So that He Himself might come to have first place in everything” (Col. 1:18b).
Such is the Father’s plan concerning His Son. In a few rich verses in Colossians 1, God sums up His design in creation and redemption, and His plan is eminently simple. He has purposed that—when all is said and done, when all of the schemes of man have been laid to rest, when at last the curtain falls on this little drama we call “time”—the Lord Jesus will have the first place in everything. The One whose very name is “the First” will be seen to have the preeminence in all of the workings of God, of time, and of eternity. And this will be due to the other places He has occupied.
His is the highest place.
“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place” (Isa. 57:15). “Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:20-22).
He took the lowest place.
“But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Php. 2:7-8).
He has the central place.
He was in the midst of the bush (Ex. 3:2-4), the cloud (Ex. 24:16), the fire (Deut. 5:22), the teachers (Lk. 2:46), the crowds (Lk. 4:30; 5:19; etc.), His disciples (Jn. 20:19, 26), the lampstands (Rev. 1:13), and the throne (Rev. 7:17). He instructed Israel to build a tabernacle that He might live in the center of His people (Ex. 25:8); He rules in the midst of His enemies (Ps. 110:2); He hung on the middle cross (Jn. 19:18); He is central when His people meet today (Mt. 18:20); He will sing in the midst of His assembly (Heb. 2:12); and He is the center of Heaven (Rev. 5:6).
The first place, the highest place, the lowest place, the central place. Thinking of this ought to make us bow in worship, for who but the Lord Jesus could fill any of those places, much less all of them? But it ought to make us do something else as well: it should lead us to ask, “What place do we give Him?”
This is not merely a devotional issue; it is an intensely practical one. There are many good things that deserve a prominent place in our lives: family, the assembly, the work of the Lord. But above—infinitely above—them all must be the Lord Jesus. Surely we assign Him a high place, but that isn’t sufficient. The real question is: when other things (even good things) in our lives come into conflict with Christ, where do we cast our lot? Do we spend more time with Christ than we do in recreation? When other responsibilities conflict with meetings, what wins our allegiance? Are we pouring the best of our time and energy and passion into pleasing Him or into improving our place in this world. Does Christ practically hold the highest place in our lives? Do our friends and neighbors see it? Do our children?
If the Father has given His Son the highest place, surely we ought to as well. One day we’ll wish we had.