Colossians 1: 15 – Icon of God

Who is the image of the invisible God…

Because God is “the invisible” He can only be seen through someone who represents Him. At the time of ’the Old Testament’ this was through angels, but now through the one who is his image (Gr. eikoon). In “the ten words” it is emphatically forbidden that man should make himself a “carved image” of God. After all, God himself makes himself an image!

In Genesis 1 we read that God made man “in his image” (Gen. 1:26,27). Although the contrary is often claimed, we nowhere read that Adam was God’s image. On the contrary, he was created in God’s image. Who God’s image is remained hidden in ’the Old Testament’, but is revealed by the apostle Paul (see also 2 Cor. 4:4).

Adam was created in the image of Him who would come after Him (Rom.5:14). So that Adam is a type of “the last Adam”, “the second man” (1Cor.15:45,47). When God created Adam, He did so in view of “the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.” Adam was in advance a provisional, temporary version of man. He was created after the model of “the Ben-Adam”. It is the resurrected Christ who will definitively realize everything in which “the first man Adam” (according to plan!) failed.

Delen: