Jesus Christ is uncreated God who inhabits eternity, equal to the Father in kind though the Father holds greater authority, and He is preeminent over all creation. He testified that He came down from heaven, and no other human has done so. He answered the Jews' challenge with "Before Abraham was, I am." John 1 places the Word with God in the beginning, and all things were made by Him. Philippians 2 shows that He emptied Himself of divine privileges, not of being God, to become mortal, which means He was greater beforehand. Colossians 1 and 2 make preeminence the theme: He is Creator, Head of the church, and the one in whom all the fullness of divinity dwells bodily, so He is preeminent as Redeemer and Instructor as well. Revelation 3:14 calls Him the arche of God's creation. That word does not mean He was the first being created, since no other scripture supports this. It means primacy in rule, authority and rank, so He is Ruler and Lord over the churches. Believing this requires humility, because God must give the understanding. Anything less than uncreated God could not have paid for our sins.

Scripture presents a high Christology: the One who became Jesus Christ preexisted as the Word, was the God of the Old Testament, was God in the flesh, and is God forever at the Father's right hand. Low Christology, which treats Him as a mere man because He hungered, tired, and grew, cherry-picks texts and ignores that He was both fully human and divine. Colossians 1:15-18 is the heart of this teaching. Christ is the image (icon) of the invisible God, so like the Father in character, will, and purpose that seeing Him is seeing the Father, though the Son submits to the Father. As "firstborn" (prototokos) He is not the first created being but the preeminent one, holding the rank and prerogatives of the firstborn over all creation. He is Creator of everything, visible and invisible, including angels and demons, who remain subject to Him. All things exist for Him as His inheritance, and He sustains them so that without Him everything would dissolve. He is also the living Head and source of the church, the firstborn from the dead, preeminent in all things. Paul uses this to show that in Christ dwells all the fullness of divinity (Colossians 2:8-10), so believers, complete in Him, need no philosophies, angels, or human traditions. Christ also delivered us from darkness through His blood and works now as High Priest to present us holy and blameless. Yet a high view of Christ alone is not enough; it must produce a continual response of obedience and works worthy of Him.

Jesus Christ is preeminent, supreme and foremost above all others. Colossians 1:12-22 declares Him the image of the invisible God, by whom, through whom, and for whom all things were created, who is before all things, and in whom all things consist. He is head of the church and the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence. The Greek prototokos, "firstborn," carries two senses: first in time, and first in quality, meaning most excellent, superior, and supreme. As Creator, He stands far above His creation, and His life is more precious than all the animals, planets, stars, and galaxies put together. No being in the universe is greater than He, except the Father, who directs Him in all He does, as John 14:28 says. This supreme Being gave His own life in a single sacrifice to reconcile each person individually to the Father. The same sacrifice also reconciles all things in heaven and earth to the Father. He will return in power and glory, defeat the forces of the Beast and False Prophet, and reign. He must reign until all enemies, even death, are under His feet. Then He will deliver the kingdom to the Father, so that God may be all in all.