Colossians 1: 15 – the God, the invisible

Who is the image of the invisible God…

The first thing Paul says about God’s Son is that He is (lit.) “the image the invisible God.” It is not easy to make the translation sound as pure as the original. For the Son is not the image, but “image,” and not just of God, but of “the God.” Of “the God, the invisible”.

The truth that “the God is the invisible” is heard throughout the Bible (1 Tim. 1:17). God says to Moses: “You shall not see My face, for no man shall see Me and live” (Ex.33:20). It is not for a corruptible person to see God. Our senses cannot tolerate that glory, ’the fuses would blow’. Insofar as there are God appearances in the Hebrew Bible, this is always through one or more angels. We see this, for example, when YAHWEH appears in the burning bush to Moses. God appears through an angel who represents God (Ex.3:2,4,6; Acts 7:30). God used angels in ancient times to reveal Himself, even when He made the law available to Moses (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2).

Looking back on history, John says, “No one has ever seen God…” (John 1:18). But now, in the Son, the invisible God has set up for himself an image, an icon…

Delen: