Firstborn of the Dead
In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul stresses the exaltation of Jesus following his resurrection. It seems some congregants were confused about his authority over the spiritual powers that remained hostile to his people. So, Paul reminded the church of just how highly God exalted the one who became the “firstborn of the dead.”
Implicit in the Apostle’s statement is the assumption that Jesus
did not always possess his present preeminence. His high status is the result of his obedience unto death,
as well as his triumph over the hostile spiritual powers achieved on the Cross.
But he especially emphasizes that the Son of God achieved his
supremacy over all the hostile powers on behalf of the church.
- (Colossians 1:18-22) – “And HE is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, firstborn from among the dead, in order that he might become in all things himself preeminent; because in him was all the fullness well pleased to dwell. And through him fully to reconcile all things to him, making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens. And you who at one time were estranged and enemies in your mind in your wicked works, yet now has he fully reconciled, in his body of flesh, through his death, to present you holy and blameless and unaccusable before him.”
HIS PRESENT STATUS
In the Greek text, the pronoun rendered “HE” in the first
clause is emphatic. It stresses what God accomplished in Jesus - in his death
and resurrection. He is now - at present - “before all things”
(present tense).
Moreover, in him, all things now “adhere” or “hold
together,” and this includes his subjugation of and rule over all hostile
spiritual powers. For this reason, his people are no longer under the dominion
of the “principalities and powers.” In fact, all such powers were “created”
to serve him.
The Greek term rendered “body” is metaphorical for the
church (sōma – Strong’s - #G4983). In Paul’s view,
a physical human “body” is something that God created, and therefore, it
is inherently good regardless of its present mortal state. The problem was
never its physicality, but its enslavement to sin.
FIRSTBORN
The term rendered “FIRSTBORN” points to Christ’s
preeminence as the “firstborn of many brethren.” He is the firstborn
of the dead. That is, the Son of God is the first man to be resurrected and
receive a glorious immortal body.
And that is why he also is labeled the “BEGINNING.” In his
death and resurrection, he began the general resurrection of the dead and
inaugurated the “new creation.” All the benefits that God has bestowed
on the church ever since are the direct result of Christ’s self-sacrificial
death and subsequent resurrection “from the dead.”
His past resurrection links him to believers, and it is the model and “first fruit” of the future resurrection of the saints. Moreover, his glorified body is of the same nature as the one that his disciples will receive when he returns.
Likewise, the book of Revelation labels him the “firstborn
from the dead,” also in reference to his past resurrection and present
position:
- (Revelation 1:4-5) – “John, to the seven assemblies which are in Asia, Grace to you and peace, from Him who Is, and Who Was, and who is Coming, and from the Seven Spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
In Colossians, Paul also uses the term “resurrection”
metaphorically. On some level, water baptism symbolizes the saints being “buried”
with Jesus in his death so that they should live now in the newness of his
resurrected life - (Colossians 2:9-14).
HIS VICTORY
One result of his exaltation was the cancellation of the ordinances
from the Law that governed food and the calendar. Such things were not
inherently evil, and they were required by the Torah. But their
time came to an end with the death and resurrection of the Messiah. Such
rituals amounted to “shadows” of the “substance” that cast them,
namely, Jesus of Nazareth - (Romans 6:4-5).
Because of his victory, believers must not allow anyone to enslave
them again to the very “rudiments” to which they have died in Christ (“For
you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”).
Since they have been raised together with him, they must
pursue the things above - “Where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.”
And when Jesus is again “manifested,” his people will also “be
manifested in glory.” This “manifestation” refers to his return when
his followers will receive “glory” at the “advent of Jesus” when they
are raised from the dead.
Paul links this future “glory” to the present glory of
Jesus and the coming bodily resurrection of the righteous. The connection is
especially prominent in the designation “firstborn of the dead” - (1
Peter 5:4, 1 John 2:28, 3:2).
As in many of his letters, the bodily resurrection of the saints
is foundational to Paul’s understanding of salvation and the hope of disciples in
the age to come.
