“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.”
The Truth
No one has ever seen God the Father directly and lived to describe him fully. He is spirit, invisible, beyond direct sight. So how is a person meant to actually know what he is like, rather than guess or project their own assumptions onto him? Paul’s answer is simple: look at Jesus. He is the image, the exact visible expression, of the invisible God.
This resolves a tension that runs through a lot of confused thinking about God. People often hold one picture of a stern, distant Father and a separate, gentler picture of Jesus, as if the Son had to talk the Father into being kind. Scripture will not allow that split. Jesus is not a kinder alternative to the Father. He is the Father’s exact image.
So when Jesus touches the leper no one else would touch, weeps at a friend’s grave, or turns over tables in righteous anger at exploitation in the temple, you are not watching the Son act differently than the Father would. You are watching the invisible God become visible, showing you exactly what he is like.
Whatever picture of God you carry that does not match the face of Jesus in the gospels, hold it loosely. The image is the standard, not your assumptions.
Live This Truth
- Name one assumption you hold about God’s character that you have not tested against Jesus.
- Read one gospel story today and ask: what does this show me about the Father.
- Correct one internal picture of God to match the image, not your assumption.
Prayer
Father, I have sometimes pictured you differently than your Son shows you to be. Let Jesus correct every wrong assumption I carry about your heart. He is your exact image. Amen.
Carry this today
Jesus is not a kinder alternative to the Father. He is his image.