I'm reminded of a statement I read years ago: "that when your Bible is falling apart, only then will you have a life that is holding together." Wearing out our Bibles - the Written Word - indicates that we have made it our business to daily and perhaps moment by moment meet the Living Word in the midst of circumstances. Why does enjoyment of the Living WORD Jesus Christ and the Written Word, the Bible,
reinforce a biblical view of the creation and life?
Creation
consists by the Living Word Colossians 1:17
Paul
states that Christ Pre-existed from all eternity. He, along with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, had enjoyed one another in the shared fellowship as One Eternal Triune
God. Again we see this echoed in John
1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God and the Word was with
God.”
Then we see how all things “consist” or as the NASB renders it:
“holds together”. In the original text
of this passage we could literally translate: “all things stand together in
association with Him.” In other words,
apart from the Pre-existing Living Word, nothing would stand. All other things rely on Him for their being. No created thing has the property of self-existence. If the Living Word had not been in Eternity with the Father, creation would had been forever locked in the mind of God. It was by the Son that the Father's plans became reality. As the Son moderated the infinite thoughts of the Father to Him, the Spirit, being co-equal with the Father and Son, took what was inanimate and put it into motion and breathed life into it.
In fact, to say all things consists or holds together by Jesus
Christ is tantamount to saying Christ has the one quality the universe does not
have – Life and existence apart from creation.
It is the Son through whom the universe came was a result of His sharing in the same nature with God the Father. Likewise, it is through the Son that all things hold together, as He along with the life giving Spirit has given life to all living things and orchestrates history itself to be a gift to God the Father. (1 Corinthians 15:28)
Knowing Christ holds all things together brings me joy, since I know He is the one who holds my life together
All of life and the universe is being preserved and held
together by Jesus Christ. This should be
cause for Christian joy, since we can literally say that there is not one thing
in life that is not directly nor indirectly excluded from the domain of
Christ’s control. In the KJV we read
these words of Jesus from John 16:33 – “These things I have spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
That word translated “good cheer” speaks of God strengthening and encouraging
the believer.
The confidence to strive for Christ in this world derives from the fact He is Sovereign, and that He hold all things together. Only a life centered around the Living Word as revealed through the Written word can rejoice that they will not ultimately fall apart.
May you and I abide in the joy of knowing that Christ and His Word alone can hold us together.
