God created all things, but He created through His Son.

SUMMARY

GOD IS THE CREATOR:

The “LORD” said:

“I … am the maker of all things,
Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone’” (Isa 44:24; cf. 42:5; 45:18; Gen 1:1).

HEBREWS 1

Psalms 102:25-27 identifies God as the creator of the earth and the heavens. However, Hebrews 1:10-12 applies those three verses nearly word-for-word to Jesus, implying that Jesus is the Creator God. However, earlier in the same chapter, we read:

“God … in these last days has spoken to us in His Son …
through whom also He made the world” (Heb 1:1-2).

This identifies the Father alone as God and as the Creator while “His Son” is the Means “through whom” God created “the world.“

COLOSSIANS 1

Colossians 1:15-17 is very similar to Hebrews 1:1-3. Both two passages:

(1) Refer to the Father as “God” and to Christ as “His Son” (Col 1:13, 15; Heb 1:1-2).

(2) Identify the Father as the Creator and the Son as the Means through whom God created all things (Col 1:16; Heb 1:2).

(3) Describe the Son as the Image of God (Col 1:15; Heb 1:3), as “heir of all things” (Heb 1:2; cf. Col 1:16), and as the Means through whom God hold all things together (Heb 1:3; Col 1:17).

The main point, for the purpose of the current article, is that God is the Creator while His Son is the Means through whom He created “all things.”

JOHN 1

We find the same message in John 1. In this passage, we again find that God is described as the Creator, but He brought all things into being “through Him” (John 1:3).

1 CORINTHIANS 8:6

This is a key passage because it is so clear and concise. Firstly, it states that we have:

- - “One God, the Father” and
  - “One Lord, Jesus Christ”

It then distinguishes between their roles in creation:

- - All things are “from” God, the Father and
  - “By” the one Lord, Jesus Christ. “We exist through Him.”

REVELATION 4:11

Revelation 4 describes God’s throne room. Jesus only enters the room in Revelation 5 (Rev 5:6). While Jesus is still absent, the heavenly beings glorify the One sitting on the throne, saying:

“You created all things,
and because of Your will they existed,
and were created” (Rev 4:10-11)

CONCLUSIONS

(1) Since God created all things through His Son, His Son “is before all things” (Col. 1:17). Since God even created time “in the beginning” through the Son, there was no time when the Son did not exist.

(2) The “all things” which God created through His Son, is the universe and everything in it (Col 1:16).

(3) While the universe had a “beginning”, God has no beginning. He exists beyond time, space and matter. Since God is not subject to time, the claims that the Son always existed with God (co-eternal) is meaningless.

– END OF SUMMARY –

GOD AND JESUS

The Bible consistently talks about God and Jesus as if they are two different Persons. For example, at the beginning of every New Testament letter, the reader will find words such as:

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:2).

This website, therefore, follows the example of the Bible and makes a distinction between God and Jesus. For further discussion, see Jesus is not God.

GOD IS THE CREATOR.

“In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1).

“Thus says the LORD … ‘I, the LORD,
am the maker of all things,
Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth all alone’”
(Isaiah 44:24; cf. 42:5; 45:18).

As indicated by the capital letters, the word “LORD” represents God’s personal name YHVH, pronounced as Yahweh or as Jehovah.

Jesus never claimed to be the Creator. He has always credited God with creation. For example:

“Have you not read
that He who created them from the beginning
made them male and female” (Matt 19:4-6)?

IS JESUS THE CREATOR?

Hebrews 1 applies Psalm 102 to the Son.

Psalms 102:25-27 says of God:

“Of old You founded the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Even they will perish, but You endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them
and they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.”

Hebrews 1 applies this nearly word-for-word to Jesus:

“of the Son He says …
You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the works of Your hands;
they will perish, but You remain;
and they all will become old like a garment,
and like a mantle You will roll them up;
like a garment they will also be changed.
But You are the same,
and Your years will not come to an end” (Heb 1:8, 10-12).

The Father is the Creator.

This quote in Hebrews 1, therefore, implies that Jesus is the Creator God. However, earlier in the same chapter, we read:

“God … in these last days has spoken to us in His Son …
through whom also He made the world.
And He is the radiance of His glory
and the exact representation of His nature,
and upholds all things by the word of His power”
(Heb 1:1-3).

Consistent with the entire New Testament, these verses identify God as the Father alone. With respect to the creation event, these verses identify God as the Creator but “His Son” as the Means “through whom” God created “the world.“

This passage also describes “His Son” as “the exact representation of His nature” (Heb 1:3).

According to this passage, who “upholds all things” (Heb 1:3)? The word “His” appears four times in these verses:

- - “His Son,“
  - “His glory,“
  - “His nature,” and
  - “His power.“

Since the first three “His“-phrases all refer to God, it is assumed that the fourth also refers to God. The phrase “upholds all things by the word of His power,” therefore, means that “His Son” “upholds all things by the word of” God’s “power.“

In conclusion, Hebrews 1 applies Psalm 102 to Christ, implying that Christ is the Creator, but the first three verses of the same chapter identify the Father alone as God and as the Creator, while the Son is the Means “through whom” God created “the world.“

Colossians 1

Colossians 1:15-17 is very similar to Hebrews 1:1-3:

“His beloved Son …
is the image of the invisible God …
by (Gr. en = in) Him all things were created …
all things have been created through Him
and for Him.
He is before all things,
and in (Gr. en = in) Him all things hold together.”
(Col 1:13-17)

Note the similarities of the two passages:

(1) Both passages refer to the Father as “God” and to Christ as “His Son” (Col 1:13, 15; Heb 1:1-2).

(2) Both passages distinguish between the roles of God and His Son in the creation event. Both identify the Father as the Creator and the Son as the Means through whom God created (Col 1:16; Heb 1:2). More a more detailed discussion of Colossians 1:16, see – Firstborn of all Creation.

(3) Both passages describe the Son as the Image of God (Col 1:15; Heb 1:3).

(4) Both passages identify the Son as the Means through whom God hold all things together:

In Hebrews, His Son “upholds all things by the word of His (God’s) power” (Heb 1:3).

In Colossians, “In Him (Christ) all things hold together” (Col 1:17). The passive voice identifies the Father as the active party both in the creation (Col 1:16) and in the maintenance (Col 1:17) of “all things.”

(5) In Hebrews, God appointed the Son as “heir of all things” (Heb 1:2). Similarly, in Colossians, “all things have been created … for Him” (Col 1:16).

The similarity of the two passages is quite amazing. Perhaps Paul wrote both letters. But the main point, for the purpose of this article, is that God is the Creator while His Son is the Means through whom He created “all things.”

John 1

We find the same message in John 1. The first verse in the Bible reads:

“In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1).

John referred to that event when he wrote:

“In the beginning was the Word …
All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being” (John 1:1-3).

“The Word” is Jesus (cf. John 1:14). “The beginning” was when all things were brought into being (cf. Col 1:16). In this passage, we again find that God is the Creator and that He brought all things into being “through Him” (John 1:3).

1 Corinthians 8:6

This is a key passage because it is so clear and concise, summarizing the principles above:

“There is but one God, the Father,
from whom are all things
and we exist for Him;
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
by whom are all things,
and we exist through Him” (I Cor 8:6).

In this translation (the NASB), we again find the word “by” (compare NASB Col 1:16). However, the word in Greek is “di’” and is explained by Strong’s as “a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act, through.” (See Interlinear.) In Young’s Literal Translation, therefore, this verse reads as follows:

“Yet to us [is] one God, the Father,
of whom [are] the all things, and we to Him;
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom [are] the all things, and we through Him.”

Compare this in tabular form:

There is but one God,	and one Lord,
the Father,	Jesus Christ,
from whom are all things,	by whom are all things,
and we exist for Him;	and we exist through Him.

However, the brilliant Trinitarians even have answers for this verse. For a discussion, see – the Shema.

Revelation 4:11

Revelation 4 describes God’s throne room. Jesus only enters the room in Revelation 5 (Rev 5:6). While Jesus is still absent, the heavenly beings:

“Will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God,
to receive glory and honor and power;
for You created all things,
and because of Your will they existed,
and were created‘” (Rev 4:10-11).

Made in the image of God

The phrases “through Him” and “through whom” in John 1:3, Colossians 1:16, and Hebrews 1:2 indicate that God is the Creator but He created all things through “His Son.”

With this information, we can go back to Genesis 1, where God said, concerning the creation of Adam and Eve:

“Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness” (Gen 1:26).

The next verse says that Adam was created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). The assumption, therefore, is that, in verse 26, God spoke to His Only Begotten Son who, before His incarnation, “existed in the form of God” (Phil 2:6). Since God is invisible (Col 1:15), man was made in the image of Christ.

Conclusions

The Son always existed.

In the view of some, the Son was God’s first creation. They believe that there was a time when the Son did not exist. However:

Since God does not exist in time, there is no such thing as God’s first creation.

Since God created all things through His Son, His Son “is before all things” (Col. 1:17). He is “from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2).

Since God created even time “in the beginning” through the Son, there was no time when the Son did not exist.

All things

According to Hebrews 1:2, God made “the world”, but then verse 3 continues and says that His power upholds “all things.” “The world” in verse 1, therefore, is a synonym for “all things.” Colossians 1:16 defines “all things” as:

“all things …
both in the heavens and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.”

The “all things” which God created through His Son, therefore, is not limited to this world but includes the universe and everything in it. See the article – How is Jesus the firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15) – for a further explanation.

Our limited understanding

We may think that we understand time, space and matter, but Einstein showed that we really do not. For a long time, people thought of the earth as flat because they were only able to see such a small part of it. In the same way, we understand time, space, and matter only from our microscopic perspective. The time, space, and matter of which we are aware is extremely small, compared to the entire universe; smaller than a grain of sand somewhere in a desolated desert when compared to the entire world. But even if we understood the universe, God exists beyond time, space and matter. While the universe had a “beginning”, God has no beginning. Since God is not subject to time, the statement that the Son always existed with God is meaningless.

God created and still upholds all things through His Son.

God is the Source of all creative power and wisdom. All things came into being by His word. But the Word is also a Person; God’s only begotten Son. The Bible consistently draws a distinction God and the Son, but also describes the Son as The Beginning, through whom God brought all things into being, and who upholds all things by the word of His power.

This article has been replaced by some other articles. Please see: In the beginning was the Word..

This is the third article in a series about who the Son of God is and what His relationship is with His Father, God Almighty.

The first article explains the three views of the Son. Some people propose that the Son of God is a created being. Others say that He was derived from the Father. A third view is that He always existed; co-equal with the Father.

The second article shows that God is One, that the Bible contrast His Son with God, and that the Father is greater than the Son.

This third article discusses the Son as Creator and Upholder of the universe.

The Word in John 1

God’s word of creation

In the Beginning The dramatic first verses of John 1 do not refer to “the Son” or to the “Son of God”, but to “the Word”. Some therefore propose that “the Word” does not refer to the Son, but to the word which God spoke when He created all things. Modern translations render “the Word” with a capital “W”, but all original documents have been written in capitals only. Capitals and lower case therefore are only interpretations.

It is possible that “the Word” in John 1:1-2 refers to God’s word, for “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). The whole of Genesis 1 is about what God spoke, and it came to be. The phrase “God said” appears 10 times in that chapter.

But the Word is also the Son

The Word is described as a Person.

What would be the logic of saying that “the word” which God spoke “was with God … was God … was in the beginning with God”? (John 1:1-2) These descriptions imply that “the word” is a Person.

God created through the Word, but God also created through His Son.

According to John 1:3 “all things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being”. “Him” in this verse is also an interpretation. The original word means “the same”. What 1:3 is saying is that all things came into being through the Word.

However, both Hebrews 1 and Colossians 1 say that all things came into being through the Son (Col. 1:13; Heb. 1:2). This implies that “the Word” is “the Son”. Note the word “through” in John 1, in Colossians 1 and in Hebrews 1 (John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2).

Since God created through His Son, it remains God that created.

**“The Word” is “the Light”, and “the Light” is the Son of God.**

John 1:4 continues to explain “the Word” but changes the symbolism from “the Word” to “the Light of men”. The subsequent verses continue to describe “the Light”, and do it in a way that refers to the Son:

John 1:6-8 says that John the Baptist “came as a witness, to testify about the Light”. John was the forerunner for the Son of God in human form. John witnessed, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘make straight the way of the Lord … among you stands One whom you do not know …” (John 1:23-26). “The Light”, and therefore “the Word”, refers to Jesus, who is the Son of God in human form.

John 1:9-10 refers to “the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him”. These verses confirm that the One through whom “all things came into being” (1:3) is also “the light of men” (1:4), and this One came into the world (1:9). How could this be anybody other than the Son?

The Word became flesh.

John 1:14 again refers to “the Word”, and says “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us”. This can only be the Son of God. He “descended from heaven” (John 3:13; 6:38, 62). “I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world” (John 8:23). “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

But how can the Word be the Son?

There is therefore sufficient proof that “the Word” in John 1:1-2 refers to the Son. But how must this be understood? God did not create another Creator; He spoke the word. All things came into being by the word of God. But the Word is also a Person; “the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18). That Person later became flesh (John 1:14). Not only was He “in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2), He Himself Is “the Beginning“ (Col. 1:18; cf. 2 Peter 3:4; Rev. 3:14). He is “the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). This is both a truth and a mystery. Let us be content to accept that the God is beyond human understanding.

Comparing Three Key Creation Passages

Consider the following three quotations:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

Colossians 1:13 His beloved Son … 15 … is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 … He is the beginning

Hebrews 1:1 God … 2 has spoken to us in His Son … through whom also He made the world 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

This is what theologians call high Christology; explanations with a high view of Christ. Various conclusions will now be drawn from the three passages:

God brought all things into being through the Son.

All three quotations claim that God made “all things” “through Him”:

John 1:3 “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being”.
Col. 1:16 “By Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him”.
Heb. 1:1-2 “His Son … through whom also He made the world” (Heb. 1:2).

The presentation of the Creator as consisting of more than one Person is not unique to the New Testament. On the first page of the Jewish Scriptures, describing the creation of this world (Gen. 1:1), God refers to Himself as “Us”, saying “Let Us make man in Our image”, which, with the knowledge we have from the New Testament, includes His Son.

We therefore conclude as follows:

A. God is the Source of all creative power and wisdom.
B. The Father is greater than the Son (John 14:29).

There was no time when the Son did not exist.

“He is before all things” (Col. 1:17). He is “from long ago, from the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2), “before the world was” (John 17:5). Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).

John 1:1 begins with the words “in the beginning”. “The Word … was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2). This phrase probably comes from the first verse in the Bible, which reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).

John 1:1-3 links “the beginning” to the creation event. The beginning is therefore when all things were brought into being. Colossians also relate “the beginning” (1:18) to the creation of all things (1:15-16). Before “the beginning” nothing existed. There was no time before that, so to talk about the Son existing with the Father before that time is an anachronism; time did exist.

While the universe had a “beginning”, God has no beginning, for He is eternal (Rom. 16:26). God exists beyond time.

We can therefore conclude that there was no time when the Son did not exist, for God also created time through the Son. But to make any statement that He always existed co-equal with God is treading into an area which is beyond human comprehension.

**“All things” include the universe and everything in it.**

All three quotations claim that the Son made “all things”. Hebrews 1:1 says He made “the world”, but then verse 3 says He upholds all things, which implies that “the world” is a synonym for “all things”. Colossians 1:16 defines “all things” as “in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities”. The ancient people had no idea how large the universe is. (Neither do we.) We therefore can conclude that the Son created the universe and everything in it.

God continues to uphold all things through the Word.

The title “the Word” also indicates the Son’s permanent role as the One through whom God continues to speak to uphold all things.

Col. 1:17 “In Him all things hold together”.
Heb. 1:2-3 “His Son … upholds all things by the word of His power”.

He became a human being as part of His work to uphold all things. He became a human being to redeem this world.

Col. 1:13 God, through the Son, “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son”.
1 Tim. 1:16 “Just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself”.

The Son contrasted with God

As a child I was taught to think about God the Father and God the Son, but that is not exactly how the Bible presents the Son. As shown in the previous article, the Bible consistently draws a distinction God and the Son, as if the Son is not God. The three creation passages quoted above do the same:

“The Word was with God” (John 1:1-2).
“His beloved Son … is the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:13-15).
“God … has spoken to us in His Son … through whom also He made the world” (Heb. 1:1-2)

Consider some of Paul’s statements, randomly selected:

“Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father” (2Th 2:16)
“God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:1)
“Our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus” (1 Thess. 3:13; cf. v11)

But between such statements we find statements such as “the Word was God” (John 1:1). And it is said that God made all things through Him and that the Son “upholds all things by the word of His power“. This series of articles is evaluating three option, as mentioned above. The last article will bring the evidence together into a conclusion.

Series

This is the third in a series of seven:

(1) The three views of the Son of God.
(2) God is One, the Son contrasted with God and the Father is greater than the Son.
(3) What the Son does: He made and still upholds all things by the word of His power.
(4) What the Son is: Fullness of Deity
(5) The Son is worshiped.
(6) The Son is Yahweh of the Old Testament.
(7) Conclusion: Is He created, derived or eternally co-equal?