UPHOLDING ALL THINGS

"Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3)

AS THE "CAPTAIN OF OUR SALVATION," Jesus is the Upholder, or Sustainer, of all things. That is, all orderliness and precision, whether in nature or grace, is traced back to Him. If it were not for "the word of His power," the universe would spin out of control, and there would be no such thing as a productive environment or relationship. Neither nature nor grace is operating on automatic pilot. They are not merely sustained by natural laws that have been put into place, operating independently of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is presently "sustaining all things by His powerful word" (NIV).

IT IS TRUE, Christ sustains the individual, but His ministry is much larger than that. Having been "delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son" (Col 1:13), you occupy the realm of "all things." You are in a world destined for destruction. You are also in a moral universe, in which good and evil are locked in mortal combat. The god of this world is aligned against you, together with his diabolical hosts, including "principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places, and the rulers of the darkness of this world" (Eph 6:11). These are some of the things that are "present." Besides this, there are "things to come," and the larger context of "life and death" (1 Cor 3:20-21).

IN ADDITION TO THESE THINGS, we are a sort of miniature cosmos within ourselves. We have "another law," or principle, within our members, warring against the law of our renewed mind (Rom 7:23). Our natural "members" must be mortified through the power of the Spirit, because they are not subject to the Lord (Rom 8:11-13; Gal 5:24; Col 3:5). The Spirit and the flesh wage relentless war within us. As it is written, "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Gal 5:17).

THROW INTO THIS SCENARIO that we "are come" to a society of staggering proportions. Included are all the redeemed currently "in the body" 2 Cor 5:6; Heb 13:3), the "spirits of just men made perfect," an "innumerable company of angels," "God the Judge," and "Jesus the Mediator of a new covenant" (Heb 12:22-24).

WE DO WELL TO stretch our minds and hearts to be more aware of these surroundings than those monitored by our fleshly senses. This aggregation of personalities are all alive, acutely aware of things transpiring in the earth. We are even told of the martyrs, who laid down their life for Christ Jesus. They are portrayed in association with the heavenly "altar" aware that their blood has not yet been avenged. "I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"" (Rev 6:9-10, NASB).

BLOT FROM YOUR MIND the notion that, in Christ, you have merely adopted a new pattern of living, or "way of life." You have been made to "sit together" with Christ "in heavenly places," surrounded by a moral cosmos in which intense activity is now taking place. There is a sense in which we, like the Apostles, are "exhibited . . . as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men" NASB (1 Cor 4:9, NASB). The battlefield into which faith ushers us is seen by both men and angels – the "world" into which regeneration has inducted us.

HOW IS IT THAT THIS complex spiritual environment has not been our undoing? Why has faith been able to survive the relentless onslaughts of the evil one? Why have we not become victim of the war between good and evil? How is it that the waves of circumstance have not been our undoing, washing us away in a tide of trouble and iniquity? How have you managed to survive the many testings and trials through which you have passed? Why has the mysterious unknown been unable to throw you to the ground in utter defeat?

IT IS BECAUSE JESUS is holding everything together, sustaining it by the Word of His power. But this means more than merely keeping things from spinning wildly out of control. These things are all being upheld for the good of His people. To put it another way, the Lord is working "all things together for our good" (Rom 8:28). To work them "together," He must be able to control them – and He does! He is marshaling all Divine resources and power for your good, to ensure you remain a part of His eternal purpose. All of these "things" are being sustained in the interest of your salvation – for your perfection and ultimate glory.

– Given O. Blakely