Col 1, 18-20 He is the firstborn from the dead

(Col 1, 18-20) He is the firstborn from the dead

[18] He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross (through him), whether those on earth or those in heaven.

(CCC 753) In Scripture, we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which Revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. The images taken from the Old Testament are variations on a profound theme: the People of God. In the New Testament, all these images find a new center because Christ has become the head of this people, which henceforth is his Body (Cf. Eph 1:22; Col 1:18; LG 9). Around this center are grouped images taken "from the life of the shepherd or from cultivation of the land, from the art of building or from family life and marriage" (LG 6). (CCC 792) Christ "is the head of the body, the Church" (Col 1:18). He is the principle of creation and redemption. Raised to the Father's glory, "in everything he [is] preeminent" (Col 1:18), especially in the Church, through whom he extends his reign over all things. (CCC 658) Christ, "the first-born from the dead" (Col 1:18), is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification of our souls (cf. Rom 6:4), and one day by the new life he will impart to our bodies (cf. Rom 8:11). (CCC 624) "By the grace of God" Jesus tasted death "for every one" (Heb 2:9). In his plan of salvation, God ordained that his Son should not only "die for our sins" (1 Cor 15:3) but should also "taste death", experience the condition of death, the separation of his soul from his body, between the time he expired on the cross and the time he was raised from the dead. The state of the dead Christ is the mystery of the tomb and the descent into hell. It is the mystery of Holy Saturday, when Christ, lying in the tomb (Cf. Jn 19:42), reveals God's great sabbath rest (Cf. Heb 4:7-9) after the fulfilment (Cf. Jn 19:30) of man's salvation, which brings peace to the whole universe (Cf. Col 1: 18-20).