Authority in Government

 

This is Part 3 (of 7) in my series, Kingdom Principles: Authority

In the Introduction, I pointed out that it is the purpose of God that those in authority should provide protection and provision for those they have authority over. This isn’t tyranny. Here is a brief summary of how the governmental authority is to behave:

Psalm 72 <A Psalm for Solomon.>

1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son. 

2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 

3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 

4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. 

6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 

7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 

12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 

13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 

14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 

This is not the place to discuss the best form of government, I think it is sufficient to say that whatever the form, this is the goal: righteousness, judgment, protection. I am aware that many people seek government position for the power and riches, while others misuse and exploit this authority, and abuse those under them - we do live in a fallen world - but the truth remains, God has established authority in government and we have a responsibility to that authority.

What does the Lord expect of me regarding the government? (This is fun.) Romans 13

1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 

5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 

6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 

7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

I’m not crazy about this either, but it is rather plainly spelled out. Guess what word that Be subject is? Yep, submit. Happily he spells out what this submission looks like: 2 don’t resist; 3 do that which is good; 7 tribute [taxes] to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

He mentions this again in Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. Once again, subject is the word submit. And he adds, obey. Yep, submit to and obey governmental authority.

This is a common theme among the apostles, Peter speaks to this as well in 1 Peter 2

13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. 

15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: 

16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. 

17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Here it is again, submit to every ordinance or institution of man, which he spells out: kings and governors. Just as a reminder, submit means to bring yourself under the authority of.

What does he mean, For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men? “The heathen were keen to charge the Christians with any crime after Nero set the fashion.”¹ (Nero accused the Christians of burning Rome.) They may say all manner of things against us, but with our well doing, obeying the laws of the land, we prove their charges to be false.

the king as supreme – “It is not the divine right of kings, but the fact of the king as the outstanding ruler. Peter here approves no special kind of government, but he supports law and order, as Paul does.”¹

I can only draw two conclusions from these passages:

(1) God has ordained governmental authority²

(2) Our responsibility is to submit to this authority and to obey the laws of the land as much as possible. We want to be good citizens. Paul and Peter assume the government authority is the minister of God to thee for good. I confess, this is difficult for me. I grew up in the 60s, when you didn’t trust The Establishment and took a real dim view of the government. But I must remember, They were living under the imperial power of Rome; heathen, ungodly, immoral, idolatrous, anti-Christian Rome, and they still said, Submit to the king.

Of course we know where the line in the sand is drawn: When the law of the land conflicts with and contradicts the law of God, we must obey God. And this is when the fight starts. I mean persecution.

 

NEXT: Authority at Work

 

¹ Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, A.T. Robertson

² I know there are things I am leaving out - I don’t want to go too long. I encourage you to read 1 Timothy 2:1-6, Acts 23:5, Matthew 22:21. I think the passage in Timothy is the most important. Paul is very clear, the top priority for a church is prayer. Not just, “Lord, bless this service”, but corporate prayer for the people he mentions.

Authority in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus

 

This is Part 2 (of 7) of my series, Kingdom Principles: Authority.

Jesus understood authority, and he operated under the authority of the Father. I will simply go through the gospels and note what he said about authority. Sometimes exousia is translated power, sometimes authority, sometimes there is just the idea of authority.

First, Jesus has authority

Matt 9:6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.The objection the Jews had to Jesus forgiving sins was only God can forgive. Yet here Jesus says he has received authority to forgive sins.

Matt 21:23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? 

Who gives you the right to teach in the temple and heal the sick? They didn’t really want an answer, as proven by their failure to answer his question, so he didn’t answer (v 24-27). From the rest of his teachings we know his answer, The Father gave me this authority.

Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Jesus demonstrated the kingdom had arrived by casting out demons. This also illustrates authority, the unclean spirits had to obey him.

John 3:34-36 

34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The word authority doesn’t occur here, but is clearly declaring that he was walking under authority – the Father has given all things into his hand.

John 5:19-23

19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.  20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.  21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.  22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:  23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

The word authority doesn’t occur here either, but you don’t need it. The Son can do nothing of himself. He only does what he sees the Father do. He has authority to quicken (that is make alive) whom he will; and the right to judge has been given to him. The Father did this so that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father.

John 5:26-30

26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Again, life and judgement. But this time it is also raising the dead. Such authority!

John 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 

The Father gave him power over his own life. “They didn't take His life from Him / He gave it willingly.”¹ This commandment have I received of my Father.

John 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 

He was given the power to give eternal life to all who come to him.

Matt 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

After all the authority mentioned in his ministry, this is the climax, this is the apex, after the cross and resurrection, he says, All authority is given unto me. Jesus.Is.Lord.

Second, Jesus gives authority to his disciples.

What power did he / does he give to his disciples? Here’s the summary: power to cast out unclean spirits, power to heal sickness and disease. (Verses at the end of the post.)

Here’s the very best one, John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name:

To those who receive him, who believe on his name, Jesus gives power, the right, to become children of God, part of the family of God!

 

NEXT: Authority in Government

 

¹ Randy Matthews, Didn’t He

The power or authority Jesus gave his disciples: 

Matt 10:1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

What is authority?

 

In May of 2023 I did a seven part series on The Kingdom Principle of Faith. In August of that same year (Aug 28-Sept 1) I did a five part series on The Kingdom Principle of Repentance. I thought it was time for another kingdom principle and settled on Authority. I started working on it last Spring, but then stopped for 3 months. Two reasons: (1) when I began working on it I realized this is much bigger than I thought – it runs like the mighty Mississippi through the Scriptures! (2) I also realized there were areas where I was falling short in my own life, I didn’t want to be all, “This is how this works in our lives” and it’s not in my life. But then I had a revelation – We read and study the Word in order to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to blow our own horn, “Behold how good I am!” So I pressed on through and finished.

Let’s start here: What is authority? Authority in the New Testament Greek is the word ἐξουσία (exousia; pronounced ex-oo-see'-ah). According to Thayer it means: power. But this is not power in the sense of strength, or might. It is the power to do, power of choice; the power of authority (influence) and of right; the power of rule or government.¹

Bill Mounce defines it as authority, power, the right to control or govern; dominion, the area or sphere of jurisdiction; a ruler, human or supernatural; power, ability; authority, rule, dominion, jurisdiction.²

It is a fairly common word in the New Testament, occurring 103 times. And it is a big word, with different shades of meaning. You can see why I said this was a bigger task than I thought, but with the Lord’s help, I believe we can get the basic understanding.

Authority begins with God: I mean, He is God. He is Lord. He is King. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. (Psalm 147:5) God is the Supreme Authority. He is the absolute Lord. Right here you can see why repentance and faith are two key kingdom principles, because it is this very authority we rebel against.

However, as the Supreme Authority, God is not a tyrant, throwing his weight around like a heavenly bully. He protects and provides for his creation: “In respect of his power; he is Lord, in respect of his love, he is Father.”³

He also delegates authority to mankind, allows men to exercise authority in the world. It is the purpose of God that those in authority should, like him, provide protection and provision for those they have authority over. This is going to be important as we go through this – nobody is to be a tyrant, a bully, an oppressor.

The response to authority is linked to two words, two attitudes, two behaviors: submit and obey. If the principle of authority is hard to swallow, folks will really struggle with submit and obey. I say folks, I struggle! Why? One word – sin. I want to do what I want to do, and I don’t want anybody else telling me what to do. That’s why this kingdom principle of authority is so important – it helps identify this sinful attitude and deliver me from the power of sin.

So, How do I relate to the authority of God? I submit and obey

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Romans 1:5 we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith [literally, for obedience of faith] among all nations

This introduces another spiritual principle, expressed in Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

I know, submit and obey sounds like such drudgery. Where’s grace and faith and love? Oh it’s there! Just look at v 16 in context. Romans 6 begins with our being buried with Christ in baptism and rising to walk in newness of life, and continues with deliverance from the power of sin because we are not under law but under grace. And how does this operate in us? From knowing, reckoning, yielding ourselves unto God, and obeying him. And all this is the explanation of the declaration in Romans 5:20-21 …where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Which can be traced back to Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Amen! It’s all part of the same grace! And we experience this grace when we bring ourselves under the authority of God, that is, when we submit and obey.

This is just the introduction! My plan, in the next six posts, is to look at Authority in the Life and Ministry of Jesus; Authority in Government; Authority at Work; Authority in the Church; Authority in the Home (1&2). These will be posted on Tuesday and Thursday over the next three weeks.

NEXT: Authority In The Life And Ministry Of The Lord Jesus

¹ Joseph Thayer (1828-1901), Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament

² William Mounce (B. 1953), American scholar of New Testament Greek, For An Informed Love of God https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/exousia

³ Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book V, chapter 17

Joy in my heart, yet sorrow in my spirit

 

I have mentioned to a few folks that I am singing my way through Hymns of the Christian Life, the hymnal of the Christian & Missionary Alliance. I am somewhat surprised that I know the majority of them. Caleb Saw the Lord was one of the hymns this morning. I love this hymn. And when I was languishing in the hospital the summer of 2021, my daughter Anne often sat with me and sang from this hymnbook, including this one.

What a joy it is to sing these hymns! What a message they have, how rich they are. Since this is an Alliance hymnal, so many of these songs are full of the message of the Alliance: Jesus Christ: Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, Coming King. Amen!

We affiliated with the Christian & Missionary Alliance way back in 1978, when we began attending Alliance Bible Church in Memphis, TN. I’ve been singing these hymns since then: attending Alliance Bible Church, pastoring Brent Alliance (Pensacola, FL), First Alliance (Macon, GA), Bible Covenant Community Church (York, SC); District Conferences (in what used to be the Southern & South Atlantic Districts), and Annual Councils. I witnessed the transition from the Blue book (my personal favorite) to the Red book (nobody’s favorite), to the Burgundy book. No wonder I’m fluent in our hymnology!

Such joy in my heart, to not only worship the Lord and revel in His marvelous, matchless grace as expressed in these songs, but to also be carried back to those good days of yesteryear. Such sweet fellowship and good friendships. Of course, not every moment was a highlight, but I overlook the sad times, and dwell on the good times. What a treasure. In fact, it reminds me of something the Lord said, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. (Matthew 13:52) These are my old treasures.

Ah, as I sing my way through the hymnbook, there is a certain sorrow in my spirit. Sorrow? Yes. These songs aren’t sung anymore (in my circles). There is a generation that not only doesn’t sing them, they’ve never seen them, or even heard of them. This is a day that’s never coming back. I’m not throwing rocks at anyone, I played a part in this transition. We transitioned to choruses, today it is modern worship music. (Speaking of sorrow, even the choruses we used to sing are now forgotten!) So I’ve been on both sides of this. I love the choruses and appreciate modern worship music, but I’m here to testify, there is a depth in the hymns that contemporary worship music simply doesn’t have. A richness. A fulness. It also saddens me that we no longer sing our theology.

So yes, I have a measure of sorrow of heart as I sing. But, as Isaiah wrote, and we used to sing (!!), Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. (51:11) Amen!

Let me end this on another high note. The image below is two pages from the blue Hymns of the Christian Life (1935): Lilly of the Valley on the left and Caleb Saw The Lord on the right. We sang these two quite often and, as you can see from the notations, I marked the chords so Mary could play the autoharp while we sang. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD. (Psalm 104:35)

 

The Christ of Colossians chapters 2&3

 

I thought it would be cool to go through Colossians and point out what Paul says about the Lord Jesus Christ. Or, as I call it, The Christ of Colossians. Since this is a blog and not a book, I cannot provide a detailed study, instead I will highlight and briefly explain the passages which speak of Christ. 

The Christ of Colossians chapters 2&3

2:2  to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

We see two truths here:

(1) A reminder that the Father and the Son are two separate persons. This is part of what we call the trinity, the tri-une nature of God.

(2) The mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ – there is something about God and Christ that was not fully understood by the saints in the Old Testament, which the Gospel reveals and Paul sets forth in this epistle.¹ I believe in v 3-9 he reveals this mystery:

2:3  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

“All the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ! This is a powerful statement! The Greek word for Godhead is "θεότητος (theotetos), deity, that is, the state of being God" (Thayer's Greek Lexicon). Who is Christ? Emmanuel, God with us. Paul adds in the very next verse, 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power; “because only Christ, being God and man, is most perfect, and passes far above all things, so that whoever has him, requires nothing more.” (Geneva Study Bible)

This is what he was saying in 1:15-20! This is the mystery of God and of Christ, that Christ is the very Son of God, the image of the invisible God; all fullness of the Godhead dwells in him; he is the Creator himself; the firstborn, the preeminent One; and this is the One who through the blood of his cross reconciled us to Himself! They knew Christ was coming but they didn’t know or understand all this about him. O that our hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of Christ.”²

 

3:4  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Hallelujah! Christ himself is our life. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:11-12)

3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 

3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

What is he talking about, old man and new man? This is a powerful teaching. Paul is not talking about “old nature…new nature” “old self…new self”. The word is man. So, who is the old and new man?

Paul talks about this in Romans, 1& 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, and here in Colossians. He is teaching a revolutionary truth – there are two races of men in the earth. Those who are born into Adam and those who are born (again) into Christ. As he said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.

Adam is the head of a family. This is the old man, all who are in Adam. This is laid out in Romans 5:12-21. In Adam we inherit sin, death, and condemnation. Christ is the head of the new race or family. In Christ we inherit forgiveness, justification, and we reign in life by Christ. Paul says we have put off the old and put on the new. How do we put off the old man and put on the new?

Romans 6:6-10

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him…

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 

10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Christ bore our sins on the cross, that we might be forgiven. Not only that, when he was crucified, the old man was crucified with him; when he rose again he created a new man. This is what baptism is all about: Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)

Now, to get back to Colossians, in this new creation, Christ is all, and in all. Amen, and Amen, and Amen again!

 

All in all forever, Jesus will I sing

Everything in Jesus, and Jesus everything³

  

¹ “Simply put, a mystery is a truth previously hidden which is now fully revealed.”

This is from the introduction of my 2023 series, Mystery in the New Testament, which you can find here

² This is from my blog post in 2023, Mystery in Paul’s Epistle to Colossians, which you can read here

³ Himself, A.B. Simpson (1891); founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance

Christ in Colossians Ch 1 part 2

 

I thought it would be cool to go through Colossians and point out what Paul says about the Lord Jesus Christ. Or, as I call it, The Christ of Colossians. Since this is a blog and not a book, I cannot provide a detailed study, instead I will highlight and briefly explain the passages which speak of Christ. I will be using the KJV and the English Majority Text Version (marked in this color).

Chapter 1 (part 2)

1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell

For it pleased the Father that all the fullness should dwell in Him.

Wow! We will read in chapter 2 what “the fullness” is, but for now let me just say, whatever “the fullness” is, it was all, all of it, in Christ.

1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, whether things in earth, or things in heaven.

We saw in v 14 that we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Here we see that he made peace through the blood of his cross. Peace? With who? With God. How do I know that? Because by the blood of his cross he has reconciled all things to himself. He redeems us, he reconciles us. By his blood.

1:21  And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

He explains what it means to be reconciled: We were alienated from God; we were enemies of God; yet now, by the blood of his cross, he has reconciled us, restored us to the Father. But, please read that sentence again. I ended my last sentence with a period, but this verse does not end with a period. No the sentence continues:

1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

He reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death. This is the cross. Where Jesus was crucified. Where he shed his precious blood for us. We are redeemed by his blood. We are forgiven by his blood. We are reconciled by his precious blood. The cross is so beautiful to us, so powerful. I can never get past the cross. Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, the one in whom all fullness dwelt, the Creator and sustainer of all things, died on the cross for me, that I might be reconciled to God; that he might present me to the Father holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Amen!

1:23  If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel…

That’s my plan, man. 53 years ago this month I trusted Jesus with my life. I still believe he is the Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified, died, and was buried, and that on the third day he rose again from the dead. I am continuing in the faith, I am not moved away from the hope of the gospel. Is this about me? How faithful and wonderful I am. Ha! I repeat, Ha! It’s not me. Jesus is my Savior.

1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Back in the day, God dwelt among the Israelites in the tabernacle. As it is written, He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates (Deuteronomy 23:16). Now we Gentiles have this hope of glory, Christ in us. In each one of us, and in our gathering together. 

Everything is Jesus. The fullness is in him. He has redeemed and reconciled us by his blood. He is our hope of glory. All hail King Jesus!

The blood that Jesus shed for me

Way back on Calvary

The blood that gives me strength

From day to day

It will never lose its power 

It reaches to the highest mountain

It flows to the lowest valley

The blood that gives me strength

From day to day

It will never lose its power 

Andraé Crouch, 1962

The Christ of Colossians chapter 1

 

Since this is a blog and not a book, I cannot provide a detailed study, instead I will highlight and briefly explain the passages which speak of Christ. I will be using the KJV and the English Majority Text Version (marked in this color).

Chapter 1

1:2  Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:3  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

v 3 or a more literal translation, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

This tells us very clearly that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are separate and distinct persons. And, that God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. We mustn’t confuse them. This also tells us that Jesus is both Lord and Christ. This of course is the essence of the Christian faith.

1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Literally, into the kingdom of the Son of his love. As I already pointed out, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are separate and distinct persons. What is their relationship? God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus Christ is his Son. As the Father testified of Jesus, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins:

Christ is our Redeemer. How did he redeem us? Through his blood. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. What is redemption? The forgiveness of sins. It is the blood of Christ, shed on the tree, that secures our pardon, our forgiveness, our redemption.

1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 

Wow! This is the deep end of the pool!

Image of the invisible God – we get our word icon from the Greek word for image. In Hebrews 1:3 we read, Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.

The brightness of his glory – This is almost overwhelming. The Son shines with all the glory of God because the Son is the glory of God!

The express image of his person

express image - the exact expression (the image) of any person or thing, in every respect

person - The being or essence of God; his substance. This is reflected in the Creed

We believe in God the Father Almighty…

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God,

begotten of the Father before all worlds,

Light of Light, very God of very God,

begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

the firstborn of every creature - the firstborn of all creation is a better translation. There are people who misunderstand this verse to be teaching that the Son was the first thing the Father created. No. First, no creature could possibly be the express image of his person. Second, no creature could ever be the brightness of His glory. Third, the following verses completely dispel that heresy. 

So what does it mean? It signifies his preeminence and authority over creation as its Creator. As Athanasius (AD 373) wrote:

“he was called “Firstborn” because in him the creation came to be; and as before the creation he was the Son, through whom was the creation, so also before he was called the Firstborn of the whole creation, the Word himself was with God and the Word was God. If then the Word also was one of the creatures, Scripture would have said of him that he was Firstborn of other creatures; but in fact, “Firstborn of the whole creation” demonstrates that the Son of God is other than the whole creation and not a creature.”

1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Christ is the Creator. He created all things, that is, everything that is created was created by him. He cannot be both created and creator. Let’s read on, all things were created by and for him; he is before all things, and by him all things consist!! In other words, All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3) He is indeed the firstborn of all creation: he is before all things, created all things, holds it all together.

1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

This is His relationship to the Church – He is the head, the church is His body. What does he is the beginning mean? the next phrase, the firstborn to rise from the dead. He was the first to rise from the dead, he is the guarantee of our resurrection, He is Lord of resurrection. He has the preeminence in creation and the new creation. There is no one like our Jesus! He is the Son of God. He is the Christ. He is the Savior. He is the glory of God the Father!

This is just the first 18 verses of chapter 1! I will continue to look through chapter 1 in my next post.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty 

Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God,

begotten of the Father before all worlds,

Light of Light, very God of very God,

begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;

by whom all things were made;

Nicene Creed