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how might advances in science or technology today deepen or change our understanding of 'the things that are made'?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Colossians 1:15-17

“who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.”

This letter, written by Paul in the first century CE, likely from prison, addresses the church in Colossae. It aims to clarify the supremacy and centrality of Jesus in creation and redemption, countering certain philosophical or religious ideas that might have been undermining the Colossians' understanding of Christ.

How does this passage, viewed through the lens of modern scientific understanding, shape your sense of wonder or responsibility towards the created world?

Then — the setting

Paul wrote Colossians around 60-62 CE, likely while imprisoned in Rome, to a young Christian community in Colossae, a city in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The letter addresses concerns about false teachings that seemed to diminish Christ's significance, possibly involving elements of Jewish mysticism, Greek philosophy, or angel worship. Paul emphasizes Christ's pre-eminence over all creation and cosmic powers to counter these influences and anchor the believers' faith firmly in him.

Across the Testaments

This passage, from the New Testament, profoundly reinterprets and expands upon the Old Testament's understanding of creation. While Genesis 1 presents God as the sole creator, without explicitly naming a distinct 'Son' or 'Word' as the agent, Colossians identifies Jesus as the specific agent 'through whom' and 'for whom' all things were created. This builds on the Old Testament concept of God's wisdom and word as instrumental in creation (e.g., Proverbs 8, Psalm 33:6) by personifying it in Jesus, establishing a continuity and a deeper revelation of the creator's identity within the Trinitarian framework.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

John 1:1-3
Describes Jesus as the 'Word' through whom all things were made, echoing the creative role.
Hebrews 1:2-3
States that God created the world through his Son and that the Son upholds all things by his powerful word.
Romans 1:20
Suggests that God's invisible qualities are clearly seen from what has been made, pointing to creation as a revelation.

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