-This Beloved Son in Whom we find forgiveness of our sins, He is God. He is the literal visible expression of the God Who is but Who is otherwise invisible (despite the fact that His handiwork is clearly displayed throughout the entirety of creation). Jesus is the eikon of God, His image. Now, there is that which is ‘according to’ the image, having similarities to the image (people - Genesis 1.26-27, 5.3, Colossians 3.10), and there is that which IS the image (Jesus - 2Corinthians 4.4), altho at the end of the day with an image usually we’re only talking about a representation (cf Revelation 13.14, Acts 17.29, Matthew 22.20) - typically, the eikon is not the original. We know that Jesus Christ, however, is the exact visible representation of the invisible God (Hebrews 1.3), He is God incarnate, the great I AM (Exodus 3.14, John 8.58), manifest for all to see what God is like (John 1.1, 1.18, 14.7-9).
-He is also the firstborn of all creation. Unfortunately our English word and concept of firstborn is limited. In the OT it can refer to one who is first in sequence or one who is supreme in rank, or both, and yes this would have definitely applied to one who was the actual firstborn son in an eastern household, but the concept is not necessarily confined to the idea of lineage or literal birth (cf Exodus 4.22). In other words, refering to Christ as the firstborn does not have to mean that Paul thinks Christ was also created. The fact is that refering to Christ here as firstborn does not associate Him with creation as much as it sets Him apart from and above it. He is both before creation in time and He is over it in rank. Paul elaborates on this in the next verse, but for now he is calling us higher, onward and upward, to set our sights as high as possible as we draw near Jesus. He is first and foremost, He is fully God, and He must increase.
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