Is Jesus First?

“He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Colossians 1:18

As Paul addresses the deity and power of Christ in the first chapter of Colossians, he continually stresses the preeminence of Christ. Paul says He is “the firstborn of all creation,” “the firstborn from the dead,” and the One Who is “to have first place in everything” (Col. 1:15, 18). Paul’s use of the term first place is not, however, the comparative term we sometimes imagine. He is not saying that Jesus is prominent - that is, that Christ is first, my family second, the church third, my job fourth, and so on. That isn’t Paul’s or God’s intention.

What Paul - and the Spirit Who inspired him - are attempting to communicate is that Jesus is preeminent. That means that Jesus is above and beyond anyone and anything. Jesus is to be first in our homes, first in our finances, first in our relationships, first in our jobs, first in our leisure time, first and foremost in every conceivable aspect of life. Nothing can compare to Christ. He came not to be on the top of a priority list but to fill all with His fullness.

Is Christ the undisputed Lord over all of your life, reigning supreme? Have you allowed Him “to have first place in everything”?

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things...” Romans 11:36