Over my Christmas vacation – yes, I have been enjoying some time with my family over Christmas – I have been meditating on the preeminence of Jesus Christ in Colossians 1. Speaking about Jesus, Colossians 1:15,
He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
Heresy takes Colossians 1:15, “the firstborn of all creation,” and says Christ was the greatest man ever created. But as we know, even from Colossians 1, Christ was not created. Christ existed from eternity past before anything was ever created. The next verse, verse 16 reads,
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.
“All things were created through him and for him.” As the “firstborn of all creation” Jesus Christ is greater than all of creation. He is greater than all thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities. He is the King of kings. He is the Creator and sustainer of dominions and kings. It echoes the Davidic promise in Psalm 89:27-29 which reads,
And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
It was Christ The King who was born on Christmas morning. He is the King of kings. This King is the “image of the invisible God.” When we look at Jesus Christ we see “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” –Hebrews 1:3. Let us worship Christ The King who is fully God this Christmas morning.
