Back In First
Pastor Ryan Hurd
Part of Jesus at the Center—Lent 2023
March 19, 2023

The Christ Hymn

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. —Colossians 1:15–20 (CSB)

Tomb = Womb

Here in verse 18, the Apostle Paul reuses a word from his opening line of this Christ hymn… “firstborn”.

  • Wk1, v15 — Christ is the firstborn over all creation.
  • Wk5, v18 — Christ is the firstborn from the dead…

It seems odd that Paul used the word “born” in connection with death — the two concepts seem directly opposed to each other. But the tomb was a womb from which Christ burst forth in victory, for not even death could Him!

Jesus’ resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, the reason that the church even exists.

By His resurrection, He has shown that He has conquered every opposing power and that there is nothing in life or in death which can bind Him.

Resurrection Existence

This is good news for you and I, because apart from Christ, we around bound in sin.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. —Romans 6:23 CSB

Death is a blunt reminder of the fact that Jesus entered the world of sinners, endured their punishment, and rose victorious with the power of the Spirit.

Jesus lived the perfect life we never could (OT) so that He could nail that life to the Cross and birth a brand new life — the Church — no longer crushed under the weight of the law, but propelled by grace.

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. —2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

Through His death, Jesus paid your debt. Through His resurrection, He gave you new life.

Resurrection Undercurrents

God, even throughout the OT, is bringing humanity to the end of themselves, so that they can find new life.

The principal God was preparing His people for is this: Before there can be a resurrection, there has to be a death.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! —2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

Clinging to the Old

So many of us are holding on to things, refusing to let them die.

Until Jesus is first — at the center — whatever else you’re pursuing must die.

The good news for followers of Jesus, is that death isn’t the end.

Back In First

He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. —Colossians 1:18 CSB

Here, we have come full circle and confronted with the same question that demands an answer: Does Jesus have first place in my life?

  • Yes, Christ IS first in creation. The Church. The resurrection. But He also must be first on the throne of your heart.

This is a call to deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus.

But here is where many of us get stuck — we’re scared of the unknown.

Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. —Hebrews 11:1 CSB

  • Faith places our goals/dreams/ambitions/life in the tomb because we know that Jesus is worth infinitely more.
  • We let these things die, because Jesus is the ultimate prize.

Maybe the problem we are facing is similar to those in the church of Ephesus…

But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. —Revelation 2:4 CSB

And yet, the great promise of the Gospel is this… When I finally come to the end of myself, when I can finally hear Jesus bid me to come and die — I find that I can truly live.