The Undercover Adventist

  Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Lesson 8 - Wednesday   The “Beginning” (and Initiator) “And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18). When Paul calls Christ “the beginning,” he is not merely speaking about time. He is speaking about authority, source, and initiation. Jesus is not just first in sequence—He is first in rank. As Head of the church, He directs, sustains, and gives life to His body. As “the beginning,” He is the origin of the new creation, the One who launched resurrection life through His victory over the grave. The connection is powerful: the One who started the new creation is the One who leads it. The church does not invent its mission, define its truth, or supply its power. Everything flows from Christ. Just as a body cannot function without its head, the church cannot function apart from its living, rei...

Uniting Heaven and Earth Christ in Philippians and Colossians  Lesson 8 - Monday   Firstborn Over All Creation Read Colossians 1:15–17 slowly and you’ll see that Paul is not minimizing Christ—he is exalting Him. He writes that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created… All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (NKJV). When Paul calls Jesus “the firstborn,” he is not saying Christ was created. The very next lines make that impossible. If all things were created by Him, then He cannot be part of the created order. In Scripture, “firstborn” often means rank, authority, and inheritance rights. It speaks of supremacy, not origin. Paul is declaring that Christ holds the highest place over all creation because He made it, sustains it, and stands before it in eternity. Notice the reasons Paul gives: First, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. ...