Proteuo: Top of the Chart

Word of the Week

March 21, 2026

Prōteuō: Top of the Chart

 

He is also 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.

Colossian 1:18 NASB

 

In a henhouse, the feathers fly until the chickens have established a pecking order.  Each bird knows who owns the top roost.

In a wolfpack, there is always an alpha male dominating the group.

In a nation, people scramble for the position of greatest power.  Dictators like Stalin would orchestrate mass executions to preserve their place at the head of the table.  Villains like Herod the Great killed wives and sons if they seemed to pose a threat to his regime; slaughtering a village of babies was typical behavior for him.

Ambition unfettered by morals will do anything necessary to seize – and keep – the top spot on the organizational chart.

The Bible, however, makes it clear that there is only one person in the universe who truly deserves the ultimate position at the head of everything – and that’s Jesus.  Today we will look at the Greek verb that describes His authority.

The Greek word that best describes Christ’s status is prōteuō [proh-TYOO-oh].  It’s an uncommon term, one that appears only once in the whole New Testament.

The apostle Paul uses it in Colossians 1:18 as the climax of a long paean of praise for the Lord Jesus. English Bibles translate it as “to be first, to be preeminent, to hold the first rank or the highest degree, to be chief.”

The word spins off of the term protos, which means “first,” either first in time sequence or first in priority or position.  Our verb definitely refers to rank, not time of origin.  It makes it clear that Jesus is permanently in first place in every way.

Look at the way Paul describes Him in Colossians 1:

• Jesus is in first place because He is the Creator.

He is “the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:16-17)

All things were created by Him, through Him and for Him.

He is before all things, and all things hold together through Him.

• Jesus is in first place because He is the Head of the Church.

He is “the head of the body , the church (Colossians 1:18).

• And Jesus is in first place because He was the first in resurrection.

He is “the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.”

 

What is the bottom line?

Jesus Christ “will come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18).

He sits on the Father’s right hand in the throne room of the universe, Ruler of all.  As Paul puts it in Philippians 2:9-11:

For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Our word prōteuō is found only in Colossians 1:18, but there is one other New Testament passage where it shows up in disguise, you might say.

The apostle John wrote the tiny letter of 3 John to a friend named Gaius – a friend who was having a rough time.  Living in a smaller town, Gaius’ church was dominated by a bully named Diotrephes.  Traveling missionaries would come through town hoping for hospitality, but Diotrephes refused to pitch in.  He even threatened to expel folks like Gaius who wanted to help!

What was his problem?  John nails it in verse 9:  Diotrephes “loves to be first among them.”

The Greek word behind this description is philoprōteuō, a combination of philos (“love”) and our word prōteuō.  In short, Diotrephes loved to be in first place.  As far as he was concerned, he was the boss here.  He wasn’t going to tolerate outside interference, even from someone like the Apostle John!

Unfortunately, Diotrephes had fallen prey to a common temptation.  He had overlooked the fact that Jesus Christ is the only one who can claim first place.  Diotrephes isn’t in charge.  Gaius wasn’t in charge.  Not even John could claim first place.

That belongs to Jesus.

And life goes best when I remember that He’s first – and I’m not!

 

 

Study Hint:

Colossians 1 contains two uses of a word that comes from the same word family as prōteuō.   Jesus is described as the “firstborn” of all creation and the “firstborn” from the dead.  Both of these phrases use the Greek word prōtotokos, often translated as “firstborn.”  You can see the resemblance between the various terms.

Some have suggested that prōtotokos implies that Christ was a created being, rather than the God who created everything.  But we have seen that protos primarily refers to the highest rank, not to an early birth.  You can see more about this term in the Word of the Week article on prototokos.

 

Coming Up

Paul only ministered in Thessalonica for a short time before persecution drove him out.  However, he left behind a church that displayed remarkable resiliency.  Next week we will look at a word that describes a key to their surprising growth.

 

©Ezra Project 2026