Calvary Baptist Church

Calvary Baptist Church, Grenada, MS, USA

Holding to the truths embraced by Baptist for centuries.

One of the most common heresies down through the years has been the denial of the deity of Christ. This passage of Scripture provides the most emphatic statement of the full deity of Christ, of his unique work on our behalf, and of His exalted place in the plans and purposes of the Father. Truly, there has never been another person like the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to examine His pre-incarnate glory, His manifested glory, and His ascended glory, and his coming glory-a glory in which the Father has declared that in all things He (Jesus) is to have the preeminence.

As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ died for me so I am Christ purchased; as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ I have Christ living in me so I am Christ possessed; as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ He can work through me so that I am Christ permeated to the extent that Christ is preeminent in my life. Again, in all of His people He is present. The Scripture says “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). In some of His people He is prominent. Those who observe them or who know them recognize them to be Christians by their worship, witness, and their walk. In a few people, Christ is preeminent. Like the apostle Paul they can truthfully say “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” This is the will of the Father that in all things Christ might be preeminent.

Christ is Preeminent in His Pre-incarnate glory. He is described in Colossians 1:15 as being the “firstborn of every creature”. This does not mean that Jesus is a created being, but that He has preeminence over all the creation. The word firstborn means that He has priority. In Psalms 89:27 the Father declares “I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth”. This means that He has priority over all the kings of the earth. He is the eternal Son of the eternal Father. John says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). Jesus told the Pharisees “before Abraham was, I am.”(8:58). He has always existed as a member of the triune Godhead. Isaiah saw Him enthroned in heaven receiving the worship of heavenly beings long before He was ever born in Bethlehem’s manger. (Isa. 6:1-3; John 12:41).

Through the ages Jesus Christ has been preeminent in God’s dealings with men. First, Christ is preeminent in the Word of God. Jesus told the Pharisees to “search the Scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). Jesus when He was speaking to the Emmaus disciples spoke of the necessity of His death and in the gospel of Luke the Scriptures say “Beginning at Moses and the Prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures), he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things pertaining to himself” (24:27). Today, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament one can look in any book of the Bible, and if he looks close enough, and long enough he will find pictures of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the theme of every book when properly understood. He is the preeminent focus of Scripture.

Second, Christ is preeminent in the purpose and plans of God. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the seed of the woman, the lamb which God would provide to Abraham, the seed through which all nations would be blessed, the desire of all nations, the coming Branch of the Lord, the root of David, the Kinsman-Redeemer, the fulfiller of all the types and sacrifices of the Old Testament, the fulfiller of all the promises of God, the promised Messiah, the child born, the Son given, the suffering servant on whom all our iniquity was laid, the resurrected redeemer, the messenger of the covenant and the coming king who will rule over all nations. He was the one the Father sent in the fullness of time, made of a woman, made under the law that he might redeem us from the curse of the law (Gal. 4:5). He was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God to be crucified and slain for our redemption (Acts 2:23). The Father raised him up, received Him back into heaven and seated Him at His own right hand. And one day at the Father’s word, He will return again in glory to reign over this world, and every knee will bow and confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. He is preeminent in the purpose and plans of the Father.

Third, Christ is preeminent in the love of the Father. “For the Father loveth the Son” (John 15:9). Three times the Father spoke from heaven and put his stamp of approval upon His Son. At his baptism, He proclaimed “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (John 3:17). On the Mount of Transfiguration the Scripture says the Father spoke again and said “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matt. 17:5). As our Savior prepared to go to the cross the Father again spoke concerning his name saying, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again” (John 12:28). Then our savior cried “If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32) as He spoke concerning his coming death. In our text in Colossians 1 the Scripture says “It pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell.” Colossians 2:9 tells us that in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. Colossians 1:13 says He is his “dear Son”, literally the Son of His love. He then is a member of the trinity who was daily the delight of the Father even before the foundation of the world. He is the beloved Son, the one God sent to be our redeemer. He is now and always preeminent in the love of the Father.

Fourth, He is preeminent in the work of the Holy Spirit. It was Jesus who said “I will send Him unto you…..and when He is come He will glorify me” (John 16:7, 14). The Holy Spirit points men to Christ and draws them effectively to Him. This takes a great burden off the preacher or the witness to Christ. He is to study the Word and present Christ as clearly as he can trusting that the Holy Spirit will take his simple faltering message and glorify Christ. Christ is preeminent in the work of the Holy Spirit.

Christ is also preeminent in His manifested glory. Think of His birth, His creative work, His sustaining power and providence, his redemptive work, his resurrection and his headship over the church. All of these things declare his preeminent glory.

First, He was preeminent in His birth. He was born of a virgin, born of the Holy Spirit. He only was born without sin. (Matthew 1:18). An angel told Mary and Joseph “Thou shall call his name Jesus because He shall save his people from their sins.” (1:21). Again, prophecy foretold “they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us” (1:23). At his birth angels sang “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14). As the angel announced his birth to shepherds, he said “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior who is Christ the Lord.”(2:10). Of no one else could it be said that above all else he was to be a savior. He was preeminent in His birth.

Second, He was preeminent in creation. John declares “All things were created by Him and without Him was not ever one thing created.” (1:3) Paul in Colossians proclaims “For by him were all thing created that are in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible, whether there be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers–all things were created by him and for him”(1:16). To deny his power in creation is to deny the Bible. I may not understand it all but I know who created it all and who is over it all. Think of his vast power. It has been said that if the sun was hollow, 1,300,000 earths could fit inside it; there is a star named Antares which if hollow, could hold 64 million suns inside it; there is a star in the constellation Hercules which could contain 100 million stars the size of Antares; finally, there is a star Epsilon which could swallow up several million of the star in Hercules. Genesis says “he made the stars also”. (Gen. 1:16). Where ever we look we see the evidence of intelligent design in nature. Animal life, marine life, plant life, cell life are reflect his creative hand and glory. No wonder the Psalmist asks “What is man that thou art mindful of him?” Man can find no true meaning or purpose in life apart from his creator. He is preeminent in creation.

Third, He is preeminent in his sustaining work. Paul writes “He is before all things and by him all things consist” (Col. 1:17). Why do the seasons follow year after year as they do? Why does this earth maintain its course without becoming too hot or too cold? Who sends the rain in its season and feeds the birds of the air? Why do all things work as they do? Why does the binding energy of the atom not collapse and the whole world disintegrate into chaos? It is the sustaining power of our savior that keeps all things running year after year. Moreover, the Scripture says “In him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). He gives us life, he sustains our life, and when he calls us home, no person can extend his own life. The Scripture says “He upholds all things by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3). In the previous verse the Scriptures tell us that it was through the Son that he “made the worlds.” (1:2). Literally, the Scriptures say the He framed the “ages”. He not only created all things, but by his providence he works all things for the good of his people and the completion of his purposes.

Fourth, He is preeminent in redemption. The Apostle Paul says “In whom we have redemption through his blood” (Col. 1:14). Again, he says “Christ made peace by the blood of his cross” (1:20). Here we see that there was enmity between God and man. Colossians 1:22 we were “once alienated and enemies in our mind by wicked works”. We were in rebellion against God; our ways were not his ways; our thoughts were not his thoughts. We were separated from God and guilty sinners before him. We deserved God’s wrath and judgment. If He were to send us out to an eternity in hell it would have been no more than we deserved. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love with which he loved us (Eph. 2:4) redeemed us to himself by the sacrifice of his Son as our substitute. While He was here on the earth, His Son had no sin; He did no sin; He always did the will of His Father. He was everything we should have been. God did not set aside the penalty due to be inflicted upon us, but by his grace (unmerited favor) he laid that sin upon his own sinless Son and He made peace with the Father by paying the penalty in full. The punishment that should have been ours fell on Christ; the curse that was upon us was borne by our Savior; the shame that was ours became his. The innocent died in the place of the guilty. What were the results of this great work of Christ? Luke writes in Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” We were bought out of the market place of sin never to return again. By faith in Christ we have peace with God; we are no longer at enmity with him. We as believers are completely and eternally accepted and justified in Christ. Paul wrote “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Again, Paul says that God “delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Col. 1:13). He broke Satan’s hold on us and made us citizens of Christ’s kingdom. He goes on to say we have a full forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14). Our sins have been blotted out (Col. 2:14) and separated from us “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalms 103:12). Through his reconciling death he will present us “holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight” (Col. 1:22). This means as believers we are set apart to God, fitted for eternity with Him, without blemish and free from accusation because the penalty has been paid and we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. Only Christ could have purchased our redemption and made peace with God, and He did it by shedding his own precious blood. No one else can save men and there is no other way to the Father than through Him (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). He is preeminent in redemption.

He is also preeminent in His resurrection. In Colossians 1:18 Christ is described as the “firstborn from the dead”. This means that His resurrection has priority over all other resurrections and is the basis for the future resurrection of all of His people. Jesus said “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). After Jesus died, He did not remain in an earthly grave. After three days and nights He came out of that grave and the angels proclaimed “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen” (Luke 24:5-6)! After Christ appeared unto many showing himself alive with irrefutable proofs, Paul wrote “But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For by man (Adam) came death, by man (Christ) came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:20-22). This is the fulfillment of the hope of Job when he asked “If a man die will he live again?” (Job 14:14). He affirmed his conviction when he said that even though his body be destroyed he knew that one day He would see God in his own body with his own eyes (19:25-27). This has been the hope of believers down through the ages. When a believer dies his soul immediately goes to be with the Lord, but one day in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Lord shall return and the dead in Christ shall rise and the living believers shall also be caught up with them in the air to meet the Lord. Our old bodies will be transformed into new glorious bodies like Christ’s and we shall be fitted for eternity with Him. (I Cor. 15:51-58; I Thes. 4:13-18; Phil. 3:20-21; I John 3:1-3). He is preeminent in resurrection.

He is also preeminent in relation to the church. Colossians 1: 18 says “he is head of the body, the church”. Christ established his church while He was here upon the earth, the apostles being the first members. He gave to the church the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the great commission and a method of church discipline (Matt: 16:18; Luke 6:12,13; Eph. 2:19-21; Matt. 18:15-20; Matt. 26:26-30; Matt. 28:18-20). The church has been given the truth and is to stand for and defend the truth, remembering that we will answer to our head (1Tim. 3:15-16). Paul as a preacher and missionary of the church at Antioch said “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel”, the good news of “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). Paul in Ephesians says “unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end” (Eph. 3:21). As Christ is exalted and magnified, and proclaimed as the all-sufficient and only savior through the church it brings glory to the Father. Moreover, the church is described as being the bride of Christ and will have a close personal relationship with him throughout eternity (Eph. 5:21-33). Christ is preeminent in the Church.

Christ is also preeminent in his ascended glory. After His resurrection he showed himself alive by many infallible proofs by appearing to various individuals and groups for 40 days before He ascended into heaven. The Scriptures say that He “went up”, He was “taken up” and that He was “received up” into heaven and was seated at the right hand of the Father. No space ship conveyed Him into glory; He went up of His own mighty power with angels accompanying Him and all the hosts of heaven welcoming Him. The Scriptures say that He ascended as our Lord (Acts 2:36), as our forerunner (Heb. 6:20), as our intercessor and advocate (Heb. 7:24-25), and as our judge (Acts 17:31). No wonder Paul declared “If you be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth” (Col. 3:1-2). The right hand of God signifies the place of privilege (Heb. 1:13), power (Matt. 26:64), distinction (Heb. 1:3), delight (Psalms 16:11) and dominion (I Peter 3:22). No wonder all the inhabitants of heaven sing “worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:12). Truly, Christ is preeminent in His ascended glory. He is our Lord and Master; His entrance into heaven guarantees our acceptance by the Father. He is preparing a place for us and right now He is our representative when we are accused of sin before God, assuring our continued acceptance. Finally, He is to be the judge of the saved at the Judgment Seat of Christ and the lost at the Great White Throne Judgment. He has the name which is above every name. How then should that are redeemed lift our eyes from the cares and causes of this world and set our affections upon and redeemer, provider, protector and sustainer. Our desire here in this life should always be “whatever we do in word or deed do all for the glory of God” and “that I might know him and the power of His resurrection.”

Christ is also preeminent in His coming glory. Paul writes “When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall you appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4). This same Jesus who ascended into heaven is coming again. We as believers will see him in his glory and share in that glory (John 17:24). John writes “When he shall appear we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2). The Scriptures tell us that he comes first for his own. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 describes for us his return prior to the tribulation when he will descend with a shout and the voice of the archangel and the dead in Christ shall rise, we who remain shall be caught up together in the air to meet the Lord and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Paul in I Corinthians 15 says “In a moment in the twinkling of an eye… we shall be changed” (52). We will receive new bodies which will not be subject to sin or the maladies we experience here upon the earth. At the Judgment Seat of Christ we will be judged for our faithfulness and service and rewarded. At the Marriage Supper of the Lamb we as members of New Testament churches become the Bride of the Lamb, and then shall we return with him to establish his millennial reign here upon this earth (Rev. 19; Zech. 14). After reigning with him a thousand years we will enter into the eternal state to be with him for ever (Rev. 21-22). We shall appear with Him in glory! He will be the center of our worship and praise throughout the ages. He is preeminent in his coming glory.

If Christ is preeminent in the plans and purposes of God, do you know him? Is he truly present in your life? Has there been a time in your life when the Holy Spirit has shown you that you are a sinner and that you have grievously offended a holy and righteous God? Has He shown you that the wages of this sin is death? Has He shown you that because of your sin and unbelief that you deserve to be separated from God from an eternity and that you deserve to spend that eternity in hell, a lake of fire from which there is no relief from your suffering and anguish? And has He shown you that the sinners only hope is in the substitutionary death of Christ where He died for the sinners sins, dying the just for the unjust to provide the basis on which you could be saved? Has He shown you that all your good works are unacceptable to God, are an abomination to Him and that the only righteousness which will is acceptable is the perfect righteousness of Christ and that this righteousness is freely offered to all who believe?

If Christ is present in your life by faith, is He prominent in your life? Is He a regular part of your life? Do you find joy in His Word, delight in time spent in prayer, pleasure in His presence in worship, and fulfillment in His service? Do those who know you take notice by your conduct, your conversation, your regular attendance at worship, your walk, your witness, and the use of your wealth that you Christ is prominent in your life? If he is not prominent in your life, why is he not? What sin in your life is preventing Him from being prominent? Will you confess it to him, and by his grace forsake it? Have the cares and responsibilities of this life choked him out? Renew your first love for him today. Are you placing family and pleasure above your relationship to Him? Remember who is the source of all the blessings you have; the one who gave you your family, the health you have, and the material things you enjoy. Resolve like Joshua of old “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”

If Christ is prominent in your life, is He preeminent? Only God can ultimately answer that question. The closer we draw to Him the more we see that we fall short of being what we should be. The more we recognize that we need Him every day, every hour. The more that we recognize that we are sinners saved by grace and without him we would be nothing. The more we rest in his finished work of redemption; the more we rest in him alone and have no confidence in the flesh. The more we love Him and the more we rejoice in Him. The more we long for his appearing and even now in our hearts and actions we become like the apostle Paul when He wrote “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Worship, prayer, mediation and Bible study, and service, become not a burden, but a blessing. May our prayer be like David’s when he prayed “Search me, O God and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139:22-23). Christ is worthy of preeminence in our lives! An old song by B. B. McKinney says,