THE COSMIC CHRISTSample

Jesus Christ, the Son, is the heir to all things because, as we’ve seen thus far, he is before all things and because he upholds all things. He is also the head of a particular people – the church. 

Paul uses one of his favourite metaphors here: Christ is the head and the church is the body. The head is authoritative over the body, the command centre, so to speak. But it is organically attached to the body as well. It has a deeply entwined relationship with it. The body does the work that the head directs, most usually in perfect synchrony. 

For the Colossians, hearing this cosmic description of their Lord, it must have been extraordinary to hear that the church is part of the picture, too. In the history of the entire universe, inaugurated by the Son and sustained by him, the church has a particular role to play, since it is deeply related to him. 

Paul has already spoken about the role of the Son before the cosmos was made and his role in the present. He now speaks about something that projects the rule of the Son into the future. He is the beginning, but also the firstborn from among the dead. That is to say: Jesus was resurrected as the first among many who will be resurrected. If it is true for the head, then surely the body must follow. His ascendency is not complete until he is raised from the dead. But that he has been raised shows that even death is not supreme over him. And if his body has been raised from the dead, then surely that is good news for those who are his ‘body’!

Prayer

Father of heaven, the Son is supreme in all things; let him be supreme in my life, and let his victory over the grave be my hope always. Amen.