Colossians 1:17-18

17. and he is before all things, and in him all things consist. 18. 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.

Translation and Paraphrase

17. (Yea) and he exists before all things, and all things hold together in him (by virtue of his will and power).
18. And he is the head of the body, (that is,) the church. (It is he) who is the beginning (the ruler), the firstborn from the dead (the first to rise never to die again), so that he might have the preemince (first place) in all things.

Notes

1.

Colossians 1:17 refers to the pre-existence of Christ. By this we mean his eternal existence with God before he emptied himself of much of his divine glory and was conceived in Mary. Many other Bible verses refer to his pre-existence. John 1:1-2; John 1:10; Philippians 2:6-7; Micah 5:2; Hebrews 1:8-12.

2.

Colossians 1:17 says that Christ is before all things, not that he was before all things. To God and Christ all events of all time are eternally in the present tense. Christ himself said, Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:58).

3.

In Christ all things consist, that is, all things hold together. There is a wonderful cohesion in the universe. Atoms resist breaking apart with awesome energy. Gravity and other laws of physics regulate the heavenly bodies with astounding order. No one really knows why gravity works, except that the supreme power so wills it. There is an interdependence among natural creatures that defies naturalistic explanations as to its origin. Even history and the social order, as chaotic as man's sinfulness has made it, seems rushing on to a foredetermined conclusionperhaps to self-destruction, Armageddon, and (definitely!) to a new heaven and earth.

4.

Christ is supreme to the church. He is its head and it is his body. Compare Ephesians 1:22-23. As the head of a human body rules the body, so Christ rules the church.

Note that there is one head and one body, one Christ and one church of Christ. Let us be loyal to HIS church, and not to human churches.

5.

Christ is the beginning. This term signifies the first in a series of things. Thus of all the sons that God has drawn from among men unto himself, Christ is the beginning, the first, the unique son. He is the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29.

In Luke 20:20 the term arche (here translated beginning) means rule or authority. According to this meaning of the word, Christ is the ruler; and truly he is.

6.

Christ is the firstborn from the dead. He was the first to rise from the dead, never to die again. Christ himself resurrected Lazarus (John 11:1-57) and some others; there were a few resurrections in Old Testament times (e.g. 2 Kings 13:21). But all these died again with no recollection of their former experiences after death. But death has no more power over Christ. Romans 6:9; Revelation 1:5.

In the time to come all the dead shall rise, and shall never face physical death again. (Some, alas, shall face the second death of hell. Revelation 20:14-15). John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22. Even then Christ will always be the firstborn from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20.

7.

The last phrase of Colossians 1:18 may also be translated, That he might have the preeminence among all, referring to Christ's preeminence among the dead as well as the living. Christ has pre eminence both among all things and among all people, living and dead alike.

Study and Review

13.

How far back did Christ exist? (Colossians 1:17)

14.

What do we mean by the pre-existence of Christ?

15.

What is the tense of the verbs in Colossians 1:17? What significance can be attached to this?

16.

What does consist mean in the clause in him all things consist?

17.

What is Christ's relation to the church? (Colossians 1:18)

18.

What does the assertion who is the beginning indicate about Christ?

19.

Why is Christ called the firstborn from the dead? Were not others resurrected before Christ arose?

20.

What is Christ to have in all things? (Colossians 1:18)

21.

Is Christ preeminent just over those things now living? Give the Scriptural statements that prove the answers to this question.