Meditations on the Preeminence of Christ

So this one is a little different then a lot of my meditations. I hope you’ll give it a shot and let me know what you think if it hits just right.

Sincerely Dust

I turned the music off today. It was another day of the silence — another day of careful listening and guided thoughts through meditation. My mind lingered on the preeminence of Christ as spoken of in Colossians 1:15 — 20.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

I spent the entire day thinking about this one segment of the passage. These are the questions that surfaced in my meditations.

Christ bodily was God incarnate — perfectly (John 1:14).

Christ is referred to as the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15). This cannot mean first created, for John reminds us that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Rather, firstborn here refers to primacy, the One who holds the inheritance of all things (Heb. 1:2).

Still, I wonder — does Paul here point to Christ’s resurrection as the moment of “firstborn” (Col. 1:18, Rev. 1:5)? Or to the baptism, when the Spirit descended and remained (Matt. 3:16 — 17)? Or is the flesh itself the soil into which the Spirit was planted, cultivated, and raised imperishable (1 Cor. 15:42 — 44)?

If so, is what we call death actually the beginning of true life? Yeshua often spoke in parables of seeds (John 12:24, Mark 4:3 — 20). Are His words the seed, our bodies the soil, and the cares of this world the thorns that choke growth?

I wonder if our bodies are less important than we think. What if they are merely the testing ground, and what awaits is the “upgraded” version — our resurrection body — promised for the last day (1 Cor. 15:52 — 53; Phil. 3:21)? Are we not like the flowers of the field, here today and gone tomorrow (Matt. 6:28 — 30; Ps. 103:15 — 16)? And yet, if even the grass is clothed, how much more are we valued?

Yeshua has always been. All creation was made through Him and for Him (John 1:3; Heb. 1:10). He upholds all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3). He is both the focal lens through which creation came into being, and the sustaining power that holds it together — a paradox of unity that shattered minds like ours cannot fully comprehend.

How could He both be the One who created, the One who was created in flesh, and the One observing His own creation? It is mystery — yet true.

What I do know is this: The Word is truth (John 17:17). Even when my small mind cannot parse the ramifications, He was, He is, and He is to come (Rev. 1:8). All at the same time.

We praise You, Heavenly Father.

As always —

Dust,

To You,

For You,

From Him,

In me.