Alastair's Adversaria - Biblical Reading and Reflections: March 11th (Proverbs 10 & Colossians 1:1-20)

Episode Date: March 11, 2021

Speech and wisdom. Christ, the firstborn of all creation. If you are interested in supporting this project, please consider supporting my work on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/zugzwanged), using my PayPal account (https://bit.ly/2RLaUcB), or buying books for my research on Amazon (https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/36WVSWCK4X33O?ref_=wl_share). You can also listen to the audio of these episodes on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/alastairs-adversaria/id1416351035?mt=2.

Proverbs chapter 10 The Proverbs of Solomon A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who may make him. makes his ways crooked, will be found out. Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all the fences. On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

A rich man's wealth is his strong city. The poverty of the poor is their ruin. The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin. Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray. The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, the heart of the wicked is of little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Doing wrong is like a joke

to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding. What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted. When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established forever. Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evil-doers. The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land. The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. The lips of the

righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. In Proverbs chapter 10, a new body of material in the book begins. The prologue that frames the main body of the book is now over, and we enter the Proverbs of Solomon proper. Proverbs are brief statements of truth. They can be observations, exhortations, or other sorts of declarations, and they must be used properly in the right time and circumstance. Proverbs chapter 15, verse 23, To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is. There are conditions for the truth of a proverb that must be understood. The same words spoken in different contexts can be wise or foolish.

The words in the right time really matter. We have an example of this in Proverbs chapter 26, verses 4 and 5, where there are two statements that seem exactly opposite that are placed directly next to each other. They invite us to consider the time and the common. context in which they are true. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. In the mouths of the wise, proverbs are powerful, but in the mouths of fools, they're destructive and foolish. Improperly used, proverbs can be useless or damaging. Proverbs chapter 26, verse 7 says,

like a lame man's legs which hang useless is a proverb in the mouth of fools and in Proverbs chapter 26 verse 9 like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. The proverbs of this book are poetic and usually have a terseur form in Hebrew than they do in translation. They often are formed using parallelism. There are two statements held next to each other that are paralleled in some way. The literary form of the proverb is not superfluous. It's part of the means by which the proverb makes its meaning and invites the reader to reflect. Most of the material of the book of

Proverbs from chapter 10 to chapter 31 is using this parallelism as a form of the proverb. There are a few varieties of parallelism. We can see examples of antithetical parallelism. For instance, Proverbs chapter 15 verse 5. A fool despises his father's instruction, but who whether heeds reproof is prudent. The proverb is like two poles of a magnet. You have the negative statement and then you have a positive statement or you have a positive statement and then a negative statement. The relationship between these two statements can often be surprising. The parallel form invites us to reflect upon the parallel statements alongside of each other to see what elements map onto each other and what is implied by the similarities and contrasts. These also aid

memorization, and they're often clearly composed for the ear and have a memorable quality in the Hebrew. The sound of such proverbs can often accentuate their meaning. The oppositions can be strengthened or the parallels reinforced by the poetry and the sound of key opposed or compared terms. A further example of parallelism can be seen in better than proverbs. Some examples of this can be found in verses 16 and 17 of chapter 15. Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. Better as a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened arks and hatred with it.

There are forms of parallelism using like, chapter 25 verse 26, like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. There are a number parallelisms, for instance in Proverbs chapter 30 versus 18 to 19. Three things are too wonderful for me. Four, I do not understand.

The way of an eagle in the world. sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin. Many commentators hold that there is some sort of structure in this part of the book, but there is little agreement about what that structure might be. K.M. Hime, for instance, sees clusters. There are indeed points in these proverbs, where there are key themes that are being expounded upon in successive proverbs, and reading the proverbs alongside each other can serve to illuminate. At other points, there are verbal features, that clearly connect different proverbs together.

For instance, in the opening section of chapter 16, where there is the repetition of the name of the Lord in about nine successive verses. There are different poetic levels of signification that Bruce Wolke notes when we're looking through the Proverbs. There are sounds, there are syllables, there are words, there are phrases, there are half verses or versets, there are verses or lines, there are strophes, and proverb pairs.

There are stanzas or subunits, there are poems or units, there are sections, and then there are collections. Meaning and order can operate on each one of these different levels. Sometimes a proverb's meaning is conveyed in part by the sound of key words. At other points, it's two related versets that really give the meaning. At other junctures, it's a succession of proverbs alongside each other that help to unpack a particular topic. We should be attending to each one of these levels of meaning. as we're going through the book. The use of poetry in the book of Proverbs is important. The meaning of scripture and the wisdom of scripture is conveyed in large measure through literary

artistry. This is a matter of beauty and delight, but also of subtlety and insight. Such literary artistry rewards the attentive and those who know how to notice things with wisdom. Knowledge is conveyed not just through informational prose, and this should shape our attitude an approach to the Bible more generally. The elevation of language is not just decorative. Literary artistry captures dimensions of reality itself. It evokes and invites contemplation. It projects the world in ways that touch the deepest roots of the imagination.

Craig Bartholomew and Ryan O'Dowd speak of Old Testament wisdom as action-forming poetry. They write, the delight of literary play amid the urgency of a worldview aflame with a sense of God, is entirely congruent. This is not just poetry for poetry's sake. It evokes a world charged with the glory of God and summons us to live in this world. Understanding the parallelisms and the use of poetry more generally in the book

in light of this invites us to reflect upon the world in specific ways. Parallelisms can reinforce, they can compare, they can contradict, they can contrast. The teaching of this book is wrapped in powerful and witty metaphors,

in pithy proverbs, in provocative parallelisms, in lively analogies, and in things like the grand personification of the characters of wisdom and folly. While the proverbs are written and gathered in a collection, we are invited to reflect upon them, to speak about them, to deploy them at the appropriate times. In this way, they will serve to deliver their wisdom to us. The superscription that opens this section covers the proverbs from chapter 10 verse 1 to chapter 22 verse 16. The second half of verse 1 is an introductory proverb to this section. It speaks about the formation and training of the sun. Wolki notices patterns in the ordering of the pairing.

Father is in the first verset, mother in the second, and this is more general where that pairing occurs. The ordering of the antithesis likewise. Wise in the first verse set, foolish in the second. And again, that is more typical of the ordering. This introduces the material that follows in a way that foregrounds the place, that the teaching of wisdom plays in the relation between the son and his parents. This accumulates motivations for faithfulness.

The foolish son rejects the legacy of wisdom that the parents want to pass on. He brings grief to his parents. The concern to honour one's parents and to bring them delight should be of further encouragement to wisdom. Verses 2 to 5 form a chasm with verse 1. It ends as the second half of verse 1 begins, with the theme of bringing shame or pleasure to parents. look through these verses, we'll also see in the way that they order their antithetical

parallelisms that there are pairs of positive or negative statements that connects successive verses together. So, for instance, verse 3 begins with a positive statement, then has a negative, and then verse 4 starts with a negative statement and then has a positive. These verses cluster around the themes of wealth and poverty, and the corresponding themes of diligence and laziness. The source of wealth matters. Wicked wealth is cursed. It will not ultimately prosper the person who gains it. We might here think about Jesus' teaching about storing up treasure in heaven, or the parable of the rich fool. Verse three develops verse two. The Lord's righteous providence is at work within the world. It upholds and enforces the moral order of his world and ensures that the righteous are blessed, while the wicked are frustrated.

We might think here also of the Fourth Beatitude in Matthew chapter 5 verse 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. It's not immediately obvious what such a proverb means. It spurs us to reflection. We might think there are a lot of righteous people who do seem to be poor, who do not seem to prosper, and a lot of wicked people who really do seem to gain wealth. Much as the Psalmist reflects upon these matters in Psalm 37, we might be provoked to think about the way in which this statement might be true.

It is true, obviously, in an ultimate sense. Those who lay up treasures in heaven will ultimately be blessed, but those who just build up wealth on earth will find that it comes to nothing, and it does not profit them at the end. However, it is likely true in a less than ultimate sense as well. Even within this present age, we can see many ways in which the Lord satisfies the hunger of his people while frustrating the wicked, even in their gain.

Proverbs shouldn't be absolutized in many cases. The righteous can definitely be poor, but laziness still causes poverty in a way that righteousness does not. Versus four and five take on this theme, and returning to the character of the shame-bringing son, they speak of the way that the person who does not answer with diligence to the urgency of the present situation will bring dishonour and loss to those who are closest to him.

Speech and words are in the centre of the frame in verses 6 to 14. In verse 6, we see that blessings come upon the head of the righteous. Those in community with them declare benedictions concerning them. The righteous prosper and advance the community, so the community seeks their good and wishes them well. By contrast, the wicked bring violence back upon themselves. The way that the mouth of the wicked conceals violence might be a reference to the violence within them

that they spread throughout the community around them. Alternatively, it might be a reference to the violence that comes back over them, and overwhelms them. Their mouths are silenced as they are overwhelmed by the violence that they have caused in the community. Verse 7 continues the theme. Even after their death, the righteous will be remembered as people use them as a blessing. Recalling their character and their deeds, they treasured the memory of the righteous and bless and encourage people in terms of it. By contrast, the names and the memories of the wicked will be forgotten. They will rot with their bodies. A common contrast between the

wise and the foolish is the contrast between the babbling lips and the wise heart. The wise heart is the inner core of the person that has been formed by the truth. The wise speak from the heart from a settled interior that has been formed by the word of God. By contrast, the babbling fool is someone who is defined by non-stop speech, which has no relationship with the depth of heart. The words of a fool spring so quickly to his lips because they have never been weighed in his heart. In verse 10, the babbling fool is connected with the figure of the troublemaker. In Proverbs, wisdom is obtained through the proper reception of words.

We listen to instructors, we accept reproof, we resist, flattery. The world is not understood merely through experience, but as it is metabolized into sound words, our posture towards this is absolutely crucial within the understanding of Proverbs. Once again in verse 11, we're told about the mouth of the wicked that conceals violence, The mouth of the righteous leads to blessings coming upon his head, but is also here compared to a fountain of life. The speech of the righteous refreshes and sustains those who are around them in community. This is seen, for instance, in not spreading gossip.

Hatred stirs up strife through the angry and inciting words of the wicked, or perhaps through the gossip and rumours that they spread around. By contrast, the person who is loving covers over things, does not needlessly put his neighbour to shame. Verse 13, juxtaposes the wise lips of the person who has understanding, and the back of the fool who lacks sense. In the parallel, perhaps we see something of the contrast between the agency that the wise person enjoys. His lips give understanding and wisdom, and are able as a result to rule, whereas the fool has to be driven along by others. Having no sense within him, he has to be beaten by another party to make him do anything worthwhile.

In verse 15, both the rich man and the poor man are described in a way that suggests that they are in a precarious position. The poor man is vulnerable on account of his poverty, quite naturally. But the rich man, however, has a different sort of vulnerability. Understanding verse 15 will be easier when we see the parallel in Proverbs chapter 18, verse 11. A rich man's wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his imagination. The second part of that gives us the clue. In verse 15, his strong city describes how the wealth is perceived by the rich man. He thinks that it gives him security, whereas as we've seen in some of the surrounding proverbs,

ill-gotten or foolish wealth is no such source of security at all. The great evidence of wisdom in many parts of scripture is mastery of the tongue, and the words of a person reveal the state of their heart and whether they are wise or foolish. The slanderer and the prattler are the subject of the tongue. verses 18 and 19. The slanderer conceals his hatred while backbiting and spreading rumours. The Prattler, meanwhile, is unable to restrain his lips. By contrast, the prudent person knows when it is time to speak and when it is time to be silent. He knows the right words to given season. The preciousness of the words of the righteous is the subject of verses 20 and 21. Here again,

there is a contrast between the mouth and the heart, although this time it's the mouth of the righteous being contrasted with the heart of the wicked. The heart of the wicked is of little value. It's not been formed. It is not a sight of meditation. The heart of the wicked is more like a garbage tip, whereas the righteous guards and tends his heart like a garden. With such a well-guarded and formed heart, the words of the righteous are precious. In chapter 25 verses 11 and 12, such words are described. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver, like a gold ring, or an ornament of gold, is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Unsurprisingly, the words of such wise people will be treasured by others who are on the path of wisdom.

In verse 11, the mouth of the righteous was compared to a life-giving fountain. Here the lips of the righteous are a source of food. In the previous chapter, wisdom was compared to a banquet, and here the pronouncements of the wise are described as food from which others draw sustenance. fools by contrast die for lack of sense they can't even eat the food that is before them they can't accept the words of wisdom as a result they suffer the doom associated with their folly from verse 22 we have a contrast between the fate of the righteous and the wise and the foolish and the wicked this contrast is drawn both in the immediate situation and in the longer term future the ultimate source of true riches is the blessing of the lord as a blessing it is pure and unlawful mixed. Both the fool and the wise are in search of pleasure. However, the fool takes pleasure in a sinful levity. He takes nothing seriously, least of all his sin. By contrast, the wise person recognizes the joy and the delight and the exuberance of true wisdom. There is a deep delight

to be found in the search for knowledge, to be enjoyed in skillful and effective labour in the world, and in walking in the way and enjoying the fruits of the path of righteousness. The wicked experiences a dread. He recognizes that his actions are associated with consequences. He hopes and maybe fancies to himself that he will escape these consequences, but deep within he suffers this dread. He knows that he is due justice. He's always afraid that it will catch up with him. Verse 24 assures us that one day it will. By contrast, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who seek the kingdom of God, those whose desire is set upon those things that are good and wise, they will also receive what they are anticipating,

not the apprehension of those that have fearing judgment upon their sins, but the godly longings of the righteous heart. It may look as if the wicked are prospering, but the true reality will be revealed when the foundations are tested in the time of trial. At that point, the wicked will be wiped away. The righteous, however, will stand and be established forever. This looks towards not just the immediate temporal horizon of continuing history, but the great end of things when destinies are finally settled.

This theme continues in verses 27 and 28. In verse 29 we are told that the way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evil-doers. The way of the Lord is his moral government of the world, the way that he establishes righteousness. The righteous walk in the way of the Lord. They are walking in line with, with the grain of this moral governance. By contrast, this same moral government is,

something that crushes and destroys the evil-doers. The contrasting fate of the righteous and the wicked is also the subject of verse 30, which might remind us of Psalm 37 verses 9 to 13. For the evil-doers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit

the land. In just a little while the wicked shall be no more. Though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there, but the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming. The same establishment of the righteous within the land is also related to the

establishment of their speech. As the mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, what is within their hearts, they will be established. Meanwhile, the perverse tongue will be cut off from the land, just as the wicked are cut off. Their speech, their lies, will be silenced. The speech of the righteous and the speech of the wicked reveal what they have a deep acquaintance with in their heart, the lips of the righteous, reveal their knowledge of what is acceptable, and the mouth of the wicked, the perversity that they harbour within.

A question to consider, what are some of the ways in which the mouth of the righteous could be considered a fountain of life? Colossians chapter 1, verses 1 to 20. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse, grace to you and peace from God our Father.

We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the Word of the Truth, the Gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing, as it also does among you.

since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Apaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and has made known to us your love in the spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the

domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him, and through to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of

his cross. The book of Colossians is addressed to Christians in the city of Colossi in Fridia, part of Asia Minor in modern-day Turkey, near to Laodicea and Hieropolis, both cities that Apophorus is said to have worked in alongside Colossi in Chapter 4. In that chapter, the Colossians were also instructed to pass on the letter to the church in Laodicea when it had been read by them. Colossians is classed among Paul's prison letters, along with Ephesians, Philippians and Philemon, on account of the reference to imprisonment in Chapter 4 verse 3. The epistle has the familiar form of introduction that one finds in most of Paul's letters. Paul introduces himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus and includes Timothy with him as his and their brother.

Timothy was Paul's closest co-worker, his son in the ministry in many ways. Timothy shared in Paul's apostolic authority as a plenipotentiary emersonry, on occasions, with authorisation to act in Paul's name. Paul includes Timothy alongside himself as the sender of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, and also Farliemann. He addresses the Colossian Christians as the saints and faithful brothers. They are saints, holy on account of God setting them apart by His grace. They have been steadfast and loyal in their commitment to Christ, and so he also describes them as faithful. They are described as being in Christ, This is the primary location of all Christians who live in union with Christ, living out from his life.

After his introductory greetings, Paul typically places an expression of thanksgiving to God for the addresses in the preamble to his letters. Colossians is no exception in this regard. Paul does not seem to have known the Colossians firsthand, although they were very clearly within the orbit of his missionary associates. Paul speaks of Apaphras who was with him at the time of writing this epistle as his fellow prisoner in Philemon 23. Epaphras was likely the primary source of Paul's news about the Colossians, but in chapter four, several people tying Paul with the Colossian Church are mentioned. As we typically see in the New Testament, the world of the early church was a small one,

with a lot of missionaries moving around, and a robust network in which news and ministry was constantly being circulated, and everyone was no more than one or two steps removed from everyone else. Paul expresses his thanksgiving for the reports that he had heard of the Colossians' faith, hope and love. This triad of theological virtues is so frequently employed by Paul that it seems clear that together faith, hope and love define Christian's posture within the world for him.

The following are a few instances of Paul's use of this particular triad. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 13. So now faith, hope and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 2 to 3. We give thanks to God always for all. of you constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 8, but since we belong to the day let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. Galatians chapter 5 verses 5 to 6, for through the spirit by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness, for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. Ephesians chapter four, verses one to six, I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of your calling, to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit,

just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of All who is over all and through all and in all. Several other examples could be given. One thing that should be observed is that Paul seldom just lists faith, hope and love, without elaborating upon their interrelationship, the way that they are tied up with the character and work of God, and the way that they are functioning in practice. The same thing could be observed of the Trinitarian,

character of so many of Paul's statements, where it becomes clear that undergirding Paul's understanding of salvation throughout is the reality and work of the Father, Son and Spirit. That Trinitarian reality is also apparent here, as Paul refers to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, moves to speak of Christ Jesus, before concluding with a reference to their love in the Spirit. Father, Son, Spirit, like Faith, Hope, Love, is part of the fundamental grammar of the the gospel for Paul. Paul here speaks of the gospel as something that is at work within the world, acting in God's power, actively bearing fruit among the Colossians as it is elsewhere. We could perhaps connect the three theological virtues with the Trinitarian reality of salvation

in this passage in some ways. Paul speaks of faith, hope and love, in ways that ground them in the triune God and his work. Their faith in verse four is described as being faith, not of Jesus, Christ, as we see in places such as Romans and Galatians, or even towards Jesus Christ, as we see in Philemon verses 4 and 5, but in Christ Jesus. It seems likely to me that Scott McNight is correct in reading this as a reference, not so much to the faith of the Colossians being directed towards Christ, but to their faith being sustained as they live in Christ. Our faith isn't just directed towards Christ as its object, but it is built and grounded upon him. so that we persevere in our faith as we abide in him, as we live out of his life.

This is important to recognize because it makes clear that as a theological virtue, faith is founded upon something firmer than the wavering ground of our own hearts. Faith grows and flourishes in the soil of Christ's life. A similar point should be made about hope. Although Paul clearly thinks of hope as a subjectively exercised Christian virtue, here he highlights its objective correlate. The hope laid up for us in heaven by God the Father. Our hope isn't just wishful thinking or optimism.

It relates to the objective reality of the future that God has prepared for us as his people. Finally, love also has a grounding outside of ourselves in the person and work of the Spirit. Our love is love in the Spirit, who is the personal bond of love in which Father and Son dwell in unity and by which Christ is bound to his people.

As a theological virtue then, love isn't just a human affection, but is a manifestation of the Spirit's own work in God's people. Following his opening Thanksgiving, Paul moves into a prayer, a prayer for the Colossians' growth to maturity in Christ, that they would bear the fruit of salvation that the Father intends for those in his son. This prayer follows from the opening Thanksgiving, because God has acted in the way that he has in bringing the Colossians into a knowledge of Christ, Paul can confidently pray that they will rise to the full stature of faith.

He desires for them to be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Although Paul does have a knowledge of God's moral will, God's desire for the ethical behavior of human beings in mind here, he has a great deal more in view too. He wants the Colossians to understand more fully how they fit into God's big picture. God's great saving purpose in Christ is about form,

more than making people moral and upstanding. It's about consummating all of the cosmos in Christ, overcoming the works of the devil and reconciling the world to himself. As the Colossians grow in their understanding of all of this, he desires that they will also be strengthened and equipped for endurance and joyful patience. God has delivered his people from the Kingdom of Darkness, like Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt, and he has, by His grace in Christ, qualified us to share in a new inheritance, redeeming us for himself and freely forgiving us all of our sins. Verses 15 to 20 are one of the most important passages in the entirety of Paul and indeed the New Testament. They are a glorious hymn or poem concerning Christ, expressing his glory in the most startling

and arresting of terms. Entry, developing an argument from C.F. Burney, suggests that the poem unpacks the various possible meanings of the Hebrew term Bereshite, the term with which the book of Genesis and the scriptures a whole begins in the beginning. This term enjoys added significance by virtue of the implied identification of Roshit with wisdom in Proverbs chapter 8 verse 22. The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Wright summarizes the poem's development of its Bereshite theme as follows. First, he is the image, like wisdom herself, evoking Genesis chapter 1 verse 26.

Second, he is the firstborn, like wisdom herself, the first meaning of Rashid. Third, he is supreme, the second meaning of Rashid. Fourth, he is the head, the third meaning of Rashid. Fifth, he is the beginning, the fourth and climactic meaning of Rashid. And sixth, he is the firstborn, this time from the dead, like wisdom again but now firmly as a human being. So Paul takes this opening statement of the Bible, in the beginning, and he unpacks it, connecting the beginning with Christ as firstborn as supreme, as the head, and as the beginning. And then he looks at the preposition, and it's explored in each of its principal aspects, in him, through him, to him, in verses 16 and 19 to 20.

In its unpacking of the term Bereshite in the beginning, its reference to the image of God and in its expansive cosmic sweep, Colossians 1 verses 15 to 20 evokes the creation account and situates Jesus as the sun at the very heart of its meaning. Christ the Son is the firstborn, an archetypal image of God. He's the one who represents and symbolizes God's rule in his world. He is the one in whom, through whom, and for whom all things were created. Whatever has been created, all things in heaven and on earth, things visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, exist on account of him and for his sake. He is supreme over all. He enjoys the prominence, the preeminence, and the priority of the head. He's the source and the first principle of all things. Implicit in this poem is a rereading of the opening chapters of Genesis. Veiled in the varied language of Genesis chapter 1, Paul discovers the incomparable majesty of the risen Christ, the one who has always been there, yet only now in the fullness of time, is disclosed. In this, he's doing something very similar to what the Gospel of John does in its first chapter. Within this triumphant poem, one of the most fundamental and familiar scriptural passages of all, Genesis chapter 1, reveals a transfigured aspect, as from its words

the light of the glory of Christ shines forth. The prominence and glory of the firstborn son is revealed through his great act of reconciliation, with which the second half, verses 18 to 20 of the bipartite poem, is concerned. Christ's status as the firstborn in creation is reaffirmed and secured in his status in its redemption as the firstborn from the dead, whereby the once alienated creation is restored to its rightful ruler, its heir and its source. The Christology of Colossians chapter 1 verses 15 to 20 is an incredibly high, one. Christ is presented as integral to the origin, constitution and destiny of God's creation in a manner that implies his divine identity in a striking and powerful manner. Christ isn't just part of the

creation. He is the one through whom all was made. He is the intermediary of the creation in both creation and redemption. Paul also brings creation and new creation into the very clearest of parallels. Indeed, the very weight placed upon prepositions, in, by, four, through, etc., in assigning the single act of creation to Christ might hint at some sort of proto-trinitarian account of inseparable operations and appropriation. Christ's activity and place in creation is divine,

in unity with the Father and the Spirit, and inseparable, yet it is personally distinct. The entirety of the unitary act of creation, both bringing it into and sustaining it within being is related to his agency, yet in a particular way, one roughly hinted at in the specific prepositions that are employed. This is consistent with the assignation of the entire act to the father in another respect. The same creative action, the single action of creation, constantly arises from the origination of the father, from the father,

the instrumentality, the establishing and the upholding of the son, through, for and by the sun, and the animation and perfecting of the spirit, in the spirit. Colossians chapter 1 verses 15 to 20 is a stunning articulation of a Christological monotheism. The one God, the creator above all creation, is known in his son. The intensity of the creator's authority is concentrated in him, and the cosmic scope of the poem corresponds to this. If Christ's role in the creation is as the poem does, describes it. There is nothing that falls outside of his authority. This is something that has

direct implications for all rule and authority in the creation. Verse 16 declares that all thrones or dominions or rulers or powers have been created through him and for him. Implied in verse 20 is the fact that all such authorities are reconciled to God by Christ in his cross. The son is the firstborn of all creation. He's supreme in all things. He sums all things up and he, himself. He's the head. He's the beginning. He's the source. He's the purpose of everything. He's the reconciler and the ruler of cosmos. The gospel declaration must provide the starting point for all Christian thought and reflection. Without such a starting point, our thinking would cease to be truly evangelical. That is, it would abandon the authoritative gospel proclamation that should

provide its heart. Just as Paul argues in the verses following this poem in our passage, the heart of the Christian message is not some teaching that Christ taught, nor some moral example that he said, important though both of those things are, but Christ himself and the unique work that he has done. As Paul will say in verse 28, him we proclaim. It is the uniqueness of Christ and his status within the creation that grounds the absolute authority of his message and example. Only with him as our starting point will everything else come into focus. A question to consider if you were to build a case for the deity of Christ from Colossians chapter 1 how would you go about it?