Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 1:17

"and he is before all things, and in him all things consist." — Colossians 1:17 (ASV)

Verse 16 has stated the essential reason for Christ’s lordship over creation, namely, that he is its creator. Verse 17 is a sort of summing up of the thought of vv.15–16. But in addition, it rounds out and completes the statement of Christ’s relation to creation. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” That Christ is “before” all things means primarily that he is before all in time; yet the statement is general enough to include also the notion that he is above all in rank (cf. “firstborn over all creation” in v.15b). That all things “hold together” (GK 5319) in Christ means that he is both the unifying principle and the personal sustainer of all creation. It springs from him and finds in him its common cohesion and center (cf. Hebrews 1:3).