Christ is Sustainer

ReFocus: Humility in Ministry

“He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
Colossians 1:17

Let me be honest, I am not a man of science. By this, I mean I don’t understand many scientific terms, formulas, or much of science’s reasoning. I am not intrigued by the job of combining certain liquids to form gases or mild explosions. The thought of dissecting anything, other than a fried and smothered-in-sauce chicken wing, provokes the same effect as riding upon a deep sea fishing boat. However, there is one scientific concept that strikes my interest; the thought of earth’s location and orbit within the universe is something that truly catches my attention.

It has been claimed that the earth has been placed in the perfect position in relation to the sun. Justification for this claim comes in this way: if the earth was any closer to the sun, the earth would melt and life upon it would cease. This can also suggest that if the earth was any farther away from the sun, the earth would freeze over, causing life to cease. In the same manner, it has also been thought that if the earth rotated any faster, then life upon earth would be impossible due to its quickening rotation. Though these theories entail vast areas of minutiae, much of which immediately flies over my head, there is one underlying principle that is presented: Christ is the One that consistently holds the earth in its place; this principle is the fact that Christ is sustainer.

This principle is one that is seen in Colossians 1:17, as Paul continues his descriptions of the manifold supremacies of Christ. Before jumping in, it may be necessary to recap what has been discussed thus far in this specific passage of Colossians. To start, in verse 15, Paul has stated that Christ is the “image of the invisible God” and that Christ was the “firstborn of all creation.” Verse 16 describes Christ as being Creator, as Paul states that “all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Immediately from here, Paul continues to assert that Christ “is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (1:17).

The first part of this verse, “He [Christ] is before all things,” is added weight to what has already been presented in the previous verses. Christ is claimed to be creator of all things (1:16), and this verse adds nothing but support to this assertion. To say that Christ is Creator is to imply that Christ existed prior to all things created, much like what is being presented within the first part of the verse; because Christ is the Creator of all things, He is before all things.

The later part of this verse dovetails into the principle presented earlier in the post. In the later portion, Paul states that “in Him [Christ] all things hold together” (1:17). Paul is making an absolute statement that deserves some attention. This phrase has been translated a few different ways. It has been translated “in Him [Christ] all things consist,” and also “in Him [Christ] all things subsist.” This concept is also something that is mentioned by the writer of Hebrews. The writer states that Christ “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3). Regardless of how this is translated, the underlying common denominator is that Christ is the Sustainer of life. Not only does Christ create, as noted in 1:16, but Christ utilizes this same power in order to uphold and sustain the things which He has created, including us. This adds a personal touch to creation as it affirms His daily involvement within our lives, even in the areas that we deem as unimportant and insignificant.

Again, this is a humbling thought. To claim that Christ is the Sustainer of life is to claim that we are not the sustainers of our own lives. This is something that is hard to do, yet something that must be done. We must come to understand that, ultimately, Christ is the One that is upholding our lives by His wonderful power, regardless of whether you recognize it or not…regardless of whether I recognize it or not. He does this so effortlessly, simply by His word (Hebrews 1:3), yet based from His love. This is something that must be remembered and applied daily. At that moment, when we fail to acknowledge that Christ is the Sustainer, we feed the lie that we are self-sufficient individuals. May we demolish the false thought of self-sufficiency by understanding and recognizing that we are only upheld and sustained by Christ? This should overflow into our ministries, as it should be considered a great honor to serve the One that is the Sustainer.

Happy Reading,

CBMaxwell