RE: In the beginning .... Jesus is God!
Sorry, one more thing. There are other references in the New Testament that show the apostles also believed Jesus was God. Titus 2:13 "waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ". And Colossians 1:15-16: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him." You'll also notice in the Bible that whenever someone saw an angel their first reaction was to bow down to them, yet the angel's were quick to rebuke worship. You do not see the same thing from Jesus. He accepted the worship of humans and did not rebuke people that worshiped Him.
There are actually no references in the Bible that show the apostles believed Jesus was God, quite the opposite. You may have been lead to believe that but it's just false.
Perhaps you are overthinking that one.
You chose a good verse here: Colossians 1:15-16
If Jesus is the image of God then it directly negates him from being God. An image is a likeness or representation of a person or thing. An image is never the person or thing itself. Jesus is a representation of God. He is a likeness of God. Also, consider that worshiping an image of God is idolatry and therefore you are guilty of idolatry if you worship Jesus as God.
Yes people bowed before Jesus in reverence to him but never did they worship him as God. Jesus is the chosen Messiah and worthy to receive glory, honor, and praise. This is what the Bible plainly teaches.