Jesus Christ is first, is everything!
He 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. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. Colossians 1:15-18
That in all things He may have preeminence.
The day I first grasped the fullness of these truths, I was struggling to change or, at best, mitigate the bad things happening to people I loved and their consequences for me. Yep. Selfishness disguised as prayer for things to change for others, so I could live in peace. Anyway, I wasn’t having much success.
Suddenly, it dawned on me, “Without Jesus Christ, nothing would change.” It was then that this phrase came bubbling up from my spirit. “True humility is complete dependency on the supremacy of Christ.” My prayer changed that day from “Get me out of here!” to “I submit to Your Lordship Jesus, and Your supremacy. Things will change only when You change them.”
Upon that submission to Christ and His all-sufficiency, inside, I went from a victim to a victor, and from one who was struggling to bring change to embracing the only change that matters, Jesus Christ.
Today, I return to the prayer, every day in some form, oftentimes I find myself struggling with myself and my situation, and then I remember, “Without Jesus Christ nothing will change.”
The change He intends to bring is in the INSIDE, before it will ever remain on the outside. It’s the light affliction idea in 2 Corinthians 4, the summation of all things into Christ idea in Ephesians 1, the heir of all things in Hebrews 1. In fact, once I saw this, I began seeing this truth everywhere in the bible.
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27b
