COLOSSIANS 1:15-20 : By Him Or In Him?

 

By Bro. Nathan 

" He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers -- all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross." (Col. 1:15-20) NRSV

In some situations ay inaargue ng mga Trinitarians na "kung magkapatid si Jesus and Satan, bakit sinabi sa Colossians 1:15-17 na ginawa ni Jesus Christ ang lahat ng mga bagay including ang mga angels at spirits? kapatid ba ni Jesus ang kanyang creations?" which is simply false at umaasa lang sa mali-maling understanding sa context ng verse at sa grammar nito sa greek. ang evangelicals also use this verse para ijustify ang kanilang Trinitarianism which is inconsistent dahil mayroong distinction between God and Christ sa context (vv. 15-19; cf Jn. 17:3; 20:17). ang mga evangelicals na ito often ay umaasa sa trinitarian-biased translations kagaya ng ilang bibles kagaya ng NASB (na great but biased at some points) which reads "by Him" instead of "in Him" or "through Him" kagaya sa NRSV. ang kanilang understanding sa verse ay mali and can be proven in several ways like the following. first, the greek reads :

ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, εἴτε θρόνοι εἴτε κυριότητες εἴτε ἀρχαὶ εἴτε ἐξουσίαι· τὰ πάντα δι᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται· καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντων καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν, καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας· ὅς ἐστιν ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἵνα γένηται ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς πρωτεύων, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα εἰς αὐτόν, εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ, [δι᾽ αὐτοῦ] εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. (NA28)

Most trinitarian bibles ay trinatranslate ang preposition na ἐν (en - ἐν αὐτῷ for particular) as "by"/"by him" instead of "through him" or "in him". ang preposition na ito however ay causal na "in him" like ng "dahil sa kanya". kagaya ng sinabi ni Cleon L. Rogers at Cleon L Rogers III, ang ἐν αὐτῷ with the preposition "........Denotes Christ as the sphere within which the work of creation takes place [Bruce]. All the laws and purposes which guide the creation and government of the universe reside in Him [Lightfoot] The prep. Is possibly both instr. and local [Moule]. He is not in all things, but all things are in Him, a difference that is not insignificant [Fred B. Craddock, “’All Things in Him’: A Critical Note on Col. 1;15-20,” NTS 12 [1965]:78-80]." (The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament [Grand Rapids, Michigan.: Zondervan, 1998], 461). 

At dito ay may makikita tayo na voices na kung saan ay machachange ang meaning ng word kung iba ang voice. ang trinitarians ay ina-alter ang greek word na ito to suit their Christology. ang greek word dito na nagpapakita which is translated as "created" ay ἐκτίσθη (ektisthe) na kung saan ito ay nasa isang passive voice. what we meant to say na passive voice ay na ang verb ay acted upon to someone at hindi acted by someone. e.g "sinampal si Juan Dela Cruz" which shows na ang verb na sinampal ay hindi ginawa ni Juan Dela Cruz (active voice) but ginawa kay Juan Dela Cruz (passive voice; cf Ps. 32:6; 33 Lxx). we have it the same sa Col. 1:15-20 na kung saan ang greek word na ἐκτίσθη ay ang indicative aorist passive ng κτίζω (ktizō). while ἔκτισται (ektistai) is an indicative perfect passive. at ano naman ang significance nito sa teachings ng church about kay Jesus Christ? sinabi ni Bruce R. McConkie :

"16-17. Christ created the universe and all things that in it are, but in doing so he acted in the power, might, and omnipotence of the Father. 'Worlds without number have I created,' is God's language, 'and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.' (Moses 1:33.) 'By him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.' (D. & C. 76:24; John 1:1-3; Heb. 1:2.)" (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary Vol. 3)

N.T Wright also said :

"ll that God made, he made by means of him. Paul actually says 'in him,' and though the word εν can mean 'by' as well as 'in,' it is better to retain the literal translation than to paraphrase as NIV has done. Not only is there an intended parallel with verse 19, which would otherwise be lost: the passive 'were created' indicates, in a typically Jewish fashion, the activity of God the Father, working in the Son. To say 'by,' here and at the end of verse 16, could imply, not that Christ is the Father's agent, but that he was alone responsible for creation." (N.T Wright Commentary On Col. 1:15-20)

Regarding sa kanilang issue sa relationship ni Jesus at Satan sa Latter Day Saint theology, one should note sa mga "created things" sa Col. 1:15-20 ay hindi dito kasama ang mga spirits. sa v. 21 reads :

"And you [και υμας] who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds," (Col. 1:21) NRSV

Na kung saan sa verse na ito ay may contrast na nagyayari between sa creations sa v. 15-20 na kung saan ang mga creations on heaven and earth sa v. 15-20 ay ni-reconcile ni Jesus Christ unto Himself which excludes Satan and demons (cf. v. 23). reading in context ay na ang thrones, principalities, and power (na kung saan ay hierarchy ng angels ang tinutukoy sa context - cf. Rom. 8:38; Eph. 1:21; 1 Pt. 3:22) —ay ginawa through Jesus Christ. 

in conclusion, ang passage na ito sa epistle ni Paul does not have anything against Latter Day Saint theology but instead, it supports it.

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