Everything was created in God the Son and holds together in Him
From the beginning of creation, God had a plan for dealing with the possibility that mankind would choose to be unloving toward Him and each other. The essence of that plan is outlined in Colossians 1:15-17. It tells us that although Jesus humbly revealed Himself to us as a man, He was also God the Son – the mighty eternal Spirit being in whom everything was created:
“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; 16 for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
The new creation in Christ overcomes the cause of evil and pain in the world
So when Jesus was put to death, ALL things in Him, including our corrupted human spirits, were de-created. And when He was raised from death, ALL things were recreated in Him.
By creating our spirits in His Son, God had allowed for the possibility that we would make unloving choices. And from the beginning Christ was willing to die for us to ensure the fulfilment of the Father’s passionate desire to adopt us as His children.
We didn’t have to lift a finger. God did everything necessary to enable us to participate in His new creation in Christ – all except one thing. He didn’t force us to accept our place in the new creation. We can continue on into eternity with a spirit that is ‘dead’ (separated from God) if we choose to do so.
We signal acceptance of our part in the new creation by publicly proclaiming Jesus as the resurrected rightful Owner (Lord) of everyone and everything in the universe. Freed from corruption, our recreated human spirit can then be filled with the same Holy Spirit that empowers Christ’s love.
Rejecting our place in the new creation leaves us without Holy-Spirit-power to love selflessly. We slowly sink into unloving, self-centred choices and eventually exclude ourselves from the love-based eternity God has planned.
Broadly, therefore, the nature of existence is that everything in the universe was created in, through and for God the Son and it all holds together in Him. We are utterly dependent on Jesus whether we know it or not.
Astonishingly, there is now a human – one of us – in the Godhead. That amazing fact underlines God’s passionate desire to adopt us in Christ as His children. It is His eternal loving purpose for us[1] that we share Jesus’ eternal intimacy with His Father by the Spirit.
Consequently, there are now three types of human beings:
- those who have heard the truth about the new creation in Christ and accepted their part in it
- those who have heard and rejected that truth
- those who are still blind to that truth
God is fiercely devoted in His love for us. He defeated death – the source of Satan’s power over people – to forge the new creation, but he leaves each of us free to accept or reject the love gift He offers us in Christ.
At a time of His wise choosing, God will overcome all rebels and eliminate all disorder and suffering from the universe.
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