8 - The Preeminence of Christ | Uniting Heaven and Earth

Who is Christ before his incarnation? Colossians 1:16–17 and John 1:1–3 provide the clear answer: He is the Creator of all things. All things were created through him and for him. The one who creates is the cause – and thus God. Christ is not a creature, but the eternal Creator himself. He and the Father are one.

To redeem us, Christ added full humanity to His full divinity. Thus He became the Redeemer and Firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:12–15).

Fundamental principles help us understand this:

• A cause cannot have a cause; otherwise, it would itself be an effect.

• A creature cannot possibly create anything.

Therefore, anyone who portrays Christ as a creature or as having a beginning is legally in the wrong.

We are only redeemed when we become one with Christ as individuals. Through the Holy Spirit, He dwells in us. The false identity had created a false door and a distorted connection within us. The new identity is: “I am a child of God.” Through this door, unity with God arises –“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

In summary: Christ is God – without beginning, without end, unborn, uncreated. He is the Firstborn before all others, because he unites God and man within himself. In him, we are more deeply connected than before the Fall: not only through the Spirit, but personally in one Person – Jesus Christ. How does his life become my life?

Through grace, we have the choice to be born of him. This happens when our mind and will unite with God’s will and we embrace saving faith. Only when God convinces our will do we truly desire to live this new life. This is explored in greater depth in the eighth part of the series “Uniting Heaven and Earth.”