The Preeminent Christ

KEY VERSE: “He is before all things, and by him all things consist.” —Colossians 1:17

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Colossians 1:3-5, 11-23

IT WAS WHILE confined to his prison cell in Rome that Paul wrote his epistle to the faithful brethren at Colosse. (Col. 1:2) Epaphras, a fellow-laborer with the Apostle Paul, is believed to have founded the Colossian church, imparting “the word of the truth of the gospel,” to them, and he was, even then, still serving as their faithful minister. (Col. 1:57) There is, however, no record of Paul ever having personally paid the church a visit. Upon receiving word, probably from Epaphras, that heresy had crept into that church, Paul felt his responsibility as one having “daily care of all the churches” to prevent the error from becoming epidemic.—II Cor 11:28

Still, much of the news brought to Paul was good: it spoke of the faith of those saints in Christ Jesus; their love for all the saints; and the hope laid up for them in heaven, all of which had, according to the report, brought forth much fruit. The troublesome issue, however, centered directly on the teaching regarding the preeminence or supremacy of Jesus Christ. This error was brought on primarily by some of Jewish background who insisted on forcing their intellectual, worldly, Gnostic views and observance of certain now obsolete rituals of the Mosaic Law upon the church. In his epistle, Paul met this false line of reasoning with the statement that none were to be judged henceforth as in the past, in “meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.”—Col. 2:16

In responding to this question, Paul then directed his persuasive arguments to three particular points of Christ’s preeminence: 1) in creation; 2) in redemption; and 3) in the church.

He explained that Jesus, the Logos, the “Word” of God (John 1:1), was the very beginning of Creation, in fact, he was the only direct act of Creation personally performed by God. (Rev. 3:14) Paul asserted in Colossians 1:15-17 that our Lord “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” Then, Paul said, “By him [Jesus, as God’s representative] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth.”

Continuing his remarkable testimony, Paul then described Christ’s preeminence relating to the church and the wondrous work of reconciliation he will accomplish in his thousand-year kingdom. He said (vs. 18, Weymouth Translation), “Moreover he is the Head of his body, the church, he is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, in order that he himself may in all things occupy the foremost place. For it was the Father’s gracious will that the whole of the divine perfections should dwell in him. And God purposed through him to reconcile the universe to himself, making peace through his [Christ’s] blood, which was shed upon the Cross—to reconcile to himself through him, I say, things on earth and things in heaven.”

Jesus was the firstborn from among the dead—a firstfruit of them that slept, that in all things he might have the preeminence. (I Cor. 15:20, Wilson’s Diaglott) He was the first to be resurrected from the grave, but Paul assures us that the members of his body are also a “kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”—James 1:18; Phil. 3:10

The apostle finally declared that he was made a minister of the church according to the stewardship bestowed on him from God, for their benefit, that he might fully carry out the preaching of the Word of God. In this Paul demonstrated his faithfulness. His words not only brought enlightenment on this subject to the church at Colosse, but, indeed, to all those called of God down throughout this Gospel Age.

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