“…all things have been created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16, NIV)
Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16 that all things have been created through Jesus and for Jesus. What does that mean? Thankfully, Paul helps us out by what he wrote earlier in that same verse.
The full statement from Paul is, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Here we can see what Paul meant by all things.
It’s as if Paul was working backward in his explanation from generalities to specifics. He begins by writing that all things, which is a general statement, have been created in and for Jesus. It’s a fairly straight-forward idea to grasp. What did Jesus create? All created things (i.e., everything outside of the triune God). This means there does not exist one thing in all creation that was not created by Jesus. He is the creator of all that is, all that was, and all that will be.
Then Paul gets more specific.
It’s not difficult to imagine someone reading that Jesus created all things and then wondering if that means he really created everything. There are a lot of things in the world that we would just rather not say Jesus created. Like Satan for instance. I think Paul’s blatancy here is a blessing for us. He never hides the truth. In fact, he shines a light on it to make the truth more visible. We can see him doing that here when he writes, “…whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.” He’s illuminating the truth that might bother us the most so that we can reckon with it. It’s of no advantage for us to shrink back from the truth or to massage the truth into something more palatable.
Jesus created all things and a part of those all things are thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities.
So then, what do we do with this?
I think the first and most important thing to do is to accept that it’s true. What Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians is the word of God and, therefore, we can trust it. So, we ought first to trust it.
Secondly, I think we ought to remember what creation was created to do. Ultimately, all that was made was made to do exactly what it was made to do. That sound messy. What I mean is that the heavens declare the glory of God because that’s what they were made to do. Grass grows with water and sunlight because that’s what grass was made to do. Redeemed humans reflect God to the world because that’s what we (images of God) were made to do. Thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities do what they do because they were made to do it.
Now, it must be said that all of this doing what we were made to do has been messed up because of the fall and sin. Not all humans reflect God to the world even though they were made to do that. Not all grass grows the way it was made to. The heavens are in turmoil instead of always declaring the glory of God. And thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities often wield their influence in horrific ways.
One day all things will be put right. This is not to say that one day all things and people we come to realize and actualize what they were created to do. Instead, this is to say that one day all things will be put back in order through judgment and salvation.
Until we must remember that Jesus is still in control and all created things only do what they do under the control and authority of Jesus. Later in the letter Paul reminds us of this truth by writing, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15).
Jesus’ death on the cross looked like a defeat. It looked as if the powers and authorities had ended what he was working toward. The problem for the powers and authorities is that they were made through and for Jesus, so they ended up doing exactly what they were made to do: they served Jesus to the end on the cross, which brought salvation to the world.