Colossians 1: 18 – Firstborn from among the dead (2)

…And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first…

We previously established that ‘firstborn’ is not primarily a term that refers to order, but to rank in birth. For example, a few verses earlier (1:15) the Son was presented as “the firstborn of every creature,” which means: He is given the highest place. Christ is also the “firstborn from the dead,” which means that He has been given the highest rank as the Risen One. He is the firstfruits of all mankind who was made alive (once for all) (1Cor.15:22).

With perfect timing, God caused this greatest revolution of all time to take place on “the day of the sheaf” of the barley harvest. God had already recorded this event on his calendar of holy days (Leviticus 23) fifteen centuries before. “The day after the Sabbath” (Lev.23:11). It was that very day that Christ rose from the dead!

That Christ is “the firstborn from among the dead” means that He rose first while the rest of the dead remained in the graves. But not forever, for in His time He will raise all the dead, “every man in his own order.” He is their Lord (Rom.14:9) and that also makes Him the “firstborn of all the dead” (Rev.1:5)!

Delen: