November 2019

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

This passage—called the “Christ-hymn” by scholars—is one which has recently fostered rich study, meditation, and discussion among our students as we have begun our fall Bible courses on the book of Colossians. Although it is more difficult to notice in English, the hymn is a highly structured poem. It may be divided into two halves which correspond to the two mighty acts of God in history: creation and redemption. And the point is to say that Christ himself was right at the center of both of these great acts; he was God’s appointed agent in both creating the world and redeeming it. The Greek word panta (“all things”) is used eight times in the passage in order to stress the cosmic scope of Christ’s universal reign. As Abraham Kuyper once put it, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” At the structural center of this poem is the line that appropriately unites its two halves: “In him all things hold together.”

This message is important for our students because it is crucial for them to see all of their lives as integrated under the lordship for Christ. It is the common plight of college students—even Christian ones—to feel like a fragmented, dis-integrated self, pulled in all sorts of various directions. And there may be a temptation for them to wear various “masks,” one for each distinct part of their lives. But Christ calls them, and all of us, to “put off the old self” and “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:9-10). It is only in Christ that everything in their lives will truly “hold together.”

Please join us praying for our students. Pray that their hearts and minds would be fully in submission to the Lordship of Christ, that they would allow him to reign supreme in every aspect of their lives. Pray that God would grant them the strength to “put on the new self” day by day. Pray too that they would be “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:9-10).

Thanks for your partnership,

Jesse Peterson
Ministry Fellow
Christian Union Lumine

Please note: if you would like to receive regular updates on how to pray for Christian Union's work at Columbia, please email prayer@christianunion.org.