Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
John1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
What do we have inside us? Have we realized who we are?
The person of Christ who lives in us, Paul says in Colossians 1:15, is the image of the invisible God. The word image has many connotations. For the sake of simplicity let’s talk about one of them.
An image is an archetype. An archetype is an original model from which countless copies can be made from. A good example of an archetype is an office rubber stamp. The rubber is molded in such a way that when it is inked and pressed unto a piece of paper the image of the rubber stamp is transferred unto the paper. Countless copies of the image from the rubber stamp can be transferred in this way.
Christ as the image or archetype of the “invisible” God has committed Himself to faithfully reveal, manifest and make plain…to rubber stamp to us the God who cannot be seen.
Part of this manifestation is of God as the creator.
In verse 16 Paul tells us “For by him (Christ Jesus) were all things created.
The Greek has a number of “grammatical cases” which would take me a long time to explain. One of these cases is called the “dative case”. The dative describes the verbal action either by location or instrumentality. Location tells us where something is located or resides.
Lu 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
In Luke 22:20 Jesus tells us that new covenant is located or resides in His blood. What a powerful revelation! Everything that we do in obedience to the Lord Jesus dwells in the world and influence of His blood. It is covered over and protected by and holds all of the benefits of His blood. This is called the dative case of location.
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created…
The Greek really reads, For IN HIM were all things created… This is the dative case of location. Inside of Christ as the visible image or archetype of the invisible God, resides all of creation.
For IN HIM were all things created… The word “created” is in the Greek aorist tense, which is similar to our past tense but yet more powerful. I call the aorist the “photographic snapshot” tense. It defines historical events as completed photographic pictures placed on the time line of history.
The aorist simply describes completed events. The birth of Christ, Christmas Eve 2009, the death of Michael Jackson, and Nine Eleven can all be described by the aorist tense.
For IN HIM were all things created (Aorist tense). Inside of Christ invisibly resides every item, object, or thing visible and invisible, in the whole universe fully and completely created, just in an invisible fashion...
He, as the image, the archetype or the printing press of the invisible God can and will faithfully manifest them to us and this natural word. He is the printing press of every created thing in the whole universe.
Secondly, Paul tells us in the last part of Colossians 1:16
Colossians 1:16…. all things were created by him, and for him:
The by him…should really read... all things were created THROUGH HIM. The THROUGH HIM is now the Dative Case of Instrumentality. Christ not only has made Himself responsible to house every item and object ( Dative Case of Location) in the universe in a completely created form inside of Him, but He makes Himself responsible or instrumental to transfer them out of Himself and make them visible to us. In other words, Christ rubber stamps on the paper of this natural world the perfectly created things which invisibly dwell in Him. This is the Dative case of instrumentality. This is the Christ who dwells in us. This is the basis of the healing and the miracle ministry.
Colossians 1:16…. all things were created by him, and for him:
The by him…should really read... all things were created THROUGH HIM. The THROUGH HIM is now the Dative Case of Instrumentality. Christ not only has made Himself responsible to house every item and object ( Dative Case of Location) in the universe in a completely created form inside of Him, but He makes Himself responsible or instrumental to transfer them out of Himself and make them visible to us. In other words, Christ rubber stamps on the paper of this natural world the perfectly created things which invisibly dwell in Him. This is the Dative case of instrumentality. This is the Christ who dwells in us. This is the basis of the healing and the miracle ministry.
In closing let’s look at John 1:3
John1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
The words “made” should really be translated as become. Becoming, is existence being brought about by a process. Christ makes Himself accountable to cause all things which reside in a created form inside of Him to become real to us.
Who are we in reality? Are we Joe, are we Martha, are we Stephanie? Who is the I in you? Who is the Me in you? What is your purpose in life? Think about it.
Gal 220 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.?
