What Makes Jesus Christ Have Preeminence According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

Why is the preeminence of Christ important in Christian theology?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the preeminence of Christ is essential because it is His by right. Christ must have the first place in all things because of who He is and what He has done. This was the apostle Paul's message to the Colossians who were being tempted by false teachings that detracted from Christ's glory. Lloyd-Jones explains that these false teachings, much like modern cults, try to diminish Christ's position by making Him merely one of many intermediaries to God rather than acknowledging His unique and supreme position.

What does it mean that Christ is "the image of the invisible God"?

Lloyd-Jones explains that when Paul calls Christ "the image of the invisible God," he means Christ is the exact representation and embodiment of God Himself. This is far more than a superficial resemblance. The term "image" means Christ is the complete revelation of God's nature - as Jesus Himself said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." This isn't like an accidental similarity but like the deliberate impression on a coin or stamp, or even more accurately, like a child who is the very image of their parent. Christ reveals the invisible God perfectly because He shares the same nature.

How does Christ relate to creation according to Colossians?

According to Lloyd-Jones' exposition of Colossians 1, Christ has three key relationships to creation:

1. He is the creator of all things - "by him were all things created" - everything in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, was created through Him and for Him
2. He existed before all created things - "he is before all things" - which proves He is not created but eternal
3. He sustains all creation - "by him all things consist" - He holds the universe together, providing its cohesion and order

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that this scientific unity of the cosmos is not accidental but is maintained by Christ Himself, who gives creation its design and interdependence.

What is Christ's relationship to the church?

Lloyd-Jones explains that Christ "is the head of the body, the church" and "the beginning, the firstborn from the dead." This means:

1. Christ is the originator and source of the church
2. He is the first of a new humanity, the second Adam
3. He is the only one who perfectly kept God's law
4. He is the first to conquer death through resurrection
5. He alone could make atonement for sin

The church exists because of Christ and draws its life from Him. He sustains it just as He sustains the universe.

Why does Lloyd-Jones say Christ is all-sufficient?

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes Christ's all-sufficiency as a crucial reason for His preeminence. Christ "needs no assistance, He requires no help, His work does not need to be supplemented." Lloyd-Jones specifically refutes the idea that Mary or saints can add anything to Christ's work. He did everything alone - He was born alone, lived a lonely life, died alone ("trod the winepress alone"), rose alone, and ascended alone. He completed salvation perfectly and completely by Himself, which is why "there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."