40 Days of Praise - Day 8
Day Eight
“He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
Colossians 1:18b
For the last few days, our thoughts have been focused on our Lord, how exalted He is. Today's passage describes Him as “the beginning“. The first verse of Genesis and the first verse of the gospel of John speak of "the beginning." Genesis speaks of the beginning of physical creation; John explains to us something of the nature of our God before the beginning of time
But in this verse, The Apostle Paul is making a point that is more personal than John or Genesis. He said in verse 16 that everything that has been created was created through Christ. Now he’s tying the beginning of all things to Christ, that Christ is the reason creation exists. It’s not just that He was there in the beginning, “He is the beginning.“ He wasn't simply the agent of the original creation, He was its cause. We'll say more about that tomorrow.
Then He’s described as “the firstborn from the dead”. Verse 15 said He was "the firstborn of all creation," meaning that all creation came from Him. But to be the firstborn from the dead declares Jesus as the initiator of the New Creation.
Jesus was not the first to ever be raised from the dead. But everyone else who was raised from the dead died again. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was different.
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
(Romans 6:9–10, ESV)
When God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus had a glorified body, a body suitable for heaven. He was the first one to receive such a body.
When we are raised from the dead, or when we are caught up in the air to meet our Lord at His return, we will have a body like our Lord's, a glorified body fit for heaven. It’s what Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, when he says that this mortal must put on immortality, and death will be swallowed up in life.
Our Lord Jesus is not just the beginning of the original creation, He’s also the beginning of the New Creation. And so Paul finishes the sentence, “that in everything he might be preeminent.“ In every category, in every way, Jesus is supreme. His our Creator. He is our Savior. And He is our Firstborn from the dead.
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as his is.
(1 John 3:2, ESV)
What wondrous love is this?!
This is our Lord Jesus Christ. Come, let us adore him!
Pastor Charles M. Butler
“He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
Colossians 1:18b
For the last few days, our thoughts have been focused on our Lord, how exalted He is. Today's passage describes Him as “the beginning“. The first verse of Genesis and the first verse of the gospel of John speak of "the beginning." Genesis speaks of the beginning of physical creation; John explains to us something of the nature of our God before the beginning of time
But in this verse, The Apostle Paul is making a point that is more personal than John or Genesis. He said in verse 16 that everything that has been created was created through Christ. Now he’s tying the beginning of all things to Christ, that Christ is the reason creation exists. It’s not just that He was there in the beginning, “He is the beginning.“ He wasn't simply the agent of the original creation, He was its cause. We'll say more about that tomorrow.
Then He’s described as “the firstborn from the dead”. Verse 15 said He was "the firstborn of all creation," meaning that all creation came from Him. But to be the firstborn from the dead declares Jesus as the initiator of the New Creation.
Jesus was not the first to ever be raised from the dead. But everyone else who was raised from the dead died again. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was different.
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
(Romans 6:9–10, ESV)
When God raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus had a glorified body, a body suitable for heaven. He was the first one to receive such a body.
When we are raised from the dead, or when we are caught up in the air to meet our Lord at His return, we will have a body like our Lord's, a glorified body fit for heaven. It’s what Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, when he says that this mortal must put on immortality, and death will be swallowed up in life.
Our Lord Jesus is not just the beginning of the original creation, He’s also the beginning of the New Creation. And so Paul finishes the sentence, “that in everything he might be preeminent.“ In every category, in every way, Jesus is supreme. His our Creator. He is our Savior. And He is our Firstborn from the dead.
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as his is.
(1 John 3:2, ESV)
What wondrous love is this?!
This is our Lord Jesus Christ. Come, let us adore him!
Pastor Charles M. Butler
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