Tuesday, September 19th, 2023

Scripture: Col. 1:16 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.

Col. 1:17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Teaching: Continuing his argument from Col. 1:15, asserting Jesus’ dominion over all Creation, Paul elaborates further for the specific purpose of showing that Jesus is Lord over all things, both visible and invisible. This invisible realm is a direct reference to something false teachers in Colossae had been teaching, that Christians were to worship angels, and even more, that Jesus Christ was himself an angel, therefore part of the Creation and inferior to God. Paul will address angel worship directly in Col. 2:18, but here, in his defining Christological teaching, he is sure to delineate Jesus as the Creator, wholly separate from the Creation.

Continuing on, Paul gives the reason that all things were created – for Jesus. (See Romans 11:36 and Hebrews 1:2). All things were created by God through Jesus and for His glory. We see John make the same assertion in John 1:1-4. God created the world through His Word, and Jesus is the Word made flesh. Thus, when we consider Jesus in this light, not only as the sacrificial lamb but as the one by whom all things were made, we understand what Paul meant when he said, “and in Him all things hold together.” Jesus was before all things were created, He created all things, and also sacrificed Himself in order to bring us back into an abiding relationship with God. He literally created and sustains all Creation.

Takeaway: Jesus was all God and all man, and there are ways to consider both of those things. Theologically speaking, a “high Christology” emphasizes Jesus’ deity while a “low Christology” emphasizes his humanity. Neither are incorrect, they are simply different ways of understanding aspects of Jesus. But a failure to grasp the true height of high Christology, who Jesus truly is, is a hindrance to our walk with him. Faith and repenting of sin is the call of the Gospel, and when we truly appreciate who Jesus is – the Creator and Sustainer of all Creation, the One who came to save us from our sins and is coming again to rule in perfect love and justice – faith, worship, thankfulness, and repentance are the Spirit-led result.