<Looking at Colossian 1:15-16, we see that Christ is indeed the agent of
<creation.
<Does this exclude him being the instrument as well?
<Are agency and instrumentality mutually exclusive?
Dear Andrew,
Robertson (p 820) differentiates between the "direct agent", most commonly
expressed by hUPO and the intermediate agent, expressed by DIA. Matt 1:22
is a good example of the difference: TO RHQEN hUPO KURIOU DIA TOU PROFETOU.
Jesus is never in the NT said to be "creator" but is always portrayed as
the intermediate agent. This is particularly clear in Col 1:13-20 (cf DIA
in v 16). The preposition DIA is also used in John 1:3, making Jesus an
intermediate agent if we make a stop after hO GEGONEN. If we take hO
GEGONEN with verse 4 the preposition EN makes him the instrument in
creation. In any case he is the intermediate agent.
Regards
Rolf
Rolf Furuli
University of Oslo