"ALL THINGS IN CHRIST..."
Question - how many things does "all things" include? EVERYTHING!!
"All" is a very large word, an all-encompassing word. There is nothing outside of "all". "All things" is without qualification.
"All" is "all" - and "all things" is EVERYTHING. NOTHING is left out; NOTHING is excluded. All" is all inclusive.
We cannot come up with a single thing that is not included in ALL!
In Romans 11:36, Paul sums up the preeminence of Christ (the aim of Father is to have Jesus Christ have that kind of position in ALL things) in three expressions:
"OF Him"
"THROUGH Him"
"TO Him"
"OF HIM" EVERYthing that exists - in the heavens, on earth, everything that has ever been created, past, present, future, is created BY and BECAUSE of Christ.
"THROUGH HIM" EVERYthing that lives, moves, breathes, operates, or exists, or functions in the universe, whether animate or inanimate, whether biological, chemical, spiritual, natural, or cosmological, ALL does so THROUGH CHRIST, who sovereignly upholds ALL things, determines their place, and keeps them in order.
"TO HIM" EVERYthing, no matter how far from God's thought it may be, no matter how chaotic things appear, is being directed, summoned up and gathered together INTO CHRIST.
As the Alpha, ALL things flow FROM Him.
As the Omega, ALL things flow TO Him.
Therefore, we speak of Jesus Christ having the preeminence in ALL things. Jesus is Lord over us individually, over the church corporately, and over all creation collectively.
Yes, CHRIST IS PREEMINENT - He is exalted above EVERY principality and power, rule and dominion, things visible and invisible, things past, present, future, things in the heavenlies (spirit), things on earth, things under the earth.
"ALL things are OF Him; ALL things are THROUGH Him, and ALL things are
TO Him..." Rom. 11:36
What more can we say...
(My thanks to several saints for much of this.)
Friday, February 26, 2010
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