Christ is related to creation in a subjective way. Christ did not create the universe merely in an objective way as an objective Creator. He did not, so to speak, stand apart and call everything into being. On the contrary, the process of creation took place in Him, that is, in the power of His Person. Christ is the unique power in the universe. His very Person is this power. Therefore, creation was processed in Him. This means that He was not simply an objective Creator, but also the subjective instrument through which creation was processed. For this reason, creation bears the characteristics of Christ’s intrinsic power. Instead of saying that Christ created the universe, the Bible says that all things came into being through Him or were created in Him. The words “by Him” are objective, whereas the words “through Him” and “in Him” are subjective.
The use of gasoline as the source of power in an automobile may be a helpful illustration. An automobile is operated by the driver, but it receives its power supply from gasoline. Since gasoline provides the power, an automobile bears the characteristics of the power of gasoline. But gasoline does not supply an automobile as an objective power; it empowers it subjectively by operating within certain mechanical parts of the automobile. If the power of gasoline were objective, an automobile would not bear the characteristics of the intrinsic power of gasoline. But since gasoline is subjectively related to the automobile, the vehicle driven by it bears the characteristics of its intrinsic power.
The King James Version of Colossians 1:16 says that all things have been created for Him. It is better to render the Greek “unto Him.” “For Him” is objective, but “unto Him” is subjective. All things have been created in Christ, through Christ, and, ultimately, unto Christ. These expressions indicate that Christ has a subjective relationship to creation. Creation is not simply for Him; it is also unto Him. This means that it consummates in Him. The three prepositions in, through, and unto were used by Paul to point out the subjective relationship of Christ to creation. Creation took place in the power of Christ’s Person, through Him as the active instrument, and unto Him as its consummation. Such a relationship is altogether subjective. Because of His subjective relationship to creation, Christ expresses God in creation. Creation expresses the characteristics of Christ who is the image of the invisible God.
In verse 17 Paul goes on to say, “All things subsist together in Him.” This means that all things exist together by Christ as the holding 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; it 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 hold 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 Himself.
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.
In 1:19 Paul says, “For in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” The fullness here is virtually the equivalent of the image in verse 15. The image of the invisible God is the full expression of the unseen God. For the fullness to dwell in Christ means that all the expression of God, all of His image, was pleased to dwell in Him.
Verses 15 through 19 make up one section of the Epistle to the Colossians. In this section Christ is revealed as the first both in the old creation and in the new creation. As the One who is first in both of God’s creations, Christ is the expression of God. God is expressed in Him because all things have come into being in Him, through Him, and unto Him, and they subsist in Him. This is true not only of the old creation, but even the more of the new creation. The new creation, the church, is Christ’s Body, of which He is the Head. Through His subjective relationship to creation, Christ is the fullness of the unseen God, the image of the invisible God. The fullness in verse 19 is not a thing; it is a person who is the expression, the image, of the Triune God.
In verses 20 through 22, it is difficult to determine to whom the various pronouns refer. Verses 19 and 20 say that in Christ the fullness was pleased to dwell, and “through Him to reconcile all things to Him.” If the fullness were not a person, how could it be pleased to dwell in Christ? The fact that the fullness can be pleased indicates that it is a person. The fullness was pleased not only to dwell in Christ, but through Him to reconcile all things to Him. In verses 19 and 20 two infinitives—to dwell and to reconcile—are joined by a conjunction. Hence, the fullness was pleased to dwell and to reconcile. The phrase “through Him” is used twice in verse 20. Both times it refers to Christ as the active instrument through which reconciliation was processed. But what is the antecedent of the pronoun Him, to whom all things are reconciled? The antecedent is the fullness spoken of in verse 19. This is the reason that in his New Translation, J. N. Darby uses the pronouns itself and it, in verses 20 and 22, to refer to the fullness in verse 19. The Greek pronouns, however, should not be regarded as neuter, but as masculine. This means that instead of saying “it,” we should say “him.” Therefore, all things have been reconciled to the fullness. In verses 21 and 22, we who were enemies have been reconciled by the fullness in the body of flesh through death so that we may be presented holy and blameless and without reproach before the fullness. How meaningful is this understanding of the passage! It is the fullness that dwells in Christ, it is the fullness that reconciles us, and it is to the fullness that we shall be presented. This fullness is God Himself expressed. This fullness was pleased to dwell in Christ, to reconcile us, and to present us to Himself.