INTRODUCTION

1. The word "preeminence" is not used in most English translations of the New Testament (ASV excepted), but it is a vital New Testament concept that every Christian needs to grasp.

   1. Preeminence is the state of being eminent above or before others.  To be preeminent is to be superior or surpassing.  In simple terms, to be preeminent means to have first place.

   2. Christians need to understand this concept because we need to know who has preeminence (God) and who does not (us).  This understanding will give us the proper sense of order and submission. 

2. By the will of God the Father, Jesus Christ is preeminent over all things.

   1. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He told the apostles, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).  With this, He declared His preeminence in power.

   2. In fact, Christ had preeminence even before this, which is demonstrated by Colossians 1:15-19.  Our present lesson will focus on these verses.

       

CHRIST IS FIRST

1. Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15a).

   1. Jesus has revealed God to man through Himself so that we can know God.

   2. John 1:18 says, "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

   3. Speaking of Jesus, Hebrews 1:3 says, "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature..."

   4. In Jesus, there is nothing lacking of God at all. Colossians 2:9 says that "in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."  Before He came into the world, "He existed in the form of God" and "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped" (Phil. 2:6).

   5. When the apostle Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us," Jesus replied, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?" (John 14:8-9).

   6. To know Jesus is to know the Father, for Jesus has revealed the Father unto us.  He is the image of God because He is God ("the only begotten God").

2. Christ is the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15b-16).

   1. These verses say that Jesus is the "firstborn of all creation" because "by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created through Him and for Him."

   2. To say that Christ is the firstborn of all creation does not indicate that He is a created being, but rather it indicates His place over all of creation.

      1. Some cults teach that Jesus was created by the Father (Watchtower Society, Mormons), but this is false and contrary to Scripture.

      2. The term "firstborn" is not to be taken literally at all, for it is obvious that Jesus was not the first man born into the created world.  Likewise, His existence did not commence at His incarnation or His birth. Consider John 8:58; Hebrews 10:5.

      3. Instead, "firstborn" simply means that He has the position of a firstborn son.  This indicates His relationship to the Father and His ownership over all of creation. As such, He has been "appointed heir of all things" (Heb. 1:2).

   3. Rather than being created Himself, Christ is the Creator of all things.

      1. This is declared unequivocally in John 1:1-3:

         ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ²He was in the beginning with God.  ³All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

      2. Similarly, Hebrews 1:2 says that it was through Christ, the Son of God, that God made the world.

      3. The creation account itself gives witness to Christ's presence without mentioning Him by name, for God speaks of Himself as a plurality, saying, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." (Gen. 1:26).

   4. Not only is Christ the one through whom all things were created, but also all things were created for Him.  All creatures, places, and authorities were made to be under His dominion.

   5. By virtue of being the Creator of all things, Christ naturally has preeminence over all things.

3. Christ is before all things (Col. 1:17a).

   1. This indicates not only that Christ existed before all of creation, but also it means that He has a higher position than all things.

   2. Christ's place before all things is objectively, unconditionally, and absolutely true.  Therefore, no one should ever attempt to place anything or anyone before Him. Those who love others more than Jesus are not worthy of Him (Matt. 10:37).

4. In Christ, all things hold together (Col. 1:17b).

   1. Not only was Christ the one through whom God created all things, but all things continue in existence because He holds them together even now.

   2. According to Hebrews 1:3, Christ "upholds all things by the word of His power."

   3. This means that Christ is active in the functioning of the material universe and that the world would unravel without His power applied.

5. Christ is the head of the body, which is His church (Col. 1:18a).

   1. Because Christ has preeminence over all things, it may seem like an obvious statement to say that Christ is head of the church.  However, this is important to state because the church is the manifestation of His kingdom on earth.

      1. Just a few verses prior, the Scripture says to Christians, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Col. 1:13).

      2. When Peter had confessed the truth of Jesus' identity, Jesus replied in Matthew 16:17-19:

         ¹⁷"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  ¹⁸I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."

   2. Despite the obvious truth of Christ's authority over the church, many men still attempt to assert their own authority in the Lord's body (such as Diotrephes in 3John 9).  Such men need to be taught of the preeminence of Christ.

6. Christ is the beginning and the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything (Col. 1:18b).

   1. Jesus was raised from the dead never to die again.  He is the beginning of the resurrection for all men, for He has overcome death so that all will be raised (John 5:28-29; Heb. 2:14).

   2. He is the first fruits of the resurrection, just as 1Corinthians 15:20-24 explains:

      ²⁰But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.  ²¹For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.  ²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.  ²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, ²⁴then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

   3. By the resurrection, Christ has asserted His preeminence over everything.  "The last enemy that will be abolished is death" (1Cor. 15:26), and then all things will be subjected to Him.

7. The preeminence of Christ is the Father's good pleasure (Col. 1:19).

   1. It is the will of the Father for "all the fullness to dwell in Him."  All that is stated in these verses is the express will and purpose of the Father, and it is all accomplished through His Son, Christ Jesus.

   2. If these things are the Father's good pleasure, then they should be our good pleasure as well.  Our submission to and proclamation of the preeminence of Christ pleases the Father, and we are under obligation to please Him.

       

CONCLUSION

1. The preeminence of Christ will be fully asserted at the Judgment when all men will stand before Christ to give an account of their lives (2Cor. 5:10).  At that time, no one will be able to escape this undeniable truth.

2. Those who grasp, accept, and submit to the preeminence of Christ before the Judgment will be rewarded for their faithfulness to the Lord.  Therefore, let us all recognize that Christ has preeminence over all creation.