Why would Jesus create angels knowing that some of them would fall and constitute the thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities led ultimately by a fallen angel known as Satan? Why would He create man, knowing that we would fall at the hands of Satan whom He created in the first place?
Take any great novel like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If there were no Fall, no ring, no Gollum, no Uruk-hai, no Sauron, no Mordor, then the story would be rather boring. You would have Frodo and Sam frolicking in the fields, happy go lucky. Eating that stale bread like thingy. But a great story has a protagonist and an antagonist and there are points along the journey when it seems like the villain is going to win and the hero is going to lose because evil vastly outnumbers the minority who are on the side of good. How glorious it is at the end when the climax of the story is reached and despite overwhelming odds, good triumphs over evil miraculously.
When this world was created, God’s intention was that we would enjoy God’s goodness in the Garden, but the God who created us with free will gave us the freedom to live for Him or to live for ourselves. And we chose evil and with that choice, all hell broke loose on earth. Ever since, it has been a spiritual battle.
If we stop here, we might not be inclined to thank God. Because sure, God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit created us and they gave us free will, but look at the mess we’ve made. There is not much to give thanks for. But the good news is that this is not the end of the story.
Col 1
17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
Jesus is before all things. He is the Word and this Word was with God from the beginning and this Word was God. Jesus was the agent of creation.
2) I am thankful because Jesus not only created us, but He sustains us.
Jesus is the agent of creation. He created the heavens and the earth. He created angels knowing that they would become corrupted by sin. He created man knowing full well that we would be tempted by Satan and fall into sin. What this verse teaches us is that Jesus is not an aloof, uncaring, powerless God.
Jesus is not aloof. He didn’t just create and say, good luck! You’re on your own. Call me if you need me. Jesus cares. Rom 8 – Scripture tells us that right now, Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for the saints, for his children, for you and me. He’s praying for you. He sustains. The fact that you and I have breath in your lungs is because Jesus allows it.
God is not powerless. He didn’t create us and then leave us be and forget about us and then one day he tuned into the Earth channel and discovered that Adam and Eve fell into sin. The Fall in Genesis 3 didn’t catch God off-guard. He didn’t see Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil and say, oh, no, Jesus, Holy Spirit, come here. We have an emergency. Let’s do a holy huddle and figure out what to do. No, he created us knowing we would fall, knowing full well what kind of mess we would make of our lives. Jesus knew we would open Pandora’s box and allow the demons to reign on earth.
But the good news is that our Creator is our Sustainer. By Him, by Jesus, all things hold together. He holds ALL things together. Not some of the things. Not only the parts that listen to Him. He holds all things together. Even the rebels. He keeps the demons at bay from utterly destroying His children and leading us to eternal separation from God. He is holding the universe together because He wants to give you and me more time to respond to Jesus. To repent and turn from our sin and turn toward Christ and to place our faith and trust in Jesus. By him all things hold together. He holds your life together and prevents it from spiraling out of control into the deep Abyss. He holds His church together, protecting the gospel from false teachers and from infighting and endless fracturing and divisions that threaten the unity of His body. He holds the universe together to buy us time to repent.
As soon as Jesus stops holding all things together, as soon as He removes His hand, the End will come. The tribulation will come. Jesus will return like a thief in the night and all as we know it will disintegrate and be destroyed. At this time, if you didn’t know Jesus, the End will be upon you. The Judgment of God will be at your doorstep. And for those who have persevered to the end, the true saints of God, our future will only just be beginning.
Let’s thank the Lord Jesus for creating us and for sustaining us, holding ALL things together, moment by moment. Truly, apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.