Questioning Long-Held Beliefs

Saying Uncomfortable Things

I have a tendency, intermittently, to say things that cause people to squirm, mostly mentally and emotionally but, at times, even physically. I’m okay with that, because I am convinced there is no growth in a Christ-follower unless there is movement in the mind. I enjoy pondering and learning, and I feel called to help others contemplate difficult questions.

We must think. We must consider. We must question and research. We must be willing to hear differing and difficult points of view and, even better, to understand why those points of view are held…to understand them so well that we can say, “This is not my view on it, but here’s why Jeremy sees it the way he does.”

The Creeds

A few months ago, I said something that, based on the reaction, very nearly created a rupture in the space-time continuum. Someone asked me if I believe in the Apostle’s Creed … or it may have been the Nicene Creed. It matters not which creed it was, because they both express the same error. Without hesitation I confessed, “No. I do not believe in it, and I decline to recite it when asked to do so.” They were incredulous that I would say such a thing.

The opening line for each creed contains a subtle yet significant error regarding the Creation. The Apostle’s Creed opens…

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

The Nicene Creed opens…

We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

There was a time when these creeds were recited with predictable regularity in local church gatherings. Many of us grew up reciting them, not giving our words much thought. We mouthed the expressions and assumed they were true, otherwise they would not be printed in the back of our hymnals. Today, creedal recitation is so infrequent that very few even know such statements of faith exist.

Who is the Creator?

I’ll state it outright…the Father is not the Creator, as is asserted by the opening line of each creed. The Creator is the Son. Jesus is the Creator. Speaking of Jesus, Paul told the church at Colossae:

For by him [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
– Colossians 1:16-17, ESV

That is a straightforward proclamation that Jesus is the Creator. The writer of Hebrews echoes this sentiment:

…but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
– Hebrews 1:2, ESV

The opening lines of John’s gospel present the same truth. Speaking of Jesus, John says:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
– John 1:1-3, ESV

John has given us another bold and forthright statement proclaiming Jesus to be the Creator.

Meh…It’s No Big Deal

I was discussing this very concept with a dear friend some thirty years ago. He thought I was making a fuss over nothing. “It’s no big deal,” he argued. “After all, didn’t Jesus, himself, say, ‘I and my Father are one’?”

“Yes, he did,” I agreed. “Therefore, since it is no big deal, when you begin to speak of the Father dying on the cross for my sins, I’ll begin speaking of the Father as the Creator.”

I know that was a rather cringe response on my part, but my response demonstrates that identity and role within the Trinity does matter. If it doesn’t matter who the Creator is, scripture would not tell us repeatedly that the Creator is the Son.

Beyond Creator

Now we know Jesus is the Creator, and we are already well versed in the fact that he is the Savior. I have written extensively in other blog postings that Jesus is King. Is there anything else we need to know about him?

Yes, there is.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
– Hebrews 1:3a, ESV

Here we learn that Jesus is the human face of God, the radiance of God’s glory, the “doxa,”¹ the exact representation of the essence, or the substance of God. This is why the apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians tells us that the fullness of deity dwells in Jesus in bodily form,² and it is why Jesus could say to Philip, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”³ The night prior to Jesus’ beating and crucifixion, he prayed, “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”⁴

In praying for unity of believers, Jesus speaks of his own unity with the Father. In this, Jesus says he and the Father are one essence, one thing. We have a tri-unity: uniquely the Father, uniquely the Son, and uniquely the Holy Spirit, yet one. And this is all very cool! But the mind-blower for me is in the second half of that quote above. The ESV says Jesus “upholds” the universe by the word of his power. Other translations say he “sustains” it or that he “holds everything together.”

What’s going on here?

One of my university instructors used to say, “Scripture is its best commentary on itself.” He wanted us to let scripture explain scripture, and we can do that here. Here is the same concept as Paul presented it to the Colossians.

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. [and hang on to this truth –>] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
– Colossians 1:15-17, ESV

Jesus is holding it all together. Jesus upholds the universe by the word of his power. Nothing is going to fly to pieces until Jesus decides to no longer hold it together. Pastor, speaker, and author, Warren Wiersbe tells the story of group touring an atomic laboratory.

A guide took a group of people through an atomic laboratory and explained how all matter was composed of rapidly moving electric particles. The tourists studied models of molecules and were amazed to learn that matter is made up primarily of space. During the question period, one visitor asked, “If this is the way matter works, what holds it all together?” For that, the guide had no answer.
– Wiersbe, W. W. (1996) The Bible Exposition Commentary. (Vol. 2, p. 116). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books

The tour guide could not answer the question but you can and I can. Jesus is before all things and in Jesus all things hold together.