Beholding Glory pt 3

Would God’s people please take
up their Bibles once again and turn to Colossians chapter 1.
We are working our way through not only this chapter in this
book, but more specifically through this powerful section pertaining
to our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul’s expression of gratitude
for God’s work of salvation in verses three through 14 opens
very naturally into a rejoicing of the nature of the Redeemer
himself, God’s beloved Son. in verses 15 through 20. Paul
was grateful for God’s redemption of sinners, his work of salvation,
but he’s even more thankful for the Redeemer himself. Verses
15 through 20, as I said, provide one of the most detailed and
exalting passages of scripture about Christ in all of Paul’s
writings, indeed, in all of the Bible. This section reads like
a running doxology, a praise to God for the Savior that he
has provided. This is intentional. In writing this theological declaration
of praise, Paul’s design is to establish a bedrock of assurance
for believers who may have become bewildered and even disheartened
by the false teaching that was so prevalent in and around the
region of Colossae. The plentiful imposters who were
going about as teachers of truth were sowing doubt. Doubts about
God, doubts about his plan of redemption by Christ. Such pretenders were living examples
of those savage wolves that Paul warned the Ephesian elders about
in Acts chapter 20. He cautions there that such false
teachers would come in and would not spare the flock. Like their
master, the devil, their only goal was to steal, kill, and
destroy. And so the efforts of such people
were no surprise to Paul. And he knew that if they could
cast doubt on Christ, whether it was his deity, or his resurrection,
or the value of his sacrifice. If they could cast doubt on any
of those things, the hope of salvation would disintegrate. And so Paul, rather than making
a detailed expose of particular false teachings, Instead, he
focuses on the truth about Christ. This, and not some elaborate
treatment of error, would enable those believers to discern spiritual
error that was so common in the prevailing false teaching. Paul wants nothing more than
to present these believers with the nature and the work of Jesus
Christ. This, according to Paul, was
all they would need in order to avoid error and to align themselves
in sound doctrine. And in the section before us,
verses 15 through 20, this is what we find Paul articulating. We embarked on this study, this
section, three weeks ago under the proposed heading, the nature
and work of Jesus Christ, Paul is showing us glimpses of the
Redeemer’s nature. And as we’ve seen in weeks past,
the opening line there in verse 15 showed us Christ’s face, that
he is the image of the invisible God. The rest of that verse,
all the way down through verse 16, opened up to us Christ’s
position. that he is the firstborn of all
creation, the creator of all things, and ultimately the one
for whom all things were created. And that brings us to our next
glimpse of the Redeemer’s nature. The glimpse of him that we will
enjoy this morning in verse 17, Paul declares Christ’s preeminence. He is before all things, and
in Him all things hold together. Just an amazing declaration of
truth. In this section, Paul is covering
Jesus Christ’s relationship to His Father, to His world, and
to His church. And so let’s take this section
once again in its entirety, verses 15 through 20. He is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created,
both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have
been created by Him. Pardon me, all things were created
by him and through him and for him. And he is before all things,
and in him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body,
the church, and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he himself will have first place in everything. For
it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell
in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having
made peace through the blood of his cross. Through him I say
whether things on earth or things in heaven. As we’ve said several
times over the course of the past few weeks, because this
passage is one of the most significant theological statements about
Jesus in all the Bible, we are taking our time to consider these
words carefully. Two Sundays ago, we took occasion
to study the beloved son’s position there in verses 15 and 16, his
position as it relates to creation. We noted, first of all, Christ’s
position in creation, that he is the firstborn of all creation. Secondly, we noted that Christ’s
accomplishments by creation, that God’s son, Jesus Christ,
created all things. I was fascinated to see the psalm
this morning and to see even that verse that was communicated
to us, Psalm 102, 25, of, old, you founded the earth, and the
heavens are the work of your hands. That’s an echo of what
Paul says here in verse 16. And then thirdly, we noted Christ’s
relationship to creation. that all things were created
by him and through him and for him. Well, that brings us to
our current passage, verse 17, the beloved son’s preeminence. And so if you would focus there
with me this morning, glance back again at verse 17, where
Paul just says simply, he is before all things. As we’ve noted,
Paul has already made two statements about the nature of Christ, both
of them in verse 15. The first of which was that he
was the image of the invisible God. And the second statement
that he is the firstborn of all creation. Here in verse 17, he
makes two additional statements. The first one here is that he
is before all things. You may also have noted this
is the fourth time in this little section that Paul has employed
the superlative adjective all. Listen to this. Verse 15, he
is the firstborn of all creation. Verse 16, by him all things were
created. Again in verse 16, all things
have been created through him. And here in verse 17, Paul adds
that not only did Christ create all things, he is before all
things. The statement that Paul makes
here first is a simple one and really one that he’s already
made. The statement here in verse 17 that he is before all things
is really just a restatement of the truth of the second line
of verse 15. that Jesus is the firstborn of
all creation. There, Paul is telling us a number
of details about God’s beloved son, and he refers to Christ
as the firstborn of all creation. We knew immediately, when we
looked at that, that this could not be in any way suggesting
that Jesus was part of God’s created order. Jesus himself was the one in
and through and for whom creation was made. But we saw that this
reference, that he was the firstborn of all creation, this reference
suggested two things. That he was first in order of
time, that Jesus existed prior to the creation of all things,
but secondly, it suggested that he was first in order of privilege. And here, in the initial statement
of verse 17, we have the same thoughts. He is before all things. And while both of those aspects
are true of Christ, that he’s first in time and first in priority,
Here, the emphasis appears to be that he is first in order
of time. The word that Paul uses here,
translated as before, is only rarely used to speak of the priority
of privilege. James 5.12, 1 Peter 4.8, if you
want to look those up, Paul really here is not emphasizing the priority
of privilege. He’s emphasizing the priority
of time. Jesus Christ is before all things. Before anything in God’s grand
universe was created, Christ was. He was already in existence
from all eternity. In this third statement about
Christ that Paul makes about Jesus, he structures his sentence
here completely differently. This time, he’s very emphatic
in what he says. Literally, he says this, and
he himself is before all. We could paraphrase it this way.
He and no one else. is before all things. He and
he only. It’s an intentional contrast
to what Paul has just said. In verses 15 and 16, Paul declared
that Jesus created all things. But in verse 17, he himself is
before all things. He was. in existence before all
created things. And that makes Paul’s point here
in verse 17, really a reiteration of that which Jesus claimed for
himself. In John 8, 58, Jesus was standing
toe to toe with the Pharisees and he said, truly, truly, before
Abraham was born, I am. Jesus is the eternally existing,
unchanged, and unchanging God of all eternity. And God’s people
will recall that even the Jewish leaders who heard Jesus’ statement
there in John chapter 8 knew exactly what he meant by it,
because they immediately picked up stones to throw at him. Jesus Christ is. He is eternally
existent. Before even the smallest atom
of matter was called into existence, Jesus was. Jesus existed, and
as such, he is the one who called every living thing into existence. Well, that’s the first statement
that Paul makes in verse 17, his third declaration of Christ
and his nature, but he does make another statement here in verse
17. And this statement is nothing
short of awesome, a word that should be used exclusively of
God. Would you glance down again at
verse 17? He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. That has to be one of the most
amazing statements in all of Scripture. It’s one thing to
say that Jesus created all things, from the greatest to the smallest,
that He even created the atoms and molecules that constitute
matter. But this statement goes far beyond
that. Not only did Jesus create all things, in him all things
hold together. Jesus Christ sustains all things,
which is like one perpetual act of creation throughout all time.
We tend to think of Christ’s creative power as expended, having
been expended those first six days of the world, detailed in
Genesis 1. But Jesus is performing an ongoing
miracle of divine proportions every second that creation as
we know it is upheld, that things continue on. As the creator,
he is the only one capable of this act of holding creation
together. You crawl a moment ago, I pointed
out the fourth time in this section that Paul has used that superlative
adjective, all. We have it again in verse 17,
a fifth time. He is before all things and in
him all things hold together. There’s nothing loose. There are no loose ends in God’s
creation. There’s nothing that happens
by happenstance. All things, every created thing,
no matter how microscopic or how vast, all things are only
able to remain functioning because of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is Paul’s fourth statement, as I said. This one, just like the
previous three, is structured just a little bit differently.
Paul isn’t bound here or allowing him to be bound by a strict pattern
of verbal expression in these statements. Here, this whole statement is
built around that little prepositional phrase, in him. That is, in God’s
beloved son, in Christ. Let me pause and say that we continue
to note throughout this entire section that Paul has not so
much as he even mentioned the name Jesus Christ, but he hasn’t
had to do so. When we first glanced at verse
15, glance back there if you would, We read that he is the
image of the invisible God. And so we had to ask the question,
who is he? We really needed to look back
no further than verse 13, if you would do that, to the beloved
son who was mentioned there. Everything that follows in verses
15 through 20 is speaking about God’s beloved son, Jesus Christ. And so it is here. When Paul
says, in him, we know that he’s speaking again of God’s beloved
son, Jesus. And when he says in him, he is
identifying, if you will, the sphere of operation where this
amazing and continuous miracle of sustaining all of creation
takes place. It’s only in Christ. Verse 16,
Paul told us that all things were created by or in him. Here he says that all things
are held together by him. Speaking generally of God doing
this in Acts 17, Paul there told the Athenians that in him, we
live and move and exist. But what is attributed to God
generally there is clarified here as due specifically to Christ. Christ is the one in whom we
live and move and exist. And Paul implies here that outside
of Christ there’s nothing, absolutely nothing. But in him, in him there
is life and creation. And as Paul has said again and
again, all things, Jesus is the creator and the sustainer of
all things. The word translated here, hold
together, it’s a word that’s used more than a dozen times
in the New Testament, and all but two of them are used by Paul.
In its basic meaning, literally, it is to stand with someone or
something. To commend or to recommend is
a lot of times how it’s translated. But Paul uses the word this way
about a half a dozen times, to commend someone or something. But it does have a broader use,
signifying to maintain what has been established, and that’s
how it’s being used here. Peter uses the word this way
in his second epistle. I suppose since we have time,
turn to 2 Peter 3 so you can just see this. 2 Peter 3, we’re
familiar with this couple of verses, fascinating couple of
verses. 2 Peter 3, and scroll down to verse
3. I wish I could read this verse
every Sunday, but here it is for today. Know this, first of
all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking,
following after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise
of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell
asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of
creation, or so they think. Verse five, for when they maintain
this, that’s our word, when they maintain this, it escapes their
notice that by the word of God, the heavens existed long ago
and the earth was formed out of water and by water through
which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded
with water. They weren’t there for creation,
they weren’t there for the destruction by the flood, and yet they will
claim that everything is continuing just as it always has. It’s foolish. And Paul uses the word there,
or Peter rather, uses the word there, maintain, in the same
way that Paul is using it here in Colossians. Back, if you would,
to Colossians 1. In other words, these people
are blockheads, really. They have developed a position,
a mindset, and even though there is evidence and facts that argue
against their ridiculous ideas, they maintain them. They hold
them fast. They refuse to adjust their thinking.
In the same way, Jesus maintains what he has set in motion. He
created all things and he upholds or maintains all things. Even the countless stars in the
sky were not only placed there by Jesus at creation, they are
held there by his power. The sun placed in the sky for
light and warmth and seasons, scientists have calculated, burns
600 million tons of hydrogen every second. I don’t know of
a pipeline that feeds into the sun. This is God. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
sustaining the sun. What prevents our earth from
veering off course into deep space? Our planet spins, get
this, at 1,000 miles an hour, and it’s traveling as it spins,
hurtling through space at nearly 70,000 miles per hour. It’s only held in its path by
Christ. everything right down to us as
humans. He gives us the food that we
eat and the air that we breathe. Everything from small to great
is maintained, sustained by our Lord Jesus. If he stopped holding
things together for even a second, forget the sun, forget the trajectory
of earth, forget your next meal, everything would burst. and disintegrate
and dissolve into nothing instantly. Now as profound as this statement
is here in Colossians, that in him all things hold together,
it’s not the only place in the New Testament where this idea
is communicated. Most noteworthy is the opening
chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. Would you turn there
for a moment? Hebrews chapter one. And we’re familiar with
this passage, but we’ll read it again this morning with renewed
interest. Hebrews chapter one. One of the most beautiful articulations
of Christ. In Scripture, God, after He spoke
long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and
in many ways in these last days, has spoken to us in His Son,
whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the world And He is the radiance of His, that is, the
Father’s glory, and the exact representation of His, that is,
His Father’s nature, and upholds all things by the word of His
power. It’s that last line that echoes
Colossians 1.17. It tells us the same thing about
the Lord Jesus Christ. He upholds all things by the
word of his power. That is just what Paul is telling
us here in Colossians 1, in him all things hold together. Let’s
consider this equally remarkable statement in Hebrews 1.3 for
just a minute. When the writer there declares
that Jesus upholds all things, he tells us that our Lord is
sustaining every created thing, carrying it along toward its
God-ordained purpose, everything. He is the one that establishes
order. He is the one that prevents everything
from descending into chaos and confusion and collision. He is
the one who is holding everything together, absolutely everything
from the most minute organism to the vast solar systems. All
created things, no matter how indispensable to the rest of
God’s universe, they would instantly vaporize into nothingness if
Christ’s influence were suddenly withdrawn. But would you observe
this? Consider how Jesus does this. The writer of Hebrews tells us
that he upholds all things by the word of his power. Now, if somehow mankind could
be tasked with this great challenge of holding everything together we would begin with committees
and we would develop organizations and we would have meeting after
meeting and we would need computers and technology and protocols
and procedures and training and oversight boards. How does Jesus
accomplish this moment by moment miracle. How does Jesus uphold
all things? Simple, by the word of his power. Jesus didn’t have to expend energy
or effort laboring to construct the world. All he did was speak. This, of course, harkens back
to those six days of creation during which God, day after day,
created everything that was made simply by his word. Let there
be, and it was so. So here, in the support and preservation
of all things, It is Jesus by his word, a supremely powerful
word by which everything is upheld. And so it is by our Lord’s powerful
word that all things are maintained. Jesus needs only to say the word
and God’s entire creation continues to maintain its order and course.
Divine power flows, pardon me, divine power flows
through to accomplish God’s design by Christ’s word. And Jesus never
wearies, he never pauses from his sustaining efforts. If he
did, immediately the world would disintegrate into an evaporating
mist. That’s the same thing that Paul
says in Colossians 1, if you would flip back there. In him, that is in Christ, all
things hold together. When we come to this passage,
we come to a stunning truth about Christ. Typically, when we think
of Jesus or read about Jesus, we think of one of two aspects
of his life. We’re either thinking typically
of what he has done, his miracles, his teaching, his redemption,
his resurrection, his death. We read and think about what
Jesus has done. And those are amazing things. And we also read and think, we
tend to read and think about what Jesus will do. He’s going
to return. We think of his second coming.
When he comes, he will wipe away every tear. He’s going to judge,
and he will rule and reign eternally. Those are the things that we
tend to consider about Jesus, what he has done and what he
will do, but there’s something else. about Jesus that we don’t
often ponder. Not enough. We don’t often pause
to ponder what Jesus is doing now. We tend to think of him as almost
semi-retired, or at least idle, taking some kind of a break. The information is there in the
Bible. We don’t pause to recognize it
too often. It’s not as if Jesus is idle. And there’s something amazing
about this book of Colossians that we’ve discovered. The simple
form of the verb to be, it’s not overwhelmingly used with
reference to Christ. And yet here in this small epistle,
The verb form is implied four times, informing us of what Jesus
is doing now. Colossians 1.15. He is the image
of God. Colossians 1.17. He is before
all things. Colossians 1.18. He is the head
of the body. Colossians 2.10, he is the head
over all rule and authority. I’m convinced that Paul’s point
in using this verb form is to underscore to the Colossian believers
that Jesus Christ is active, not on break. He has been busy
throughout all eternity. He will be busy in the future.
He is busy now. There are many other places that
we may have overlooked about what Jesus is doing now. Jesus is, first of all, the sphere
and source of all of God’s graces. But listen to these. Jot them
down if you wish. First of all, he’s praying for
us. Is that a comfort to you? That
just astounds me. that the creator of the entire
universe, the one tasked with holding all things together,
has time to look down individually on you and I and pray, but that’s
what Romans 8, 34 says. Christ Jesus is he who died,
yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God,
who also intercedes for us. That’s amazing. Romans 8.39, just a few verses
later, he loves us currently, actively. Paul speaks of the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. If you’ve placed your
faith in Christ, you can’t avoid being loved by Christ. Galatians 2.20, he dwells within
us. Paul says there simply, Christ lives in me. Right now, if you
placed your faith in Christ, He’s in you. He grants us grace, 2 Timothy
2.1. He speaks of grace that is in Christ Jesus. He protects
our faith, 2 Timothy 1.12. He is able to guard what I have
entrusted to him until that day. He undergirds us, spiritually
speaking. 2 Thessalonians 2.16. Now may
our Lord Jesus Christ himself comfort and strengthen your hearts
in every good work and word. He undergirds us. We’d fall apart
otherwise. He calms and assures us, 2 Thessalonians
3.16. May the Lord of peace himself
continually grant you peace in every circumstance. He protects us from evil, 2 Thessalonians
3.3. The Lord is faithful. He will
strengthen and protect you from the evil one. Not even the devil
himself has anything on you. He assists us spiritually. Hebrews
2.18, He is able to come to our aid. How about this infinitely
practical truth also from Hebrews? Hebrews 7.25, He is able to save
forever. He is actively holding fast your
salvation. 1 Peter 5.7, He cares for us. Second Peter 2.9, he bears with
us patiently. The Lord is not slow about his
promise, but is patient toward you. He forgives us. First John 1.9, if we confess
our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is Christ, he’s not idle.
And he declared, as he declared to his critics, the Pharisees
in John chapter five, my father is working until now and I am
working. Just as the heavenly father is
at work in the world, so also is Jesus his son in the oversight,
in the government, in the nourishment of all creation. What a beautiful
thought. And one of the amazing things
that he’s doing at present is in the preservation, the sustenance
of all things. To attribute this to Christ is
to lay nothing other than divine providence on his shoulders. In the Psalms, the sustenance
of creation is attributed quite often, very generally, to God. But according to Colossians 1,
it is God the Son who is actively engaged in the intricate oversight
and the providential care of creation. Let’s consider the
intricacies of this, shall we? Please turn to Psalm 104. I know
I’ve got you moving around a lot today. At least you’re not sleeping. Psalm 104. We don’t have time
to read the entire psalm, but allow me to give you just an
overview outline, if you will. The psalm opens, as you’re turning,
the psalm opens with the psalmist crying out to the God of creation. Listen to how he does it, beginning
in verse one. Blessed be the Lord, O my soul. O Lord, my God,
you are very great. You are clothed with splendor
and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching
out heaven like a tent curtain. He lays the beams of his upper
chambers in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks upon the wings of the
wind. He makes the winds his messenger.
Flaming fire his ministers. This is the God of creation. But having acknowledged the God
of creation, it’s only natural that the psalmist review the
magnificence of the creation of God. And that’s what you have
in verses 5 through 9. The psalmist backs away, takes
a glimpse at it. Look at verse 5. He established
the earth on its foundations. so that it will not totter forever
and ever.” Now, this is metaphorical. There are no literal foundations
per se. It’s not that the world is being
upheld by beams that are anchored someplace. Verse six, you covered
it with the deep as with a garment. The waters were standing above
the mountains. At your rebuke, they fled. At the sound of your
thunder, they hurried away. The mountains rose. The valleys
sank down to the place which you established for them. You
set a boundary that they may not pass over. so that they will
not return to cover the earth. And so the psalmist starts with
the God of creation, then the creation of God, and then in
verses 17 through 30, the psalmist turns his attention to the preservation
of creation. Would you look there? We see first of all, it’s operation,
verse 10. He sends forth springs in the
valleys. They flow between the mountains.
They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild donkeys
quench their thirst. Beside them, the birds of the
heavens dwell. They lift up their voices among
the branches. He waters the mountains from
his upper chambers. The earth is satisfied with the
fruit of his works. He causes the grass to grow for
the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, so that he
may bring forth food from the earth, and wine which makes man’s
heart glad, so that he may make his face glisten with oil, and
food which sustains man’s heart. drink their fill, the cedars
of lemonin which he planted, Look at the perfection of this
creation of God. The high mountains, verse 18,
are for the wild goats. The cliffs are a refuge for the
Shefenim. He made the moon for the seasons.
The sun knows the place of its setting. You appoint darkness
and it becomes night in which all the beasts of the forest
prowl about. The young lions roar after their
prey. They seek their food from God.
When the sun rises, they withdraw and lie down in their dens. Man
goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening. Think
of the comprehensiveness of the sustenance of God’s creation.
Look at verse 24. Oh, Lord, how many are your works
in wisdom? You have made them all. The earth
is full of your possessions. There is the sea, great and broad,
in which there are swarms without number, animals both small and
great. There are the ships, there the
ships move along, and Leviathan, which you have formed to sport
in it. They all wait for you to give them their food in due
season. You give to them, they gather
it up. You open your hand, they are satisfied with good. You
hide your face, they are dismayed. You take away their spirit, they
expire, and return to their dust. You send forth your spirit, they
are created. You renew the face of the ground.
Jesus Christ is doing it all. Back, if you would, to Colossians
1. Every creature, from the smallest to the greatest, is nurtured
and fed and sustained so that not even a sparrow should die
without Christ knowing. He is the dynamic bond of every
atom or molecule so that whatever they ultimately comprise is preserved
and divinely fitted into God’s ordained plan. Still further, every earthly
form of government or nation is maintained or upheld for his
purposes. so that no boundary may be crossed
except by his sovereign design. I always wince when I hear people,
especially God’s people, attribute too much to governments or nations
of this world, this fearful nation, that dreaded dictator. What if
our candidate does not win? Here’s the view from God’s vantage
point. We’ve turned everywhere else
in the Bible. Why not turn to Psalm 2? Psalm 2. Here’s God’s answer to that question. Why are the nations in an uproar
and the people devising a vain thing? They’re not in control.
The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel
together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from
us. What’s God’s response? He who
sits in the heavens laughs and scoffs at them. They’re not in
control. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ that upholds all things.
You know the reality of it? Our candidate already won. Our
candidate already won and he’s seated at the right hand of God,
upholding all things. I’ve heard it said of this verse,
Colossians chapter one, back to Colossians chapter one, I’ve
heard it said of this verse, that Jesus is the cosmic glue
that holds everything together. And I, you know, I appreciate
the creativity there, but I’ve never cared very much for that
characterization. likening the Lord Jesus to glue. I understand what people mean
when they say this, that in some mysterious way, Jesus keeps everything
aligned according to God’s plan. I think we can do better than
glue. I think that we should rather style
him as the great spiritual force that unifies and organizes every
created thing to fulfill its intended purpose. The point of
all this, the point of all of the elements of Christ’s creation,
is that they do not float around the universe aimlessly. Each
element is part of a larger created order so that every piece has
its ordained place, including you and I. And Jesus holds it
all together cohesively instead of chaotic randomness that immediately
would go to destruction. Jesus Christ creates order and
unity that once established, he sustains until it is fulfilled
his purpose. And even then, it’s not as if
Jesus orders and sets the world in motion and then waits to watch
its unfolding end. He watches over every minute
detail, governing it, guiding it according to its God-given
function. Every animal, every insect, microbes
and microorganisms, all living things, governments and nations,
the Earth’s weather patterns, the water table, the seasons,
the universe, the sun, the moon and the stars, the spiritual
realms, angels and devils and demons, Christ’s church, his
people individually. Our conclusion this morning.
strikes me in much the same way as Paul’s rhetorical interrogation
in Romans 8.32. Let me explain. After nearly eight chapters of
grand theology there in Romans, reaching a glorious crescendo
in chapter eight, arguably my favorite chapter in the Bible,
Paul abruptly asks there, He who did not spare his own son,
but delivered him over for us all, how will he not also with
him freely give us all things? I mean, what do you reply to
that? What can you reply? The only just reply would be
an embarrassed whimper. Yes, of course. Of course, God
will provide all things. And so it is here. Just listen. If Jesus Christ, sitting at the
right hand of his heavenly Father, the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation, who is before all things and
in whom all things hold together, If He controls the stars in the
sky, every droplet of water that is monitored and directed by
Him, every living thing is completely dependent upon Him for their
next breath, their next drink, their next meal. If all kings
and governments and nations are under His sovereign direction,
if all of that is true, How can we possibly doubt his care and
provision for us? For our work, for our health,
for our families, for our plans, for our moving, for our security,
for our future, for our country, for our world. It reminds me
of that children’s song, doesn’t it? He’s got the whole world
in his hands. Would you humble yourself before
him?