The pre-eminence of Christ! The supremacy of Christ.
What a thought – it gives answer to the question – who is in charge of the Church?
Paul writes to the church at Colossae[1] about the journey a Christian takes, in particular a gentile, from being totally alienated from God to being members of the body of which Christ is the head outlining purpose of the body, which is to give Jesus Christ pre-eminence (‘supremacy’ NIV).
So what is the body, referred to here?
Here the church is referred to as the body – and is the focus of this sermon.
The purpose of the Church appears to have gotten lost in history, but if one reads these verses carefully, Paul is saying to the church at Colossae that there is perhaps a very different purpose many today have on their mind. For much has been lost in history, and I see much confusion about who the Body, the Church is along with its purpose.
V18. And Christ is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.
Thus one can conclude, that the church exists in order to show that Christ is preeminent in all things – the one who first rose from the dead, and was from the beginning, as John writes in the first chapter of John’s gospel (John 1:1).
To the Old Testament saints, the Church was unknown and using the language of the day Paul refers to the Church as mystery; not as something mysterious or inexplicable or enigmatic, but something hidden. The Greek word meaning just that – hidden – no one knew that God was to create a body all believers from every race, tribe and nation as its members, with his Son as the head.
Paul writes to the church at Ephesus:
This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Ephesians 3:6
Same body as what? Both Jews and Gentiles would be members of the same body – symbolized by the marriage union. In both letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians, the Apostle Paul reveals this mystery – the Church.
Note, that the Jewishness of Jews is not done away – Israel exists – as we are all well aware; but the Church has both Jews and Gentiles from all ranks of society.
The Church is also the family of God – indeed Paul uses the term Household of God (Ephesians 2:19; Galatians 6:10), of which Jesus the chief corner stone required to lock the entire building together (Ephesians 2:10).
To the world, the church appears to be a confused mass of peoples who have little in common with each other! And further they appear to be in competition with each other. An indeed observation is right – the Church has not conducted itself as a union of all believers.
These verses say the church should be one, united in Christ, through one Spirit, the Holy Spirit.
Further, we learn the Church is referred to as the Body, of which Christ is the head. It’s a living body, not a statutory entity. This distinction is very very important. The Church is a living body made up of many members. It’s not a body like a corporation; therefore the local church must note treat itself as a club or society. Paul writes:
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.
…But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 1 Cor. 12:12 – 15
This verse also refers to the body – the church – so what is this body? Who makes up its members, and how does one become a member?
In Ephesians, Paul uses similar terminology.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4-6
There is only one body – this may surprise those who see many churches with very large distinctions between them. But as Paul points out to the Corinthians, this should not be the case.[2]
As a member of the body of Christ, we belong to a community – usually the local community of believers. Thus Paul writes to the Church at Colossae, not the Colossae Church. Indeed Paul castigates the Corinthians (e.g. 1 Cor. 3) for forming different divisions of church.
There is only one Body, and Christ is the head of that Body. It’s not the pope, or senior pastor or leadership team, but Christ is the Head of the Body.
And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence. Colossians 1:18
The effectiveness of someone’s entire body depends on its control by the head, and each member taking and obeying commands from the head. This holds true as well in the body of Christ, each local church: the spiritual body functions properly only when it works together under Jesus’ headship.
So not only is Christ the head – the Church is subject to Christ, because he is head of the Church and its Saviour.
Christ is head of the church; and He is the Saviour of the body. …the church is subject to Christ (Ephesians 5:23 - 24)[3]
He is the head, so he might have pre-eminence; and by obeying Christ we demonstrate this.
We the Church need to display Christ as preeminent – Paul writing to the church at Ephesus;
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:22 - 1:23
In every case, the member is only that one who has been born again, and thus saved by God’s grace. And who are these? All who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will be saved (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:11-22 etc.). Why?
If Christ is the head, who are the members? We all know that anyone can call themselves a Christian whether or not they have faith in Jesus, and therefore we can ask; who are actually the members of the Church, the Body of Christ?
We must be very careful here – what the world calls the church[4] and perhaps what you call the church is often far from what the Bible calls Church.[5] We often refer to the one true church, or the invisible church – this is the Body of Christ that is made up of only saved individuals – those that have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.[6]
The starting point of every individual is being totally and absolutely unworthy to come before God – all were hostile to God – indeed the verses today – enemies of God, and destined for hell, not a word many like to use these days. From our passage (v21 -22)
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him
The state of all people from birth is that of being alienated from God, lost, and destined for death and separation into hell.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
All have sinned
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
Indeed Paul points out that we are so sinful, that we could not possibly save ourselves.
The worthiness of a person to be Church, that is to be a member, is their salvation by faith, which is based on the worthiness of Jesus Christ – the perfect Lamb of God.
In the same way, the Children of Israel could not save themselves from the Egyptians – it was only the miraculous work of God that caused Pharaoh to allow the Children of Israel to leave Egypt and enter the Promised Land, and only the miraculous work of God saved them at the Red Sea.
The Bible clearly shows that we can only be saved by God’s grace through his miraculous work on the cross where Christ shed his blood.
There is absolutely nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God. This fact was known since Adam. In the chapter in Ephesians before us, Paul summarises this:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
This verse says were are justified by His Grace. What does this mean?
It means we are made right before God – just as if we did not sin due to the work of the Father – the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. The outcome: it means we can be reconciled to the Father. Note that salvation is not imposed – it’s a gift;
[we] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
We all can be saved if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)
Note that it is faith – not what we do that saves – not baptism, not attending church, not taking communion, not helping your neighbour or being a good citizen, although all these things pleases the Father, and is expected of a child of God, who is gives his or life as a living sacrifice to God; it is only faith saves. The question is, have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ?
… the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
We have been sanctified (cleansed) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
We don’t have to think too hard to envisage what the term body means. We all have a body that is made up of a variety of parts, and each part has a unique function.
This is how the Church is made up of diverse races of people: the Corinthians verse says that it does not matter whether you are Jew of Gentile, whether you are an employee or employer, a king or slave, all can be in the Body. But there is only one way to gain membership – by believing in Christ.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
Alistair Begg writing on the 19 June 2024; [10] “When the Church and all its diversity operates under the spiritual leadership of Christ we see:
This means the Church comprises only saved individuals, only Christians. Its purpose – to show the pre-eminence of Christ – which means everyone has a job to do.
Each person is unique – each has an important place in the body. Paul writes, as an illustration:
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." (1 Corinthians 12:21)
It’s very sad to see churches making use of only a few, and conversely, only a few putting up their hand to be made use of. The local church is not merely the minister and the congregation but rather the whole congregation of which everyone is united.
When God’s grace has transformed us, we should find that it matters increasingly to each individual we have been called into relationship with one another—into community.
But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 1 Corinthians. 12:18
Not all parts are seen, but all of them are important. If one part is not working or is missing, it makes a difference to all the rest. If one part hurts, the entire body hurts.
And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it (1 Corinthians 12:26a)
The Church demonstrates the pre-eminence of Christ through unity in diversity; working as a community.
Paul write:
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (Romans 12:4 – 5)
The purpose of each one of us is take instruction from the Head – Christ and to his or her function. To do this we must present ourselves as a living sacrifice. Doing what God wants – we are not entitled to anything less.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1-2)
Every member has a place in the body; every member as a job to do in which they demonstrate the Scriptural truth, that Christ is the Head of the Body.
I will not speak of gifts here – it’s a topic in its own – but God has given every person an ability; we need to use these to the best of our ability to serve the Lord.
I have not spoken of church leadership or appointment of elders and deacons mentioned in the letters to Timothy and Titus, or governance, or discipline as mentioned in Corinthians, for these rightly belong to a discussion around the Household of God.
None of these make sense if there is no unity in the body with all believers undertaking their duty – their reasonable service as Paul puts it in the Letter to the Romans.
This means that leadership must allow all members – not a select few – to do their duty – their God given jobs. And all members must see it as their duty to participate.
These verses remind us that:
The church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is His new creation,
by water and the word.From heav'n He came and sought her
to be His holy bride;
with His own blood He bought her,
and for her life He died.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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 (supremacy).
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.
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
As the House of God: Where He dwells (Holiness) |
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7) |
The Body of Christ: The Expression of Christ (Unity) |
Now you are the body of Christ (Corinthians 12:27) |
The Bride of Christ: The object of Christ’s Love (Heavenly) |
The bride, the Lambs wife (Rev 21:9) |
The Candlestick: The true witness (The Light) |
Lamp stands…are the churches (Rev 1:20) |
[1] Today, is in western Turkey (Türkiye), but was an ancient city of Phrygia, a kingdom taking up what is central Turkey, in what was known as Asia Minor.
[2] The body has its understanding is from the Old Testament, where the Children of Israel made up the body of chosen people who were saved from Egypt.
And this motif carries into the New Testament but note carefully it is in completely different form – it’s not that Israel became the Church, but rather Christ became the head of the Body which the Father draws members into, including both gentiles and Jews.
[3] Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her (Ephesians 5:24-25).
[4] Greek: ekklesia – “the called out”, rightly the Church, the body of Christ; sunagoge – is the assembly of believers, and in a particular location also called a congregation.
[5] This is why many theologians differentiate the True Church, or Invisible Church from the Visible Church.
Man cannot see the heart of man – only God (Samuel). So you sitting in a pew of a Church could be saved or unsaved – only God knows. Your behaviour may indicate whether you are saved, but Peter points out many may look like Christians, but are not. The True or Invisible Church comprise only saved individuals. Christendom or the Visible church is anyone who says they are a Christian, whether they are saved or not; for man cannot tell. Their works merely give an indication; their heart defines the truth.
[6] In order to completely understand the meaning the Bible uses four different means. Today I’m focusing on the Body of Christ. In other passages the Church is referred to as The House of God (dwelling place) - being where He dwells (emphasizing Holiness), or the Bride of Christ (emphasizing Christ’s love) or a Candle stick (representing the purpose as being the witness of Christ on earth).
[7] God is Holy, and we were unholy. We required rebirth or as some say renewal, and the only way to achieve this, Jesus tells Nicodemus, in John chapter 3 is to be spiritually reborn in order that the Holy Spirit could dwell in us. Jesus says, who would put wine in old wine skin, or put another way, who would put wine in an old wine container – it would spoil, the skin were break. (Matt 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37; Luke 5:38).
[8] It is a wonderful thing that the Holy Spirit dwells in each believer. This is where God now dwells – in each one of us, and each believer either allows the Holy Spirit to function or we do our own thing.
[9] In the same way if an apple is divided in half and half again and again – each piece is apple. In the same way, if the church is viewed as individual members (like a part of the apple), each individual is church; noting we must not take this analogy too far – Christ will always be the head of the church, irrespective of how few members there are.
[10] https://www.truthforlife.org/daily?tab=alistair_begg_devotional&date=06/19/2024 (Accessed 23 June 2024)
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