Who is the invisible God referred to in Colossians 1:15?
The invisible God in Colossians 1:15 is the triune God—Father, Son, and Spirit—who are Spirit and therefore invisible. The Son, referred to by the pronoun 'who,' is the visible, tangible image of that invisible God, having stepped out from the triune God and become visible, especially in the flesh at Bethlehem.
Les teaches that in Colossians 1:15 the pronoun 'who' refers back to the Son mentioned in verse 13, the one in whom we have redemption. The Son is the image, or the visible, tangible evidence, of the invisible God. Les explains that the invisible God is the triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. They are Spirit, and they were invisible. But out of that invisible triune God stepped the Son, and He became visible in the Old Testament economy temporarily, and then He would disappear. In the New Testament account, He became visible, tangible, touchable. He lived in the flesh by virtue of Bethlehem. It is the same God, now manifested in the flesh by the Son.
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
More Questions
What does Paul mean when he says Jesus is 'the image of the invisible God' in Colossians 1:15?
Paul's phrase 'the image of the invisible God' means that God the Son, the Lord Jesus, is the visible appearance of the invisible God.