He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
(Colossians 1:18)
 

    Here is the idea of firstborn again. It does not mean he was the first to rise from the dead. We know that isn't true. He raised some from the dead himself. But he was the firstborn from the dead in the sense that when he arose from the dead, he could never die again.
    In being the firstborn, he was heir to eternal life. As heir, he can dispense it to all. He, in his resurrection, made it possible for us to be raised into newness of life.
    When we are raised into newness of life by the risen Christ, that's a new beginning. We= re alive in the power of his resurrection. He becomes the dynamic of our life.
    So what's the church? The church is a group of people indwelt by the life of the risen Christ, raised in newness of life in him, controlled by him as head, coordinated into a cohesive boy in which his Spirit moves in his ancient ways.
    Now the church, unfortunately, sometimes gets a long way away from Jesus. As soon as it does, it becomes not the body, but the corpse.
    The thing that makes the church is not the preacher, nor the elders, nor its people. The thing that makes the church the church is the head, Christ, who is powerfully at work in individual lives. The church is utterly dependent upon him.
    And then Paul sort of grabs the whole thing together and says, "So in everything he is supreme.@
  Do you remember Operation Overload - the Normandy invasion of World War II? Until that time the armies of the Allies served under various commanders. But now they came together to attack the stronghold of Nazi Germany. It was necessary that there be a supreme commander. You couldn't have the British commander by the British any longer, and the Americans by an American, and the Australians by an Australian. Free French, Belgians, Norwegians - you couldn't have them all doing their own thing. There had to be a supreme commander, and Dwight Eisenhower was that man.
    He did a wonderful job. But with all due respect to Mr. Eisenhower, he was not the Supreme Commander. That title is reserved for the one who is King of kings and Lord of lords, that in everything he might have the supremacy.
    If we are to enjoy life in the kingdom, it is in relationship to the King. And if our relationship to the King is to be right, our understanding of him must be constantly enlarged.
    You never need worry about enlarging overmuch in your understanding of the Lord Jesus. Learn as much as you can, as long as you can. After eighty years, you'll still be skin and bones in proportion to the amount there is to devour.
    Just think of it - mounds and mounds of luscious, delectable truth about King Jesus, inviting you to sit down and indulge. Enlarge yourself in your knowledge of Christ the King! It's the one area where dieting is downright harmful to your health!
    Why is it important for us to constantly learn more about our Supreme Commander?
 

~Stuart Briscoe~