And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 

Colossians 1:17 

Christ holds all things together. The word ‘consist’ as we see it carries with it the idea of standing together or as we might put it, hang together. Hebrews puts the idea similarly by saying that Christ, ‘upholds in all things by the word of His power.’ Thus what we observe in earth and in the universe exists and continues as it does because Christ holds it together by the power of His word. If we understand this, we begin to comprehend the importance of Christ. The passage before us has spoken of Him as having a kingdom, as having effected redemption, as being all there is to see of God, as being the sole inheritor of all that is God’s, as having created all things, and as being from eternity. Add to that the declaration of our text that in Him or by Him all things consist and we have a summary picture of the most important Person in heaven, earth, or hell. We cannot make too much of this One by Whom all things hang together. When we look to the stars we see the upholding power of Christ. When we see the world around us as it continues in its’ various cycles we behold the power of Christ. When we awaken every morning with a measure of health and strength we experience the upholding power of Christ. By Him all things consist.  

Our Glorious, Almighty God, 
we rejoice that You are all-powerful. 
We praise You that You cause all things to continue 
in their order. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 

Colossians 1:18 

This summary of Christ emphasizes His position. If we look back at previous verses we see Him as the King, the Redeemer, the image of the invisible God, the Creator, the Eternal One, the Upholder of all that is, the Head of the Body, and the Beginning. Our contemplation today lies in the statement, ‘the firstborn from the dead.’ Once again, we should not consider this in terms of chronology, but rather position. Christ is the Chief Representative of the dead because He has risen from the dead. Paul refers to this extensively in I Corinthians 15, where he begins with a summary of the gospel message which concludes with the statement, ‘and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.’ He goes on to list the extensive number of witnesses who saw Christ in various contexts after His resurrection. He goes on to refer to Christ as, ‘the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.’ Because we know that chronologically other people were raised from the dead before Christ rose, the ‘firstfruits’ reference must, of necessity, be to His position as the Representative of those who rise from the dead. This is the Representative we want. We want no one less than Christ. Because He lives we shall live also.  

Our Glorious Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You have risen from the dead. 
We praise You that You are our Glorious Representative.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions of principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 

Colossians 1:16-17 

Before all we see and know came into existence Christ was. He is, from eternity, the essential, eternal Son of God. In due course of time He took to Himself a true body and a reasonable soul, however, that was not His beginning. Philippians puts it this way, ‘who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.’ Therefore when we deal with Christ we are dealing with God in human form. This is important to our understanding of a host of other things. If we would gain understanding of our origins, we must look to Christ. If we would learn how it is that principalities and powers have their moment in the sun, we must look to Christ. If we want to have knowledge of things both visible and invisible we must look to Christ. Christ is the key to all these things because He is before all things. It may seem we are somehow overemphasizing Him yet if we view such a text as we have before us we rapidly come to the conclusion that it is impossible to make too much of Christ. He has been, is, and shall continue to be the most important single individual whom we ever have or ever shall encounter. From everlasting He is before all things.  

Our Lord and Savior,  
we rejoice that You are the Image of the invisible God. 
We praise You that You are from eternity. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions of principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 

Colossians 1:16 

Our chief purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. God created us for this end. This gives us purpose in life that transcends any lesser goal such as the pursuit of status, wealth, or glory. When our text tells us, ‘All things were created through Him and for Him,’ it is the articulation of that chief purpose. It implies a great deal more than what solely involves us. Our text indicates that all which Christ has created, He has created for Him. This includes all that is in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers. How all these are for Him exactly is beyond our comprehension, especially when we observe some of the things that are going on in the world. How is it that all these are for Him? We freely admit that how these principalities and powers exist for Him is beyond our understanding. Somehow He uses all these for His Own glory. We will be in His eternal presence before we understand it all. Until then we can trust Him to do all things after the counsel of His Own will. He is the Sovereign Creator Who does all things well with what He created for Himself. 

Our Gracious God and our Creator, 
we rejoice that You do all things well. 
We praise You that all that You have created, 
exists for Your glory.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions of principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 

Colossians 1:16 

Christ is the Creator of all that is. This is a continuation of yesterday’s topic.  Our text declares, ‘by Him all things were created,’ and goes on to delineate them. These are all the things ‘that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.’ If we understand the implications of this statement, it will significantly alter our view of the world and all who are in it. It will remove from our mind all ideas of fate or coincidences. Even our view of the hardest of situations becomes clearer and wiser if we recognize the First Cause, Who has created all the second causes. So much of what occurs in this scene of time is incomprehensible to us. Often our only consolation is that Christ has created all that is and controls all that occurs. We do not see all He sees or know what He knows. Our plans are not His plans. We trust Him even when we cannot understand what He is doing. When we look to Christ, we see our Creator, our Savior, and our Upholder, Who has created all things and is the One for Whom they were created. 

Our Glorious, Sovereign God, 
we rejoice that all that is, is of You. 
We praise You that You are the First Cause, 
behind all the second causes.