On the last Sunday of 2025, Pastor Josh White opened our eyes to the most important question anyone will ever answer: Who is Jesus Christ? Drawing from Colossians 1:15–20 — what he called “the most supreme, majestic passage on Jesus Christ” — this message confronts false religions and reminds every believer who our Savior truly is.
The Image of the Invisible God
Colossians 1:15 says it plainly: “He is the image of the invisible God.” The Greek word for image is eikōn — the same root we get “icon” from. Jesus is not just a reflection of God; He is the exact representation of God’s nature.
Pastor Josh drew a parallel to Christmas morning. When a baby is born, family members gather around and say, “Look who they look like!” The child bears the image — the likeness — of their parents. But while we were created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), we fall short. We possess intellect, emotions, and will, but we lack God’s divine attributes. We are not omnipresent, not omniscient, not omnipotent, not unchanging.
Jesus is different. He is the perfect, absolute, accurate image of God. He did not become the image of God at His birth — He has been the image of God for all eternity. As Hebrews 1:3 says, He is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature.”
Think about that word character — the Greek word used for “exact imprint.” It describes an engraving tool that stamps a perfect impression. Jesus is the perfect stamp of God the Father.
This is why Jesus could say to Philip in John 14:8–9:
“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
— John 14:8–9
Jesus Is God in the Flesh
The宗教 groups of the world would have you believe something less than this. But Jesus Himself made the boldest claim imaginable. In John 8:58, He declared: “Before Abraham was, I am.” The Jews understood exactly what He meant — God had revealed Himself to Israel as “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Jesus was claiming to be God.
Then in John 10:30, Jesus said it even more clearly: “I and the Father are one.” The religious leaders picked up stones to kill Him for this claim — and Jesus did not correct them. He confirmed it. He is God in human flesh. And as 2 Corinthians 4:4 warns, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
For any person to think anything less of Jesus than being God in the flesh — that is blasphemy. It is proof that they have been blinded by Satan himself from this truth.
The Firstborn of All Creation
Verse 15 continues: Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation.” Some religions misuse this phrase to suggest Jesus was created. But the Greek word prōtotokos (firstborn) describes position and rank — not origin. If Paul wanted to say Jesus was the first created being, he would have used the word protos (first in order of time). He did not.
Colossians 1:16 makes the point unambiguous: “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.” Jesus cannot be part of creation if He created everything.
The next time you sing “Little Drummer Boy” and hear the line — “Mine is but an empty cry / ‘Born is He, born is He!'” — remember: the baby in the manger is the Creator of the universe. The one who entered time and space was the one who invented time and space.
The Most Important Question
Pastor Josh closed with the question every person must answer — the same question Jesus asked His disciples in Matthew 16:
“Who do you say that I am?”
— Matthew 16:15
Simon Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon Barjonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but by my Father who is in heaven.”
How you answer the question — Who is Jesus? — literally determines your eternal existence. Jesus is not just a good teacher, a prophet, or a moral example. He is the image of the invisible God. He is God in the flesh. He is the firstborn over all creation. And He is your only way to the Father.
As we close out this year, may we grow “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.
Scripture References
- Colossians 1:15–20 — Jesus as the image of God and firstborn over all creation
- John 1:1–4 — The Word was God; all things made through Him
- Hebrews 1:1–3 — God spoke by His Son, the radiance of His glory
- John 14:8–9 — Whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father
- John 8:58 — “Before Abraham was, I AM”
- John 10:30 — “I and the Father are one”
- Genesis 1:26 — Humanity made in God’s image
- Romans 8:29 — Conformed to the image of His Son
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 — The god of this world blinds unbelievers
- Matthew 16:13–16 — Peter declares Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God
- 2 Peter 3:18 — Grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ