“And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.”

In all things, our Lord Jesus Christ has the preeminent place. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and no one can overtake Him or displace Him. The Lord of love is still on the throne and always will be. We can be full of confidence that he will overcome all evil finally and forever, and bring His waiting people home to heaven to fulfil all things and finalise the kingdom of God.

The people of God are the Church of God, the group of people who belong to Him because of what he has done for them. They have believed in Him and put all their trust in what He did on the cross and are forgiven and justified by His mercy and grace alone. The Church are the redeemed people of God, bought out of the sinful way of life by the precious blood of Christ and made right with God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of that Church, which is His body, and He will bring His people out of this world and out of the grave and into the life eternal with Him forever. Christ alone has the authority over the church and He decides our lives and future according to His tender mercies and glorious power.

Christ Jesus is the first fruits from the dead, for He has risen to bring about the kingdom of God and show that He is the Lord of life and all the Church. He is not just the first from the dead, but is the one who raises people from the dead, as He did when He was here on earth. If Jesus had not been raised then neither would these people have been raised. He raised Himself to restore all things which were lost when humankind fell in the garden and lost their standing with God. Jesus was the commencement of the kingdom of God and so is the beginning of that mighty body of believers and kingdom of saints.

He raised people by His mighty power and gave life to dead bodies, and so is the Lord of physical life. He is also the Lord of spiritual life and is the one who gives life to the soul and raises the soul to a resurrection of faith and love in Him. The supremacy in all things belong to Christ because he has made all things and upholds all things. He also restores the things that have fallen away and subjects them to His authority. All honour is due to Him.