Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Christ upholds “all things by the word of His power.” After creating all things, Christ became the Upholder of all things. The earth is suspended in space. There is nothing visible supporting it. After Christ created the earth, He began to uphold it, and He upholds it now by the word of His power.
If you ask scientists what upholds the earth, they will say only that something upholds it. The earth is one of many planets. Astronomers tell us that all the planets move according to their own track. If they were to move out of orbit, there would be a global accident. Who upholds all the planets and the whole universe? Christ upholds all things, and He upholds them very easily. There is no need for Him to do anything—He simply speaks. He upholds all things by the word of His power.
The book of Hebrews emphasizes the word of God. Hebrews 11:3 says that the universe was framed by the word of God. Now we see in 1:3 that the universe is upheld by the word of Christ’s power. The divine word is powerful. Christ is not only the Creator and the means of creation; He is also the Upholder. He created the universe, and now He upholds the universe by His word.
Speaking of Christ, Colossians 1:17 says, “All things subsist together in Him.” “Subsist together in Him” means to exist together by Christ as the holding center, just as the spokes of a wheel are held together by the hub at their center. For creation to subsist in Christ is a further indication that Christ is subjectively related to creation.
It is important to differentiate between the words exist, consist, and subsist. Colossians 1:17 does not say that all things exist in Christ or consist in Him; this verse says that all things subsist in Him. To exist is to be, to consist is to be composed or constituted, and to subsist is to be held together for existence. Imagine a wheel with its rim, spokes, and hub. All the spokes subsist together in the hub. The only way for the spokes to subsist is to be held together at the hub in the center of the wheel. This illustrates Christ’s relationship to creation with respect to the fact that all things subsist in Him.
We have pointed out that all things came into being in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ. Nothing should be regarded as separate from Him. All things were made in the intrinsic power of Christ’s person, through Him as the active instrument, and unto Him as the consummate goal. Furthermore, all things subsist, are held together, in Him as the hub. Because all things were created in Christ, through Christ, and unto Christ and because all things subsist in Christ, God can be expressed in creation through Christ, who is the image of the invisible God.
According to the New Testament, the word “subsist” includes, or implies, three things: to exist, to live, and to live together. All things not only exist in Christ but also live, or continue in existence, in Him. Furthermore, all things live together, or exist together, in Him. The entire universe subsists, exists together, in Christ. He is the center in which all things subsist. All things not only exist in Him; all things also live in Him and live together corporately in Him.
In creation Christ is the Heir of all things. Hebrews 1:2 says that God has appointed Christ the Son Heir of all things. In the past Christ was the Creator, in the present He is the Upholder of all things, and in the future He will be the Heir to inherit all things. The sun, the earth, the solar system, the stars, the galaxies—all are His. All things are for Him, and He will inherit all things. In God’s creation Christ is the Creator, the Upholder, and the Heir. All things are of Him, through Him, and unto Him.