Christ the Creator and Sustainer of All Things | Devotion

“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.” —COLOSSIANS 1:16

Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Christian message, the substance of the gospel, and is Himself Christianity. To live the Christian life, it is vital we have a true understanding of who Jesus is in the heavens and on this earth.

The deity of Christ, recognizing Jesus to be equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is fundamental to our understanding of the New Testament. We are Trinitarian in faith, believing the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God who has revealed and expressed Himself in these three forms. 

Scripture tells us that creation is by Jesus, meaning He is the divine source of creation. Through Him, He is the divine agent of creation and for Him, He is the divine goal for which creation was brought into being that it might all be for Him. Nothing is left out – things in heaven, things on earth, things that are visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers, rulers or authorities. Verse 17 says, “In him all things hold together.” Christ didn’t wind up the earth and it’s ticking away in the energy He gave it. He is Himself its energy. What He has brought into being, He maintains in being. The sun rises every morning and sets every evening because Christ keeps the whole thing in being. 

When Scripture refers to Christ as the firstborn that does not speak of His creation in any way as He has always existed, but about the pre-eminence of Christ; that is, in the divine hierarchy, Christ is the inheritor of all that belongs to the Father. Paul writes in verse 18, “…he is the beginning and the firstborn among the dead.” Paul isn’t saying that Jesus was historically or chronologically the first to be raised from the dead as we know there were others before Him, but he is saying that the resurrection of the dead depends upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is firstborn among the dead in that it is from His resurrection that all resurrection derives. Because He lives, we also will live.

Everything in creation is not only made by Christ, through Christ and for Christ, but it will all belong to Him. This is Christ in His deity. Past, present and future, He is the fixed point of the universe. Without Him, we are adrift in this world, but with Him, we are securely anchored in His power and for His divine purpose.

Dear Lord, I could never comprehend the enormity of this universe and how it all works, but it’s beautiful and amazing. Thank You for being my anchor in it.

Am I living with an expectancy of the divine work and activity of Christ in my life?