The pre-eminence

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence. – Colossians 1v18

In our Bible study last Sunday night we talked about how God uses the church to help the believer grow in Christ. One of the key words that Christ uses to describe His church is the word ‘body.’ All over the world members of the body assemble locally the carry out the role of the church in the New Testament.

There is only one head to the body. Anything else would be an abomination, a freak, a monstrosity. Verse 18 reminds us that only Christ is the head of the church. Since He is the head only He can have the pre-eminence. No man, no matter how well known, how smart, or how popular deserves the pre-eminence in the local church. In fact, according to 1 Corinthians 12, the members of the body who we give the least regard to are often the most important. Every member of the local assembly of the body has a role, none of them less or more important that the other.

The church is all about Jesus – plain and simple. It is not about us at all. God does set certain members in specific roles according to Ephesians, and there is a responsibility on the church to provide for those who make their living as pastors, but no one in the church deserves the pre-eminence that so many claim and even demand.

John also addresses the issue in 3 John where he mentions a man named Diotrephes. According to John this man, ‘loved to have the pre-eminence.’ The word used here is a form of the word pre-eminence used in Colossians. Diotrephes was one who craved to be first in the church, he was ambitious of distinction. A friend recently asked me if this man was the pastor. I agreed that I thought he was, since he certainly seemed to have some influence there.

What happens when someone like Diotephes craves distinction in the church? What happens when he loves the pre-eminence?

When one loves the pre-eminence he loves what is Christ’s alone. When one loves the pre-eminence he really wants Christ’s place in the church.

May I always make sure that Christ alone has the pre-eminence not only in my personal life, but in the local assembly where I am allowed to serve.