«　WEEK 3　DAY 2　»

　　Phil. 2:9 ...God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.

　　Eph. 1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church.

　　Our God is triune. He is one yet three, and He is three but still one....Among the three in the Godhead, the preeminence always goes to the second, the Son. The first, the Father, always exalts the Son (Phil. 2:9); and the third, the Spirit, always testifies concerning the Son (John 15:26).

　　Christ has the first place in all things; for in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell (Col. 1:18b-19). The fullness was pleased. This indicates that the fullness must be a person. He felt happy to dwell in Jesus the Nazarene. All the fullness refers to all the matters, all the things, and all the persons involved in and with the Godhead....Our God is very wonderful. He is one God, yet His Godhead is in three. All the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell in Christ (Col. 1:19; 2:9). (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990,” pp. 559-560)

　　In God’s old creation Christ is the Firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15b). He is the first item of God’s creation. Christ as God is the Creator. However, as man, sharing the created blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14a), He is part of the creation, having the preeminence in all creation.

　　In God’s new creation in resurrection, Christ is the Firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18b). Christ is the first in resurrection as the Head of the Body, having the first place in the church. Some may argue that we cannot say that Jesus was the first in resurrection because others in both the Old and New Testaments were resurrected before Him (2 Kings 4:32-37; John 11:41-44). But all these other resurrections were not something that involved divinity. Those resurrected people, such as Lazarus, died again. But Jesus, once resurrected, will live forever; He will never die again. Therefore, He has the preeminence. Christ as the firstfruits of resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20) is the Firstborn from the dead to be the Firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8:29) and the Head of the Body (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:20-23).

　　We can also see the preeminence of Christ in God’s exaltation.... Christ has been exalted to the right hand of God in the third heaven (Acts 2:33a). It took a tremendous amount of power to land a man on the moon, but that was very insignificant compared to the power it took to raise Christ from the dead and seat Him at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:19-20).

　　In God’s exaltation of Christ, He has been given to be Head over all things (v. 22b). Jesus today has been ordained and appointed by God to be the Head of the entire universe. God has also given Him the name above every name (Phil. 2:9b). Since the Lord’s ascension there has never been a name on this earth above the name of Jesus. Even the entire human race is under the calendar of Jesus. According to history, the one whose calendar you use is the one to whom you are in subjection. If anyone used the calendar of a certain king, he would have to be under the rule of that king. People today refer to our calendar as an international calendar, but actually it is the calendar of Christ. In this way they unconsciously admit that He is their Ruler. He is the One whose name is above every name.

　　Christ has the preeminence in the church, being the Head of the Body, the church (Col. 1:18a). Christ is the unique Head, and the preeminence belongs to Him only. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990,” pp. 560-562)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “Messages to the Trainees in Fall 1990,” ch. 18; CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “The Five Great Mysteries in the Bible,” ch. 3; CWWL, 1961-1962, vol. 3, “The Purpose of God’s Salvation,” ch. 1