Yes!

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. Colossians 1:18(NIV)

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Colossians 1:18 (KJV)

2007 SCS Alumni, Geoff Crowley, nailed it! He was the keynote speaker at SCS's Senior Banquet on June 1, 2010. He spoke on SCS's foundational scripture, Colossians 1:18. His presentation sounded like a seasoned theologian... his exegesis was superb. The following four excerpts from his presentation provide a perfect example of what I have been talking about in the most recent posts:

1. "Tonight, I want to approach this text in a more theological and historical way. What did it mean for the Apostle Paul, a first centruy Jew, to write that in all things Jesus the Messiah is Lord and that in all things Jesus the Messiah is pre-eminent?"
2. "The first place to which we must look is the text itself. Colossians 1:18 is part of a larger passage, Colossians 1:15-20."
3. "The second thing that we must do in approaching this passage of Scripture, and perhaps the most relevant thing in terms of our discussion tonight, is to consider the political and religious scenes that were happening historically at this time."
4. "But what does all of this mean for you sitting here in 2010, roughly 1,948 years after this letter was written?"

Can you see it? Notice his questions.....this is an excellent example of the types of questions that we must ask ourselves as we encouter the Scripture. Excerpt #1 asks the question, what did this message mean to the original hearers? Excerpt #2 takes us directly to the text itself and the larger context. This is the first place we go to determine meaning.....the text and the larger context. As one of my professors used to say.....letters only have meaning within words, words only have meaning within phrases....phrases only have meaning within paragraphs....paragraphs only have meaning within passages, etc. Excerpt #3 takes us directly to the politial and historical context. This is so good....and you don't have to be a biblical scholar with 78 years of biblical research and know greek, hebrew and aramaic. A good study bible will go a long way in helping to fill in these blanks. Excerpt #4 is the hermeneutical question that must be asked of the text. In essence, knowing all that we have learned about the author's intended meaning, we turn the focus onto what the text now means to us.

Can you see what I am talking about? If not, hang in there....grasping these concepts have the potential to transform lives!