Colossians 1:15-20 is a hymn that was already used in the liturgy and incorporated in the letter to the Colossians as part of its introductory thanksgiving. The place of the hymn within this opening section of Paul can be traced thus:
- Paul thanks God for the way the Colossians have accepted the gospel through Epaphras (1:1-8)
- He then tells them how much he prays that their faith continue to grow, as they conduct themselves in the Christ and offering thanksgiving to God for what He has done for them: including them in the kingdom of His Son (1:9-14)
- The Hymn to Christ (introduced by a relative pronoun referring back to "His Son", 1:15-20)
- The application of the hymn's theology to the Colossians. They are now "reconciled" called upwards before Him and invited to stand firm in the faith and hope laid out in the gospel of which Paul is a minister (1:21-23)
The hymn to Christ as we now find it incorporated in the letter has been studied by many well known scholars. A list is provided in M. Horgan's commentary on Colossians (JBC, 879 col. 1). It is a consensus that the language of OT wisdom (Proverbs 8, specifically) pervades the hymn with some possible gnostic echoes and rewritten so as to fit Christian convictions about the pre-eminence of Christ and his role as head of a new creation. Christ is after all the Wisdom of God (cf. 1 Cor. 1:24), the Word through whom all things have been created (cf. John 1:1-4). He has inherited the name above every other name and before Him all bow in worship (Phil. 2:9-11). The hymn in Colossians however point out something more: His place in the new creation.
Below is an illustration of the elements of the hymn each of which has been associated with an aspect of the Glorified Christ. (Click on the image for a larger view)
Christ the Logos, God's Wisdom covers vv. 15-17; Christ the Head (of the Church) is associated to vv. 18; Christ Incarnate, finally, is linked to vv. 19-20. Throughout the hymn, the pre-eminence of Christ is insisted: "first-born" (15.18) "head" (18) "beginning" "first among all"(18) and the use of the prepositions "through", "for", "in." Those who are of an Arian or Nestorian persuasion take the phrase "first-born of all creation" as indicating that Christ is a creature. This is more due to a mistaken reading of the passage, than to genuine faith. They overlook (or choose to overlook) the following "hoti", because. The phrase "first-born of all creation" is explained by the phrase "because in him was created all things in the heavens and on earth (v.16)". Further, the same expression is found in "first-born from the dead" which refers to Christ's role as bringer of new life by His Resurrection. This second phrase is associated with His being the Head of the Body, which is the Church (18). Within the cosmic vision of the hymn, the Church, the Body of Christ holds a central place, a place conferred upon Her by the Head, who is also the Beginning. The expression "first-born" then is not biological; it does not denote priority but eminence.
At this point it must be observed that while the hymnic prologue of John begins with the glory of Christ before he became Incarnate, the hymn in Colossians begins with the vision of the Christ who has returned to his glory as the "one by whom all things were created", and proceeds to unravel that glory as now even encompassing a new creation (the Church), and the work of reconciliation accomplished between heaven and earth.
This vision of the Glorified Christ at the center of the universe "in whom all things hang together" is like the background music to the rest of the letter. In Col. 1:21-23 Paul points out that the reconciliation effected through the blood of Christ includes even the Colossians, a conviction that inspite of the sufferings he undergoes, is the reason for Paul's rejoicing and continued labor (cf. 1:24-2:3). The admonitions and exhortations that follow refer back to the hymn of the glory of Christ, a glory that invites to fidelity and rootedness in Him:
- In 2:9-15 Paul recalls the sovereignty of Christ as the one in whom the Fulness dwells, who was raised from the dead, by whose death on the cross procured forgiveness of sins, and despoiled the principalities and powers. From this, Paul reminds the Colossians that because they also share in the inheritance of Christ, they too should not allow themselves to held captive by the elemental powers of the world and by regulations which like the Law (as in Galatians and Romans) only "gratifies" the strivings of the flesh.
- In 3:1-4 Paul points to Christ seated at the right hand of God and tells the Colossians that their life is already taken up in Christ. They have been "upgraded" so to speak and therefore should lay aside what is "old" and put on the "new" (3:5-17). From this general insight, Paul exhorts groups within the community: husbands, wives and children (3:18-21) and slaves and masters (3:22-4:1). Finally he exhorts all to prayer, good behavior and wholesome speech (4:2-6).
In sum, the Hymn to the Glorified Christ found in Colossians 1:15-20 is a vision of Christ and His Body the Church; it is a vision already glimpsed at in the liturgy but which Paul uses to exhort his Colossian community to fidelity to Christ who is even then already present among them (Col. 1:27) and in whom their lives are already taken up before God (Col. 3:3).
