 Okay, welcome back after the break. Just before we went for our break, we were doing a little detailed study of Colossians chapter one verses 17 to verse 17. We looked at verse 15 where we're trying to establish what Paul is saying when he's trying to prove the deity of Christ here in this passage in verses 15 to 18, in verse 15 he's talking about, he's presenting the supremacy of the person of Christ in relationship to God and verses 16 to 17 he's talking about his supremacy or that he's God in relationship to in relation to creation and in verses 18 he's talking about his relation to the church Christ relation to the church and was we studied verse 15 in a little detail we looked at what Paul the apostle Paul meant when he said that Jesus is the image of the invisible God and also that he is the latter part of verse 15 where he says he's the firstborn over all creation and we said firstborn means that basically denotes two things about Jesus Christ that he precedes the whole of creation that he's before creation and through him all things are created by him all things were created and also that he is sovereign over all creation which means that he is independent supreme absolute over all creation. Okay, so that is where we stopped we will continue looking at verse 16 any other questions or thoughts that have come up in your mind during the break based on verse 15 and 16 what we studied or sorry verse 15 you think okay if there are no questions on any clarifications required we will proceed with verse 16 like as Nina Santoshia read for us for him by him all things in heaven and an earth were created by him so look at how Paul you know continues writing this great passage on Christology here he says he uses a word for you know by using this word for you know he's basically you know begins his explanation or he's giving proof why Jesus is sovereign over all creation. Okay, sorry Nina Santosh you said our God has a son or when you are asked about the question about our God has a son when you know when see the basically what we are trying to understand we try to understand God in terms of the Trinity which has been revealed to us of course in the Old Testament there were prophecies concerning the son we looked at Isaiah chapter 9 we looked at that you know for unto us the son is born and also the work of the Holy Spirit so they knew that Jesus God is father they knew that you know he his spirit being but this whole thing about God the son was they had not much of clarity about that in the Old Testament but it you know with the revelations that they're given to us with Jesus coming you know God becoming man it gives us more clear understanding of the Trinity now God does not need you know the Trinity to understand himself or for his self explanation because he doesn't you know they don't see themselves as God the father son and the Holy Spirit so to say you know just for our understanding but when we say that you know God has a son it's not that you know God is married and then he has an offspring he has a son but what we're saying basically is that you know the son is an exact representation of who the father is you know like we have you know people say like father like son like son like father you know so a son is a kind of an offspring of the parents and has the same characteristic or the same nature of the of their their parents so you know here we're talking about nature that when you're saying that when Jesus says God is my father he's talking about his nature that he's not a human being but he is God because he has the same nature as his father hence he is God so he's he's relating they're relating to themselves as God the father God the son in terms of their nature and essence that we can understand you know if I say he's my father so I'm saying that you know he's a human being and hence I'm also a human being we have the same nature of being human or human beings and part of that whole entire nature of being human beings I have specific characteristics that are attributed to my parents to my mother or to my father so when Jesus is saying that you know when that God is my father you know referring to him as a son he's talking about basically he's talking about his nature you know he's talking about his existence where or his you know where does he come from his origins his roots where he comes from he's saying I'm not here I'm not human even though I am human being that you can see me but my my my real identity is that I am God because my origin is in heaven that because my nature is that of God and hence I am God myself so that is the whole concept in how we see God as son we look at that in the terms of that he has the same nature the same essence of God the father and hence he is God himself so that is why we we say God the father God the son and God the Holy Spirit also to explain the rules that each one of them had did that help Nina yes okay okay we'll move on that was a good question thank you so was 16 you know he starts it by saying for by him all things so the apostle begins by using this word for you know he the apostle Paul begins to basically explain or give proof why Jesus Christ is sovereign over all creation so he's basically pointing the readers the reason why Christ is in the image of God is because he was there even before creation he was there and he was the one who created all things because he is the creator so he's basically now going on to give explanation or proof to why Jesus is sovereign over all creation so he's pointing out Jesus Christ is in the image of God because he is the creator and you know he says all things in the natural and spiritual realms were created by Christ through him and for him and in him all things consist so we're going to look at these phrases which are very very important all things were created by him created through him created for him and in him all things consist so we're going to look at what all of these phrases really mean and hence showing us or proving to us that Jesus Christ is God so all things were created by him who is the him here that apostle Paul is writing about who is the him Jesus yeah Jesus okay so Nina John says when we talk to unbelievers about Jesus being the creator anything else that can point to this apart from the word of God we talk to unbelievers about Jesus being the creator anything else that can point to this apart from the word of God oh you mean apart from just the word of God can anything else prove yes we just went through that whole you know series on on on creation and and all of that it was a wonderful learning experience basically you know if you look at creation itself you know as Paul says I think in Romans chapter one but not just going back to the word again but using that but you know just proving in Romans chapter one in I think in verse the son he says you know for creation itself you know reveals yeah verse 20 Romans chapter one verse 20 says for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal power and God heads so that they are without excuse so what Paul is basically saying is hey even if you don't have the law even if you no one has spoken the gospel to you and you're trying to wonder who God is look at creation you know creation itself you know the order the perfection the the you know the way things just work so in unity in perfection that we can't say it came about by a big bang or it just evolved by itself or it just happened by a series of acceleration or over the years you know it just kind of regenerated itself into life forms or life being so you know if you say that then where is the conducive environments the temperatures and everything that was needed but like Paul is saying just look at creation creation itself you know reveals the glory of God it talks about the attributes of God it talks about the his eternal power and so people are without excuse so you know just looking at creation the order the perfection the beauty the way it just works you know it it just proves to us that you know there is a creator also you know if you look at our own human bodies the way it works the way it functions you know nobody can say that it just came about by evolution a process of how cells organized themselves and regenerated and you know kind of ordered themselves by themselves to form organs to work in such a perfection because when scientists were asked to prove their theory about you know evolution of man they failed you know because how can cells have the exact temperature the exact the nucleus the ribonucleic acids and all of that to form that perfect environment for the regeneration for the evolution of man which is impossible so you just look at our own human body it just proves to us that there is a creator did that explain what you were asking Nina did I get your question right or you're looking for something else yes go ahead Nina can you hear me yes I can okay so no what I yeah so I know personally that Jesus is God and that he's created there are no doubts there but then when we talk to someone and so when we explain who Jesus is that he is creator yeah I know I mean I was listening to what said that there is no doubt there as to that you know the whole created world reveals God God yes Jesus how I mean like when we say when we speak to someone so how do we see the all the other attributes like if we want to tell someone and we are saying that Jesus is who he is and there is any a number of attributes which say that if we want to know who God is we look at Jesus there no there's no problem there and there's no confusion but how do we say to someone that because when when we say creator then he is the ultimate right so to explain that to someone who does not know that who does not have the word of God then you know when it's when we say creator how do we point to people and say yes Jesus is the creator I hope that's not to not to complicate with my question no no no no it's a good question actually it's a very it is a relevant question and people would ask so yes when they ask that you know how can you say Jesus is the creator like again here you know Paul is trying to prove that Jesus is God and one way he's proving that he is God is that he created all things so he was there even there before creation that he is the one who created and also Jesus his own saying you know what we looked at in in the Gospel of John you know John chapter 15 that you know and John chapter 1 in him was life the zoe life the life of God and so they knew that you know it's only God who can give life and John chapter 15 that you know he is the one who created everything so it's only God who can create everything and so you know so we're actually describing that he is God but proving that he is a creator and proving from creation as well that he is God did that help so you're basically saying how can we prove that you know he is God from creation is that what you're saying also Genesis chapter 1 was 26 also says you know let us make man in our own image we will also look at these passages here you know that talks about his role in creation which will also help you to understand you know Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 to 3 also you know act chapter 17 was 28 it says in him we live and move and have being first Corinthians chapter 8 verse 6 says that through him you know it was through him that all things were and through him whom we live so these are some of the scripture passages that we can quote so you're trying to basically say that how can we prove that Jesus is God by looking at creation or we're trying to say that is that your question Nina okay yeah so you know how do we prove that Jesus is God is basically you know quoting all of these scriptures but saying that you know Jesus is deity when we look at it we are not looking at three different components of God in terms of three avatars of God or avatar of God that you know is in the other philosophies of other religions but we're saying that there is one God we believe in one God and because of the roles we're saying God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit but they're one God one in nature and in essence and if you're saying that you know this whole of creation just cannot be come out by itself but there is you know the hand of a supernatural being who's God and this God is you know is Jesus Christ and then we prove from scripture passages good example given regarding the body sorry what is the example regarding body Nina oh you mean that different parts of the body but working in perfect unity and oneness is that what you're trying to say I'm not sure what you're telling like how we can look at how the soul function yet so to look at it in like if I like how Nina was saying like I thought the word how can do some has created the interpretation sorry Rin I was not able to hear you very clearly also you're saying about how a human body is formed and in such perfection in order and that is how we can say that there is a creator and that creator is you know the supernatural being who created that is God is that what you're saying yes okay okay um so Nina John did that help if you can just unmute your mic and repeat the the son because I kind of lost you uh is that okay yes that thing this thing about life you know because only God can I think that I'm thinking more from the point of view of the the people of who don't know the Lord Jesus right so how would they think but then when we say that in him was life and that life so the ability to give life and is only only God can do that and that is what Jesus did when he came of course and he gave that life but otherwise also in him was life uh that really answered my question that life comes from him so that can come only from God so in that way yes uh creation and all of it I have no doubts in my mind that it's everything is that that Jesus is is who he is I'm thinking more from how they would think because they have different concepts of creator and whatever so from there that's why I wanted some clarity there yeah that's fine actually thank you another thing you could also say is you know uh what a person reveals uh and talks about themselves is the statements that they make is is uh you know uh holds fast to what uh who they are and what they say because you know many men and women make statements and we still quote them so you know one of the statements that Jesus makes is he says you know uh before Abraham was I am uh John chapter 15 so when he's saying I am he's basically saying I am means you know uh the the the Hebrew word that is to to be you know I that which means you know uh he is self-sufficient self-existent all sufficient eternal unchangeable and hence he is uh God so even if you look at what we're going to study now in Colossians chapter one you know verse 16 and 17 he talks about how he sustains everything he's not just one who created everything he was everything was created by him through him but created for him and also in him everything is holding its sustenance it's it's holding uh everything because everything uh exists in him consists in him okay so we'll study that in detail and then maybe you can gather a better understanding okay so here we see in verse 16 of Colossians chapter one it says you know everything was created by him so the him here is Jesus so you know basically Paul is Paul is presenting Jesus as the author of creation he is saying that Jesus Christ is certainly not a created being not even the first created being as you know many of them have argued but you know he himself is the one who created all things uh in heaven and earth uh everything that is material spiritual everything that is visible invisible everything that we see in uh and is visible and everything is invisible in the natural realm in the in the spiritual realm everything that is uh in heaven on earth uh physical uh material everything was created uh by him and we know that only God can create okay and hence he's trying to actually explain or give proof why Jesus is sovereign over all creation um and you know uh and he's also giving us a reason why Christ is the image of God for proving that he's saying that he is the creator so he's saying that everything was created um by him everything that we see that we don't see visible invisible and also we read in Genesis chapter one verse one in the beginning God created the heavens and the so basically in this passage you know Paul as I said he's talking about supremacy of the Son of God he's talking about supremacy of Jesus Christ uh so Paul is stating the fact that Jesus is the creator and giving us uh proof of his um dating okay and um you know when we look at the whole of creation uh you know we just stand in wonder uh in awe uh and uh you know just as Christ worship and honor um and that's what we need to do when we look at creation whether it's our own human body our cells or you know the flowers the birds whatever you know just stand in awe of his creation worship him given the glory and honor because Revelation chapter four verse 11 says he is worthy to receive all glory honor and power because he created all things and uh by his will you know they exist and were created a very important verse Revelation chapter four verse 11 can one of you please read that Revelation chapter four verse 11 you are worthy for Lord to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things and by your will they exist and were created thank you so it was created by him all things were created it was by his will they exist and that they were uh created okay so the first phrase that we looked at as everything was created by him and Paul goes on to say that everything was created through him which means that Jesus Christ is the mediator of the entire process of creation so we could basically for our understanding look at it this way that God the Father is you know planted he's the author he's the one who plans things design things about things and Jesus is the one who spoke it and that's why he's the word and the Holy Spirit is the one who brought it to pass okay so Jesus is the mediator of the entire process of creation which means you know God the Father planned it Jesus spoke it and the Holy Spirit you know brought everything to pass as we look at Hebrews chapter one verses one to three which states this facts and can somebody read Hebrews chapter one verses one to three please God who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by his son whom he has appointed heir of all things through whom also he made the worlds who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high thank you Nina John so here it's clearly tells us that you know that through him all things were made he he is the one who created the world's Jesus he's the here the he is talking referring to Jesus so Jesus made all the worlds it is through him also that you know all everything was created and also he upholds all things by the word of his power so if you look at the word here it's the spoken word it's not the person of Jesus Christ that's why it's a small w but when we look at John chapter one it's a capital W is talking about the person of Jesus Christ but here he says you know Jesus Christ created all things and he upholds all things by the word of his power so his word is power what he speaks what he declares what he decrees is power and he's holding everything he's sustaining all of creation just by his word okay so that is what it means by everything was created through him the next phase that we look at is everything was created for him that means the reason for all creation is so that all creation can glorify him bring glory to him and you know creation can manifest the glory of God which means can you know bring about in a visible way a visible manifestation of the glory of God of who he is what he does his nature his attributes his works and also all of creation you know can serve him so the reason why everything was created was it was created for him so that everything can serve him and you know serve him in the sense you know not being as slaves not being under him but you know in the sense of bringing glory to him just worshiping him giving the glory honor and praise that is due to him okay we will move on to verse 16 can somebody read verse 16 please Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 to him okay thank you you can read verse 17 as well sorry I just wanted to read verse 17 not 16 but you can read verse 17 please thank you so here it says that he is before all things and in him all things consist so the pronoun he you know it actually stresses on Christ's unique position his preeminence above all things it means that he himself and he and no one else was before all things was before time began was before creation and it was he who created everything so he is basically the word he is here in verse 17 describes you know Christ's absolute existence as the eternal one as the I am that you know he identifies himself so Paul does not say that he came to be before all things but he says he is before all things which means it's it's it's the apostle Paul way of saying what Jesus himself declared about himself in John chapter 8 verse 58 that he is the I am that means he's you know it describes Christ's absolute existence that he is the I am and that he was that he is before he was before all things he was before time he was even before creation and it was because of him that everything was created it was through him everything that was created and everything you know has meaning has place because of who he is that he is God he is the I am okay so that is what it means when he says and he is before all things so you know every word is so important so here he is is basically describing the absolute existence of the eternal I am that he is before all things and that he is God okay and if you continue verse 17 he says before all things so Paul said that one of the reasons Christ is over all creation is because he was before all things so what does Paul mean by Christ being before all things means it just basically speaking about the eternity of Christ that he is eternal it speaks of Christ eternity it speaks that he was not a created being he it speaks that he was there before anything was created he has an eternally existed he he eternally existed even before creation came into being before the foundations of the world was laid he has eternally existed as part of the Godhead which we read in John chapter 1 verse 1 and also what we looked at in Micah chapter 5 verse 2 where it says you know who's going forth have been from of all from everlasting we we looked at that the reference in the first lesson in Micah chapter 5 verse 2 he says but thou Bethlehem Ephrata be thou though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that that is to be the ruler in Israel who's going forth have been from of old from everlasting so it's basically talking about the eternal nature of Christ that he is eternal and he has eternally existed as part of the Godhead so here Micah is predicting that the one who is to come you know the Messiah was to come he he was from everlasting he has eternally passed he was therefore Christ is before all things and therefore you know he is to be exalted he is to be worshipped and there is no one like him and it was through him that everything was created so his over creation because he was even there before creation he was the one who created everything he is God and therefore he is everlasting okay so I'll repeat that again he is over creation because he was before creation and hence he is God and therefore he is everlasting now if you look at you know Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 verses 15 or 16 and 17 you know the words all things by him in him by him all things were created in the past by him all things consist in the present by him all things will be reconciled in the future it's basically talking about you know the eternal nature of the person of Jesus Christ it's talking that he is God because it was through him everything was created in the past it is through him that all things consist in the present and it is by him that all things will be reconciled in the future if you look at Romans chapter 11 verse 36 it says therefore in him all the fullness dwells and it says of him and through him and to him are all things so you know everything exists because of him through him to him are all things Romans chapter 11 verse 36 which means again coming back to how Jesus you know refers to himself as the Alpha and Omega he is all in all okay so that is what he possibly means when he said you know he was before all things we look at the next phrase in him all things consist so basically Paul you know is summarizing Jesus's relation to creation with the words when he says you know that he in him all things consist which means he's saying he is a creator he is the power who holds creation together he's the one who's sustaining creation and because he holds all of creation he's therefore the one who is the sustainer of all creation and this word in him all things consist the Greek word consists is a Sunni tenno from which we get the English word sustain which means that the things created by Jesus Christ himself is now being sustained by him he sustains all things by the power of this word what he speaks what he decrees he's the one who sustains things he's the one who converses he's conversed things he's the one who holds them all together and it is by him you know everything lives moves and has its being as we read in Acts chapter 17 was 28 can somebody read Acts chapter 17 was 28 someone else can read 1st Corinthians chapter 8 was 6 and someone else can read Hebrews chapter 1 was 3 and somebody read Acts chapter 17 was 28 for in him we live and move and have our being as also some of your own poets have said for we are also his offspring thank you so here we see that Jesus is not only the one who was there at creation he was not the one just who created everything who brought about all of creation but he's someone who also sustains creation he's the one who holds them together because by him that everything is held together has its place in perfect order and there is no kiosk and one reference we look at is in Acts chapter 17 was 28 for in him we live and move and have our being 1st Corinthians chapter 8 was 6 can somebody read that please thank you so 1st Corinthians 8 6 says he has yet for us there is one God the father of whom all are all things and be for him and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom all things and through whom we live look at you know this important phrase it says for there is one God so another scripture passage where you can show people that you know here we believe that there is one God is 1st Corinthians chapter 8 was 6 and also says and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things which means the through whom who created all things who brought about all things who is the creator and through whom we live who which means in whom we find our sustainance in whom we find our strength our self-sufficiency who is the all-sufficient one who gives us the his sufficiency to live this earth who holds all things in its place who sustains everything so Hebrew chapter 1 verse 3 also talks about how the entire universe is held together by his word can somebody read Hebrew chapter 1 verse 3 please are you going to read who being the brightness of his glory and that's the best image of his personal and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself touched our sit down with the right hand of the message to you amen thank you so here it says who is talking about Jesus who being the brightness of his glory that means who is who reveals the ability who revealed to us the glory of God like we read in John chapter 1 who you know who came to us full of grace and truth and we have beheld his glory the glory of the one and only came who came from the Father full of grace and truth so Jesus reveals the glory of God and he's the express image of his person again image the Greek word icon which talking about the manifestation or the representation of who God exactly is so he is the the the manifestation the expression of who God is in person and it says here that he is the one who upholds all things by the word of his power so the entire universe is held together by his word that means through through what that's the the the word the low boss Jesus Christ he speaks through his spoken word you know he holds everything he sustains everything the entire universe is held together by his word now just going to a little science to prove this you know you don't have to you know write it down or you know just for our knowledge sake you know the most basic of all scientific principles is actually if you look at it is implied in these two verses in Colossians chapter 1 verses 16 and 17 which we we were just studying you know in this hour that is the principle of the the scientific principle of the conservation of mass and energy or the conservation of all things and now according to this principle the conservation of mass and energy it says that nothing is being created or annihilated it's only being conserved okay so nothing is created nothing is you know extinguished own everything is only conserved and as far as quantity in physics you know we study quantity is concerned you know it is also just being conserved so one state of matter can be only changed to another example solid can be changed to liquid liquid can be changed to solid liquid can be changed to gas so one type of energy can be converted to another for example you know electric energy we which flows through the wires you know we receive we receive light so electric energy is converted to light energy and in the same conditions you know matter and energy can be interchanged and we have this whole nuclear fission but the total quantity of mass energy is always conserved which is you know the law of the first law of the thermodynamics and you know this is the best proved law of science but science cannot tell us why it is true why is it conserved how is the energy just conserved why is there nothing created why is it not annihilated the reason you know nothing is now being created is because you know what we read in scripture even though science cannot prove it you know from script is because everything is already created by God himself Christ created all things and the reason why we know that nothing is being annihilated is because all things are now being sustained by him so it again proves scripture that you know nothing is coming to a depletion or you know to or annihilated which means nothing is destroyed nothing is exterminated it's because you know scripture again you know science cannot prove how it is cannot be annihilated how it cannot be conserved how it cannot be you know exterminated or destroyed is because of what the word of God says that you know what the word of God says everything is sustained in him Christ sustains all of creation so if it was not for you know this sustainance this binding energy that we see in the atom which holds entire structures together you know everything in this universe would just collapse and disintegrate and there would be utter chaos now science is not able to prove to us how all of this is sustained how it all holds together everything but you know even though science cannot prove it how everything nothing is nothing new is created and how nothing is exterminated how nothing is annihilated is because we see in scripture that all things were created by him everything that needs to be created is already created by God and you know and nothing is annihilated or comes to an you know a state where it is you know exterminated it's because he sustains all things so even though science cannot prove it and has these theories has these truths but cannot prove these truths you know scripture proves it to us so isn't it exciting and wonderful even if you didn't understand thermodynamics even though you didn't understand all of the you know the way of conservation or the how how energy and matter is conserved but just need to know that you know nothing new is created now because everything is created in Christ we learned that in Colossians chapter one was 16 and nothing is exterminated or annihilated because you know Christ is holding everything everything is sustained by him so what should be our response our response should be that you know even as creation reveals the glory of God we look at it in Psalm 19 one you know heavens declare the glory of God and show his handiwork you know Psalm chapter 147 verse 4 says you know God counts the number of stars he calls them by name you know and this leads to Psalmist in verse 5 of Psalm chapter 147 to praise God says great is our Lord and mighty in power his understanding is infinite so you know God is infinite he's so great he's so dominant over all creation that you know we read in Isaiah chapter 40 verses 12 and 13 we look at it next class but you know all of this you know just should lead us to worshiping God praising him glorifying him and just thanking him for you know sustaining us for giving us life holding us together and knowing that you know our true sustenance through life the fullness of life the zoe life that he came to give us on the cross is through Jesus Christ just worship him give him the glory and honor that is due to him we look at the last bit in the next class anyone has any questions any questions I hope you understood first sorry you understood Colossians chapter 1 verses 15 to 17 it was interesting any questions any clarity anyone needs okay we're time up but thank you all for joining class I'd like you all to read through the notes and come the next class and also you know just glorify God for who he is what he's created how he has created us and how he sustains us and just find his sustenance and his strength in him because he's all sufficient for us his elder ideal sufficient one okay thank you all for joining class have a blessed day and a blessed week ahead thank you everyone