A commentary of M. John Calvin, upon the Epistle to the Colossians. And translated…A commentarie of M. Iohn Caluine, vpon the Epistle to the Colossians. And translated…

18 The head of the body. After that he hath generally discoursed touching the excellency of Christ, and of his high principality over all creatures: he returneth again unto those things which peculiarly belong to the Church. In the word Head, some do consider many things. And truly a little after he will use the fame Metaphor [I mean Head] in this sense or meaning, that as head in the body of man is in stead of a root, from whence the vital power is dispersed into all the members: so doth the life of the Church proceed from Christ, &c. But in this place he speaketh, in my judgement, chiefly of government. He teacheth than that it is Christ alone, who hath power to govern the church to whom alone, the faithful ought to have respect, of whom dependeth the unity of the body. The Papists while they seek to prove the tyranny of their Idol, find lacks that the Church is headless, unless the Pope as head have dominion-therein But Paul doth not yield this honour, no not to the Angels: and yet he maims not the Church of her head: for that Christ, as he challengeth this title unto himself, so doth he verily and in deed exercise the office thereof. Neither am I ignorant of their cavil wherewith they wind out themselves, [which is this] The Pope is the ministerial head. but more splendent and noble is the name Head, than that it ought by any colour, to be set over unto any mortal man, specially without the commandment of Christ. With more modesty behaveth Gregory himself, who writeth that Peter in deed was a principal member of the church, yet that he and the rest of the Apostles, were members under our head Lib. 4. Epi. 92. He is the beginning. Because this word [Greek or Hebrew] doeth sometime signify, with the Greek, the end whereunto all things are referred, we mought in this sense take Christ to be [Greek or Hebrew], yet had I rather thus xpounde. Pauls words, that he should be the beginning ⟨p. 14⟩[…] ⟨p. 15⟩[…] ⟨p. 16⟩because he is the first begotten of the dead. for in the resurrection he is the renewing and building up of all things: and so the beginning of the second and new creation, because the first was fallen utterly by the ruin and fall of the first man. Because therefore that Christ in rising again, hath begun the kingdom of God, worthily is he called the beginning: