The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Colossians 1:16,
"For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."
One of the entertaining things I enjoyed about five years ago was to watch a new building being erected right across the street from my office. It only took a few months. It was a parking structure maybe six or so levels high that took up a half block in downtown St. Louis. One of those buildings that had massive concrete pieces created somewhere else ahead of time and set in place by crane as they arrived by over-sized truck. As I usually leave mid-afternoon, I was always fascinated to see what they had done in my absence when I returned in the morning. Often I would attempt to guess why one piece might have been placed here, and, why did they do that there? It really was fascinating, and a big part of that fascination had to do with attempting to figure out what was going to go where ahead of time, how things might go together, in what kind of order and what the whole thing would look like when finished. Sometimes I guess pretty good, other times no so well.
As I view current events today, I find I face them with a similar fascination. In the above passage we are told that all the "thrones or powers or rulers or authorities" have been created through Jesus Christ and for him. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the Lord is busy maintaining such things, "sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:3. Paul tells us, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience." Romans 13:1-5.
In the Romans 13 passage, Paul tells us that those in power are his instruments. God has established the authorities, no authority exists that God has not established, those who rebel against the authorities rebel against what God has established. We are told the authorities are God's servants no less than three times in as many verses (verses 4-6). I note that these authorities range all the way from those which you and I might come into contact with, all the way up to "thrones or powers or rulers or authorities" that occupy space on the world stage, in the evening news.
What is God doing through these rulers, these authorities? How is he piecing them together, much as I saw the parking structure being put together? How is he using them to accomplish his desired outcome? What will that outcome look like?
I suspect much of what goes on in our world today takes place without many at all recognizing God's involvement, God's purposes. He certainly is not going to be acknowledged for the events of the day on the evening news when he may very well be the key player in those events. This is one of the reasons I prize the Old Testament so much. In its pages the activities of God are on full display - from his perspective - in the affairs of nations and kings and rulers and leaders of armies. A brief reading of the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, the prophets, etc. portray what God is busy doing behind the scenes as nation interacts with nation. The New Testament is not devoid of this kind of material either. Paul tells his listeners at the Areopagus, "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:26-27. In quoting Exodus 9:16, Paul tells his Roman readers how God used the leader in Egypt to accomplish what he wanted, "For Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I [God] raised you [Pharaoh] up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.'"
I recognize the questions such an observation gives rise to, such as, "Is God then responsible for the wicked things done by these rulers and their countries?" What about Hitler? What about tyrants and dictators and murderous rulers and those who exploit their own people for gain? There are good solid answers for these kinds of questions. While this is not the time or place to address them, suffice it to say that whenever God does anything through anyone on planet earth, he does so through sinful people who do bad things. Regardless of the godless things authorities may do, God is busy using them for his purposes.
What are those purposes? What is he accomplishing? It is my view that the wise observe and ask such questions and are richly rewarded even if they only get a glimpse of an answer. This, to me is why other parts of Scripture are so fascinating: the view of end times and a new world order as depicted by the old testament prophets and John in Revelation, the teaching of Jesus and his apostles on the kingdom of God and so forth.
Witnessing the construction of that parking structure was fascinating... how much more so the things God is doing in the world today to bring about what he desires to accomplish. It is certainly going to be well beyond the splendor and majesty of a parking garage!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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