Nothing Exists Without Jesus

By Dr. Brandon Steenbock, Family Minister

Colossians 1:17 - He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Take a deep breath and then let it out slowly. Do it again. Listen to the sounds around you. Feel your heartbeat. Look around you. Be aware of all that exists around you, and that exists within you. None of it exists without Jesus. 

Jesus made all things. He is the eternal Son of God. His power forged the mountains and separated the seas. His voice raised the trees and called forth the animals. His hands shaped the first man. His breath brought humanity to life. All the world exists because Jesus made it. You exist because Jesus made you. 

Jesus sustains all things. “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10). “His kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). As the writer of Hebrews puts it, he is “sustaining all things by his mighty power” (Heb. 1:3). All the world continues to exist because Jesus sustains it. You continue to exist because Jesus sustains you.

Jesus saves all of us. Sin is real, and sin corrupts. Do you remember what it says about the world before the Flood? “Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (Genesis 6:5). The Flood didn’t change that. It was a great reset, a chance for humanity to start over. But shortly after, we see the Tower of Babel, a whole city devoted to rebellion against God. We have been in rebellion ever since. We’re not less corrupt. So why hasn’t God wiped us out again?

Jesus. After the Flood, God’s promise - signified by the rainbow - was that he would never again wipe out the whole world. Instead, his bow, hanging in the heavens, is pointing up. Pointing to heaven. A sign that the next time it lets loose its arrow, it’s not coming down on the earth, but piercing the very heart of God. God cannot ignore sin. His justice requires a payment, and his love drives him to a solution. That solution is Jesus. Not to wipe out humanity, but to send the Son of God to pay the price. To take the arrow. The promise of the rainbow is that we continue to exist because Jesus took the arrow for us.

Jesus also redeems all things. The end of the story is this amazing declaration from Jesus, “Behold, I am making all things new!” (Revelation 21:5). He didn’t make all things, then step away to let it spin itself into oblivion. He doesn’t sustain all things only to remain indifferent to our needs. He didn’t save us only to leave us to our own devices. Jesus will come back to redeem and restore everything. All that he made, all that he sustains, and all that he has saved, will be made new by his almighty power. 

That’s still to come. We live in the already and not yet of the promise. That promise is this: We exist because of Jesus. And because he is the eternal Son of God, we will exist forever. Because of Jesus.