He Is Before All Things; Head of the Body, the Church (Colossians 1:17–18)

Col. 1:17. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

“He often repeats the same thing in order, by the repetition of words, as if by many blows, to cut out root and branch the impious teaching. And note, he did not say: He came into being before all, but: ‘He is before all,’—which is proper to God” (Saint Chrysostom, Blessed Theodoret, Blessed Theophylact). “Whatever you might conceive, you will find that He is before that, pre-exists that, dwelling eternally co-with the Father and Spirit” (Oecumenius). “He is before all; for He alone is begotten of God the Father, from the unbegotten nature of God. But all else exists by His power, which He has from the Father through generation; and it is not so that the created has any fellowship with Him by nature, but so that, having received existence from nothing from the Son, acting at the bidding of God the Father (or by mutual will, of one mind), it is held by Him in existence” (Ambrosiaster). “It received existence by Him, and continues to be by Him” (Oecumenius).

This is the Apostle’s aim in this place—to show that the Lord is also the Sustainer of all. “‘in him all things hold together.’ For He is not only the Creator of all, but also cares for what He created, and rules the creation, and by His wisdom and power it stands” (Blessed Theodoret).

“All is held by Him. He not only brought all this from non-existence into existence, but now sustains all this, so that if anything were removed from His providence, it would be destroyed and perish. On Him, he says, all is established, because it is sufficient to rely on Him, and He will support and firmly hold. So that you might not think that here He is a serving instrument (that is, in providence, to which Angels serve as instruments), the Apostle says that He Himself sustains all this (by His ever-existing power), which means no less than the very creation” (Saint Chrysostom).

The Apostle has shown what the Lord Jesus Christ is according to His Godhead; now he begins to speak of what He is according to the incarnate economy (Col. 1:18–20). “Having spoken of His dignity, he then speaks of His loving-kindness” (Saint Chrysostom). “He passed from theology to the economy” (Blessed Theodoret). Here are revealed two contemplations: αα) the height of the God-man (Col. 1:18, 19) and: ββ) His chief work—the reconciliation of all things with God (Col. 1:20).

Col. 1:18. And He is the Head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the pre-eminence.

“He is the head”—He, of whom it was proclaimed before, the Son of God, begotten before all ages, who created all things, who sustains all things and cares for all things, that very One “is the head of the body, the church.” The body of the Church is a harmoniously joined together multitude of believers in Christ the Saviour, clothed in Him, vivified and reborn by the Holy Spirit, and standing in a living union with the Lord—the totality of restored humanity. It was restored first in Him, in His Person, and according to Him and through Him by the Holy Spirit all believers are restored and, being restored, are joined to Him essentially, become one with Him, and are held by Him: so that He is their Head both as the source and as their sustainer. There by the order of nature He created all, and ‘by Him all things hold together’; but here by the economy of grace all is transformed by Him and again will be held by Him—it abides and stands. Thus the whole Church is one with Him, and through Him with God the Father. All is brought to unity of origin. “The Church here stands in place of all mankind,” says Saint Chrysostom. This is by the power of the incarnate economy and its purpose. If not all enter into its body for union with its saving Head, it is not at fault, but those themselves who do not enter are at fault. “Having said: ‘Head,’ the Apostle wishes to show the closeness of the Lord to us and at the same time the greatness of God’s loving-kindness—that He who is so high and above all was pleased to unite Himself so closely with our lowliness” (Saint Chrysostom). Upon this, believers should continually reflect in grateful feelings.

“He is the beginning,” αρχη,—the beginning of restored humanity. It was first restored in Him, and then according to Him and by the power of His economy all those being restored are restored, clinging to Him by faith. He is the beginning as the source from which flows the restorative power, and as the progenitor of those being restored and the norm of restoration. “The Apostle represents Him as the beginning, expressing the thought that and the others are the same as He,” says Saint Chrysostom.

“the firstborn from among the dead.” “The first to rise from the dead; the first to loose the pains of death and to come forth from its womb as a newborn” (Blessed Theodoret, Blessed Theophylact). “And there were indeed others who rose before; but died again, showing that they did not have in themselves the power of resurrection. But He, having risen, dies no more, containing in Himself the power of resurrection” (Blessed Theophylact). “This power is such that it serves as the foundation and source also of the general resurrection of all” (Blessed Theodoret). “He began; after this all, like Him, will come forth from the bosom of death as newborns” (Blessed Theophylact). Wherefore He is named the firstborn from the dead. “‘the firstborn from among the dead,’ as having risen before all, whom all others will also follow” (Saint Chrysostom, Blessed Theophylact). Ambrosiaster writes: “Since ‘all things were created by Him’; so also all things, after they fell and were corrupted by sin, had to be restored through Him, so that if it had been restored through another, some shadow would not fall upon Him. Therefore as He was begotten before all from eternity, so again He is the first to appear and the first in resurrection from the dead, returning to it through this its original life. Begotten first of all from God, He created all things from non-existence; and being born again from the Virgin with the flesh He took, He destroyed sin, which entered into the world through the virgin Eve, and with sin also death. And thus being born and having died, He rose, so that what was created in the beginning and fell into death through sin might be recreated again.”

Restored humanity, as it ought to be in this state, was manifested in the risen Lord. Therefore properly did He become the beginning of it—such—through resurrection, or as the firstborn from the dead.

“so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” “For as God, He is before all and eternally with the Father, but as man, ‘the firstborn from among the dead’ and head of the body” (Blessed Theodoret). “He is first in all things, first among the celestial beings, first in the Church as its Head, first also in resurrection” (Saint Chrysostom). “For He was begotten before all ages from the Father, and before all men rose from the dead—a resurrection not having seen death and bringing incorruption to all” (Oecumenius, Blessed Theophylact).

“in everything”—in all respects; in whatever respects one might contemplate Him, everywhere one finds Him having supremacy. But according to the flow of the Apostle’s speech, attention is paid only, on one hand, to the natural order of things, on the other to the order of grace. There He is first as Creator and Providence, but here as Redeemer and Restorer.

“‘So that He might have supremacy.’ Thus it was established in the Eternal Counsel of God—for there to be One and the same Who is Creator, Providence, Redeemer, and finally also Judge. But the Apostle sets this forth with the aim that believers’ mind and heart might be established in the One and cling to the One. This is against the false teachers who introduced many powers (aeons) and through this many rulers. Those listening to them scatter their attention and hopes in various directions, yielding nothing. Truly there is One our hope—and in Him is all.”

Col. 1:19. Because in Him it pleased all the fullness to dwell.

He proves that truly from eternity it was established that our Saviour would have supremacy in all: for thus did God will that in Him alone all fullness would dwell—everything complete, all that is needed for anyone and for anything, both in time and in eternity. The reason why He is such is that He is the God-man. Therefore the dwelling of all fullness in Him means also that “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Col. 2:9). “By ‘all fullness’ the Apostle named the fullness of Godhead. As He is the Son and Word as God, so He dwells in Him—not His action dwelt, but He Himself, by His essence or by His full hypostasis” (Saint Chrysostom, Blessed Theophylact, Oecumenius). For this reason all that is needed is encompassed in Him: apart from Him nothing exists or is obtained, and nothing reaches God. Ambrosiaster writes: “All fullness is in Him and abides, He always can do all: He created and recreated, raises up what has fallen and quickens what is dead. Therefore He says: ‘As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.’ And again: ‘For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it’ (Jn 5:26, 21). What is so just as that God should commit judgment to Him over what He created through Him? That all the fullness of Godhead dwells in Him is evident from the fact that, as we have said, He has all authority and power; and this means that He is perfect God, for whoever lacks this is not God.”

God the Father testified from above concerning Christ the Saviour at His baptism and transfiguration: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Mt 3:17, 17:5)—or in whom is all My good pleasure. Why? Because by Him and in Him all God’s will is accomplished, all of God’s plans and intentions, all of God’s good pleasure comes to completion in Him. And all appointed to be accomplished by Him and in Him is accomplished; because He is the Son of God and God incarnate. Therefore God the Father rested and rests upon Him with His good pleasure.