What does it mean that Jesus is preeminent?

In our fear of not being relevant to our culture, we Christians have purposely dropped the use of several biblical words. Instead of teaching a clear understanding of the concept the words represent, we instead try to adopt more contemporary words.

In my humble opinion, by giving up some important terms I think we’ve lost a lot of some of the bedrock teaching we so desperately need.

Take, for example the word “preeminent.”

The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is to be preeminent in EVERYTHING in our lives. But since “preeminent” is such a “churchy” word, we don’t use it and, therefore, often don’t teach it or understand it very well (if at all).

Such a loss for us!

That’s because understanding the concept of preeminence helps us to understand that Jesus Christ isn’t supposed to be just a part of our lives, even an important part of our lives, but rather He is to be superior and more highly valued than anyone or anything in every aspect and every relationship of our lives! He is to be our truth, our way, our life … preeminent!

“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me,'” John 14:6.

Look closely at how scripture teaches the preeminence of Jesus Christ …

“For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen,” Romans 11:36

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.” – Colossians 1:15-18.

Many who profess Christ as Lord say Jesus takes central place in their lives, BUT …

… they really love their children more than Jesus …

… or they love their spouses more than Jesus …

… or career comes before obedience or faithfulness to Christ …

… or …

… or …

… or …

We seem to constantly be putting some person or thing above or before Christ, making them or it preeminent instead of allowing Christ, alone, to have the place of preeminence in our lives.

This constantly swapping out of what or who is important to us reminds me of an article on this topic written by a blogger identified only as “Class of ID14 THWX A.Y.” …

One art student recently addressed in his blog the vast numbers of ancient Roman sculptures that are missing their heads. He discusses the many common, erroneous theories, including that they have been mishandled or poorly packaged for transport over the years, or that the decapitations are simply the result of normal wear and tear. He then goes on to give the actual explanation:

“Romans intentionally made statues with detachable heads. For this, they specially [commissioned statues] with detachable heads. Practically, if a sculpture (of a hero, a well known person, or a ruler) loses fame, honor, or dies, the head could easily be removed and be replaced by the head of a new hero, a more well known person, or a new ruler. In these cases [the] sculptures with detachable heads have a typical and ideal body of no character [i.e., without “identity specific” appearance, and thus interchangeable]. [Ancient] Romans believed that it is greatly the head that carries the identity of the person, so statues with detachable heads were [the norm].”

Lest you think this just the ramblings or postulations of a naive undergrad, it is a point well documented by the experts. Thomas Dudley Fosbroke, in his Encyclopaedia of Antiquities, and Elements of Archaeology, writes:

“It being usual upon many occasions to put other heads upon statues, Caesar took off that of the Alexander of Lysippus, and substituted his own. This was commonly done with regard to deposed Emperors.*

The Roman statue, which was specifically designed with a detachable head, speaks of how fickle people can be as followers. They choose leaders to their liking and switch heads as soon as they are no longer pleased with them. But it can never be this way for the Christian. For us, the focus is on the importance of being a good follower. After all, we are the Church, the Body of Christ, and as such we can only ever have one Head, Jesus Christ, who will never be removed or replaced due to loss of fame, honor or death.

“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything,” Colossians 1:18.

For Christ to be preeminent in our lives means keeping Christ as first in everything.

That does NOT mean that no one else or nothing else isn’t important to us. Such a misunderstanding of the concept of preeminence was touched upon by Philip Yancy writing in his book, “Rumors of Another World” …

“The prize-winning Irish poet Evangeline Paterson sums up her life: ‘I was brought up in a Christian environment where, because God had to be given preeminence, nothing else was allowed to be important …”

Even such a clear truth can be misapplied and turned into a negative thing. Paterson discovered this distortion and corrected it, writing, ‘I have broken through to the position that because God exists, everything has significance.” Has the reality of Who God is made everything else in your life more meaningful?”

More than one person and one thing will (should!) be important to us, but Christ alone is to have a place of preeminence in EVERYTHING in our lives.

It’s not just important to understand these great concepts from the Bible attached to “churchy” words like “preeminence,” but what’s their application to our lives?

Is Jesus Christ preeminent in your life? Or is your life more like a statue that you keep switching heads on?

Scotty