In the divine economy Christ is the One having the preeminence in all things. The book of Colossians reveals that Christ is preeminent, that He has the first place in everything. Colossians 1:18 says, “And He is the Head of the Body, the church; who is the beginning, Firstborn from among the dead, that He might have the first place in all things.” Both in the first creation and in the new creation Christ occupies the first place. In Colossians 1:15 we are told that Christ is the Firstborn of all creation, and in verse 18, that He is the Firstborn from among the dead. The new creation of God is by resurrection. For Christ to be preeminent in the new creation means that He is the first in resurrection. That Christ is the first both in creation and in resurrection means that He is the first both in the old creation, the universe, and in the new creation, the church. The universe is the environment in which the church exists as the Body of Christ to express Christ. Christ is first not only in the church, the Body, but also first in the environment, the universe. This means that He is first, preeminent, in everything.
We need to see that in the divine economy Christ occupies the first place, the place of preeminence, in both the old creation and the new creation. Both in the universe and in the church Christ is the preeminent One. If we see this as a vision, not as a mere doctrine, our living and our church life will be revolutionized. We shall realize that in all things Christ must be the first. He must be the first in our married life, family life, business life, and school life. He must have the preeminence in the universe, in the church, and in every aspect of our daily living.
In Colossians 1:18 Paul says concerning Christ, “That He might have the first place in all things.” In the Bible to be the first is to be all. Because Christ is the first both in the universe and in the church, He must be all things in the universe and in the church. As the first, He is all. God’s way of reckoning in this matter is different from ours. According to our estimation, if Christ is the first, then something else should be the second, third, and others in sequence. However, from God’s point of view, for Christ to be the first means that He is all.
The first Adam included not only Adam as an individual but all of mankind. In the same principle, in the sight of God the firstborn of the Egyptians included all the Egyptians. The firstborn includes all. Therefore, for Christ to be the Firstborn in the universe means that He is everything in the universe. In like manner, for Christ to be the Firstborn in resurrection means that He is everything in resurrection. For Christ to be the Firstborn both of the old creation and of the new creation means that He is everything both in the old creation and the new creation. This corresponds to Paul’s word in Colossians 3:11, where he says that in the new man, in the new creation, “there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all.” In the new man Christ is everyone and in everyone. In the new creation there is room only for Christ.
In the divine economy Christ is the Head and center of all things. Ephesians 1:22 says, “And He subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church.” God has seated Christ at His right hand in the heavenlies, subjected all things under His feet, and made Him Head over all things to the church. The headship over all things has been given to Christ as a gift from God. This does not mean that God gave Christ to the church as a gift; it means that God gave Christ a gift—the headship over all things. According to this understanding, a great gift was given to Christ by God, and this great gift was the headship over all things. The little word “to” in Ephesians 1:22 signifies the identification and oneness of the church with Christ, Christ is the Head over all things to the church, which is His Body.
Ephesians 1:10 says, “Unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” We have seen that God has made Christ the Head over all things. Through all the dispensations of God in all the ages, all things will be headed up in Christ in the new heaven and the new earth. This will be God’s eternal administration and economy. The Greek word rendered “dispensation” in this verse may also be translated “economy.” The economy, or dispensation, which God purposed in Himself is to head up all things in Christ at the fullness of the times.
The entire universe is under Christ’s heading up. However, many things are still in a state of collapse because the process of the heading up of all things in Christ has not yet been completed. At the economy of the fullness of times everything will be headed up in Christ. Nothing will continue to be in a state of collapse, and nothing will fall. In Christ God will head up all things. The following stanzas from Hymns 981 speak of this:
In His Christ to head up all things
Is our God’s economy;
Taking Christ as Head and Center,
All is one in harmony.
Christ as Head will be the Center;
God within will be the Light;
Christ enthroned, with God, His substance,
Will fulfill His heart’s delight.
Ephesians 1:10 indicates that in the divine economy Christ is not only the Head of all things but also the center of all things. Christ is the center for the heading up of all things in Himself. We may use the hub of a wheel as an illustration. The hub is the center of a wheel in which all the spokes subsist. If the hub were removed, the spokes would collapse. The hub is the center for the subsistence of the spokes. We may say that as the center of all things Christ is the “hub” of all things; in Him all things subsist (Col. 1:17).