He [Christ] is
before all things and in Him all things consist (Colossians 1:17).
Paul was engaged in one of the most mind-stretching activities to occupy
the brain of any thinker: to consider the character, attributes, and eternal
essence of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. The One who is the enfleshment of God.
And that process inevitably confronted the Apostle – as it confronts each of us who think deeply about who Christ is and why it matters – with the concept of aseity.
Paul has
declared that Christ is the image of the
invisible God (v.15). In this enigmatic assertion – visible image of One who is invisible? – Paul is defining Christ as the tangible depiction of what is non-physical.
Jesus is the flesh &
blood representation of what is pure Spirit.
The Son of Man is the Incarnation
of God.
And because Jesus is God,
He possesses all the attributes of God, together with the Father and the Holy
Spirit.
Including aseity.
Aseity is that attribute of God that is His self-existence. He is
completely autonomous and therefore possesses absolute and ultimate
independence.
In that way, God is different from every other being.
Because He is without beginning, and is uncreated and self-existent, He holds the power of being in His invisible hand. That’s included in Paul’s meaning when he says, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things” (Romans 11:36).
Every other being (including you and me) is created, derived,
contingent, and therefore dependant on God.
Let’s push our thinking to another level: logic demands that if anything exists, then Something must have always existed. Otherwise, we are left with an impossibly vicious infinite regression of cause and effect.
Thomas Aquinas (13th century) described God as a
Necessary Being, a Being who cannot not be.
(Did you get your mind around that last sentence?)
Or think of aseity this way: Thomas asserted that if anything
exists, then Something must have the power of being within Himself.
That transcendent, Ultimate Being is God.
And Christ is God.
As such, He is before all
things and in Him all things consist.
The Philips version of the Bible: He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole
scheme of creation.
Takeaway: as we studied in John’s Gospel, Jesus’ use of the I AM title suggests His self-existence as God; His complete independent
self-sufficiency as the 2nd Person of
the Godhead.
And here’s why this is applicable to you and me as those who treasure Christ deeply: you can’t love Jesus with your heart without understanding Him – accurately, authentically, biblically – with your head.
As we grow in our capacity to know Him, may our love, and reverence – the jaw-dropping awe of this One who died for us! – increase and find expression in lives of worship.
* acknowledgment: Dr.R.C.Sproul (theologian), Dr.William Lane
Craig (philosopher) and James
Dolezal influenced my thinking by way of their teaching
podcasts/writings on this topic.
** some of the content of this post
appeared last in November 2019.
*** graphic from The Chosen.
