西一15 爱子是那不能看见之神的像，是一切受造之物的首生者。

　　　17~18 祂在万有之先，万有也在祂里面得以维系；祂也是召会身体的头；祂是元始，是从死人中复活的首生者，使祂可以在万有中居首位。

　　歌罗西书里关于基督的启示是包罗万有且延展无限的。歌罗西书启示基督乃是一切。基督是旧造（宇宙）和新造（召会）的首生者（一15、18）。新造不像旧造（宇宙）那样广阔地延展。召会是包罗万有的，但不是延展无限的。基督是原初创造的首生者，也是新造的首生者，意思是说，祂是延展无限且包罗万有的。在新人里唯有基督有地位；基督是一切，又在一切之内（三11）。这表明祂的包罗万有。然而，祂是一切受造之物的首生者这个事实，指明祂是延展无限的。用以弗所三章的话说，基督就是那阔、长、高、深。

　　在歌罗西书里我们所看见神话语的完成，乃是神经纶的奥秘—基督在我们里面成了荣耀的盼望（一27）。这意思是说，没有基督在我们里面成为荣耀的盼望，神的启示就不能完成（歌罗西书生命读经，五三七至五三八页）。

　　Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation.

　　17-18 And He is before all things, and all things cohere in Him; and He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things.

　　The revelation concerning Christ in Colossians is both all-inclusive and extensive. Colossians reveals that Christ is everything. Christ is the Firstborn both of the old creation, the universe, and of the new creation, the church (1:15, 18). The new creation is not as extensive as the old creation, the universe. The church is all-inclusive, but it is not extensive. For Christ to be the Firstborn of both the original creation and the new creation means that He is both extensive and all-inclusive. In the new man there is room only for Christ; Christ is all and in all (3:11). This shows His all-inclusiveness. However, the fact that He is the Firstborn of all creation indicates His extensiveness. In the words of Ephesians 3, Christ is the breadth, length, height, and depth.

　　The completion of the Word of God found in Colossians is the mystery of God’s economy—Christ in us, the hope of glory (1:27). This means that without Christ in us as the hope of glory, God’s revelation would have no completion. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 433-434)

　　许多基督徒认为接受基督就是相信祂。然而，接受基督并不这样简单。……按照我们的观念和传统的道理，基督是相当简单的。许多信徒只知道，神的儿子基督乃是爱我们、为我们而死的救主；我们若相信基督就得救。然而，歌罗西书里所说的接受基督，包含的比这个多得多。……这位基督比全宇宙还要广阔。

　　接受基督可以比作呼吸；呼吸怎样是一个继续的过程，我们接受基督也该不断的进行。然而，可惜的是，许多基督徒只是初步地接受基督，而没有继续地接受祂。许多信徒能告诉你，他们在过去的某个时间接受了基督，但他们没有一直接受祂。我们若不继续接受基督，就不能享受我们起初所接受之基督的全部好处。……我们必须认识，我们接受基督必须是持续不断的。

　　今天你的行事为人，有多少是在基督里？你的谈话、行动、态度，有多少是在基督以外？……根据歌罗西书，我们应当在这位延展无限的基督里行事为人，就是在这位宇宙般延展无限，并且是我们一切的基督里行事为人。我们不需要哲学，基督就是我们的哲学；我们不需要传统，基督就是我们所承受上好的产业；我们不需要初阶的原则，基督乃是我们每一项的原则。我们所要作的，乃是接受基督作一切，并且在祂里面行事为人。

　　我们不该被许多基督徒对基督狭窄的看法所限制。基督极其广大，无限无量。圣经甚至说到“基督那追测不尽的丰富”（弗三8）。虽然基督的丰富是追测不尽的，许多基督徒却以他们的神学和教训来限制祂，他们对基督只有初阶的领会。我们所信的救主基督，乃是无限的。祂是无穷无尽、包罗万有、无限无量的。没有人能说祂有多大。祂既是没有限量的，祂的启示也必定是无限无量的。从这件事来看，歌罗西书是非常紧要的。没有这卷书，我们就很难了解基督的启示是无限无量、延展无限的（歌罗西书生命读经，五一六至五一七、四九九、四三四至四三五页）。

　　参读：歌罗西书生命读经，第八至十、十五、三十九至四十一、四十五至四十六、四十八、五十篇。

　　Many Christians think that to receive Christ is simply to believe in Him. Receiving Christ, however, is not as simple as this.... According to our concept and according to traditional doctrine, Christ is rather simple. Many believers only realize that Christ, the Son of God, is the Savior who loved us and died for us. If we believe in Christ, we are saved. However, the receiving of Christ in a book such as Colossians involves a great deal more than this.... This Christ is more vast than the whole universe.

　　Receiving Christ can be compared to breathing. Just as breathing is a continual process, so our receiving of Christ should take place continually. Regrettably, however, a great many Christians have had only the initial receiving of Christ. They do not receive Him continuously. Many believers can tell you that at a certain time in the past they received Christ. But they have not continued to receive Him. If we do not receive Christ continually, we shall not enjoy the full benefit of the Christ we have received initially.... We must realize that our receiving of Him must be consistent and continual.

　　How much have you walked in Christ today? How much of your talk, actions, and attitudes have been in something other than Christ?... According to the book of Colossians, we should walk in the extensive Christ, in the Christ who is universally vast and who is everything to us. We do not need philosophy—Christ is our philosophy. We do not need tradition—Christ is the best heritage. We do not need the elementary principles—Christ is every principle to us. What we need to do is to take Christ as everything and walk in Him.

　　We should not be held back by the narrow view of Christ held by many Christians. Christ is exceedingly extensive; He is unlimited. The Bible even speaks of “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). Although Christ’s riches are unsearchable, many Christians limit Him by their theology and teachings. They have only an elementary understanding of Him. Christ, the Savior in whom we believe, is not limited. He is inexhaustible, all-inclusive, limitless. No one can say how great He is. Since He is without limitation, the revelation concerning Him must also be without limit. In this matter the book of Colossians is crucial. Without this book, it would be difficult to realize that the revelation of Christ is unlimited and extensive. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 417-418, 403,350)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 8-10, 15, 39-41, 45-46, 48, 50