sand with a beautiful nacre that
hardens into a lustrous and gorgeous pearl. That is how the church was
born. It emerges from the wounded side of Jesus. It was the irritation that
we represent by our sinful lives that put him to death, and he covers it
over and heals it, making it into a beautiful pearl of great value. That is
the church. That is what Paul is describing here: Jesus himself is the
beginning of the church.<P>

Then, secondly, Paul says, Jesus is "the firstborn from among the dead."
Many take 