Before All Things

Colossians 1:15–17

If we are honest, most of us walk through life carrying a quiet pressure.

We are managing schedules. Paying bills. Protecting our families. Planning the next step. And underneath it all, there is this awareness of how fragile everything really is. One phone call. One diagnosis. One unexpected change, and everything can start to shake.

We say we trust Jesus. We believe He is Lord. 🙏

But sometimes we live like we are the ones holding everything together.

Colossians 1:15–17 gently but powerfully reminds us that we are not.

In these verses, Paul does not start with what we should do. He starts with who Jesus is. And when you truly see Him, it changes everything.

1️⃣ Jesus Shows Us Exactly What God Is Like

Paul says Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.”

God is invisible. We cannot discover Him on our own. We cannot reason our way up to Him. If we are going to know what God is like, He has to show us.

And He has, in Jesus.

When Paul calls Jesus the “image,” he is saying that Christ perfectly reveals God. Hebrews 1:3 calls Him “the express image of his person.” Jesus Himself said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).

If you want to know how God loves, look at Jesus. ❤️

If you want to know how God responds to sinners, look at Jesus.

If you want to know how God views truth and grace, look at Jesus.

He is not one spiritual voice among many. He is not a piece of the picture. He is the full revelation of who God is.

2️⃣ Jesus Made Everything and Rules Over It

Paul goes even further.

He calls Jesus “the firstborn of every creature.” That does not mean Jesus was created. In Scripture, “firstborn” often means highest in rank. It speaks of authority and supremacy.

Why does Jesus stand above creation? Because He made it.

“For by him were all things created… all things were created by him, and for him.”

Everything in heaven and on earth. Everything visible and invisible. Every authority. Every power. Nothing exists outside His authority. 🌍

And here is something we do not always think about.

Everything was created not only by Him, but for Him.

That includes your life.

Your gifts.

Your future.

Your story.

Life is not centered on us. It is centered on Christ.

The Creator always stands above what He creates. The Author is never outranked by the characters in the story. 📖

3️⃣ Jesus Was There Before Everything and Holds Everything Together

Then Paul makes this incredible statement:

“He is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Jesus did not begin at Bethlehem. That was His arrival, not His origin. He existed before all things.

And right now, at this very moment, He is holding all things together.

The universe is not running on autopilot. Hebrews 1:3 says He is “upholding all things by the word of his power.”

Your heartbeat.

The stability of creation.

The breath in your lungs.

He is holding it all together. ✨

We often live like everything depends on us. But the truth is, everything depends on Him.

What This Means for Us

This passage both confronts us and comforts us.

If Jesus reveals God perfectly, then we need to look to Him to know God rightly.

If Jesus created all things and rules over them, then our lives do not ultimately belong to us.

If Jesus is before all things and holds all things together, then we are not the ones keeping our world from falling apart.

That truth humbles our pride.

And it lifts our anxiety. 🙌

You do not have to carry what you were never meant to carry.

The One who shows us who God is, who made everything, who was before everything, and who is holding everything together right now, He deserves first place in our lives.

And here is the beautiful part.

This preeminent Christ is also our Savior. ✝️

The Creator stepped into His creation. The Sustainer allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross. He died for our sin. He rose again. And He offers forgiveness and new life to anyone who will come to Him.

You do not need to fix yourself before you come.

You do not need to hold your life together first.

You need to surrender it.

Jesus is before all things.

Let Him be first in you. ❤️

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