MONDAY November 4, 2024
The Preeminence of Christ
And He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:18
Jesus is the Head of the Church––the entire body of believers in Christ. The pope or any other person is not the head. Christ is the Head of the Church, and He unifies Christians together: And He [God the Father] put all things under His [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:22-23).
It is important to understand that each believer has their own unique function within the body of Christ. There are actually 21 gifts that are to be used through the power of the Holy Spirit. These are some of them:
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues... (1 Corinthians 12:27-28).
Ephesians 4:11-12 informs us that Christ is the giver of such gifts, and they are to be used to edify the body of Christ. When Jesus died and resurrected, He conquered death and gave gifts to men:
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:7-8).
Jesus became the firstborn from the dead. The word firstborn means “first in order.” J. Vernon McGee gives us this insight: “He is preeminent in creation because He is the Creator. He is preeminent in redemption for He is the Redeemer. He is preeminent in the church because He is the One who gave Himself for the church.”
Know this: Christ has to have Lordship over your life––preeminence––first place. Is He? Our lives are truly blessed when Jesus is.
Seek not happiness first; seek Christ first, and happiness shall come after.
~C.H. Spurgeon~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
