The Excellency of Christ in Creation and the Incarnation

  1. The Excellency of Christ in Having First Place in All Things
    1. First place to "all the fullness" - Col. 1:18b-19
    2. First place in eternity past - Col. 1:17a
    3. First place in the Father's love - Col. 1:13
    4. First place in the Father's plan for the universe - Col. 1:16
    5. First place in God's creation - Col. 1:16
    6. First place in the present existence of the universe - Col. 1:17b
    7. First place as the Head of His Body - Col. 1:18
    8. First place as the Beginning/Source/Origin - Col. 1:18
    9. First place in the process of reconciling the universe - Col. 1:20
  2. The Excellency of Christ in Creation
    1. The Beginning of the Creation of God - Col. 1:18; Rev. 3:14
    2. Christ as the prototype, Firstborn of all creation - Col. 1:15
    3. Christ, the image of the invisible God - Col. 1:15a
    4. The Firstborn out of the dead - Col. 1:18
    5. The sphere of all creation - Col. 1:16a
    6. The agent of creation - Col. 1:16b; John 1:3
    7. The goal of creation - Col. 1:16c
    8. The preexistence of Christ before creation - Col. 1:17a
    9. The present power of Christ with creation - Col. 1:17b; Heb. 1:3
    10. Christ as the Heir of all things in the universe - Heb. 1:1-2
    11. Christ executing the purpose of creation - Eph. 3:9-11
  3. The Excellency of Christ in the Incarnation
    1. 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
    2. 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