Colossians 1:17 - The "Strong Force"

"...and He Himself is before all things, and the all things in Him has been put together..." 

-Some suggest that ‘before’ refers to time, but that could more properly be phrased as ‘He WAS before all things,’ imperfect (or aorist) tense, as in He was existing before anything else.  Jesus actually did employ the present tense in referring to His pre-existence in John 8.58.  ‘Before’ can also refer to His rank, that He is first in all respects.  This is the place He should have in our hearts and lives - He should come before anything or anyone.  To be sure, one day every knee will bow before Him and every tongue will confess before Him that He is in fact God Almighty, that He does come before them (cf Philippians 2.9, 3.21).  To say then that ‘He is before all things’ can fairly capture the idea that He always was, always is, and always will be first, both in the ever-present now that exists outside of our finite time, as well as in the created order of things.  He stands outside and above and comes before all things, even if temporarily we do not yet see that to fully be the case (cf Hebrews 2.8, 1Corinthians 15.25-28, 1Peter 3.22).

-’All things’ (plural) ‘has been put together’ (singular) - perfect tense, meaning a completed action in the past with continuing results in the present.  All things in the universe, everything that there is, was put together in the beginning when Christ created all things, and they were put together in a way that continues to this day.  From the simplest particles and molecules to the most amazing creatures and cosmic wonders, all matter was created out of nothing and assembled such that it is still being held together as we speak.  Science tells us that the electric forces inside of protons are more than strong enough to cause every atomic nucleus in the universe to fly apart.  But it turns out that there is another stronger force that holds these nuclei together.  Brilliant minds have named it the ‘strong force’, and it is described as the strongest force in the universe.  The strong force is hypothesized in terms of unseen particles called quarks and gluons, but whatever mechanism is used, Paul states it quite clearly here, reminding us that in fact this strongest force in the universe originates in God Himself.  In Him all of this stuff that might otherwise fly apart has been put together and continues to be held together to this day.  Hebrews 1.3 says something quite similar - He upholds all things by the Word of His power.  This is Jesus, by the way.  He is Almighty Creator God, co-equal with God the Father.  We do indeed owe both our origin and our ongoing existence to Him, and He is deserving of nothing less than our highest devotion.