Colossians 1:17

Prayer For Maturity Based On Christ's Preeminence

¹⁶ For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. ¹⁷ And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.] ¹⁸ He is also the head [the life-source and leader] of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will occupy the first place [He will stand supreme and be preeminent] in everything.

All Things

Created Through Him

John 8:58

Jesus replied, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before Abraham was born, I Am.”

1 Corinthians 8:6

yet for us there is but one God, the Father, who is the source of all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things [that have been created], and we [believers exist and have life and have been redeemed] through Him.

Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority],

Revelation 1:8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],” says the Lord God, “Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all].”

Revelation 1:17

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. And He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God],

1 Samuel 2:8

“He raises up the poor from the dust,
He lifts up the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor and glory;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the land on them.

Psalm 75:3

“The earth and all the inhabitants of it melt [in tumultuous times].
It is I who will steady its pillars. Selah.

Proverbs 8:22-23

“The Lord created and possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old [were accomplished].

Isaiah 43:11-13

“I, [only] I, am the Lord,
And there is no Savior besides Me.

Isaiah 44:6

“For the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts says this,

‘I am the First and I am the Last;
And there is no God besides Me.

Micah 5:2

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah;
From you One shall come forth for Me [who is] to be Ruler in Israel,
His goings forth (appearances) are from long ago,
From ancient days.”

John 1:1-3

In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

John 5:17-18

But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now [He has never ceased working], and I too am working.”

John 17:5

Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory and majesty that I had with You before the world existed.

Acts 17:28

For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

Colossians 1:15

He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ is [eternally changeless, always] the same yesterday and today and forever.

Revelation 1:11

saying, “Write on a scroll what you see [in this revelation], and send it to the seven churches—to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Revelation 2:8

“And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Smyrna write:

“These are the words of the First and the Last [absolute Deity, the Son of God] who died and came to life [again]: