Isaiah 32—33, Colossians 1 Key Verse: Colossians 1:18
Supremacy is a rather limited word. We may try to use it broadly, but when something or someone
has supremacy, it really is singular. Only one can be supreme. Anyone else may be close, but not
quite. The same is true of preeminence.
Paul says that preeminence and supremacy belong to Jesus because of the Resurrection. We need
to know that and remember that preeminence is His by right, not ours to grasp. In Colossians 1,
the emphasis of verses 15-19 is on Jesus.
Contrast this with Diotrephes, the church leader characterized in 3 John as a man “who loves to
have the preeminence” (v. 9, NKJV). The root Word in Colossians 1 and 3 John is the same in the
Greek. The only difference is that in 3 John it is a compound word, the other part meaning “he
loves to be.” Diotrephes loved to be first, to have the preeminence.
It is striking that this word appears only twice in the New Testament. When Paul used it, he was
stating what rightfully belongs to Jesus. When John used it, he was condemning a man who
wanted what belongs to Jesus. The desire to control, to be the center of attention, to have the
power to exclude others, came from a heart that wanted what belongs to Jesus.

The preeminence is His to have, not ours to take. Watch your pride, lest you become like
Diotrephes.
Do you have the heart of a servant or a usurper? Read carefully the description of Diotrophes and then
again the one of Jesus. Ask God to help you be humble, not seeking in any way what belongs only to Him .
Woodrow kroll & Tony beckett
www.backtothebible.in