Any doubts about the deity of Jesus Christ should be firmly put to rest in this passage of Scripture, which makes it clear that he is the Creator, the Alpha -- He who was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 4:8). It's a recurring theme throughout the book, which makes it abundantly clear that in Him "the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." (Colossians 2:8). This is forcefully asserted, in part, to combat an undefined Colossian heresy. It makes it crystal clear that whatever the "hollow and deceptive philosophy" (Colossians 2:9) was that was creeping in to oppose the gospel, that Christ prevails. The heresy might have had something to do with "false humility and the worship of angels" (Colossians 2:18), but the apostle Paul makes it clear that "It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:25). Today's verse for discussion ends by proclaiming "all things were created through him and for him." How similar that sounds to Revelation 4:11, which likewise proclaims, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Amen.