Preeminent

This might be the most important devotion I will ever write. I am not hyping this up; the implications of the topic are simply enormous. It is one thing to believe that Jesus is my Savior; it is another thing entirely to recognize Him as my Lord. I cannot have one without the other, or I turn the Messiah into a formula to be turned to in my time of need or convenience, and I miss the reality that He is to reign supreme over every aspect of my life.

​Meditation
Colossians 1:18--He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,so that He might come to have first place in everything.
 
The word “preeminent” (“first place”) captures the idea that Jesus holds the highest rank and authority in every realm—creation, the church, redemption, and eternity. The Greek word used is πρωτεύων (prōteuōn), which is the present active participle of the verb πρωτεύω (prōteuō), which means “to be first,” “to hold the first place,” or “to have the preeminence/supremacy.”[1] This is the only place the word appears in the New Testament, which ought to give us pause. Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses this unique word to declare that Christ is to hold the absolute first place because He is the eternal Son of God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the risen Lord, and the One through whom God restores everything. 

To be preeminent means to stand out as the most outstanding, superior, or distinguished. It surpasses being merely “good” or even “excellent.” Jesus is described as preeminent primarily in Colossians 1:15–20.

• In relation to God: He is “the image of the invisible God”—the exact representation of God’s nature.
• In creation: “Everything was created by Him . . . all things have been created through Him and for Him."  He is the source, means, and purpose of all that exists.
• In rank: “He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.” He is eternal and sustains the universe.
• In the church: “He is also the head of the body, the church . . .”
• In reconciliation: Through His death on the cross, God reconciled all things to Himself.

           
Jesus should not be first on our list of priorities. He IS the priority. He is over everything we do and who we are. He is not to be compartmentalized or assigned to a particular time of day. He is to oversee every aspect of our lives 24/7. Augustine of Hippo said it well, “Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all.”
            
If we want to grow spiritually and realize our unlimited capacity, we must surrender ourselves and make Jesus our preeminence. ​We call on Him throughout the day. We listen to His voice and obey. We recognize His Lordship and worship Him accordingly. The reason many Christians feel anemic and wonder why God seems distant is because Jesus is not given first place. The more He is Lord, the more we will experience abundant, God-glorifying, fruit-bearing, joy-filled life! 
 
Inspiration
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”—Abraham Kuyper
 
©2026 Daniel York.  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  To receive these devotionals, go to www.firstcause.org and click the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed, subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10—"The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.”  (Holman CSB)
 
[1]Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (G4409)