Even the unbeliever needs Jesus, whether he likes it or not. Loved ones, think of the ramifications of this principle. Nothing can be said to be or to be able to continue without the word of God’s power-without the work of Jesus Christ. It would be like being a human being trying to live and act without air or blood, it would be like an automobile trying to drive without fuel to run it or oil to lubricate its parts, and it would be like trying to turn on a light-bulb when there is not yet any power run to the house.
The word of Jesus’ power of so integral to the creation’s very being, that the creation cannot be said to have existence without it. The second that Jesus withdraws his hand will be the second that the universe stops and dies. The writer of Hebrews is saying that not only did Jesus form the clock, the clock is formed in such a way that it cannot run on its own and that it is Jesus’ hand that allows it to move on. This idea of a “hands-off” God is not Biblical and leads to Deism, not genuine Christianity. When a watchmaker makes a watch, he lets it alone after it is wound so that it will go on working as it was designed until it needs to be rewound. While this is a good reminder, in principle, of God’s creative activity, it has dangerous ramifications in our understanding of the nature of God’s providential care of his creation. When we see a watch, we realize the same thing. When we see a sandcastle, per say, we do not wonder whether it was formed by the wind and tides, we know that there is design and hence a designer.
Essentially it poses the question of our innate expectations-when we see something that has a clear and orderly design, we expect that there is a maker. This is called the “Watchmaker” analogy, and it is a very old illustration that has come back into usage. There is an illustration that seems to be floating around Christian circles today for the purpose of illustrating God’s creative activity. Earlier in this passage, the writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as being the means by which God created, but he does not leave the imagery there, instead, Jesus is also portrayed as being the one who is preserving the universe in an ongoing way, holding it and binding it together (Colossians 1:17), and literally bearing up the universe through time from beginning to end. What does it mean that Jesus bears all things? The Greek word that is used here is the word fe/rw (phero), which is a fairly broad verb, but it typically carries with it the idea of carrying something from point “A” to point “B.” Now, indeed, the writer of Hebrews is not trying to depict Jesus as carrying the universe around in a basket from location to location, but in the context of the passage, the writer is presenting Jesus as the one who carries all creation from time to time. Also bearing all things in the word of his power
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