The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

JESUS CREATED EVERYTHING AND HOLDS IT ALL TOGETHER

Jesus has been from the beginning. We live in a pluralist society where many people believe in some type of “god.” Therefore you probably would not get a whole lot of pushback when you say, “God created the heavens and the earth.” However, understanding that Jesus created everything changes how one views the whole of Scripture. Colossians 1:15 – 17 says that, “The Son [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Paul writes that all things were created by, through and for Jesus.

John makes a similar claim at the outset of his Gospel. The New Testament was written in Greek to a largely Greco-Roman audience. The Greeks believed that there was a unifying force that holds the entire world together. They defined that force as the Logos. The Gospel of John defines the Logos as Jesus. John 1:1 – 2 says, “In the beginning was the Word [Logos], and the Word [Logos] was with God, and the Word [Logos] was God. He was with God in the beginning.” The Word of God — the very agent God used to create all things — took on flesh and made his dwelling on earth in the person of Jesus Christ.

John and Paul affirm this is the agent of creation — the eternal Word of God who was used by God to make something out of nothing. Understanding that Jesus created everything and holds everything together should shape how we read the whole of Scripture. Jesus does not make his first appearance in the book of Matthew. God’s Trinitarian nature is on display from the outset of the Scriptures. And, in many ways, the various stories found throughout the Old Testament help explain the nature, character and work of Jesus Christ. Time and time again, God sets the stage for the sending of the Son to fulfill his eternal plan to save those who were dead in their sins.

Jesus, you are the Logos. You are the very Word of God, who existed before time began. Show me more of yourself as I study God’s Word and live my life for you. Amen.