How Can I Give Christ The Pre-Eminence In All Things?

Colossians 1:18

            The apostle Paul tells us that it is the will of the triune God that the Lord Jesus Christ have all pre-eminence in all things as the God-man our Savior. If it is the will of God for Jesus Christ to have all pre-eminence, surely it ought to be our will for him to have it.

            Indeed, it is the will of all who know him in the experience of grace and salvation to give Christ their Savior all pre-eminence. Every saved sinner, from the depths of his soul, cries with John, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Perhaps you ask, “How can I, a sinful wretch, totally incapable of even thinking, much less performing righteousness, give the Christ the pre-eminence?” In much the same way as God the Father has given Christ the pre-eminence, so we must give him the pre-eminence in all things. John Gill was exactly right when he wrote, “Christ ought to have the pre-eminence and first place in the affections of our hearts, in the contemplations of our minds, in the desires of our souls, and in the highest praises of our lips.”

            If I would give Christ the pre-eminence in all things, I must TRUST HIM WITH ALL THINGS (John 5:23-24). Just as God the Father has trusted and committed all things to the hands of his Son as the Mediator of the covenant, so too we must trust him. Faith is neither more nor less than the commitment of myself to the Lord Jesus Christ in all things. I must LOVE HIM ABOVE ALL THINGS (Matt. 10:36-39). Faith is so entirely losing our lives to the rule and dominion of the Son of God that nothing and no one is allowed to interfere with our worship of and obedience to him. I must YIELD TO HIM THE RULE OF ALL THINGS (Lk. 14:25-33). All who follow Christ, all who trust him, surrender themselves to him as Lord. Not only do they confess with their lips that “Jesus is Lord,” they willingly bow to his dominion as Lord. I must OBEY HIM IN ALL THINGS (Luke 18:17-25). Many, like the rich young ruler, vainly presume that they are righteous because they pretend to live by the ten commandments to the honor of God. God’s elect live by much more than the ten commandments. They live by the rule of the whole revealed will of God in Holy Scripture, seeking by his grace to obey him in all things. We look upon no word from God as being optional, no ordinance of our Lord as a matter of indifference, and no doctrine of the gospel as unnecessary! And, If I would give Christ the pre-eminence in all things, I must RENDER PRAISE TO HIM FOR ALL THINGS. Jesus Christ alone deserves all praise, for he is our God. He alone created us. He alone redeemed us. He alone saved us. He alone preserves us. He alone shall bring us to glory! If we would be in harmony with God, we must give Christ all pre-eminence in all things. In all our preaching, in all our worship, in all our service, in all our affairs, in all our gifts, in all our desires, in all our relations, let us be in agreement with God our Father and determine “THAT IN ALL THINGS HE MIGHT HAVE THE PRE-EMINENCE!”

Don Fortner