rwp Colossians:1:15 SEEK
Seeker Overlay ON
rwp @
Colossians:1:15 @{
The image } (\
eik
n \).
In predicate and no article .
On \
eik
n \,
see strkjv @
2Corinthians:4:4 ;
strkjv @
3:18 ;
strkjv @
Romans:8:29 ;
strkjv @
Colossians:3:10 |.
Jesus is the very stamp of God the Father as he was before the Incarnation (
John:17:5 |)
and is now (
Phillipians:2:5-11 ;
strkjv @
Hebrews:1:3 |). {
Of the invisible God } (\
tou theou tou aoratou \).
But the one who sees Jesus has seen God (
John:14:9 |).
See this verbal adjective (\
a \
privative and \
hora \)
in strkjv @
Romans:1:20 |. {
The first born } (\
pr
totokos \).
Predicate adjective again and anarthrous .
This passage is parallel to the \
Logos \
passage in strkjv @
John:1:1-18 |
and to strkjv @
Hebrews:1:1-4 |
as well as strkjv @
Phillipians:2:5-11 |
in which these three writers (
John ,
author of Hebrews ,
Paul )
give the high conception of the Person of Christ (
both Son of God and Son of Man )
found also in the Synoptic Gospels and even in Q (
the Father ,
the Son ).
This word (
LXX and N .
T .)
can no longer be considered purely "
Biblical " (
Thayer ),
since it is found In inscriptions (
Deissmann ,
_Light
,
etc .
_
,
p .
91 )
and in the papyri (
Moulton and Milligan ,
_Vocabulary
,
etc .
_
).
See it already in strkjv @
Luke:2:7 |
and Aleph for strkjv @
Matthew:1:25 ;
strkjv @
Romans:8:29 |.
The use of this word does not show what Arius argued that Paul regarded Christ as a creature like "
all creation " (\
p
s
s ktise
s \,
by metonomy the _act_
regarded as _result_
).
It is rather the comparative (
superlative )
force of \
pr
tos \
that is used (
first-born of all creation )
as in strkjv @
Colossians:1:18 ;
strkjv @
Romans:8:29 ;
strkjv @
Hebrews:1:6 ;
strkjv @
12:23 ;
strkjv @
Revelation:1:5 |.
Paul is here refuting the Gnostics who pictured Christ as one of the aeons by placing him before "
all creation " (
angels and men ).
Like \
eik
n \
we find \
pr
totokos \
in the Alexandrian vocabulary of the \
Logos \
teaching (
Philo )
as well as in the LXX .
Paul takes both words to help express the deity of Jesus Christ in his relation to the Father as \
eik
n \ (
Image )
and to the universe as \
pr
totokos \ (
First-born ).