The Excellency of Christ in Creation and the Incarnation

I. The Excellency of Christ in Having First Place in All Things
A. First place to "all the fullness" - Col. 1:18b-19
B. First place in eternity past - Col. 1:17a
C. First place in the Father's love - Col. 1:13
D. First place in the Father's plan for the universe - Col. 1:16
E. First place in God's creation - Col. 1:16
F. First place in the present existence of the universe - Col. 1:17b
G. First place as the Head of His Body - Col. 1:18
H. First place as the Beginning/Source/Origin - Col. 1:18
I. First place in the process of reconciling the universe - Col. 1:20
II. The Excellency of Christ in Creation
A. The Beginning of the Creation of God - Col. 1:18; Rev. 3:14
B. Christ as the prototype, Firstborn of all creation - Col. 1:15
C. Christ, the image of the invisible God - Col. 1:15a
D. The Firstborn out of the dead - Col. 1:18
E. The sphere of all creation - Col. 1:16a
F. The agent of creation - Col. 1:16b; John 1:3
G. The goal of creation - Col. 1:16c
H. The preexistence of Christ before creation - Col. 1:17a
I. The present power of Christ with creation - Col. 1:17b; Heb. 1:3
J. Christ as the Heir of all things in the universe - Heb. 1:1-2
K. Christ executing the purpose of creation - Eph. 3:9-11
III. The Excellency of Christ in the Incarnation
A. Solidarity with two representative persons
1. The first man and the second man - 1 Cor. 15:47
2. In Adam - 1 Cor. 15:22; Rom. 5:12, 14, 18-19
3. In Christ - 1 Cor. 15:22; Rom. 5:18-19; 2 Cor. 5:14, 17
B. The representative nature of Christ's flesh - John 1:1-3, 14
1. Living a representative life as the Son of Man - Matt. 16:13-17
2. Becoming available as a life-giving Spirit - 1 Cor. 15:45
3. Taking humanity up into God by the Word becoming flesh - John 1:1-3, 14
4. Experiencing things by partaking of flesh and blood - Heb. 2:14
5. Fixing our problems in Another - Rom. 8:3
6. Accomplishing things In the body of His flesh - Col. 1:22
7. Participating in His humanity in spirit - John 6:53-57, 62-63
8. Being in a state of fullness in Him - Col. 1:19; 2:9-10
9. Merging with the disposition of the incarnated Christ - Phil. 2:5-13


place in all our fellowship with one another - Col. 1:27-29