Does anyone remember Bud Abbott and Lou Costello? As a kid, I remember going to the library with my grandmother once, and her getting excited about them having their old movies “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” and “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.” She said I had to see them, and she checked them out. I remember telling her, “But, they are in black and white!” However, they were quite good. In college, a friend showed me what is arguably one of their most famous scenes, their sketch, “Who is on first?” Ever seen that? If you haven’t, it is about a baseball fan asking a manger about his baseball team. And so, he asks, “Who is on first?” and the manager responds, “Who.” Thinking the manager is asking a question, he again asks, “Who is on first?” To that the manager answers, “Who,” which is the player’s name. What plays second and I Don’t Know plays third. The two go back and forth saying, “Who is on first.” Who is on first. It is a question, and a statement. It is the same in the sketch, and in the book of Colossians.
To the opponents of Paul, “Who is on first,” is a question. The false teachers ascribed to angels and other spiritual beings a power independent of Jesus, and they encouraged others to worship them. They also ascribed to them saving value. To them, Christ had a throne, but it wasn’t the throne. It was up to debate about who was greater. To Paul, though, it is not a question, but a statement. To Paul, Jesus is on first. Jesus is on first as the firstborn of all creation and head of the Church. He is firstborn of the dead and Reconciler. In the second half of chapter one, Paul goes after his opponents and explains what it means that Jesus is on first. He is on the throne.
Paul says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” When we hear “firstborn,” we naturally think of the oldest sibling in the family, whether that is a brother or sister. Maybe that is you. That is similar to how a man named Arius understood it. Arius saw this as meaning that Jesus is the first of many creatures, and there is a problem with that! It makes Jesus a part of creation, and a created being! It would mean that Jesus is not fully God, that He is not of one being and substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. It would mean that Jesus is not one with the Father, and is less than Him. Understanding Paul this way is quite problematic! This would be heresy!
In the Bible, the term “firstborn” is not a title, but a description. Psalm 89:27 is helpful in demonstrating this. There, it is said of David, “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” Obviously, David is not the first king on earth, or even in Israel. He isn’t even the firstborn in his family: he is the youngest of eight brothers. In the Old Testament, firstborn means, “one who is privileged.” David is called the firstborn because God declared him to be the inheritor of Israel’s throne. Jesus is called the firstborn because He is declared to be the Ruler of all creation. What a shot to the opponents! And lest there be any question about what Paul means, he elaborates on what this entails.
He proclaims that Jesus is the cause of creation. “By Him all things were created….” “All” means “all.” Every. Each. Total. Complete. The whole ball of wax. He created everything in the heavens above and the earth below. He created all things that are seen and unseen. He created all thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities, whether spiritual or earthly. He is the source of it all and they are all subservient to Him. There are no rival powers or authorities. He is over them!
And more than that, Paul says that Jesus still preserves and sustains His creation. “He is before all things….” In respect to time, power, prestige, and honor, “and in Him all things hold together.” The unity and order in the universe, and in the laws of nature are expressions of our Lord’s power and will. If it were not for that power, everything would fall part! Jesus is what holds it all together!
And so, what does it all mean? What does it mean that Jesus is the firstborn of all creation? Sin, evil humanity, and the devil are not in control of this world. Jesus is, and He sets limits on their wicked activities. Nothing in this world – no political menace, no military conflict, no economic depression or accident, nothing in our lives, including our greatest tragedies, can separate us from our Savior or from the hands of love in which He continually holds us. And it means that the One that we pray to is over all. And it means that the One Who works all things for our good in Him is over all. And it means that the One Who cares for us in body and soul is over all. All means all. Jesus is on the throne! He is on first! But, Paul is not done going after his opponents just yet. He continues with what else this means, and what else He is first of.
“And He is the head of the body, the church.” Have you ever asked, “Who is in charge, here?” Maybe you had a bad experience at a restaurant, or you experienced a disappointment with a service, or endured a frustration with an authority over us. We ask, “Who calls the shots around here? Who makes the decisions?” Who is that for the Church? It is not bishops or Popes. It isn’t district or synodical presidents. It is Jesus, Himself, the Head. He exercises authority over the Church, directs its every function, and governs all things in the universe in the church’s best interest. He provides pastors and teachers so people can hear the Word and receive His gifts! The Church depends on Christ alone for everything: its life, sustenance, continuance, and existence!
And who and what is the Church? It is not a building or steeple, but people! The word “Church” means “called out of,” or “called from.” The Church is those whom Jesus has called out of the world, out of their former life, and out of the kingdom of darkness. It is those called by Him through the Gospel from a life lived for self, from a life of hopelessness, and from being an inheritor of hell.
It is those called to His body, the Church, where He daily and richly forgives the sins of all believers. It is those called to a new life marked and given by His life, Spirit, and grace. It is those called inheritors of heaven and His beloved child. The Church is those who are called to a life of hope, meaning, and fullness, and to the kingdom of Christ. This is you! We are grafted into this body through baptism, and sustained in this body by His Word and Supper. Jesus isn’t just the head of creation, but also the Church! He is on first!
But, again, Paul isn’t done with the opponents and what this means! “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.” A few years ago, I read a memoir of a World War II soldier who fought in an elite combat division. He was coaxed into doing it by receiving an extra two week leave. As the soldier finished his leave and went to the camp for training, he was struck by the motto that hung over the camp’s entrance. It read: “We were all born to die.” It was meant to numb the soldiers to death, and to eradicate the fear of it. You can’t be afraid of something that is bound to happen was the thought. However, spoiler, it didn’t! He fears it throughout the entire book. Every person seeks an answer to death, or way to face it. Every religion and worldview tries to give a solution or hope to it. However, they all fall short and will!
Remember what firstborn means! Jesus has power over the one thing that no one on earth can stop or prevent: death! Our Lord has defeated it through His death, and He has promised our own victory over it one day, too. And so, we live in confidence and hope. We can live today, knowing that there will one day be a tomorrow in Christ, a tomorrow where there will be no more pain, suffering, death, disease, or sin. And, as Paul said last week, what springs from this future hope? Faith in Christ and love for Him and our neighbor. Jesus has power over the one thing no one else has: death! He is on first.
Paul finishes his point by saying, “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.” Paul points out this profound truth: all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. Think of the implications! When the baby is born in Bethlehem, in that baby dwells God in all His fullness! When Jesus is beaten and nailed to the tree, it means that God dies…for me! God rises for me, too. As a true man, Jesus takes my place. As true God, only His sacrifice could pay for all and be applied to all. And as true God, He reconciles all things to Himself, making peace by the blood of the cross. We, who were by nature separated from God and an enemy to Him, have now been reconciled. Our relationship has been restored! We are holy, blameless, and above reproach before God because of the reconciling work of Jesus. It has all been done and completed. The opponents’ claims of needing something else, or something more, falls devastatingly short: there is just no need! Jesus is the supreme reconciler!
We live in a world that says, “Who is on first?” For us Christians, that is not a question, but a beautiful statement. Who is on first? Jesus is on first. He is the firstborn of the dead and creation, head of the Church, and reconciler. What, or who, could be more than that? No one. Amen.