… he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead …
Summary: To fully understand the gift Jesus offers us, we must acknowledge death. The reality of death without Christ is terrifying. The blessing of Jesus is being filled with life and freed from death.
Does this passage strike you as being a bit macabre? It does me. What does Paul mean by “firstborn from among the dead?”
In our modern world, we rarely see “the dead.” When we do, they are usually actors in a movie or television show. We know the blood is fake, and after the director yells, “Cut!,” everyone gets up and goes home.
Real death is different. People suffer and die, and their bodies stop working. Almost immediately they start to decay. Even the best embalmer finds it hard to recapture a lifelike appearance in a corpse. Dead is dead.
Or is it?
The story of creation includes this account of how mankind was made:
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)
Mankind is a two-part creature. One part, the flesh, is formed from the “dust of the ground.” The other part is the “breath of life” that God breathes into us at conception. What is difficult for us to comprehend is that when the body returns to dust, the “breath of life” continues on.
Because the spiritual realm, the place where the “breath of life” exists, is invisible to us, we cannot measure it or weigh it like we do material things. We know it in a spiritual sense, but not a physical sense. As a result, many people discount its existence.
But it does exist.
The Bible often speaks of the “realm of the dead” (Psalm 49:15). In Old Testament times, this is the place where the spirit resides after the body stops working (1 Samuel 28:15).
In his nocturnal discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus broached this topic with a statement Nicodemus found alarming. He said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3).
What does this mean? If you read the third chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus goes into detail about his meaning. David, the ancient king of Israel, apparently understood this. He wrote, “But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself” (Psalm 49:15).
To redeem the past generations and bring new life to the present ones, Jesus had first to be raised from the dead. For that to happen, he had to die. And then he rose again (Acts 10:41), firstborn from among the dead.
Application: Believe in Jesus so you may pass from death to life.
Food for Thought: When Paul says Jesus is “the beginning,” what is he referring to?
Jesus is God. And God brought all life into existence. “In the beginning God created…” is how the Bible starts. In John 1: 1 – 4; Hebrews 1: 1 – 3; and indeed in the context of our passage in Colossians we see that everything was created by and for Jesus and is sustained by Jesus. As Revelation 22: 13 reminds us, Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. When Paul states that Jesus is the beginning it means He is life, He is the Creator of life, He is also the resurrection and the life (John 11: 25), and the one Who can then resurrect us to life.
Thank you, Rich!
I love the way your answer spans the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Jesus is absolutely all the things you say! Amen!
I can think of two ways the Jesus is the “beginning.”
All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
In Christ, we are new creations. In Him, our walk with the Spirit begins.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Thank you, Chris!
I like your take on this. Great points!
Agree with prior comments.
When Paul says Jesus is “the beginning,” what is he referring to?
Without Jesus Christ, nothing that exists would exist.
“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”
1 Corinthians 8:6
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”.
John 1:1–3
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”.
Colossians 1:15-19
Amen, Ron. Amen!
Can clarify your reference to born again in iohn 3? It sounds like you are referring to the resurrection of the dead and not anything for the believer now.
Thank you, Anon!
You sound like a person who is well-versed in theological detail!
Here at Three Minute Bible, we approach the Word of God from the perspective of a child sitting at the feet of Jesus. The purpose of the meditation is not to dispense a particular doctrine about the Bible.
Our hope is that by engaging with God’s Word directly, each of us can come away with a deeper understanding of it. If you would like to share your perspective on the text, it would be very welcome.
I hope this helps!