The great Texas Baptist preacher W. A. Criswell put it this way, “This is a great deep; and we stand, as it were, on the shores of a vast and illimitable sea. We hardly could explore its extremities.  We are unable to plumb the unfathomable depths of the meaning and beauty of this marvelous passage. The preeminent Christ: “It pleased God the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell” – WA Criswell

Yet we must preach the preeminence of Christ. We must declare it, teach it, and let our hearts and minds dwell on it. In fact if we are the children of God then we cannot help ourselves. We cannot see anything, hear anything, know anything or think on anything except in the understanding that Christ is above all these things. He is truly Lord of Lords, the Preeminent Creator and King of Glory.

Paul begins his exaltation of Jesus in vs. 15 where he states that Christ is Lord of Creation and Lord of the Church.  

Lord of Creation – Colossians 1:15-19

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Preeminent Person of Christ

Paul begins his praise of the preeminent Christ by stating who Christ is, the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature.

By using these paradoxical terms Paul is showing us just how beyond our mortal, physical understanding Jesus truly is. He makes the invisible, visible. God, who could never be seen by the eyes of man before, can now be seen because of who Jesus is.

Paul is saying what John said in John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Jesus, God the Son came in human form and in that form He showed us the glory of God the Father that could not be seen. He is the image of the invisible God.

In this expression Paul is unmistakable saying that Jesus is God, equal to God, very God of very God. God in the flesh.

Paul also says that Jesus is the firstborn of every creature. This word firstborn is πρωτοτόκος prōtotokos; in Greek , if is translated first-born or firstbegotten but this in not conveying the idea of coming into existence at birth but of being the prototype, the first of all kinds. Yes, Jesus was the begotten son of God but He did not come into existence at birth, but rather the Creator entering into and became His own creation through birth.

Wycliffe Commentary puts it this way, “The divine Son is the archetype, the effluence of God’s glory and not, as other men, its reflection (Heb 1:3). - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary:

 “It is because man “bears the image of his creator that it was possible for the Son of God to become incarnate as man and in his humanity to display the glory of the invisible God” - (FF Bruce in The Epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians by E. K. Simpson and F. F. Bruce).

The Gnostic heresy said that Jesus was a created being, that he came into existence and then came into the earth by taking possession of an ordinary man and then left that ordinary man’s body in the grave. The Mormons, which is just an offshoot of Gnosticism, believes that Jesus came into existence as the physical son of God, first in heaven by one of thousands of celestial wives and then by a physical union on earth with Mary.  The Jehovah Witnesses teach that Jesus was not God from eternity past but that He was merely the first created being. All those lies are counteracted by Paul’s declaration of the truth here in Colossians and in all places where in scripture speak of the person of Jesus.

The lie says Jesus come into existence, but the truth is that it was Jesus who brought all things that exist into existence as Creator.

This is what Paul says next, that by Jesus all things were created, in heaven, in earth, visible and invisible. All powers, authorities, kingdoms, nations and peoples were all created by him, and Paul adds this greater truth of who Jesus is. He says all thing were created “for” him. This means that not only is Jesus the beginning of all things but that all things end in Him. All were created by His plan and power and all were created for His purpose and pleasure.

In vs. 17 Jesus is before all things and is the sustainer of all things. He is the source of all things that exist, and therefore he precedes all things in existence and all things continue to exist only by His sustainer power.

In vs 18 Paul moves from the great unknowable universe that Jesus created and sustains down to one specific part of creation that the believers at Colosse did know and comprehend, their own church. He says, Jesus is also the head of the body, the church. Just as He is head of creation, head of all power, head of all kingdoms, he is also head of His body the church.

Paul finishes this thought by restating that Jesus is the first of creation, the first of the resurrection proving that Jesus has preeminence over all.

In vs. 20 Paul brings it all to one statement. Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; God’s plan and purpose, His pleasure, His will are culminated in all the fulness of God’s power, love, grace and judgment dwelling in Jesus. Jesus is the epitome, the summit, the height above all other heights because Jesus contains all that is God and there can be nothing higher or greater.

Preeminent in Proclamation

Do I recognize and acknowledge the preeminence of Christ? Do I acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus in my life, family and church?

Paul wrote Colossians, Philippians, and Ephesians at the same time while he was in prison and they contain many of the same truths, especially the lordship and preeminence of Jesus.

Look at Philippians 2:8-11 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Because of who Jesus is, because of what Jesus did in creation, and because of what Jesus still does in sustaining creation, we should acknowledge Him as Lord and furthermore, Proclaim Him Lord. As the centurion at the cross did when he saw Jesus die, felt the earth shake and saw the heavens turn dark, He proclaimed “truly this was the Son of God.” Proclaim “My Lord and My God.” as Thomas did when upon seeing His Savior, who had been locked in a tomb and now suddenly appeared in the middle of a locked room.

Proclaim that Christ is Preeminent, Lord above all Lords. Proclaim it because it is His rightful place and His rightful reward. He is Lord by right, He is Lord by righteousness, He is Lord by what He has wrought, and He is Lord by resurrection.