The Messiah’s “preeminence” (Col. 1:18)—as in Romans 14:10–12 and Philippians 2:9–16— presumably holds eschatological import, since authority assumes divine judgment in its final denouement (cf. Rom. 2:16; 2 Cor. 5:10). Moreover, Paul’s reference to Christ as “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18) is an affirmation of the Jewish apocalyptic hope of the resurrection rather than a redefining or actualizing of it.Christ being the “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29), or “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), only confirmed for Paul the surety of the final climactic resurrection. - John P. Harrigan