“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).
While there are many Biblical topics worthy of our attention, the need for an accurate understanding of Jesus’ divinity is one of the most important. The reason is simple: if we hold an erroneous view of Jesus’ deity, then everything that proceeds from that view is likely to be erroneous as well.
For instance, some believe that Jesus was nothing more than an angel or a created being. But the passage quoted above tells us “…by Him (speaking of Christ) all things were created…” This should prompt us to ask a serious question: if Jesus was an angel or created being, then how could He have created everything? If we follow this reasoning to its conclusion, it leads us to a logical impossibility: it means that Jesus (as a created being) would had to have created Himself.
One source offers a devastating indictment of those who take such a position…
“Logically, if all things have been created by Christ, then he of necessity is uncreated, an absolute proof of His deity. This explains why the Jehovah’s Witnesses in their New World Translation felt constrained, for doctrinal reasons, to make the unwarranted addition to the Word of God at this verse by adding ‘other’ so as to read ‘all other things,’ making a lame attempt to justify such an addition by a reference to Luk_11:41-42 or Luk_13:2; Luk_13:4,
In the early editions (1950, 1951, and six volumes bound in one, 1963) of their translation, ‘other’ was not even included in brackets, as it now is—a change perhaps prompted by the harsh criticism of many Bible scholars.” (1)
Another commentator uses the grammatical structure of this passage to offer the following insight…
“Three prepositions tell the story: (1) In Him, sovereign source; (2) by Him, divine agent; (3) unto Him, for His use and for His glory.” (2)
Finally, we should note that this passage equates the term “all things” with the word “everything”…
- things in heaven and on earth, which includes the tangible elements of the material world and intangible realities of the heavenly realm.
- visible and invisible, or the things we can see and those we cannot.
- thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, a reality that encompasses every leadership structure wherever it may exist.
Therefore, we can say that all things find their ultimate destiny in Christ since everything was created by Him and for Him.
(1) The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury Prepared by Jerome H. Smith [Colossians 1:16] Copyright © 2016 by Jerome H. Smith
(2) Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2457). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.