ἐξουσίαι· τὰ πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔκτισται·
δι’ αὐτοῦ κ.τ.λ.] ‘As all creation passed out from Him, so does it all
converge again towards Him.’ For the combination of prepositions see
Rom. xi. 36 ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα. He is not
only the ==α== but also the ==ω==, not only the ἀρχή but also the
τέλος of creation, not only the first but also the last in the history
of the Universe: Rev. xxii. 13. For this double relation of Christ to
the Universe, as both the initial and the final cause, see Heb. ii. 10
δι’ ὃν τὰ πάντα καὶ δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα, where δι’ ὃν is nearly equivalent
to εἰς αὐτὸν of the text.
In the Judaic philosophy of Alexandria the preposition διὰ with the
genitive was commonly used to describe the function of the Logos in the
creation and government of the world; e.g. _de Cherub._ 35 (I. p. 162)
where Philo, enumerating the causes which combine in the work of
Creation, describes God as ὑφ’ οὗ, matter as ἐξ οὗ, and the Word as δι’
οὗ; comp. _de Mon._ ii. 5 (II. p. 225) λόγος ... δι’ οὗ σύμπας ὁ κόσμος
ἐδημιουργεῖτο. The Christian Apostles accepted this use of διὰ to
describe the mediatorial function of the Word in creation; e.g. John i.
3 πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο κ.τ.λ., _ib._ ver. 10 ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ
ἐγένετο, Heb. i. 2 δι’ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας. This mediatorial
function however has entirely changed its character. To the Alexandrian
Jew it was the work of a passive tool or instrument (_de Cherub._ l.c.
δι’ οὗ, _τὸ ἐργαλεῖον_, ὄργανον ... δι’ οὗ); but to the Christian
Apostle it represented a cooperating agent. Hence the Alexandrian Jew
frequently and consistently used the simple instrumental dative ᾧ to
describe the relation of the Word to the Creator, e.g. _Quod Deus
immut._ 12 (I. p. 281) ᾧ καὶ τὸν κόσμον εἰργάζετο, _Leg. All._ i. 9 (I.
p. 47) τῷ περιφανεστάτῳ καὶ τηλαυγεστάτῳ ἑαυτοῦ λόγῳ ῥήματι ὁ Θεὸς
ἀμφότερα ποιεῖ, comp. _ib._ iii. 31 (I. p. 106) ὁ λόγος ... ᾧ καθάπερ
ὀργάνῳ προσχρησάμενος. This mode of speaking is not found in the New
Testament.
εἰς αὐτόν] ‘_unto Him_.’ As of the Father it is said elsewhere, 1 Cor.
viii. 6 ἐξ ὁῦ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν, so here of the Son we read
τὰ πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτόν. All things must find their
meeting-point, their reconciliation, at length in Him from whom they
took their rise—in the Word as the mediatorial agent, and through the
Word in the Father as the primary source. The Word is the final cause as
well as the creative agent of the Universe. This ultimate goal of the
present dispensation in time is similarly stated in several passages.
Sometimes it is represented as the birth-throe and deliverance of all
creation through Christ; as Rom. viii. 19 sq. αὐτὴ ἡ κτίσις
ἐλευθερωθήσεται, πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις ... συνωδίνει. Sometimes it is the
absolute and final subjection of universal nature to Him; as 1 Cor. xv.
28 ὅταν ὑποταγῇ αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα. Sometimes it is the reconciliation of all
things through Him; as below, ver. 20 δι’ αὐτοῦ ἀποκαταλλάξαι τὰ πάντα.
Sometimes it is the recapitulation, the gathering up in one head, of the
Universe in Him; as Ephes. i. 10 ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ
Χριστῷ. The image involved in this last passage best illustrates the
particular expression in the text εἰς αὐτόν ... ἔκτισται; but all alike
enunciate the same truth in different terms. The Eternal Word is the
goal of the Universe, as He was the starting-point. It must end in
unity, as it proceeded from unity: and the centre of this unity is
Christ. This expression has no parallel, and could have none, in the
Alexandrian phraseology and doctrine.
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