“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Colossians 1:15-17.
“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18.
While Colossians 1:15-17 posted on 2-11-20 and 2-15-20 has been included in the above quotes, they are for context and referral for the reader if they so desire. This post will be concerned with Colossians 1:18 above primarily.
We now come to the second time Christ Jesus is called the firstborn, this time “firstborn from the dead”, earlier He was called “the firstborn over all creation.” Colossians 1:15.
Two distinctly different phrases, the first being a reference to His preeminence over all creation because all things were created through Him and for Him, the second pertains to His resurrection from the dead.
As God the Son He is the firstborn over all creation from beginning to end, it is His because of who He is. As God’s only begotten Son He is heir to a new creation which is a result of His resurrection from the dead.
And He literally is the firstborn from the dead. Others have been resurrected but that was only to die again at the end of their life. Christ, on the other hand arose once and for all time with a new resurrection body just as all Christians will have at the rapture when Christ returns for His own.
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:28-29.
“I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalm 2:7-9.
“God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm: ‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’” Acts 13:33-35.
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24.
One writer put it this way: “Life from nothing began through Him, and life from the dead began through Him.”
We must always meditate on these things lest we should forget the majesty of Christ and His preeminence in all things whether visible or invisible.
“And He is the head of the body, the church…” the church was brought into existence upon the resurrection of Christ and empowered and indwelt by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. It is meant to be Christ’s physical representative on earth.
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:11-16.
Christ has given the church all it needs to grow in the manner shown in Ephesians 4 above, He has given certain men the ability to function as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, if they carried out their tasks properly we would have a healthy church.
Unfortunately, too often men in leadership become grasping and fearful of sharing their authority and keep gifted men from doing what Christ called them to do, fearing that they would lose control of their church.
This, in turn prevents the church from reaching its full potential of being filled with Christians who have come to the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus, who are no longer swayed by old wives tales and pernicious doctrines, keeping the body in good health.
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal [sensual, governed by human nature, controlled by animal appetites], as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God [basics of Christian doctrine]; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14.
And this has been the church’s pitiful history throughout most of the church age of nearly two thousand years.
Christ prophesied about the church age in Revelation chapters 1-3. In the beginning we find Christ standing among seven lampstands and holding seven stars in His right hand, He goes on to explain their meaning in the following manner.
“The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.” Revelation 1:20.
As you read through the church age, you will find that by about 1517 A.D. the time of the Reformation, Christ is no longer holding the seven stars.
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.”’” Revelation 3:1.
The seven stars had long before this time been wrested out of Christ’s right hand and are herein mentioned to remind us that He is still in control even though men, many of whom are not even Christians, are running the church the way they think it ought to be run.
The seven stars are not mentioned again after that. For the most part today, men are running the church of Christ without ever consulting Him.
“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18.
Colossians 1:18 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 12-5-13, updated on 2-19-20.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.