Through His resurrection, Christ has introduced a new order of things, of which He is the Firstborn, just as He is of creation. The Creator stepped into His own creation in order to become the Redeemer. There was none else who qualified to redeem, and so, God the Son came—sent by the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit. He became Man in order to accomplish the work of redemption. Let us note that for the work of creation, He spoke things into existence. But to carry out the work of redemption, He had to do much more than speak. He who is God, blessed over all—who is and always will be in the form of God—humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant. After Christ had accomplished the work of the cross, He died, was buried, but rose again from the dead. Then God exalted Him, and from the glory He sent the Holy Spirit. The Assembly is a company of those who have been called out of Judaism and paganism. But this company is closely linked to Christ’s greatness as the Firstborn from among the dead.

From all the millions of dead persons, God could select only One; and He is the Beginning. In Him, a completely new order came into being, in which everything is placed in a blessed relationship with Him, but He has the first place, the preeminence. The same prepositions used for creation—in, by, and to (v. 16)—are used for the work of reconciliation, the redemption through the blood of His cross (vv. 19–20). Thank God!