Christ, the Image of the Invisible God, the Proscenium of Old and New Testament. Perspectives of Knowing God from Colossians
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/ROOTS.2024.1.8Keywords:
Knowing of God, Christ, εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ, Christological hymn, ColossiansAbstract
Christ is the visible representation of the unseeable God. Although this statement emphasizes Christ's relationship with the Father, it is Christ who reveals God to the world. The text in Hebrews reinforces this same concept. Christ is “the reflection of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's very being” (1:3), and thus only His Son can make Him known (Col 1:18). In 1 Cor 15:49 and 2 Cor 4:4, the Apostle Paul employs the term εἰκών to portray the resurrected and exalted One, in whom, analogous to the eschatological Adam, all humanity is recapitulated. The risen One, however, is the image of the unseen God of eternity. In light of the statements in Colossians 1:13-14, it becomes evident that there is a dynamic relationship between the experience of redemption and the statements about the One through whom God accomplished the act of redemption. Although the initial section of the hymn is centred on Christ's role in creation, the Christological statements can be interpreted from a perspective of redemption. It is only through His blood (Col 1:14-20) that the Redeemer, who is the image of the unseen God, can effect redemption.
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