And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 ESV
Here in the middle of chapter 1 of Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae, we find a multi-verse discourse on the glory, majesty, and power of our Lord Jesus. As we saw in verses 15 and 16, Paul began this paragraph by stating that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and that all things were created through Him and for Him. Moving into verse 17, Paul tells us that Jesus is before all things.
When I read this, I’m immediately drawn to John 8:58 when Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am,” and John 1:1 when the apostle said of Christ, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus’s deity and preexistence with the Father cannot be refuted unless one is willing to deny the very words of our Lord, the writings of the apostles, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not just a man, not just a prophet or teacher, but is God’s one and only sovereign Son and He has all the power and authority of His Father (cf: Matt. 28:18, John 17:2, Col. 2:9).
Paul then says that in him all things hold together. The writer of Hebrews agreed when he wrote, “he [Christ] upholds the universe by the word of his power,” (Heb 1:3b).
If we study science, we are told that atoms – the building blocks of all matter in the Universe – stay together by “the balance of fundamental forces within them.” Scientists explain this through the delicate (and seemingly impossible) equilibrium of protons, neutrons, and a thing called ‘nuclear force’, which is said to be the strongest known fundamental force, holding all protons and neutrons together in the nucleus “despite the repulsive electromagnetic force between the positively charged protons.”
Hmm. From a purely scientific point of view, it seems the entire Universe could disintegrate at any given nanosecond if this nuclear force stopped working properly or became unbalanced. Yet somehow it stays perfectly stable and predictable, day after day, year after year. In fact, it’s extremely difficult to break atoms apart! Godless science cannot truthfully explain how this is all possible.
However, when we consider the astonishing stability and consistency of even a single atom from a biblical perspective, we see that it is none other than Jesus Christ holding it together by the word of his power. He is the force that keeps the Universe from flying apart. Our Lord Jesus is awesome and mightier than we could ever imagine!
In life we are faced with many uncertainties and sometimes it feels like our own little universe is disintegrating. Those of us who have gone through difficult trials may have tried so hard to keep our life together, only to realize that our efforts were futile. That’s because we don’t have the power; we cannot hold all things together.
But Jesus does.
In every harsh season and trial, we can find comfort knowing that Jesus Christ, our Lord, is holding together every atom in the Universe – a number that is truly incalculable – by the (seemingly) simple word of his power, therefore we truly have nothing to worry about. Lay your troubles at His feet in prayer, thanksgiving and praise because He is worthy and will never fail you.