Jesus is the beginning…
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead…” Colossians 1:18
Have you ever thought what this means, “Jesus is the beginning, the first born from the dead?” It means that Jesus is the beginning of a new creation. The new creation is underway; it is happening.
This new beginning is the result of the Cross. There, on the Cross, Jesus paid for the sins of the world. Now, by the blood of His atonement, the curse can be lifted and a new creation, without sin and corruption, can occur. Sin is defeated, and the glory of God will fill the universe.
Read Colossians 2:10-14 and consider what was accomplished on the Cross. God circumcised your body of sin – your flesh and put it on the Cross with Jesus. Paul calls this the operation of God; a circumcision made without hands because God does it. Because you are crucified with Christ, you are likewise buried with him in baptism. Your old man has suffered the full wrath of God, you did not get away with anything. All your sins have been atoned for, and God’s justice has been satisfied. God will not judge you again.
Then God took your sinful flesh and buried it with Jesus. He took you out of the way. You are gone. You are no more. Your old life, your sinful man, is judged and put away. Now, because you have joined yourself to Jesus, you have risen with him through the faith of the operation of God. Your old life was not raised. A new man was raised. A new life in Christ. You are now in Christ, not in your sins.
What is true of Jesus is now true of you. Your story is bound to His. When He died, you died. When He was buried, you were buried. When He rose, you rose with Him. And now, as He lives, you too live—no longer in the old life, but in the power of His Resurrection.
“We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
This is the life of the Spirit—the very life of Christ within you.
Jesus took everything that was against you and nailed it to His Cross. He nailed it there because it was against you. It was in the way, hindering you from coming to God. Jesus removed it. There is no evidence of your sin. There is no more guilt. Jesus fulfilled every requirement demanded of you and then removed it, freeing you from your debt and the demands you could never accomplish.
The written demands of God in the Law were nailed to His Cross and put out of the way. You are no longer under the Law. Your death with Jesus has delivered you from your marriage to the Law. The Law’s demands and the Law’s penalties are no longer a threat to you, for you are no more! You are hidden in Christ. You are complete in Christ.
Furthermore, Jesus spoiled principalities and powers. He took back what the devil stole: “Through death he … [destroyed] him that had the power of death … the devil; and [delivered] them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” Hebrews 2:14-15
THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE THE LORD’S.
Now, by the Resurrection of Jesus, a new creation has been sparked to life. A new man is walking the earth; this new man is the Church. He is a new man with a new life; a man with a new authority; a man with a new future.
The Holy Spirit was sent into the world to inhabit this new man. There is a new anointing, a new priesthood, a new covenant. Jesus has created a new race of people; He calls them His brothers. This race is holy, saintly, and perfect.
“…we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all … this man, … offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God … by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified … I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds … their sins and iniquities will I remember no more … enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh …” (Hebrews 10:10-22).
The Cross stands in sublime magnificence—, the ultimate manifestation of God’s love and the perfect demonstration of His wisdom. There, at Calvary, God brought an end to the old creation. A world stained by corruption and rebellion was answered by the Man of Righteousness.
On that Cross, He paid in full the price of our redemption. Sin was defeated, death was conquered, and Satan’s power was broken. And now, through His Resurrection, the new has begun.
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The Cross is not simply about death – it is about defeat. The Cross is the defeat of the old order and the beginning of a new one! Look at the Cross again. You see only death, but God sees death being defeated by death. The Cross is about life, liberty, and the Kingdom of God!
With the eloquence known only by a few, Samuel Rutherford said, “Believe me, brother… whoso looketh to… Christ’s Cross… with faith and courage, shall find it such a burden as sails are to a ship or wings to a bird. I find that my Lord hath over gilded that black tree, and hath perfumed it, and oiled it with joy and gladness.”
He who shares in His Cross will also share in His glory. “If we died with him, we shall also live with him: if we endure we shall also reign with him.” In her book, The Path of Loneliness, Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “This is my story, and this is my song. Jesus Christ has given me Living Water. Jesus Christ is my Bread. Jesus Christ is my Life. He is Joy of Man’s Desiring. That old, rugged Cross, so despised by the world holds a wondrous attraction for me.”
YOU ARE DIFFERENT, LIVE LIKE IT
A new species has emerged. Jesus rose as the first begotten from the dead of a new species. You are different; live like it!
“… the Resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body … As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as isthe heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 48-49).
Calvary wiped out an order…and produced a heavenly people.
The reality of the Resurrection changes everything. It transforms why we live and how we live. Because God will raise us and reward His people, our focus and motive for life must shift to a Kingdom mentality.
Knowing there is an afterlife, a Kingdom in which you can lay up treasure, should change your attitude about life here today. You are not bound by a cross that suggests you must take you blows, suffer your wrongs… just endure it all because one day you will be in heaven. Your Cross is about victory. The unfolding of a glorious future. This is Paul’s point in 1 Corinthians 15: if there is a resurrection, don’t waste your life—be steadfast and abound in the work of the Lord. Heaven will take over, and what we do in this life will carry on into the next.
Our service in this life determines our reward in the life to come. The mission of the Church is not some fleeting, temporal labor; it is central to God’s eternal Kingdom. Kingdom work is not merely an optional project to fit into our schedules—it is the heartbeat of eternity itself.
Many excuse their lack of devotion to the King and His Kingdom with the false comfort: “Well, everyone is happy in heaven.” Yes, everyone in heaven will know joy, but not everyone will be rewarded the same. Jesus Himself said, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12).
Some in heaven will have no rewards, no treasure laid up. I don’t know precisely what that will look like, but I know this: I do not want to find out.
If God is going to hand out eternal rewards based on what I do here on earth, then I want to live entirely devoted. I want to enter eternity in a blessed state, hearing Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Matthew 25:23)
The faith by which you work is not a temporary way of trying to have purpose here until you can leave it all behind and go to heaven. You are not doing this simply for today. Our present life, in this body, is not valueless just because you will die—God is going to raise you.
WHAT YOU DO NOW MATTERS
Why do you think I have surrendered to God? Why have I devoted my life to ministering in His Kingdom and serving the King? Could I not have gained the wealth of the world as well? Could I not have lived free from the betrayals and stress and heartaches of the people who hate God and think we are fools for giving our all to Jesus? You will never know, in this life, what it cost me to follow Jesus—to stand against the legalist for the defense of the Gospel!
What you do in this body, in this very moment, matters. What you do for the Kingdom today will echo into eternity.
Every act of service—whether seen or unseen—carries eternal significance. Preaching the Word, singing praises, sewing or knitting for those in need, praying in secret, teaching truth, building hospitals, fighting for justice, or standing against the powers of darkness—these are labors that God remembers.
Every faithful effort—digging wells for the thirsty, writing words that inspire, caring for the poor, loving your neighbor, giving tithes and offerings, serving in the choir or tech team, teaching children, packing food bags for students, stocking pantries, sending shoe boxes to the nations, joining prayer groups, leading Bible studies, writing cards of encouragement, volunteering in rehab or prison ministry—all of it matters.
Even the simple things—preparing meals for the sick, cleaning the Church, or investing in Kingdom work—are holy offerings when done unto the Lord. “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name” (Hebrews 6:10). What you do today for Christ will matter tomorrow—and forever.
What we give on earth continues into heaven (Luke 18:22–33). Nothing surrendered for the Kingdom will go unrewarded. Jesus promised that every sacrifice made for His sake will be rewarded, both in this life and in the life to come.
Suffering and death are not the end; they are only the pathway to eternal reward in the Kingdom of God. The Cross always precedes the crown. As Paul declared, “If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12).
Therefore, there should rise within every believer an eager desire to take part in the work of the Kingdom—a holy pursuit to be involved, to serve, and to help advance His cause. This is not drudgery but joy, for we labor knowing that “our toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Why uproot and break every tie? Why put your life continually on the line? Why endure the reproach of the world? Why become the target of its scorn and abuse? Why suffer cruel mocking and beatings? Because there is a Resurrection! Because Jesus is alive!
This is our guarantee of an eternity with no sickness, no sorrow, no pain, no death—free from earth’s trials, discomforts, and disappointments. Jesus declared, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
He will restore what was lost. He will redeem the years spent limping on crutches and confined to wheelchairs. He will revive the smiles that suffering erased. He will replay the symphonies unheard by deaf ears and unveil the sunsets unseen by blind eyes. The mute will sing for joy, the poor will feast at His table, and every wound will be healed.
We will see God! We will behold His glory. We will witness the fullness of His love.
Our greatest days are not behind us—they are ahead! “And He that sat upon the Throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new…these words are true & faithful! He said, it is done. I am Alpha & Omega the Beginning and the End’” (Revelation 21:5-6). No more tears. No more death. No more sorrow. No more crying. No more pain. The former work of corruption, decay, and pain is SWALLOWED UP IN A NEW CREATION!
©Lee Shipp