Colossians 1:17
17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
The ocean… it is filled with an incredible variety of life. From the smallest of cell life to the largest of whales, and everything in-between, the ocean is a world in itself. The one thing that holds all of the ocean’s life together is the ocean itself – the water. Without the water, life in the seas would cease to exist. (Oh, I suppose there might be a plant or two that might survive, but you get my point.) The water doesn’t just hold life together like glue in a joint; it also contains life. Life is bound together in the water, not just by the water. The same is true of the created universe and Christ. The created universe is held together in Him, not just by Him.
It is common to think of the principles that govern the physical universe (e.g. the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) as just that – laws that determine the inner workings of our world. But we must remember that these are merely laws that describe the inner workings of our world. They do not determine the workings. While they sufficiently predict our environment, it is Christ who is behind the laws of nature. He is the One who holds together our otherwise chaotic world. He does not exist beyond the laws of the universe, but rather those laws exist within Him. As one commentator has noted, “he is its rationale, its rhyme and reason. He is the System of the systems.”[1] If He wanted to change the way the universe worked, He could do it at any time (and He will in time). He could at any time make it so whenever we jumped, we’d fall slowly and softly. He could make a cold sun for cold days and hot nights. He could make it so whenever we eat…well, I think you get my drift. Our entire universe, seen and unseen, is held together in Christ like water in an ocean. Without Christ, the universe would cease to exist.
Are we dependent on Christ? Absolutely, whether we believe it or not. Does He govern the way life works? Yes, absolutely. Life only works one way – His way. The only way we can ever make sense of life and find our own way in it is to recognize that Christ is the converging point of the transcendent God’s activity in the arena of human history. He is the interpretive key for understanding the meaning of creation, the purpose of life, and its goal.[2] It is to our benefit, then, to live all of life in light of the supremacy and preeminence of Christ. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe has provided a way for us to live. Is He not big enough, intelligent enough, powerful enough to provide us the best way to live?
[1] Walter Wink, Naming the Powers, p. 115.
[2] David Garland, The NIV Application Commentary of Colossians, p. 106.
