He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. (Colossians 1:18)

So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. For this reason also the people went to meet Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. (vv. 17-18)

During His life on the earth, Jesus resurrected a few dead people. It may appear to many that Jesus was not the first person resurrected. But Jesus is the firstborn from the dead because those who believe in Him escape the wrath of God on the last day through His death and resurrection. The righteous God did one righteous act to make us righteous.

So then, as through one offense the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind. (Romans 5:18)

This act of righteousness is Christ’s death on the cross outside Jerusalem. Only Jesus could satisfy the Father’s demand. And it was the very reason why the Father sent His only Son.

But Jesus answered them by saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (vv. 23-24)

The Father did not want a man who was sinless as a sacrifice but His only Son with the Spirit so that the Son could be the head of the church. Christ’s work on the earth is focused on the kingdom of God.

Theologians and ministers often separate Christ’s two natures. Many understand that Christ became inferior to the Father when He became a man. The Gospel of John refutes the idea. Whether in heaven or on the earth, Christ has always been equal to the Father and has the same authority. He does not speak on His own initiative but speaks what the Father tells Him because they are one. We do not worship only the Son but the triune God. Theologians and ministers often praise Jesus separate from the Father. When we praise Jesus, the Father also receives the praise. But it is the Father who ordained Jesus’ death for His kingdom. As Psalm 22 tells us, Jesus is both on the receiving end and the giving end of worship.

From You comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him. (Psalm 22:25)

The Father accepts only the praise from His Son. Therefore, the saints who are one with Christ are accepted as the children of God. Our worship and prayers are accepted. Although we were born dead, God made us alive through faith that He gave us. Even in the OT, Abel was a saint because of his faith in God. He believed in the blood of Jesus Christ and therefore, he gave the sacrifice of the firstborn of his flock.

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. (Hebrews 11:4)

In this passage, we read that God’s salvation has always been for people from different tribes and nations. God does not show favoritism. But God made the Israel nation so that we learn from their history. Their history in the OT tells us God’s will in all His creation. But His people reject just as Christians reject Christ at present by following false teachings. Theologians and ministers will continue to follow the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ even though the Bible rebukes them. There is no hope without knowing the meaning of the cross of Christ.