ing, it is also in truth for him. So creation is in Christ, by Him and for Him. "If the Son had not been God, such an interchange of important relations would never have been possible."*

2. But this is not all. We have here, further, a statement of His prior existence to the universe: "And He is before all things." That there may be no possibility of escape from the grand doctrine of the Godhead of Christ, the Apostle seems to heap together the strongest terms to affirm it in various ways and on various grounds. Some take the expression, before all things, as referring to His eminence in point of rank; a proposition of course true in itself, but not the natural meaning of the words here, which are used rather in reference to duration or time. They declare that Christ existed before any created thing.

Consider the language: He is before all things; not, He came into being, but He existed and exists before all. He who created the universe necessarily existed before it. Everything is posterior to Him, and nothing coeval with Him. And as it is not said merely that He was, but that He is before all things, we behold in Him unchanging being, comprising in His existence the beginning and the end of time.

3. Finally, His present and continual necessity to the universe is asserted. By Him, or rather, in Him all things consist not only the Creator, but the Preserver of all things. All things stand together in Him, as the causal and conditional sphere of their continued existence. In Him they live, and move, and have their being, and in Him the sustentation or upholding of the universe rests. How wondrous, then, the glory and the power of the Son of God! Without Him the sun would not shine, nor the seasons revolve; without Him the rain would not descend, nor the rivers run, nor the

*Bp. Ellicott on Colossians in loc.

trees grow, nor the oceans ebb and flow. His power is necessary to summer and winter, to seed-time and harvest, to earth and sea and sky. He upholdeth all things by the word of His power, and without Him creation would collapse and become a wreck. Every part and province of the empire of immensity, with all its contents of life, force, and motion, depends on Him. The intellect of angels reflects His light, the fire of seraphs is the glow of His love, the energy of our own souls is the evidence of His beneficence and skill. In Him all things consist-the power of their support, the primal centre of their order, the rule of their operation. This is the Being in whom we have redemption, the Saviour who died for us and rose again, and who now reigns in the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. What sublimity His greatness sheds around the gospel! What height and depth of moral richness His gospel throws around nature and humanity! How lofty should be our adoration, how strong should be our confidence, how ardent should be our love, how sincere and humble should be our submission! "Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

VIII.

Christ's Headship of the Church.

And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence."-COLOSSIANS i. 18.

IN

N our examination of the three preceding verses we had to consider Christ's relation to God and to the universe. This verse leads us to the consideration of His relation to the Church, the most important body in the universe, a body whose destiny is identified with the glory of the Redeemer Himself. The Creator and Upholder of the universe is the Head of the Church, and "the Head over all things to the Church," so that His marvellous purposes of grace towards His people shall be fulfilled in their ultimate perfection and eternal glory. We cannot fail to see how different is God's estimate of the Church from the estimate which the world has held. To the world the Church of Christ has generally been an object of dislike and hatred, of opposition and persecution. To the statesmen and powers of human kingdoms the Church has been as a tool to play with and use for secular purposes, a body to be restrained and crushed, or an association to be petted and patronized. In our day the chief difficulty of earthly government seems to be the difficulty of knowing how to deal with Christianity and the Church.

This difficulty has mainly arisen from ignorance of the true nature and mission of the Church, and from disregard of the fact that Christ Himself is the sole Head of the Church, and Head over all things for its safety, progress, and promised triumph. His kingdom is not of this world. When these great truths are fully recognized and fairly acted upon, how much better will it be for the Church, and how much better also for the world.

The Apostle here, in keeping with the terms already used by him, seeks by varied and most pregnant phraseology still to set forth the dignity and glory of Christ." And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence."

I. We have here presented for our thought Christ's relation to the Church. Is there any question as to what is the Church? In the ecclesiastical systems of the world the question may involve controversy, but when we come to the New Testament the answer is simple and clear. The Church is the entire company of redeemed and regenerate men, the whole body of the faithful in Christ Jesus, the aggregate multitude of those in heaven and on earth who trust, worship, and serve the Son of God as their Saviour and Lord. The original word ecclesia means the body of those who are called out of the world by a heavenly calling to a new life of holiness and love, in surrender to God. This calling is in Christ, and reaches men only through Him. Of this mighty and ever-increasing company, Christ is the Head.

This passage may have a controversial aspect towards the errors of some of the Colossian teachers about angel-worship, and their theory of emanations in connection with the spiritworld,-errors which probably impugned the headship of Christ, and assigned the government and continuance of the Church to some other power. Christ's relation to the Church

is presented in the New Testament in different lights. For instance, there is the relation of simple dependence, represented by the figure of a building resting on its foundation (1 Cor. iii. 11). There is the relation of vitality expressed by the metaphor of the vine and its branches, which partake of the sap and strength of the parent stem (John xv. 1, 2). There is further the relation of sensibility and sympathy, as conveyed in the connection between the head and the body. And there is also the relation of will and choice in the terms which speak of Christ and His Church in association together as husband and wife (Eph. v. 28–30; Rev. xxi. 2). Here the relation spoken of is that of headship. The preceding verses show the Saviour's qualification for such a position, in His possession of the Divine nature, His supremacy over the universe, and the creation and support of all things by Him. The King of the universe is the Head of the Church, and He has won this position in a glorious way, and by marvellous means. This relationship of Christ to His Church suggests several ideas, as, for example, the idea of life. The Church is not a fortuitous collection of believing souls, but a body: there is organization, and not merely contiguity or juxtaposition. It is a society formed, prepared, and endowed with life to correspond with the Head. Vital and mutually dependent relations exist between the head and the body. The spiritual life of the Church springs from its union to Christ through the Spirit, and it is full of vitality and energy just as it realizes this union to Him. There is also the idea of consciousness. The head is the seat of thought,

and the members of the body do its bidding. The Church knows the grace and voice of Christ, and its function is to do His will, and carry out His purposes in the world. Further, we see the idea of guidance and control. The ruling power is in the Head; and the work to be done by the Church is the work determined, revealed, and prescribed by the Head.