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Victory in Jesus

Jesus is first in my life. Jesus is preeminent. Jesus comes before anything else. Let it be so!

So, I look in the mirror and ask myself, “Do I acknowledge the Messiah’s preeminence? Do I give Him first place in all I do and think? Is His character what people see when they look at me? Preeminence doesn’t mean only once a week on Sunday. It means every day and all the time — In everything — that in all things He might have preeminence.

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. | ~Apostle Paul 1 Corinthians 15:25–26

The word preeminence is the Greek word proteuo, which means “to be first in rank or influence.” It comes from the word protos, meaning “foremost in time, order, or importance.” We see this word in the English word prototype—“the first type or model of something.” It is therefore the idea of being first, and in that sense, holding the number one position in the order of things.

Now, preeminence simply means that the Messiah, as the head of all the disciples, should be held in the highest esteem in my life. As I think about His exalted status, there ought to well up within me an appreciation for His supreme position in the universe. In the priority structure of everything, He is in first place. He is the preeminent One.

As King, Jesus reigns over His enemies. Everything, including death, will eventually come under His authority.

The promise is that all the enemies of Jesus will be His footstool. The idea of your enemy being your footstool is an old war picture. Whenever an enemy was conquered he would become the slave of the conqueror and would bow down and allow the conqueror to place his feet on his back as a sign of submission.

  • Acts 2:32–35 — “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Master said to my Master, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. ’
  • Psalm 110:1 — The Master says to my Master: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
  • Ephesians 4:8 — Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.”