as we meditate upon the chosen Scripture passage, which is Colossians 1:15-20. Every time we stumble onto the SftW meditation page, we find a freshly selected Scripture passage and some self-descriptive spiritual thoughts based on the passage that will help empower our relationship with Jesus Christ. The passage we chose for our meditation talks about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God. As the Scripture states that no one has ever seen God (Ex 33:18-23; John 1:18a), yet when Christ incarnated as a human being, the Lord God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in His Son, and, thus, the Son became the image of the invisible God (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15-20). Anyone who wishes to see or experience the Lord God Almighty, the maker of heaven and earth and everything in them, who is invisible, could be seen or experienced through His Son Jesus Christ (Exodus 33:20; John 1:1-4, 14; 8:19; 12:45; 14:6, 9b-10a; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3b; 1 John 1:1-4; 5:20).

Apostle John stated that No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known (John 1:18a). The question which rises here is that, ‘if no one has ever seen God,’ up until Christ’s time on earth, then how could people come to believe in the existence of God? There might be numerous assumptions existing all around us regarding the existence of the supernatural being called God, but we are not going to look into those assumptions with the exception of the Biblical point of view. The Bible (the Scriptures) tells us that there is a God who exists from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2; 103:17; Isaiah 40:28). According to Biblical perspectives, God’s existence is proven and agreed-upon even before the universe and everything in it were created because Genesis 1:1 states that In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; and, Revelation 4:11 states that Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be (also, refer to Hebrews 1:10). This explains itself that the existence of God is from of old (Psalm 90:2; 93:2). From the Biblical perspective, we can understand that people came to know about God’s existence through His direct contact with them, other than revealing His existence through His creation (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1-6). God created the very first human beings (Adam and Eve) and He spoke to them directly (Genesis 1:26-30; Genesis 3:8-13). We can understand from the Scripture that up until Moses’ time, God spoke directly to individuals or people in groups when He intended to pass on His messages to them. For instance, God spoke directly to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:26-30; Genesis 3:8-13); thereafter God spoke directly to Noah (Genesis 6:9-22; 7:1-5; 9:1-17); Abraham (Genesis 12:1-4; 15:1-21; 17:1-22; 22:1-19); Isaac (Genesis 26:1-6, 24-25); Jacob (Genesis 28:10-15; 35:1; 9-13; 32:22-30; 46:1-4; Moses (Exodus 3:1-4:17; 6:1-12; 7:1-19; Numbers 27:12-23); Aaron (Exodus 7:6-19); Joshua (Numbers 27:18-23); and many more. From Moses’ time onwards, in addition to speaking to certain people directly, God also chose certain individuals or groups (like prophets, priests, kings, or certain individuals) and spoke through them the message He wanted to communicate with others. Then God commanded to write His Word down for the generations to come and God continued to speak through the written Word of God (Exodus 34:1-3; 27-29; Deuteronomy 6:9; Joshua 1:1-9; Habakkuk 2:2; Luke 24:44). Psalm 102:18 states that Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD. Apostle Paul stated: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Again Paul said: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope (Romans 15:4). Whether or not God spoke directly to people or through other means, the fact is that no one has ever seen God according to Exodus 33:18-23; and John 1:18. In this sense, the people who saw God might have seen the personification of God. For instance: Abraham (Genesis 18:1-33); Jacob (Genesis 32:30); and so on. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel who saw the God of Israel testified that under His (God’s) feet was a work like a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself (Exodus 24:9-11). Later, Moses pleaded with God to show His glory to him, God responded to saying that His face must not be seen; and one cannot see His face, for no one may see Him and live, yet God allowed Moses to see His back as He passed on by him (Exodus 33:18-23). Yet, during the New Testament time, the Sovereign Lord God – the Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent God, and the All-loving God was willing to reveal Himself to humanity through His Son Jesus Christ. The author of the book of Hebrews states that:

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs (Hebrews 1:1-4)

Apostle John mentioned that No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known (John 1:18). Again, Apostle John briefly explains for our sake that:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it … The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-5, 14)

Moses through whom the Law was given, wrote: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). The One and Only God who personified and revealed part of His being to certain Old Testament saints incarnated and revealed Himself fully to humanity in and through His Son Christ Jesus, as it is mentioned: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35). The God who revealed Himself as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bears the witness of His incarnation, as Apostle John stated: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one (1 John 5:7). Jesus said: I and the Father are one (John 10:30; 14:10-11; 17:21); and He continued saying regarding the Spirit: Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (John 16:7). According to Apostle Paul, the Lord is the Spirit: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Jesus stated again and again that I and Father are one (John 10:30, 38; 14:10). Apostle John wrote about the personal experience he and his fellow-apostles had with Jesus during His earthly ministry:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-3)

The Scripture passage (Colossians 1:17-20) we chose for our meditation is rooted mainly on three factors: Firstly, the Son (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God; secondly, God (the Father) was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him; and thirdly, the Son is above everything (that is, everything in heaven and on earth) and superior to all. Although there are numerous passages in the Scripture that particularly talk about Christ’s divinity and humanity, the passages like Colossians 1:15-20; John :1-18; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:2-4; Jude verses 24-25 are more clear on the dual nature of Christ (His divinity and humanity) and His relationship with God the Father and rest of God’s creation. Let us briefly analyze and understand how the Son (Jesus Christ) is connected with God the Father in heaven and God’s creation in the universe, that is, everything else in heaven and on earth:

• • He (the Son) is the image of the invisible God (1:15a)
  • He is the firstborn over all creation (1:15b; Psalm 89:27)
  • In Him all things were created (1:16a):
    • In Him things in heaven and on earth were created (1:16b)
    • In Him things that are visible and invisible were created (1:16c)
    • In Him thrones and powers and rulers and authorities were created (1:16d)
  • Ultimately, all things have been created through Him and for Him (1:16e)
  • He is before all things (1:17a)
  • In him all things hold together (1:17b)
  • He is the head of the body, the church (1:18a)
  • He is the beginning (1:18b)
  • He is the firstborn from among the dead (1:18c)
  • He is over everything with power and authority (1:18d)
  • God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him (1:19)
  • Through Him God reconciles to Himself all things (1:20a)
  • Through Him God reconciles things on earth to Himself (1:20b)
  • Through Him God reconciles things in heaven to Himself (1:20c)
  • Through His blood, shed on the cross, God made peace with all (1:20d)

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, as we read through the Scripture passage and the above written note on our meditation, let us rededicate each of our lives to fulfill God’s purpose in and through our lives and continue our earthly pilgrimage (faith journey) fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2a) because He (the Son Jesus Christ) is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3a).

• • As truth seekers, we need to see Jesus so that we can see God through Him
  • As the chosen people of God, let us live a holy and righteous life
  • As followers of Christ, we are asked to know Jesus so that we will know about God through Him
  • As the believers of Christ Jesus, we are invited to pursue holiness and resist all kinds of evil
  • As participators in His death, resurrection, and holy living, we are united with Him in everything He says/does.
  • As the redeemed people, we are called to glorify God in and through His Son Jesus Christ
  • As the dearly loved children of God, let us obey the righteous laws and decrees of our heavenly Father
  • As heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, let us not lose what has been promised to us in and through Christ Jesus
  • As the temple of the Holy Spirit, let us not grieve the Holy Spirit with whom we are sealed for the day of redemption
  • As ambassadors of Christ, and as God is making His appeal through us, let us invite people to be reconciled to God the Father

May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, enable each and every one of us to glorify the Lord God Almighty in and through everything we say and do!

May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!