Christ is exalted in all of Scripture, either through prophecy, symbolism, story, teaching or direct exclamation and praise. For Paul, exaltation of Christ overlaps the boundaries between all of these. His prayer now morphs into an expansion of who Christ is. In light of the issues he will be dealing with, the apostle first establishes a high view of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, for everything else depends on this core truth of Christianity. But at the core of all false teaching is an inadequate view of Christ.

In verses 13-14, we saw what God has done in Christ, but now we are directed to see who Christ Himself is. First, “He is the image of the invisible God.” Now, no man can see God at anytime or he will die. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, he was granted a mitigated view of God’s “back” for God made it clear, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:20). God simply could not be seen in all His glory. Of course we are dealing with limitations of human language. Jacob was under the impression that he had seen God face to face (Gen 32:30). Many believe he saw a pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ, with whom he had been wrestling. Yet, the Scripture is clear that “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex 33:11). Yet Paul speaks of God’s invisible attributes in Romans 1:20.

So does God show Himself visibly or not? However perplexing that can be, in Christ the confusion is cleared up. He is the “image of the invisible God” (see also 2 Cor 4:4b where Christ is again referred to as the “image of God”). That which could not be known about God before is now revealed in Jesus. Jesus is Deity, because He perfectly reflects God. Paul elaborates this further in verses 1:19 and 2:9. God is no longer invisible.

The word translated “image” is the Greek word “eikon”, from which we get “icon.” This term is often used interchangeably for “idol” or “statue of an idol.” Scripture is unequivocal that God will not tolerate false gods or idols before Him. “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth” (Ex 20:3-4). Only God can represent Himself accurately and no inferior imitation will do. Jesus is that perfect representation of the essence of God. The writer of Hebrews says, “He is … the exact representation of His nature” (Heb 1:3b). Only those blinded by Satan (2 Cor 4:4a), who love darkness rather than light (John 3:19), cannot see it.