Christ Preeminence is Detailed to the Colossians Volume 8

Paul Declares Christ to Be God the Creator of All Things Part 2

Colossians 1:17-18 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. KJV

Paul now goes on even further solidifying his declaration that Jesus Christ is YAHWEH, Jehovah, Elohim, or God by these words to these Colossian believers and we believers today, “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17) (KJV). Let us begin to delicately unpack this short, but mightily powerful verse of Scripture by first seeing more deeply the little English word ‘before’ (it seems easy enough to understand, but let us dig a bit deeper), it is translated by the little Greek word pro which is a primary preposition meaning in front of, prior (figuratively superior) to. In other words, Paul is declaring here for the Colossian brethren and all brethren for all ages, as well as all of humanity, that Jesus Christ was, lived, subsisted, or existed before anything anywhere ever came into being (even time which is also part of His Creation). This sets forth and boldly and unapologetically Christ Eternality, for He that had an existence before anything was created, must be eternal, there is no other conclusion that can be drawn. This absolutely explodes (no pun intended) the big bang theory, for surely our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ did not blow up Himself or anything else for that matter (nothing else existed) in order that the various Universes or the Earth would come into being, but instead as the Psalmist declares with these words I adhere to and trust with certainty, “Before the mountains were brought forth or ever You had formed {and} given birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.” (Psalms 90:2) (Amplified Bible). Jesus Christ was before/pro ‘all things’ which leaves nothing out that is visible or invisible as He Himself declared to the Jews with these words, “Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’” (John 8:58) (NKJV).

Next Paul has declared that by our Lord Jesus Christ all things ‘consist’ and this English word ‘consist’ is translated by the Greek words sunistao    sunistano    sunistemi meaning to set together, that is, (by implication) to introduce (favorably), or (figuratively) to exhibit; intransitively to stand near, or (figuratively) to constitute: - approve, commend, consist, make, stand (with). In other words, it is Christ that sustains everything that He created supplying what is needed for it to function properly, i.e. the Sun and all the stars and other planets as well as everything on this planet the Earth, He (Christ) is the cement or super glue holding everything in all of Creation together (only God has Power to do this). Therefore, then as God, He (Christ) is not only the sustainer and supplier of all of Creation, but most importantly for these believers in Colosse and we believers today Paul says, “And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18) (KJV). This means that every true Church makes much and most of Jesus Christ in everything they do and teach. The Church where Christ is the Head functions from His sustaining life just as the rest of the Universe is supplied by Him to remain in its natural order, so must the Church receive spiritual life from Him to keep from going off away from the Bible or the Word of God (Ephesians 1:22).

When Paul says, ‘who is the beginning’, he means here of Christ as being the first of the ‘new creations’ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and these Colossian believers and we believers today all follow Him as the first, even as the Apostle John said with these words, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:1-2) (NKJV). When Paul says, ‘the firstborn from the dead’, he means that (in Christ’ humanity) He died and was resurrected to life from death and that this is likewise the exact same thing that these Colossian believers and we believers today can expect to be our same condition as Paul declared with these words to the believers in Rome, “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Romans 8:22-25) (NKJV) and likewise as Paul declared to the believers in Corinth with these words, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20) (NKJV).  

“The meaning is, that they are kept in the present state; their existence, order, and arrangement are continued by His power. If unsupported by Him, they would fall into disorder, or sink back to nothing. If this be the proper interpretation, then it is the ascription to Christ of Infinite Power - for nothing less could be sufficient to uphold the universe; and of Infinite Wisdom - for this is needed to preserve the harmonious action of the suns and systems of which it is composed. None could do this but One who is Divine; and hence we see the reason why He is represented as the image of the invisible God. He is the great and glorious and ever active agent by whom the perfections of God are made known.” Albert Barnes

“He is the beginning through His resurrection, too, in regard of His raising us from the dead. He is the first fruits of them that slept, and bears the promise of a mighty harvest. He has risen from the dead, and therein we have not only the one demonstration for the world that there is a life after death, but the irrefragable assurance to the Church that because He lives it shall live also. A dead body and a living head cannot be. We are knit to Him too closely for the Fury ‘with the abhorred shears’ to cut the thread. He has risen that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. So, the Apostle concludes that in all things He is first-and all things are, that He may be first. Whether in nature or in grace, that preeminence is absolute and supreme. The end of all the majesty of creation and of all the wonders of grace is that His solitary figure may stand clearly out as centre and Lord of the universe, and His name be lifted high over all.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…