Christ in Colossians | The Preeminence of Christ – Colossians 1:15-23
The church in Colossee had lost their way, forgetting the place that Christ holds in their life. Paul, while not able to be there in person, sent his word to exhort and encourage them in their faith according to the Kingship of Jesus Christ over all creation. Paul’s message to the church resonates true even today; Christ is above all things. We too run the consistent risk of allowing other things in our life to masquerade in the place of God, treating things as gods and god’s as things. Christ as preeminent mean so that Jesus takes the role of supreme ruler and sovereign over all creation.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:15-20 ESV
Preeminence as Sovereign Superiority
Preeminence is one of those words which seems to scare people as “one of those big theology words pastors use.” To be fair, this is true. But the concept remains essential to the nature of Jesus Christ. Preeminence simply means that Jesus Christ is before all things and superior to all things. At the outset of Paul’s letter to the church in Colosse, Paul clearly asserts the supremacy of Christ above every other aspect of life for the people. Christ not only takes on the form of man, identifying with them in every way, but holds all of creation together. No other authority can even compare with the greatness of fullness of Jesus Christ (though plenty will try and do so). Before God created the world, Jesus Christ reigned over it and everything that would happen, coming first, in the place of importance, as the one who would save mankind.
Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the firstborn of all creation. This does not imply that Jesus is a created being rather that His presence stood at the beginning of time. Mankind would inevitably face the problem of sin and The Father, in His omniscient understanding of the nature of man, planned ahead of time that the Son, with the rights and access to the throne room of heaven, would become man. Jesus Christ is preeminent and superior to all as He bridges the chasm between us and eternity that sin gouged into the spiritual fabric of creation. Where our rule and authority ends, Jesus Christ is ceaseless, standing before time back and ruling from the throne room of Heaven long after time ceases.
“Making Christ First”
Yet, our temptation going through this verse is to comb through the details of our life to determine where we need to “make Christ for first.” While coming from a good place, it misunderstands the proper meaning of Christ’s preeminence. We should seek submission to the Lord in our areas of our life and live through the expression of this Lordship, but Christ is in no way waiting for us to ratify His Kingship. We do not make Christ first as if we are the potter and He is the clay. God forbid that to be true. The preeminence of Christ means that we submit fully to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ which He already, rightfully inhabits. Jesus Christ is Lord over all. Only when we declare that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, do we step into the reality that His death on the cross counted towards us, as we humbly submit to a loving King.
God is sovereign over all creation whether we affirm it or not. By grace, we can approach the sovereign King and, by grace, we can shake of the shackles of sin and death through faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross as we passionately pursue Him into eternity. Or we can deny the preeminence of Christ in a constant struggle with the cosmic reality of Christ’s reign until that final moment of time when we experience the fullness of God’s wrath. Either option is available, though one is clearly preferable. Submitting to preeminence of Jesus Christ means catching up with the reality that the King reigns over every aspect of our life and lays at the foot of the cross every act of rebellion against Him. In our submissions to His Kingship and preeminence we bring ourselves inline with the reality of God’s rightful place on the throne, knowing that He is a loving God who pursues His people where they are at.
