Sabbath: The Preeminence of Christ
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 14th of February 2026
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 1:26-27; Colossians 1:13-19; John 1:1-3; Ephesians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; 1 Corinthians 4:9; Romans 6:3-4.
Memory Text:
“He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:15-17, NKJV).
With this week’s lesson, we resume our consideration of Colossians (see Lessons 1 and 2). In Lesson 2, Thursday, we saw that in Colossians 1:9-12, Paul prays for believers in Colossae, asking that they may live in a way pleasing to God. In verses 12 and 13, he contrasts two realms: that of light and of darkness, “the kingdom of light” (Colossians 1:12, NIV) and “the dominion of darkness” (Colossians 1:13, NIV). God the Father has qualified us to share in the eternal inheritance of the realm of light, delivered us from the power of darkness, and “transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14, ESV).
In other words, it is in Jesus, the person of Jesus, who is also God our Creator, that we have redemption. He worked out our redemption for us, and by faith in Him we have been moved from the realm of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son.
This week we will look at one of the most comprehensive and sublime statements about Jesus in the New Testament. What does it mean that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God,” yet also “the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15, NIV)?
The memory text (Colossians 1:15-17) is extremely elegant and majestic in bringing out the very nature of Jesus. Paul is simply saying that Jesus is God and equal with God the Father in every respect. Paul is not elevating Jesus to this height, but he is simply informing us who Jesus is. It was critically important for Paul to inform the Colossians of the true position of Jesus. Among the Colossians, there were some who were diminishing Jesus not as God and not equal with God the Father. Therefore, Paul was confronting such erroneous teaching. Paul responded by telling them that they did not need anything beyond Jesus. Jesus was not a spiritual power like any other power. Jesus was absolutely supreme above all powers. Jesus was the author of life, and all life revolved around Him. In essence, Paul was saying that this Jesus is not optional, this Jesus is not secondary, and without this Jesus, all is absolutely nothing.
This is exactly what is happening today. Millions upon millions are treating Jesus as not God and hence not equal with God the Father. As Paul warned the Colossians, he is warning us, too. We must never treat Jesus as a substitute. We must be reminded to give Jesus complete worship, submit to Him fully, trust Him absolutely, and He must be supreme in our lives.
Jesus did not keep silent about His preeminence. He wants us to know that we are safe in His hands. He will always be with us in this treacherous Christian walk.
“I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).
Jesus also created in heaven. He is God.
When u see church fighting the position of Jesus it’s because they have or the have decided to ignore the knowledge of who Jesus is. This error was with Colossians and now Paul puts it clear to them so they make their stand
Colossians: Another letter from Pastor Paul!
Yesterday, I came down with a head cold, that affected my balance – so no walking around with a heavy camera and lens photographing birds. I sat and read the whole epistle of Colossians in 20 minutes. What a great pastoral letter. I know there are some theological bits in it, and we will get to those, but, do yourself a favour and take time to read the whole epistle as though Paul is a friend writing to you. I read it from The Message.
I used to eat fruitcake (still do when Carmel is not watching). When I eat fruitcake, I do not separate the ingredients out and eat them separately. I eat the piece of fruitcake as a combination, savouring the mixture of tastes, smells and textures. In my scientist mode, I may separate the ingredients out but that’s for later.
Colossians needs to be read and enjoyed as a whole.
The sad reality since the Fall of man is that humanity has been preoccupied with living life outside of God’s design. In other words, mankind has consistently ignored the supremacy of Christ over everything. By nature, human beings struggle with making someone more important than themselves. Our sinful nature leans toward self-righteousness, self-centeredness, and self-pleasing desires. Therefore, putting Jesus at the center of our lives feels foreign to humanity.
The preeminence of Jesus Christ is at the heart of God’s plan for our salvation. It is a present reality, and when Jesus returns, it will become a universal reality. One thing I have discovered is that looking at others leads to disappointment, and looking at myself leaves me discouraged. But looking to Christ, the Author of my salvation,comes with joy and encouragement. In Gospel of Matthew 24, Jesus says that a time will come when all nations will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of glory. In Gospel of Matthew 25:31, He declares that when He comes in the glory of the Father with His angels and sits on His glorious throne, all nations will be gathered before Him.
Mentally ill individuals sometimes believe they are someone else, speak to people who do not exist, or live in constant paranoia about things that exist only in their minds because they have lost touch with reality. In a similar way, sin has distorted humanity’s perception of truth. Often, we live as though Jesus is not important. Sin has confused us; we are mistaken and, at best, spiritually disoriented. We need to reorient our thinking, because Jesus was not merely a historical figure or just a good teacher. He is the very center of all things—He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End (Revelation 1:8), and the One through whom all things were created (John 1:3).
As we studied earlier in the quarter, Paul wrote these profound words, ” For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Outside of Christ I am nothing, with Him I am everything.
That brothers and sisters sum up “Preeminence” to a T!!!!!
Who, outside of our Creator, could possibly make all things new – including man? He is the only One in whom the powers of Creation are contained and made manifest. Who else, other then the Creator – the Son of God – Christ Jesus – could we worship if we truly believed this?
Phil.2:6 [Phillips] –
”Let Christ Himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For He, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to His prerogatives as God’s equal, but stripped Himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man.
And having become man, He humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extend of dying, and the death He died was the death of a common criminal.
That is why God has now lifted Him so high, and has given Him the name beyond all names, so that at the name of Jesus “every knew shall bow”, whether in heaven or earth or under the earth. And that is why, in the end, “every tongue shall confess” that Jesus Christ” is the Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.
Preeminence. One thing that stands out for me in the memory text is the repeated He, Him, Him, Him, He, Him. It talks about Jesus…a lot. Why? My answer is that Jesus is the greatest and most excellent reality that exists. His disciples thought He was worthy of worship (Matt. 28:17) and Jesus did not stop them from worshiping Himself. So He is God. And as His disciple, I want to worship Him too. I want Him to have first position in my life….in my everyday individual life and in His Church as a member of His spiritual Body. Especially on Sabbaths, I rather expect to be able to freely talk about Jesus all the time in a way I can’t with my unbelieving friends. Isn’t that one reason we all come to this blog…to be able to lift up Jesus! And when I talk about Jesus with those who don’t know Him (yet) relationally, I pray to be clear about His identity. To not be ashamed of His 1st place status in my life, and also, I believe, in every aspect of existence (though the political, bullying, so-called “Christianity” growing louder every day can make it uncomfortable to call oneself Christian sometimes, right?!) I pray to not mumble Jesus as an afterthought or as secondary or as a “thoughts and prayers” tagline at the end of discussing ideas or plans or events as though I am in control. In Matt. 10:32, Jesus specifically asks me directly to never be embarrassed of Him, telling me that He is not embarrassed to speak lovingly of me in heaven, the purest place there, is before the Heavenly Father, the Source of all purity. Me spoken of and loved there is astounding.
So, the true Christian religion is about a relationship with a Person (1 Cor. 15:3-5). The glory of God is not an abstract idea, but a radiant Person (Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3; Jn. 1:14). Our joy is in a Person (Col. 1:13). The Colossian church was getting into the weeds with false doctrine because it was taking its eyes of off Jesus. These fake bullying voices today who are speaking with authority also stand out for not lifting up Jesus. So I think what Paul is saying is that exalting Jesus, being in love with Jesus, is the vaccine against false doctrine (Col. 2:8). Maybe we’ll later go into how the God-Man Jesus overshadows human tradition, human self-improvement, and the world’s empty deceit (Col. 2:16-17,18-19). He’s the only ticket out of worldly delusions and half-truths.
One last idea….Jesus said that “whoever is first is actually last and the servant of all” Mark 9:35. We read about how Jesus exemplifies this in Phil. 2:6…Jesus was the greatest servant who ever lived. In contrast, let’s look at Lucifer. Ellen White tells us that “Satan, next to Christ, was at one time most honored of God and highest in power and glory” ST July 23, 1902. He was “the highest of all created beings and had been foremost in revealing God’s purposes to the universe” Desire of Ages, p. 758.4. Elsewhere, she says that Lucifer “stood nearest the throne of God”…”in glory surpassing all the angels that surround the throne…was united in closest ties to the Son of God” Desire of Ages 435. “A special light beamed in his countenance and shone around him brighter and more beautiful than around the other angels; yet Christ, God’s dear Son, had the preeminence over all the angelic hosts. He was one with the Father before the angels (including Lucifer) were created” SR 13.1. “Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. He desired to receive the highest honors in heaven next to God” Early Writings 145.1. What a warning to us. The more gifts that God has given us – good looks, musical talents, charming personality, intelligence, empathy, influence, responsible position, etc….the greater the danger that we will take the credit. If we don’t constantly and passionately lift Jesus up as highest, if we don’t want to bring honor and glory only to Him, we grow in wanting to exalt self. Indeed, that is one of the tenants of false New Age and New Thought teachings, that we are all “Christs”, we are all begotten of God, not made…just like Jesus.
Starting back today in Colossians I sat down and read all four chapters. It is interesting to note that Paul wrote to the Christians of Colossae to strengthen their faith. Rome prison again about the same time as writing Ephesians, AD 60.
The following verse a little getting ahead, product of reading all four chapters, being a very good explanation of Christ preeminence, again from The Clear Word.
“It is in Him that you are complete, and it is from Him that you receive all the essential knowledge that you need to be saved. He is supreme over every spiritual power and all human authority.” Colossians 2:10.
What else could a God do for His creatures than reveal Himself as one of them? How simpler could that be?
“Watch closely: I am preparing something new; it’s happening now, even as I speak, and you’re about to see it. I am preparing a way through the desert; waters will flow where there had been none. (Isaiah 43:19)
Jesus came to this world and identified himself as “sent by my father”. This is evidence of God’s presence with and in Jesus.
Christ put on humanity, living a perfect life, represented the Father, while dwelling among men, that we may know His Father. See 1SM 264.1-2
We can have the character of Christ as we put our trust in Him and allow Him to change our hearts.
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. . KJV — Romans 13:14”