I'll never forget it. Colossians 1:15 will probably always remind me of an incident many years ago. My husband and I were "baby" Christians, in other words very new to faith in Christ. We had been discipled, memorized verses from the Bible and we were learning to study it. We were growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
A gray-haired man knocked on our front door one day. He had a message that he wanted to share with us, from what he said we knew it had something to do with God. We decided to welcome him in and we sat at our dining room table together. It wasn't long before this man's purpose became abundantly clear. He was out to try and prove to us that Jesus Christ is not God. This man was a Jehovah's witness.
He asked us to turn to Colossians 1:15...
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
He was very focused on the word "firstborn". He said that it meant that Jesus could not be God because he was created by God, and therefore born. We knew with every ounce of faith we had at that point that he was wrong. I remember thinking of Jesus and all that I had learned about Him since coming to know him. I thought of Jesus when he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection from the dead...and how afterward when they told Thomas they had seen the Lord, Thomas' response was...
"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger
into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will
never believe." John 20:25
The Lord gave Thomas the opportunity...
Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them.
Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said,
"Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see
my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve,
but believe." Thomas answered him,
"My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20: 26-29
Jesus did not refuse his worship, he accepted it, and rightfully so. I thought of God's character. The Bible says he is a "jealous" God. In other words he doesn't want us to worship (adore, praise, love, be devoted to) any other "god" but him. All other so called gods are false. That doesn't go over well in our culture. People want to make all religions equal and have religious tolerance. It doesn't work. It is illogical and unreasonable to accept that different beliefs based on opposing views are equally true. Then we get into a "do what is right in your own eyes" mentality only with a religious slant.
As far as the word "firstborn"- I really had no idea what that meant at the time. However, I did have a study Bible in front of me which gave some assistance as to its meaning. We learned that it doesn't necessarily mean birth order, but another definition would be one who has preeminence, rank and privileges.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:9
We shared this with him, but he was not to be deterred. We soon realized that it was foolish to try and convince him when he had come to our home with the express purpose of convincing us! We have since learned that such conversations are usually not wise. First of all, it is God who works in hearts and draws people unto himself. It can be a little difficult to discern at times, but if someone is just plain argumentative then the conversation will go nowhere fast. If someone genuinely has questions that they are seeking answers to, we aim to answer them by God's grace and to the best of our ability from his Word.
One of the things we realized is that he took this verse completely out of context and sought to prove his point with one word. Even within the verse itself it says that Jesus is the "image of the invisible God." After the man left, we spent time reading the passage. We read the verses before the one the man showed us. We read...
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.
We have redemption and forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ! God has given us faith to believe that Jesus is God, just as the Holy Spirit is God, just as God the Father is God. The Bible teaches it. We often try to make sense of it and explain it with the three parts of an egg, or the three states of water, but nothing compares to it. I will admit it is difficult to explain. Really it blows our minds! I've watched my children grapple with it and try to understand it. All I can do is point them to the Scriptures and let God's Word speak for itself.
I remember watching this man leave through my window. I wept for him and for anyone who might believe his false message. My husband and I prayed for him, and as we sat there together we continued to read in Colossians 1:16-20...
For by him (Jesus) all things were created, in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And
he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is
the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in
him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him
to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.
Praise God and Amen.
[re-posted from the archives of my former blog // dated 7.13.2011]
No comments:
Post a Comment