Text for the Week: The Image is Living Not Manufactured

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-11

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, ³ for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. ⁷ These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. ⁸ But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. ¹¹ In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, enslaved and free, but Christ is all and in all!

Questions

1. What does Paul mean by “raised with Christ” does he mean at the final resurrection, or does he have something else in mind?
2. How do the sin lists of verses 5-8 correspond to a life hidden in Christ?
3. What does the phrase “image of its creator” mean in verse 10 and how does it relate to being renewed?
4. How does being renewed people relate to there being no identity of Gentile and Jew etc. in verse 11?

Background

Related Scriptures: Genesis 1:26-31; Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Corinthians 15:42-49; 2 Corinthians 3:12-19

The words image and idol are the same word in Greek, to say that a thing is an idol is to say that it is an image that is in some way uniquely connected to a god and used for that god’s purposes.

Paul identifies Jesus as the “image of God” in Colossians 1:15 and there he means that Jesus is a unique representation of God on earth.

The conversion discussed in verses 5-10 is not simply about giving up the old life but requires adopting a new way of thinking motivated by God, the goal is not simply to reject bad habits but to make room for God as the motivating influence on our lives.

The Biblical idea of image begins in Genesis 1 when humanity is created specifically to be God’s image in the world and to work on God’s behalf in the world.

When Exodus 20:4-6 says to reject idols, it is telling the people to reject the idea that God will speak and work through something other than humanity.

It is important to notice that God’s mercy is connected to those who fail to hold to the instruction against idolatry.

Reflection

Have you ever sat down and truly pondered what an idol is and why Exodus forbids them? Does Exodus 20:4-7 forbid any kind of artistic depiction of God (does this include Jesus and the Holy Spirit), or are idols only statues, or does this only refer to pagan gods? These are legitimate questions that Exodus wants us to ponder as we read the text, and I believe these are questions that went through Paul’s mind as he considered the theme of the image in Colossians. When Paul writes about how we grow into the image in Colossians 3 he has in mind that Jesus is the true image of God, and this idea builds from Genesis 1 when God created humanity. When God created humanity God called people “my image” that is the same word that is used elsewhere for an idol. The idea of humanity being God’s image is that we are meant to be the piece of creation that God speaks through in the world. The center pin of Exodus’ prohibition on idols is that they take the place reserved for humanity, when a person looks to an idol, they are expecting God to work through something other than humanity.

Unfortunately, the narrative of scripture is that humanity has pursued all of the sins listed in Colossians 3:5-8 (along with others) and so has lost some of the connection with God. Humanity has then turned to created idols hoping that God might relate to us through these means, all the while God is trying to speak directly to us and inscribe the good on our hearts. The message of Colossians is that when Jesus came, he assumed the role of “the image of God” in a way that humanity prior to him had failed to do. But not only is Jesus the image of God, he opens up to us the way of being the full image of God. The point of Colossians 3 is for us to understand how Jesus as the true image of God has opened the world up to us if we simply respond. Paul tells us that Jesus has been elevated to God’s throne room, the place where God determines the course of creation. And in coming to know Jesus, we in a sense have been raised to this position, a place where we too can know the mind of God. Because Jesus is the perfect image of God, when we attach ourselves to him, we are able to claim the position that we were meant to hold. We are meant to claim our rightful place as the mediators between God and the rest of creation. We do not need idols because we serve the function that idols are supposed to hold, we are the ones who God works through to interact with the world around us. But this privilege does have responsibilities attached to it.

Paul reminds us that if we are going to be our best as image bearers then we need to repudiate all of the traits that stand in the way of us imitating Jesus. This is the reason for the list of sins in verses 5-8, we are meant to read this not as a comprehensive list, but as a mirror to say to us if you are caught up in a mindset that does not reflect God into this world you will find it difficult to live out your position as an image bearer. We then are to adopt Christ’s mindset and way of life because that mindset helps us to live out the calling that God has on our lives.

It is through this position as God’s image bearers that all other societal distinctions lose their meaning. Paul names a number of social relationships in verse 11, distinctions that gave people rights and prominence in the community. These distinctions helped to create a hierarchy within the community, people who were more respected and people who were less respected, but since all now come to be called God’s image bearers there is no need for such distinctions. We are meant to recognize that the sins Paul lists (along with the ones he does not) are creating barriers to us hearing from God and us respecting creation (especially our fellow image bearers) the way that God desires. It is when we take seriously that we are God’s image that we renounce other idols and begin to work on being the right image of God for creation. Israel was called to reject idols because it was the first step in becoming the kind of image bearers humanity was meant to be, the next step is to accept Jesus as the ultimate image bearer and work with him to reflect God’s reign into the world.