How is Jesus Christ the Image of the Invisible God?

One of the most significant Scriptures in the Bible, out of all the other powerful, profound and prophetic Words of God is this: “For in Jesus Christ lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) The reason it is so important is because these words firmly and without any dispute establish the divinity of Jesus Christ.

For the Christian, the fact that Jesus Christ is God and is not a separated or individual part of God is an established fact of faith. However, there is an attack from the outside (and even from within!) the body of Christ to diminish Jesus as the Person of God and to strip Jesus Christ, the Son of God, of His divinity, His power, His Lordship and His Godhood.

If Jesus Christ isn’t Lord, then the entire Bible is a lie, but if He is Lord, then the entire world has an eternal choice to make with eternal consequences.

Jesus Christ: The Word Became Flesh

Every human being who has ever been created bears the physical image of Jesus Christ and that is what makes human life worth preserving and defending and protecting. It’s what makes human life of great and precious value to the Lord.

But Jesus Christ was not “made” in the image of God, as we were. Jesus Christ IS the image of God.

John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time. The only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” (John 1:18 & 1 John 4:12) And also, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14)

We look like the Person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son – who was, who is and who is to come. Jesus Christ took on human flesh at His birth into this world, but we aren’t fashioned after what Jesus looked like when He was born on earth 2,000 years ago because He already had an image, a physical appearance.

In Colossians 1:15 and 18 Paul wrote:

“He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature… He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

In Luke 10:18, Jesus told His disciples that He was an eyewitness to Satan falling “like lightning” from heaven– that took place before the world was created!

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.” (Gen. 1:1-2)
“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus the Christ] and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were created through Him and without Him nothing was created that was created. In Him was life and the life was the light of mankind.” (John 1:1-5)

JESUS WAS THERE. So, when the Lord said, “Let us make man in Our image” – He was referring to the image of Jesus Christ, who – even then, before anything was created – bore the physical image of the invisible God.

Jesus Christ: The Firstborn

Paul wrote that Jesus Christ is the “firstborn” of EVERY creature, which means that – before anything ever was – Jesus IS.

Jesus is:

The “firstborn from the dead”. (Colossians 1:18, Revelation 1:5)
The firstborn “among many brothers”. (Romans 8:29)
The firstborn of our worship. (Hebrews 1:6)
The firstborn of the church. (Hebrews 12:23)

That means:

It doesn’t matter the situation, Jesus went first is obtaining victory.
It doesn’t matter the temptation, Jesus went first in overcoming it.
It doesn’t matter the darkness, Jesus went first in shining the Light.
It doesn’t matter what cross you bear, Jesus bore His first.
It doesn’t matter what death has claimed, Jesus went first in rising from the dead so you have a living Hope in Him.

Jesus Christ: The Image of the Invisible God

You bear the image of Jesus Christ in two ways: Physically and spiritually. It makes a tremendous impact to understand that Jesus Christ went first.

In the natural realm, He is the “firstborn” because He bears the physical image of God.
In the spiritual realm, Jesus Christ is the “firstborn” because His transfiguration and death signified eternal life and spiritual rebirth for all who will believe.

Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone is your firm foundation. You can trust Him. You can grasp onto His Word. You can trust His promises. Everything God has ever promised is backed by the guarantee of His Son, Jesus. HE WENT FIRST.

Thought for today: You Bear the Image of Christ in Two Ways

The miracle of God sending His Son is a powerful and profound, complicated, complex orchestrated series of events that we will never fully comprehend on this side of eternity.

According to Hebrews 2:14:

“…as the children share in flesh and blood, He likewise took part in these, so that through death He might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.”

Jesus Christ took on flesh as we know it to be, but He already had life and existence, shape and form, memory, emotions and experiences that pre-date His time on earth and because of His great love, we are blessed and honored to bear His physical and spiritual likeness, too.

It is because He died and rose first that you can too, in Christ. It is because Christ lives that you can too. THAT IS WHY WE WORSHIP.

Dig Deeper into Fresh Revelation About Jesus Christ, the Messiah:

“Seven Prayer Principles Jesus Gave in the Lord’s Prayer”