Col. i. 16 — 18. By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers : all things were created by him, and for him : and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the Head of the body, the Church : who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead ; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.
THE pre-eminence he must have : the pre-emi- nence he shall have : his title to it is indisputable : and it is at the peril of our souls to withhold it from him. Do you ask, Of whom we speak thus ? I answer, Of the Lord Jesus Christ ; of whom the Apostles evidently thought that they could never speak enough. Let the Apostle Paul but touch upon his name, and he launches forth in his praise, and scarcely knows when to stop. Mark the passage before us. The Apostle had informed the Colossians what prayers and thanksgivings he daily poured forth before God, in their behalf. He especially praised God for " delivering them from the power of dark- ness, and translating them into the kingdom of his dear Son :" and having thus, accidentally as it were, mentioned the Lord Jesus, he goes on to expatiate on his transcendent excellencies, not only as the Redeemer of his people, but as " the image of the invisible God, and the first-born (that is, the Heir and Lord) of the whole creation." And, lest it should be thought that he was speaking too highly of the despised and persecuted Jesus, he proceeds yet fur- ther to establish his claim to these high titles, by declaring what he had done for the world at large, and for the Church in particular ; and that the pre- eminence thus given him was no more than his due.
In opening to you this sublime passage, I shall be led to shew,
I. On what grounds pre-eminence is due to Christ —
In all things he must take the lead. This priority is due to him, on account of,
1. His personal dignity —
[He, though born into the world a little infant, after that the world had existed four thousand years, was the Creator of all, the Preserver of all, the End of all. " By Him were all things created," both in heaven and earth, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers. Whether they be " visible," as the heavenly bodies and the earth, with the things upon it ; or whether they be " invisible," as the holy angels and the souls of men ; he formed them all : what- ever rank or order they possess in their respective spheres,