Episode 2676 - Lesson 8 - Wednesday Feb. 18 - The Beginning (and Initiator)

The "Beginning" (and Initiator)Read Colossians 1:18. What is the connection between the idea of Christ as the head and Him as the "beginning"?In Hebrew the words for head (ro's) and beginning (rēʾšit) are related. The first instance of the latter word in Scripture is in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning [rēʾšit] God created the heaven and the earth." Jesus is head of humanity and of the church, not only because of the Incarnation but also because He is the Creator.In Greek, the word for beginning (archē) has a broad meaning. Here "beginning" refers to Jesus as the source or initiator of the church (Col. 1:18), and therefore its Head, just as He is the "beginning" or initiator of creation.Jesus is not only the initiator in terms of creation and the church, He is also--through His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 6:3-4)--the initiator of the new creation. Because the wages of sin is death, His victory over death also shows His victory over sin and His power to re-create us in His image. All this demonstrates why He is "the firstborn from the dead" (on the meaning of "firstborn", see Monday's study). His is the preeminent resurrection, even though not the first (Moses was the first, which is why the dispute with the devil ensued over his body [Jude 9]). Without Christ's resurrection, no one else could be raised from the dead.It's helpful at this point to review briefly all the reasons Paul has given for Jesus having preeminence:He is the perfect manifestation of the invisible God.He is the agent by whom all things were created.He existed before all things, and all things are brought together in Him.He is the head of the church, which is His body.He is the initiator of Creation and the re-creation.He has conquered sin and death and thus earned the right to resurrect all who put their trust in Him as Savior.Jesus has always existed, but now, by virtue of all this, He has come to have the preeminence as Head of humanity and Head of the church.What must you change so that you can better experience Christ's preeminence in your own life?