The Pre-Eminence of Christ

Christ is the supremacy of God eternal, invisible, God only wise, He is Creator of that which was before eternity; He is the head of the Body, the Church. He laid down his life on a cross and shed His blood for us. He is the firstborn of the dead.

“The Greek word “firstborn” implied two things: priority to all creations and sovereignty over all creation. In the first meaning we see the absolute pre-existence of the Logos. Since our Lord existed before all created things, He must be uncreated. Since He is uncreated, He is eternal. Since He is eternal, He is God. Since He is God, He cannot be one of the emanations from deity of which the Gnostic speaks…” [Kenneth Wuest]

It is because of Christ’s eternality we are to be grateful for when we have Christ we have all that is needed or wanted. He is the fullness of God in bodily form. The world would seek fullness in philosophy, rituals or traditions and why we must be on guard against false teachers who espouse false doctrine and in the end seek to lead us astray. We are to “tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.” We must model the Bereans who studied the scriptures to know if what was being taught was the truth.

 

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What is My Quiver Lacking?

Lately, I have been challenged by some of my reading to pray through the scriptures each day as I prepare my heart. It has been more than fulfilling and alarming. As the Holy Spirit speaks he strips away my facade and I find areas that need to be cleansed and corrected.

Today I was touched by Paul’s 10th chapter of 2Corinthians. Most commentators speak of his appealing to the Corinthians to listen carefully to him as he pours out his heart. But, as I was praying the Holy Spirit impressed upon me this thought: if my quiver is not full of those arrows which are anointed by the Holy Spirit it really does not matter what I do or say or pray. None of it is effective as I walk and talk in this world. It is essential to live a consistent lifestyle. Listen to Paul: “What  we  say  by  letters  when  we  are  absent,  we  also  are  in  actions  when  we  are  present.” A consistent lifestyle begins at the foot of the cross. As I was closing my time in prayer, I came away refreshed and reinvigorated to pull out my quiver and re-fill it with the arrows of memorized verses that will help me shoot the enemy when he comes attacking. Also, once again I was reminded that I  will be less of a target my mind is consistently bathed in the Word of God.

Also as I was pondering all of this I came away with this thought: Jesus Christ was able to quench the fiery darts of the enemy with the Word of God in his most difficult trial because his quiver had been filled by the angelic host as he prayed in the Garden. Thus, he could “take every thought captive” and thus take down “every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God.” Our enemy is wily, he is deceptive and he is roaming about seeking whom he can devour. He comes boldly into my presence but if my quiver is full I can draw out just the right arrow to thwart his advance. I may not be able to take him down, but I can inflict my own “deadly d’s” to destroy his advance. He cannot fight against the Word of God.

Are my arrows anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit?