It is important to distinguish the
sense of δι’ αυτου as ‘through him’—but this is not
a causal sense, as if to say it is because of him something was done,
(though this may be generally true). But earlier the sense is that of an
intermediary through whom something is done, or an instrument through which
something is achieved—for example, the Greek is used when describing those who
believe through John the Baptist (John 1:7), when Peter says God did miracles
through Jesus (Acts 2:22), when Paul questions whether he gained through any he
sent to Corinth (2 Cor 12:17), when Paul describes Christ as an intermediary
(Eph 2:18, and other verses making similar points), and these are just typical
examples of the twenty verses in the NT which uses this construction. In
English the semantic fields of ‘by’ and ‘through’ overlap: ‘by’ can imply
mediatorship in an action (e.g. the active assertion, ‘he did it by getting Jonathan
to do it’, can become the passive, ‘it was done by Jonathan’), but it need not
imply such mediatorship; it all depends. The use of ‘by’ in the KJV passages
that describe the new creation should be taken in the sense of ‘through’. (Andrew
Perry, Before He Was Born: Combating Arguments for the Pre-existence of
Christ [7th ed. [4th revision]; Staffordshire, U.K.: Willow Publications,
2022], 109-110 n. 2)
Paul makes a statement about ‘the
things visible and the things invisible’; the invisible things concern things
to come rather than angelic orders or demonic powers. Thrones and lordships
have been created in Christ for the future because they will be gathered to him
at that time. The language of the visible and the invisible is used for the present
and the future and indicative of prophetic statements being made about ‘things
unseen’:
For this slight momentary affliction
in preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because
we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen;
for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen
are eternal. 2 Cor 4:17-19 (RSV)
The example of the unseen things
that Paul gives in the resurrection body which was ‘in the heavens’ (2 Cor
5:1). This is what he was looking for—something ‘from heaven’ (2 Cor 5:2) (The
point here is twofold: first, the language of ‘in the heavens’ connects with
Colossians; and secondly, the language of ‘looking for’ is about the future.
Hence, it would be a mistake to think that Paul is talking about the unseen
eternal properties of the Godhead).
The principle here is expressed by
Paul in Romans,
(As it is written, I have made
thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God who
quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they
were. Rom 4:17 (KJV)
Hence, there is a common connection
between the language of seeing and prophecy. Faith is a conviction about things
not seen (Heb 11:1) and illustrated in the example of Noah who was warned by
God concerning things he as yet could not see (Heb 11:7). The prophets wanted
to see the things concerning Christ (Matt 13:17) but only sometimes did they
see his day John 8:56).
We conclude therefore that the
future thrones (we might say that the twenty-four thrones around the throne
were the present thrones) created in Christ are not most directly the twelve
thrones that pertain to Israel, while the future lordship created in Christ
pertain to the Gentiles. This suggestion is supported by the fact that the
things in the heavens are ‘reconciled’ through Christ (v. 20) and
reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in Christ is achieved through the cross. (Andrew
Perry, Before He Was Born: Combating Arguments for the Pre-existence of
Christ [7th ed. [4th revision]; Staffordshire, U.K.: Willow Publications,
2022], 113-14)
