From Pyramid to Foundation: What Jesus Really Meant by 'First'

I want to dive deeper into something that has revolutionized my understanding of God's Kingdom: the difference between worldly power structures and Kingdom authority. It's the difference between a pyramid and a foundation, between being "over" someone and being "under" them in service.

Let me take you to Colossians, where Paul uses the word kephalē (head) three times, and show you what it really means when Jesus is called "first."

The Firstborn Who Became the Foundation

In Colossians 1:15-18, Paul writes something remarkable:

"Now Christ, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything." (Colossians 1:15-18, NASB)

Now, here's where we often get confused. When we see "firstborn" and "first place," we immediately think "top of the pyramid." We think King James translation: "preeminent." We think grand poobah, ruler, the one in charge.

But wait—did Jesus' life demonstrate that kind of "first place"?

The Christmas Revelation

The Christmas story alone tells us what Jesus' idea of "first" really means. The King of Kings wasn't even born in a human palace. He wasn't even born in the inn—He was born in a barn and put in a feed trough. And to poor people! We know they were poor because they brought turtle doves for the offering. The wise men with their gold and frankincense hadn't arrived yet (that actually took about two years).

The whole idea is that He came as low as He could possibly go. That's the idea of "first" in God's Kingdom.

First Means Foundation, Not Pinnacle

Here's what revolutionized my thinking: when Scripture talks about "first apostles, then prophets" (1 Corinthians 12:28, NASB), we try to create a neat organizational chart. We want to put them in a pyramid structure that we can put on the wall—first apostles at the top, second prophets under them, and so on.

But there's another verse that changes everything: we're told the foundation is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Ephesians 2:20, NASB).

Think about it: if it's "first apostles, then prophets," and the foundation is "the apostles and prophets," then what starts that foundation? The cornerstone. The lowest point. The base. The foundation that shores up everything else.

So the apostles and prophets are not sitting at the top of a pyramid power structure. They're laying the foundation that holds everything together, just like Jesus does.

The Problem with Pyramid Thinking

I keep coming back to this because it's so hard to get pyramid thinking out of our psyche. We're hardwired for it as humans, rooted in fear. Because we're mortal, we come into the world feeling that sense of mortality, that existential threat all around us. We're constantly fighting for power in order to try to preserve our life.

But what does Jesus do? He comes and lays His life down. He does exactly the opposite of what our instinct tells us to do.

That's why He willingly dies. That's why He wouldn't let them make Him king like they wanted to do. That's why, when He was talking to Pilate, He said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were of this world, My servants would be fighting to prevent My arrest" (John 18:36, NASB).

It's not a power struggle like that.

The Kingdom is Like Leaven

Jesus said the Kingdom is like leaven—it's going to come in and leaven the whole lump. It's about literally reaching out and setting captives free, because they're actually the ones that are going to bring the Kingdom.

He loves the individual, and it's individuals who, when we come together as the body—one's the hand, one's the eye—we're not jealous and we're not fighting and we're not trying to get as close to the head as we can because we feel like being a foot would be less than. But that's not true.

We're all united.

My Journey from Pyramid to Foundation

I have to tell you about my own journey with this. When I was first learning about headship, I was being taught that it means "he's the man in charge." But as I studied the Greek and discovered that kephalē means "source" or "beginning," I still tried to fit that into the old pyramid paradigm.

I kept asking, "Okay, if he's the source, does that mean he has to initiate everything? Does that mean he always has to go first?" We get really twisted trying to make this work within a hierarchical system.

But that's not what it means at all. It just means he's united with us and connected with us. As God, Christ is our creator. He is the source of love. He is the source of our affection. He is the source of life.

The Fullness of God in Us

Look at what Paul says in Colossians 2:9-10:

"For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority." (Colossians 2:9-10, NASB)

What Paul is saying here is that when Jesus became a man, all of God came with Him. The fullness of the deity dwelt in Christ the man. And now, in Him, we have been made complete (the word actually means "fulfilled" or "filled").

But notice what Paul does—he doesn't just say "Jesus has all the fullness of God and He rules over all authority." He squeezes us into the middle of that statement: "In Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority."

Why didn't he just leave us out? Because we are the body! We are united with Him. We're part of that ruling over all authority. We're part of the ruling over the spirits. We're here to take dominion. We're one with our head.

The Orchestra Analogy

It's like an orchestra looking at the conductor and thinking all the music comes from him. He can direct all day, but if we don't play our instruments, there's no music coming out. And if we don't play in harmony with one another, we're going to frustrate him.

The truth is, he himself is that great mystery—God in him, and then him in us. It's that flowing again. He's the head of all rule and authority, and in Him we're made complete.

Breaking Free from Religious Systems

In Colossians 2:18-19, Paul warns us about getting caught up in religious systems that disconnect us from the head:

"Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is of God." (Colossians 2:18-19, NASB)

When we start thinking of ourselves in an abased way—like we're not worthy of glory—we end up disconnecting from the head. We will not grow up and mature in Him.

The Kingdom Way

The problem is, when we make structure preeminent, when we make structure power-based, when we use it as a substitute for the living God, we create the very thing Paul warns against.

But it doesn't mean there's no structure. The difference is that in God's Kingdom, structure serves love rather than control. Authority means responsibility to serve, not power to dominate. Leadership means lifting others up, not climbing over them.

This is what Jesus demonstrated. This is what "first" means in God's Kingdom—not first to be served, but first to serve. Not first in rank, but first in laying down your life. Not first in receiving honor, but first in giving honor to others.

That's the foundation upon which God's Kingdom is built. And when we understand this, everything changes—our marriages, our families, our churches, our communities.

Because the kingdoms of this world operate by one set of rules, but God's Kingdom operates by another. And in God's Kingdom, the first really are last, and the last really are first.

Have you experienced the difference between pyramid-style leadership and foundation-style leadership? What does it look like when leaders truly serve rather than dominate? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Blessings,
Susan 😊