January 20, 2022 | Preeminence
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:15-23).
It was God the Father’s will that His only Son would be preeminent over all creation, that He would be seated above all rule and authority and power and dominion.
In the passage above, Paul is communicating a very important point, that Jesus Christ is superior. Paul does this by declaring that He is above every name, not only in this life but also in the next. All things are under His feet because He is head over all.
That’s quite a different picture many people have in their heads of a humble carpenter from Nazareth. Though He had all power and dominion, Jesus came to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:28). He came saying that “whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave” (Matthew 20:27).
This is hardly what we expect from the ruler over all creation, yet this is how He chose to show His power. Knowing all things, He above all understood that the only way to conquer sin and death would be to become the perfect sacrifice. He knew that the only way to overcome strife was with love. He knew that only by showing mercy would we be able to overcome vengeance.
That is why the devil is no match for Him, because the devil cannot and will not ever understand this. We see the effects of this all around us. Though our efforts fail every time, we continue to try and solve our problems by force. Though it only brings us darkness, we count on hate and anger to take us to the places that only love and forgiveness can.
We witness the preeminence of Christ in the Gospels. In their words we find important lessons that Jesus has taught us on every facet of life. We see the unparalleled wisdom of the only Son of God as He lives His life here on earth. We see the power of love as He willingly hangs on a cross to overcome sin and death so that we might be saved.
Colossians 1:15-20 further tell us this about Christ. “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.”
Yet he loves us enough to care about us as individuals. He holds each person in equal regard of unmatched love. He hears our every prayer and advocates for us every time we cry out to God in need. In this He proves where real power lies, not in fear and intimidation, but in grace.
Isn’t it awesome to know that our preeminent God loves us to the point of wanting to spend an eternity with us? He will never leave us or forsake us, even in the midst of our sin. Nothing is too big for Him and no request to great. All this is yours if you will simply believe. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, in Your awesomeness you care for us even though we are sinners. Help us to understand the measure of Your grace even if we could never comprehend the scope of Your greatness. Amen.
