Colossians 1:18

He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.

Author

Kayode Crown
December 11, 2024

Now we come to the church. Jesus is the head of the body, the church. The church is the body of Christ. So, when you become a Christian, you become part of the body of Christ. That is why, in truth, you died with Him and were raised up with Him (Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:8).

But you said you were not there when he died, so how could you have been raised up with him to live a new life (Romans 6:4)?

Answer:

It does not matter whether you were there or not; you were in the mind of God, who knows all things. So, when Jesus died, you were in him because God counted you to be in him before the world began. He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), as the Bible says.

Your being one with Christ is a metaphysical reality. Paul calls it a mystery, something beyond the horizon of human perception that can only be apprehended by faith.

It is by faith that we understand the worlds were set in order at God’s command, even though we were not there (Hebrews 11:3). I have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). Even though I was not there, God regards me as being there because of my faith, just as Abraham believed the lord, and the Lord credit it as righteousness to him. That belief was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Even though no one is righteous before God based solely on performance (Romans 3:10).

In the same way, your faith in Jesus translates into you having died, been buried, risen with him, and now being seated with him in the heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers (Ephesians 2:6), even though you were not there and are probably now eating a bowl of soup.

Jesus is the head of the church, and he made it clear to the disciples: "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16). God chose to reveal Himself to the nobodies. Paul told the Corinthians, "Not many of you were wise by human standards" (1 Corinthians 1:26). Those who become Christians are specially chosen to be so (1 Peter 2:9), not based on natural qualifications and, in many cases, in spite of the lack of natural credentials.

Jesus told the disciples that he had other sheep that are in other places that would need to be brought in so that there would be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16). This is an analogy of how Christ is identified with his people and his people with him. He said he laid down his life for his sheep (John 10), and those are the people he died for.

John 3:16

But didn't he die for the sins of the whole world? Yes, he did. “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16).

That is one side of the story, the free offer of Christ to the world, creating life in those who believe. But there is another side: No one can come to Jesus, except the Father who sent him draws the individual (John 6:44). You would not respond to the love of God extended to you unless God enables you (1Timothy 1:13).

Implication for Ministry

You can preach to all that God loves the world and gave His Son. You have no idea who will be saved, but whoever is saved is definitely the result of God's action in giving them the faith to be saved (Acts 11:18).

Do you understand those two sides? Paul puts it this way: I planted, Apollos watered, but God causes it to grow. Neither I nor Apollos count for anything, but God who causes the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6-7), so that all praise will be to God, who chose those who believe in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5).

Paul and Apollos are planting and watering because that is what God called them to do, and He has promised them rewards for faithfulness as stewards of the varied grace of God (1 Corinthians 4:2, 1 Peter 4:10), not based on results, but obedience. So they don't know who will be saved, but that is not their prerogative. They are just supposed to obey God and leave the result to Him.

Paul said it this way: knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people (2 Corinthians 5:11), either with a reaction like King Agrippa’s who waved the message away (Acts 26:28) or like the woman praying by a river (Acts 16:13-15) who was saved. These truths do not contradict the fact that anyone who will be saved is based on God's ordination. But men are to work for God for rewards.

What Does "the world" Mean?

Believers understand this and can comfortably hold these two ideas together: that God loves the world and gave His Son for all, but only some will be saved. God's love for the world is an open invitation to people who thought they were not part of God's plan because they are not Israel and have no natural inheritance in Abraham. The phrase "everyone who believes" is a call to all races.

Remember, the John 3:16 statement follows Jesus telling Nicodemus that seeing the kingdom has nothing to do with natural birth (John 3:3). Thousands of years removed from that conversation, we may not fully appreciate how significant natural birth was to the Jews' conception of salvation, and that if Jesus was to create a new way, He had to address this conception, seeing that the first batch of His followers were among them, as He would send them to the nations.

When John wrote that God so loved the world, it would have been shocking to the Jews of that time. God loving the world?! Again, God loving the world is a call to all races, shades of human complexion, languages, and cultures. This is a frontal attack on the idea of fleshly rights to salvation.

In that chapter, the word "world" appears a few times. The world is where God sent His Son. The passage differentiates between the world as a holistic description and individuals in the world. It says the one who does not believe has been condemned already (John 3:18). But how can you love me and then condemn me for unbelief? It is because different things are being referred to when the word "world" is used. “World” is the code word for "not just the Israelites."

The focus verse explains that Jesus is the first to rise from the dead, making him the pioneer of resurrection and providing the pathway for others to achieve new life through him. When Jesus reappears, believers will also share in this transformed, resurrected body, as described in 1 John 3:2.

It is interesting that Paul said Jesus is the firstborn from the dead so that he would become first in everything. The idea is that Jesus would not step into the place of full preeminence if he had not become man, died, and risen from the dead, forever showing that the way up is down.

Let's read part of the focus verse again: "so that he might become first in everything." He was first in some things, it seems, but not in everything; for that, he had to become man. He is the creator of all things, but before his resurrection, he was not the first in all things. That is what the verse suggests. He can win by sheer power in any confrontation. Remember him saying, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." But to be first means you are willingly followed, not that you browbeat others to submit to you. The same applies to Jesus for being first.

He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" after he rose from the dead (Matthew 28:18). It seems to me that he did not have all authority in heaven and on earth before that. The authority given to him means every knee will (a willing action) bow to him (Philippians 2:10).

Now, there are rebellions against him, but with all authority, he will quench all dissension at a time and place that the Father decides. Nothing else to do but wait until that day. As it is written, "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool'" (Psalm 110:1).

This is a new authority, which is different from the authority of Adam. The authority of Adam was over things on the earth. Jesus was careful to state that his authority covers not just earth but heaven also. He is the second Adam. He does not just mirror the first Adam, he eclipses him.

There is a parallel in the emergence of the first Adam and Jesus as the second/last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-47). God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life. In the case of Jesus, he was formed from the body of Mary (made from dust), and the angel said the Spirit of the Lord will come upon Mary (Luke 1:35).

It was not good for Adam to be alone, so God put him to sleep (Genesis 2:18). Before he was asleep, Eve was by his side, but not yet activated; she came to life after he was asleep. Similarly, Jesus was put to sleep in death, and when he rose, the church emerged. We are the bone of his bone and the flesh of his flesh (Ephesians 1:23).

Remember when Paul asked Jesus, "Who are you, Lord?" and he replied, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (Acts 9:5)? We truly are his body and his flesh.

Adam is the head of the human race; Jesus is the head of the church. He is also the head of all principalities and powers because he emerged from the grave, giving him preeminence in everything.

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