THE PROLOGUE
OUTLINE
43
IN
Paul also has his own particular point of view, and it is enlightening to
compare the way in which he refers to the same truth. Where John
says `All things were made by Him', Paul writes in Colossians, `All
things were created by Him'. John leaves the expression `all things'
without further expansion, but Paul, whose theme is Christ as the Head
of the Church, and the glory of the dispensation of the Mystery,
expands the thought of the creation of all things, and speaks of `things
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible'.
Moreover, in harmony with his theme in Colossians - the sphere of
blessing belonging to the Mystery - he continues: `Whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were
created by Him, and for Him' (Col. 1:16).
Where John speaks of Christ as `the Word', Paul speaks of Him as
`the Image of the invisible God'. Moreover the reader will notice that,
while John defers the title `the Only-begotten of the Father' until the
Word is `made flesh', Paul goes back to the beginning and speaks of
Him then as `the Firstborn of every creature'.
In his epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle refers to the Lord and
creation in yet another set of terms. He speaks of Christ as `the
express Image of His person', or `the external and manifest character
of His unseen substance' (Heb. 1:3), and also refers to the earth, whose
foundation He had laid, and the heaven, which His hands had made.
The apostle speaks of these things as being transient and destined to
vanish away, so as to enforce the necessary lesson that Christ
`remaineth' - a lesson which was much needed by the Hebrews, as they
saw all that they had regarded as most vital (the law, the priesthood,
the sacrifices, the temple) vanish away. Every book of the Bible
resolves itself at last into some fresh aspect of the Person and Work of
Christ.
The observant reader will have noticed that when Augustine quotes
John 1:1-4 in his Confessions, (see p. 17), he divides verses 3 and 4 in
a way which differs a little from that found in the Authorized Version.
Instead of, `All things were made by Him; and without Him was not
anything made that was made. In Him was life', he reads:
`All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing
made: that which was made by Him is life'. This rendering is placed
in the Revised Version margin. Rotherham, on the other hand, adopts
this reading, and puts the Authorized Version punctuation in the