Hello Beloved,
Let us continue our study of the names and titles for Jesus. Last month, we considered the title of Jesus’ name as the “Prince of Peace.” This was our last of several names for Christ found in the prophetic verse of Isaiah 9:6. This month we will examine the name of Jesus as the “Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.” Our key text for this study will be Colossians 1:15-17.
As God, only Jesus can perform divine functions alongside the other persons of the godhead: the Father and the Spirit. We read of Jesus’ role in creation from passages like John 1:2-3, where the Apostle John communicates of Jesus, “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” John 1:2-3 (ESV). In
1 Corinthians 8:6, the Apostle Paul reveals the importance of understanding Jesus’ role as Creator when he writes, “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist”
1 Corinthians 8:6 (ESV). The author of Hebrews also tips his hat to Jesus’ title as the Creator when he states, “in these last days he (God) has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” Hebrews 1:2 (ESV). And in our focal passage, Colossians 1:15-17, Paul communicates the truth about Jesus as the Creator.
In his letter to the Church at Colossae, the Apostle Paul speaks candidly about Jesus as our Redeemer, and he connects this role to that of Creator. As Genesis 1:27 communicates, we as humanity were made “in the image” of God, but Jesus is the very Image of the invisible God. He is preeminent over or is superior in regard to all of creation, including angelic creatures and other immaterial beings. The Apostle writes, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 (ESV) In verse 17, the apostle links the creative capacity of Christ with His ability to sustain His creation. He explains, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” Colossians 1:17 (ESV). The word for “hold together” (sunistemi) means that Jesus is source of the “glue” that holds together all the universe as well as its component parts. Jesus is the Sustainer of the creation in maintaining the routine and balance of keeping God’s creation functioning like it should. He sends rain, provides sunshine, and watches over the cycles of the seasons. This is what it means for Christ to sustain the creation that He Himself made. William Cullen Bryant wrote:
My heart is awed within me when I think
Of the great miracle that still goes on,
In silence, round me—the perpetual work
Of thy creation, finished, yet renewed forever.
Written on thy works I read
The lesson of thy own eternity.
(Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World.)
Until next time, this is Pastor Daniel writing, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”