We have a Savior who isn’t a part of our creation. He existed before anything else came into being. In fact He is the cause that anything came into being.
Do you remember the commercial with a guy hanging from a beam held there only by the product Krazy Glue? That stuff could hold things together like nobody’s business. Now we have Loctite, Gorilla Glue, Scotch Weld, 2 part epoxy. Each one of these glues claim t be the toughest and the strongest. But you know what? None of these glues could hold the universe together. Now while that may sound silly, you need to know that the universe is held together. Now it isn’t held together by gravity, dark matter, or some unknown force yet to be discovered. But it is nevertheless held together.
As we continue to progress through this passage at the speed of dark, lets not lose heart or grow weary at our slow pace. Far too often we rush through passages and don’t pay attention to what we are being taught. So enjoy our sow, methodical pace. Let’s continue to discover what God has for us here in Colossians 1.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning… Colossians 1:17-18a NASB
In these verses we see more about Jesus that should humble us. We should be humbled because this person Jesus described here is the same one who died and rose from the dead for us. This one…died for you and me. Wow.
He is Before the Beginning
In v. 17 we see some interesting things about Jesus. The first thing we see is that He is before all things. This means that Jesus predated the creation of the world. And if you remember a previous article, He is the creator of everything we see and don’t see.
We tend to think in a very linear fashion. What I mean by linear is that we think in terms of beginning – middle – end. Almost all our thoughts follow this pattern, at least when we think of issues of life. And why shouldn’t we think this way when every living thing or being has these three linear elements. But we can’t think this way when we think about Jesus. He is before all things…and this sums up the idea of being firstborn. He is not a created creature. No! He is the creator of the creatures! Wow.
Look again at v. 17. Jesus is before all things. He existed before light. He existed before time. He existed before everything. Now who is the One that has existed before everything else? Yep, you’re right, that One is God. Now are you seeing a pattern here in Colossians 1? Paul is pounding on the facts that Jesus is God in the flesh and that He has been existing for all time, before anything came into existent. In fact Jesus is the cause that anything came into existence. What a truth to try to comprehend! I admit that I struggle with this. How about you? To struggle with these magnificent truths that are outside of our experience are stretching experiences for our faith. We need to embrace these struggles.
He is Better than Krazy Glue
Not only did Jesus exist before everything, not only did He create everything, not only is Jesus before all things, but He holds everything together. Now what does the term everything mean? Well, look around. Do you see the mountain? The valley? The sun, moon and stars? Our galaxy? Our universe? What about the things you don’t see…atoms, sub atomic particles, dark matter? All that and everything else we see and do not see is held together by Jesus Christ Himself. You see gravity doesn’t hold things together, our ingenuity doesn’t hold things together, not even Krazy Glue holds everything together. No, Jesus is the One who holds all things together.
So not only did He exist prior to creation. Not only did He create everything. He also sustains all things. He is the reason the universe has order in it. He is the reason our atmosphere doesn’t fly off into outer space. Isn’t that comforting?
He is Head of the Church
I hope you attend a good church wherever you find yourself. We oftentimes think the Pastor of our church is the head. But as i was reminded many times when I was a Pastor, I am simply an under shepherd – like your Pastor – and Christ is the true Head of the Church. He is the One in charge, He is the One to whom we owe our loyalty. We serve Him, not our earthly Pastor. We live for Him, not our earthly Pastor. Sure we are to respect and obey those placed in authority and responsibility over us. But we must never forget that they are under Christ. They are not a law unto themselves. If you ever run into someone who thinks he’s has absolute authority over you and is correct in all things, run – don’t walk – away from him. Only Christ has all authority over you. Don’t ever let a mere man take the place that Christ rightfully holds.
Putting Everything Together
We have a Savior who isn’t a part of our creation. He existed before anything else came into being. In fact He is the cause that anything came into being. And far from the god of the deist, Jesus is involved in His creation. He did not just her it started and let it go. He continues to hold it all together. And all certainly includes the Church. He is our head, he bought the Church and He owns it. He is and always will be our Chief Shepherd. Regardless of what happens in our respective countries, He is the One to whom we owe loyalty.
We have learned much about Jesus Christ in our short survey of Colossians 1. Our survey, though, has only scratched the surface of what is contained in this passage. I sincerely hope that you are spurred on to look deeper into this passage. and deeper into Scripture as a whole.Lets take some time this next week and practice these things we have learned.
The Bald Theologian 