CHRIST – THE PRE-EMINENT ONE (3)
“He is … the firstborn over all creation…” (Colossians 15 NKJV).
Christ’s pre-eminence is predicated on His pre-existence. “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:2-3 NKJV). By these statements, John affirms that Jesus existed before creation and is the cause of it, and as such cannot be part of it. The phrase, “the firstborn over all creation” is explained by the sentence, “He is before all things and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17). Some have capitalized on this scripture to argue that Christ could not be God. However, the scripture does not say Christ is the firstborn “among,” but that He is “the firstborn OVER all creation,” implying His priority and superiority over all creation. As the uncreated first begotten Son, Christ occupies a pre-eminent place over all the creatures of God, just as an artist is pre-eminent over his or her works of art. As the firstborn son in a Jewish family has the rights and privileges of an heir, so Jesus Christ is heir of all things by virtue of his pre-existence and eternal sonship to the Father (Hebrews 1:2). As “the firstborn over all creation,” the Father intends that Jesus should serve as our model and exemplar. Hence, Paul affirms, “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 8:29, NKJV). John the Baptist, acknowledging the pre-eminence of Jesus said that Jesus “was before” him. But we know that John was a forerunner to Jesus so how could He have been before him? The Greek word translated “before” means, “foremost in time, place, order or importance.” Jesus was foremost to John the Baptist in time, place, order or importance because Jesus existed before him and was his creator. Jesus is God, and for this very reason commands pre-eminence relative to humans!
Jesus is the exact image of God, embodying His essence and fullness! He’s not just like God, He is God. Knowing Jesus is knowing the Father.
As if to accentuate and authenticate the deity of Jesus, the Father demands that Angels should give worship to His Firstborn, “But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him’” (Hebrews 1:6). The Father would not have ordered the Angels to worship Jesus if He were a created being like them. The reality of Christ’s resurrection from death further strengthened His pre-eminent position, as He became “the first born from the dead” (Revelation 1:5). The Psalmist had resurrection in view when he declared, “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You” (Psalm 2:7). The divine Sonship of Christ was concretized and conclusively settled beyond any reasonable reservation when He rose from the dead. According to Paul, Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). His pre-eminence among all creation is therefore affirmed. Since Christ’s pre-eminence is tied to His position as the Firstborn Son, He is therefore the heir of the Father. He declared, “All things that the Father has are Mine…” (John 16:15). By the same token, Jesus is also “the ruler over the kings of the earth” (Revelation1:5) because the Father had said to Him, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; and a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions” (Hebrews 1:8-9). Our Lord’s superiority over all created realities, human or otherwise, is the eloquent testimony of the Bible. He is superior in nature, in power, in anointing, in knowledge, in authority and all. Every knee bows to Him and every tongue confesses His Lordship.
Understanding the superior position of Christ in all things empowers the believer to trust Him without reservation and serve Him with the confidence that spurns every intimidation. You can never be connected with any person more powerful, more knowledgeable, and more accessible than Christ. All He is, He is for you who has believed in Him and trusted Him as Lord and Saviour. As the Father honours the Son, so the Son honours His brothers and sisters, “for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren…” (Hebrews 2:11). Jesus wants to declare the name of the Father to us because we are His brethren. To declare the name of the Father to us means that He will reveal Him to us. When Moses prayed to see the glory of God, God answered him by declaring or proclaiming His name to him. “Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of Lord” (Exodus 34:5). It belongs to the office of the pre-eminent Son to reveal the Father to whomsoever He wills. May it please Him to reveal the Father to you and enable you to experience an encounter with Him such that you to know Him as Father in Jesus name.
.
There are no comments