You asked

what does 'in him all things hold together' mean for our modern understanding of interconnected systems?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Colossians 1:17

“He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.”

This verse is part of a hymn-like passage in Paul's letter to the Colossians, written around the mid-first century CE. Paul is describing the supremacy and centrality of Christ, both in creation and in the church, to a community wrestling with various philosophical and spiritual ideas.

How might recognizing an underlying unity in all things, as described here, influence our approach to designing and managing complex systems today?

Then — the setting

The letter to the Colossians was likely written by Paul from prison, possibly in Rome or Ephesus, around 60-62 CE. It was addressed to a church in Colossae, a city in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). The community was facing internal challenges from what scholars call the 'Colossian heresy,' a mix of Jewish legalism, ascetic practices, and speculative philosophy that diminished Christ's unique role. This passage asserts Christ's pre-eminence over all created things, including cosmic powers, directly countering any belief system that elevated other spiritual entities or human rituals above him.

Across the Testaments

This New Testament passage builds upon Old Testament themes of God's wisdom and creative power. In Proverbs 8, 'Wisdom' is personified as present with God at creation, arranging and ordering the world. The Colossians passage takes this further by identifying Christ as the agent not only of creation but also of its ongoing coherence. While the Old Testament emphasizes God's singular act of creation and sustenance, the New Testament, particularly in passages like Colossians 1 and John 1, reveals that this creative and unifying power is expressed specifically through Christ, integrating the Godhead's role in the cosmos.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

John 1:3
Describes all things coming into being through the 'Word,' echoing the creative and ordering principle.
Hebrews 1:3
States that Christ upholds all things by the word of his power, reinforcing his active role in sustaining creation.
Psalm 104:24
Praises God for making all things in wisdom, reflecting a divine order and interconnectedness in creation.

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