‘All’ packs a huge punch for a 3-letter word. Pretentious almost.
As an adjective it brings closure. Ensures every aspect counted and everyone included.
“All the women present…” “All the stars in the sky…” “All the fish in the sea…”
Pair the proud little guy with ‘things’ or ‘creation’ and ‘omni’ pops into view. Large swaths of ground from one horizon to the next. Infinite amounts of unstoppable power. Universal in scope and reach.
Which Paul intended in Colossians 1.
Colossians 1 gets voted onto my desert island simply because of ‘all.’ ‘All’ tips the scales if I could only choose two chapters to carry with me.
Especially since Paul ties ‘all’ to Jesus.
Seven times in verses 15-20 Paul mentions “all things,” “all creation,” and “everything.” From creation to redemption all runs rampant.
Visible all. Invisible all. Thrones and powers and authorities all. All created by Jesus. All for Jesus.
In Him all the fullness of God dwells. Through Him all things are made right with their Creator. For Him all creation longs knowing with Him comes the ultimate restoration of all.
All is a tad pretentious. No doubt. But when paired with Jesus it’s perfect. They were made for each other.