This week we have been focusing on the centrality of Christ as Paul presented to the Colossian church in Colossians 1:15-20. Last time we looked at Christ as the creator, today we will look at how Paul presents Christ as the Head of the church. In Colossians 1:18 we see, “He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything.” This concept of Christ being the head of the church is one Paul uses in a number of places. It is one that shows Christ’s leadership over the body of believers, but is also shows the believers’ submission and trust in Him.
When one looks at the concept of the head and the body the best way to look at it is how our own body works. When we think of doing something our heads tell the rest of our body what needs to be done and it follows. You want to walk over to your friend’s house, your head tells your body to get up off the couch and then to start taking steps to head out the door and over to your friend’s house. For the most part your head will not willingly tell your body to do something that is harmful, though there are times when you do something that may cause you pain but it is for good, like exercise. In acknowledging Christ as the head of the church, we listen to His will and follow it. We have trust that His will is not going to harm the church but help it to grow.
Another thing that Paul mentions here is that Christ was the firstborn from the dead. This also is a way of looking at Christ as the head of the church because the head also is not just leader but source or origin. The church came out of Christ, He is the one the founded the church. Firstborn again like we saw last time indicates a priority over, Christ was not the first person that was raised from the dead, but He was the most important. That is because when Christ rose from the dead it was demonstrating His power over sin and death; others may have been raised from the dead, but they later on faced death again. Jesus faced death once and overcame it, He is still alive sitting at God’s right hand interceding on the behalf of all believers.
This verse finishes off by stating the purpose of this section that is the everything is centered around Christ. He has first place in everything, other translations state Christ’s supremacy or preeminence over everything. The false teaching that the Colossian church faced, and we even hear some shout today is that Christ is one out of many ways; what Paul is stating and what Christ stated Himself is that He is the only way.
