As a declaration and defense
against the heresies of the Gnostics, Paul gave a description of who
Jesus Christ really is in chapter one of his letter to the church
located in Colosse. The Gnostics denied the deity of Jesus and were
spreading their false teachings among the church members, so Paul
began to tell the church about Jesus' ability to deliver from the
power of darkness, redeem through His blood, and forgive sins. Paul
told them of Jesus' preeminence and image likened unto the invisible
God. He also shared how Jesus was involved in the creation of
everything that was made whether visible or invisible, and in chapter
one and verse seventeen, Paul continued with his description of Jesus
where we read:
And he is before all
things, and by him all things consist.
The verse begins, “And
he is before all things,...” Paul
employed the word “before”
which means “preexistent to, ahead or sooner than” “all
things” which are things both
“individually, each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone,
all things, everything and collectively or some of all types”. In
other words, Jesus existed before anything that ever was, is or will
be created.
The verse goes on to say,
“and by him all things consist.”. In
addition to preexisting all things, Paul wrote that by Jesus all
things “consist”.
The word “consist”
is “synistēmi” in
Greek and means “to place together, to set in the same
place,to bring or band together, to set one with another, to put
together by way of composition or combination, to teach by combining
and comparing, to show, prove, establish, exhibit, to put together,
unite parts into one whole or to be composed of”. The idea is “held
together”, and through the power of Jesus “all things”
that every have been, are or will be are “held together” by Him.
When we think about Jesus'
power to create, we marvel. All the wonderful creatures, animals,
bugs and landscapes, and all the stars, planets, moons and galaxies
were created by the Lord Jesus, and we also were made by Him. Yet,
still, not only were all these wonderful things made, but they also
“consist” or are “held together” by Him. What if He
let go? What if He decided that He no longer desired to hold things
together and let them dissipate in chaotic disarray? Oh, not only
should we marvel at the marvelous power of Jesus Christ to create,
but also at His magnificent ability to keep everything held together
too. May we ever grow to know this creator and consistent Jesus more
and more as we study His word and relate to Him.
Next
time Paul will write more about Jesus Himself,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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