Proposition # 18: Colossians 1:16, 17 tells us that Jesus created the universe; yet in Isaiah 44:24 God says that He created “all alone” and “by Myself.” Therefore, Jesus must be God.
Response: The apostle Paul, the writer of Colossians 1:16, 17, certainly did not have the understanding that Jesus was the Creator. In his speech at the Aeropagus he spoke of “God who made the world and everything in it.” In closing he added,
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed, and of this He has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.” — Acts 17:24, 30, 31
It is evident from this passage that Paul believed that the God who made all things is someone distinct from the man whom He has resurrected and appointed. However, God did create everything with Jesus in mind.
At 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul wrote,
“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Paul also mentioned the new creation in Galatians 6:15 and alludes to it in Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 2:15 and 4:24. Could the “all things” of Colossians 1:16, 17 (quoted below) be referring to the new creation instead of the physical universe as most people think? Let’s consider the context. In verses 13 and 14 Paul wrote,
“… [God] transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.”
Certainly, the new creation is in view in this passage. And the verses that follow Colossians 1:16 and 17 clearly deal with the new creation. See verses 18-20.
Where we appear to hit a snag is in verses 16 and 17 which read,
“in [1] [the Son] all things were created in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible – whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through him and for him, and he is before all things, and in him all things are held together.”
These verses delineate specifically to what they refer: heavenly and earthly, visible and invisible thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. This passage is not talking about the material creation!
Ephesians 1:21, 22 corroborates where it reads that Christ is
“far above every ruler, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come; and [God] put all things in subjection under his feet…”
First Peter 3: 22 confirms, saying that Jesus Christ
“is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers having been put in subjection to him.”
Just before his ascension Jesus himself said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” – Matthew 28:18
Colossians 1:16, 17 says nothing about Jesus’ creating the universe.
But as our Savior he was certainly instrumental in creating the new creation: he died for it!
[1] A few translations render the Greek preposition “en” as “by,” but most modern English translations use “in”. [Prop # 18]