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.
— Colossians 1:18
Christ is also the preeminent One in the new creation. He is the Head of the Body, the church (1:18a). In other words, Christ actually is the Body. A body can be a body only because of its head. Once the headship is absent, a body becomes a corpse. It is Christ who is the life and reality of the church.
Besides this, He is the Firstborn from among the dead (1:18b). We were all dead in our offenses and sins. Because we were dead we had no sensation of life, and we had no reaction to the things of God. Then one day we were made alive. This happened because He was made alive first. We are the continuation of His resurrection, but He is the One who deserves the first place in all things, and He will have the first place in all things. He must have the first place in how you cut your hair, how you buy your clothes, and especially how you practice the church life.
Adapted from Oneness and the One Accord, pages 77-78.
Tomorrow: “Our Position to Live Out the Oneness” (5)