Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (1:15-17, ESV)
Did Paul just conjure those exalted ideas out of a fevered imagination? Are his revelations nothing more than wild human invention, irresponsible fantasy? No one who has ever truly read the letter could deem it so shallow. No matter how improbable the vision Paul presents, it has about it the ring of truth, divine truth. To suppose otherwise is to supplant one miracle with another! That is, if Paul is not simply telling the truth about the supernatural Christ and the glory every believer may discover in him, then the letter itself becomes an inexplicable marvel. If Colossians is in fact a piece of human caprice, a literary contrivance, then it is a greater wonder than the wonders it purports to reveal! It is easier to accept that the letter genuinely reports the real splendour of the gospel than to suppose that Paul concocted its treasures out of nothing.
Yes, the Letter to the Colossians is a miracle, but only because it is filled with Christ, who was revealed to Paul by the Spirit of God. It tells the awesome wonder of who Christ is and what he has accomplished for all who heartily believe in him. But the letter itself is simply a record of what Paul had seen, and heard, and knew to be the truth – Christ is pre-eminent and is our only Redeemer (Cl 1:18, KJV)
