CHRIST THE CREATOR OF THE SABBATH.
By F. M. W.
THERE was a time when the worlds that inhabit space had no existence; then it was that, by the will and purpose of the omnipotent One, Christ became, in the hands of the Father, the one sole Agent in the carrying out of the purpose of the Infinite, the creation of the universe peopled with intelligences like unto His image. The Father was the great Master Builder, and in harmony with His purpose and design, the Son wrought as the chief Architect. The great apostle to the Gentiles says he was ordained “to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” Eph. 3:9. Again he says in his letter to the Corinthians, “To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” 1 Cor. 8:6. In Paul’s letter to the church in Colosse, after stating that Christ is the image of the invisible God and the first-born of every creature, he says, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” Col. 1:16, 17. One more positive declaration will suffice to prove the companionship of Christ with the Father in the creation of the universe. Says John in the first chapter and second and third verses of his Gospel, in speaking of Christ, or the Word: “The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” That there were two divine Beings interested in the work of the creation is further shown in the first chapter of Genesis and twenty-sixth verse, where God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” The plural form of expression denotes the co-operation of at least two Divine Intelligences. Hence we must conclude that, as all things were made by Christ, as by Him all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, were created, as by Him all things consist, and as without Him nothing was made that was made, Christ must have been the creative agency in the formation of this earth. He was present when the long reign of darkness was first broken by the light, as recorded in the first day’s record of time. It was His power that separated the light from the darkness, that created the bodies in the firmament of heaven to give light by day and light by night, that caused the earth to bring forth, and the waters to multiply living things. And He it was who formed man, the masterpiece of His work, in His own image, as the ruler of the world He had made. And as He was associated in the work performed upon the first six days of time, so He was just as fully identified with the events connected with the seventh day, forming it into a grand memorial of rest in commemoration of the work He had accomplished. Thus it was, as recorded in Mark 2:28, that Christ could claim the lordship of the Sabbath. It was His because He had made it. Therefore, in honoring the Sabbath which Christ has made, men4 (372)honor Christ. In disloyalty to the day which He claims as His own, disloyalty is shown to the Creator and the Redeemer. If Christ was the Author of Sabbath observance, and the Creator of the rest day enjoined upon the human family in the beginning of the world, why should He seek during His earthly ministry to antagonize His own work? It can not be considered probable or even possible for a single moment that He did so. Let all remember that Jesus Christ, the Saviour of men, was likewise the Creator of the world, and in honoring the day that Christ created and made, no higher respect can be shown to both the Father and the Son. F. M. W.