It’s All About Jesus

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1:15-16 NIV

One of the great quests of science today is to discover a Grand Unified Theory – a theory that unifies the four fundamental forces that make the cosmos the way it is. Tremendous progress has been made in understanding – or at least recognizing – the details. Some very imaginative ideas have been proposed. But science still does not know what holds the universe together and keeps it working.

There is another approach to the question. One that we as Christians believe provides the real solution. Now don’t get me wrong. Most of us cannot explain all the workings of the atomic structure. We probably can’t expound on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle or explain the merits of String Theory.

But in a letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul gave a three-sentence explanation of the identity of Jesus Christ that we believe explains it all. Paul, of course, was not offering a scientific explanation. But what he wrote is both profound and essential if we are to successfully unravel the mysteries of the cosmos.

Paul wrote: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-16 NIV)

These three phrases define the creative activity of Christ: All things came to be “in him,” and “through him” and “for him.” Creation was “in him” in the sense that it occurred within the sphere of his person and power. He was its conditioning cause, its originating centre, its spiritual locality.

Paul understood that the entire life of the universe is mediated from God through Christ. “All things,” used twice in the verse, translates an expression in Greek (ta panta) that was sometimes used in the sense of our word “universe.” It denoted the totality of things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Whatever supernatural powers there may be, Christ is the One who made them and he is their Lord.

That all things “hold together” in Christ means that he is both the unifying principle and the personal sustainer of all creation. The universe springs from him and finds in him its common bond and centre. Jesus is Lord over it all.

Prayer
Almighty Lord, creator and sustainer of all creation, we lift our voice in thankful praise and worship for your wisdom and power and authority in all things.
Amen

Study by Joseph Tkach