Christ, the Creator

The apostle exalted Christ as the One by whom God created all things. The hand that sustains the world in space is the hand that was nailed to the cross: “For by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible. ... All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”ULe 173.7

The Son of God came to this earth to be “wounded for our transgressions” and “bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). In all things He was made like us. He became flesh, even as we are. He knew what it meant to be hungry, thirsty, and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He was tempted and tried as men and women of today are tempted and tried, yet He lived a life free from sin.ULe 174.1

Surrounded by the influences of heathenism, the Colossian believers were in danger of being drawn away from the gospel’s simplicity. Paul pointed them to Christ as the only safe guide: “This I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. ...ULe 174.2

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught. ...ULe 174.3

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”ULe 174.4

Christ had warned that deceivers would come and that through their influence “lawlessness will abound” and “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). The church would be in more danger from this evil than from persecution by her enemies. By letting false teachers in, they would open the door to errors that the enemy would use to shake the confidence of those who had just come to the faith. They were to reject everything that was not in harmony with Christ’s teachings.ULe 174.5

As people tried to use philosophy to destroy faith in the Scriptures in the apostles’ day, so today, by higher criticism, evolution, spiritualism, mysticism, and pantheism the enemy of righteousness is working to lead people into forbidden paths. To many the Bible is like a lamp without oil, because they have turned their minds to speculations and suppositions that bring confusion. The work of higher criticism in taking the Bible apart, guessing about other meanings, and reconstructing it along different lines is destroying faith, robbing God’s Word of its power to control and inspire human lives. Spiritualism teaches that desire is the highest law, that license is liberty, and that human beings are accountable only to themselves.ULe 174.6

The followers of Christ will confront spiritualistic interpretations of the Scriptures, but we are not to accept them. We must discard all ideas that are not in harmony with Christ’s teaching. We must accept the Bible as the voice of God speaking directly to us. The knowledge of God as revealed in Christ is the knowledge that everyone who is saved must have. This knowledge transforms the character. Apart from this knowledge, everything else is vanity and nothingness.ULe 174.7

In every generation and in every country, the true foundation for character building has been the same—the principles contained in the Word of God. With the Word the apostles overcame the false theories of their day, saying, “No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid” (1 Corinthians 3:11).ULe 174.8

In his letter, Paul urged the Colossian believers not to forget that they must make a constant effort: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”ULe 175.1