Held Together

Sermon Manuscript: “Held Together”

Text: Colossians 1:15–23

INTRODUCTION: The Bridge That Should Have Fallen

Church, I want to begin today by telling you a story that takes us back over 140 years.

In 1869, construction began on one of the most ambitious architectural projects of the time—the Brooklyn Bridge, connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. The chief designer, John Roebling, died in a freak accident before construction even began. His son, Washington Roebling, stepped in to take over, but not long after, he became bedridden, crippled by decompression sickness from working below the riverbed.

It looked like the bridge—and the whole project—was going to fail.

But it didn’t.

Why?

Because a woman named Emily Warren Roebling, Washington’s wife, stepped in. She had no engineering degree. But over the next eleven years, Emily became the brain and the backbone of the bridge. She learned engineering. She communicated every instruction from her husband to the workers. She kept the workers focused. She managed materials. She did the math. She bore the burden.

She held it all together.

TRANSITION TO TEXT

Now, that’s an amazing story. But today, I’m not just here to preach about a bridge. I’m here to preach about the One who spans eternity, who upholds all creation—not with blueprints and bricks, but with His power and His presence.

I’m here to tell somebody that the same way Emily held that bridge together when it should have collapsed, there is One who holds all things together—your world, your heart, your family, your peace, your future.

His name is Jesus Christ, and Paul says in Colossians 1:17:

"He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

I. The Setting of Colossians (Lay the Foundation)

Paul is writing to a group of believers in the city of Colossae—people he never met face-to-face. The church was planted by a faithful brother named Epaphras, who brought the Gospel to them, probably after hearing Paul preach in Ephesus.

But now there’s a problem.

False teachers are creeping in with confusion.

They’re saying, “You need more than Jesus—some secret wisdom, some mystical practices, maybe worship some angels, follow some rules.”

Paul responds with this letter to remind them of one central truth:

You don’t need anything more than Jesus.

He’s not just enough—He’s everything.

And right at the heart of this letter, Paul drops a hymn—Colossians 1:15–20—a song, a creed, a declaration.

This is not just theology.

It’s doxology.

It’s worship that rebukes error.

It’s truth that sets your soul on fire.

II. The Hymn of Christ’s Supremacy

Paul begins with a thunderclap in verse 15:

“He is the image of the invisible God…”

In Greek, that word eikon means exact representation—not a shadow, not a sketch, but the full picture of God.

Hebrews 1:3 says He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature.

You want to know what God is like?

You want to see the Father?

Look at Jesus.

Verse 16: “For by Him all things were created…”

Everything.

In heaven and on earth.

Visible and invisible.

Thrones, dominions, powers, authorities.

That means every system, every nation, every economy, every principality, every spiritual structure (even those once good that are now controlled by the demonic)—was made by Him and is subject to Him.

Proclamation:

“You don’t need to fear the devil—you need to bow to the Deliverer!”

“You don’t need to chase shadows—just walk in the light of Christ!”

III. Christ Holds All Things Together (v. 17)

Now here’s the centerpiece:

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Let me stop right here and preach this.

That word “hold together” in the Greek is synesteken—it means to cohere, to be held in place, to be sustained.

Scientists tell us that every atom is held together by a mysterious force. They call it the strong nuclear force, but they don’t know exactly what causes it.

You and I do.

His name is Jesus.

The glue of the universe.

The One who keeps stars in orbit and lungs breathing and hearts beating.

The One who keeps your soul from falling apart.

Preach:

“He’s holding your sanity together.

He’s holding your marriage together.

He's holding you together when your marriage has unravelled.

He’s holding your purpose together.

And when you feel like everything is falling apart—He is still holding on.”

Emily Roebling held a bridge together when the builders couldn't.

But Jesus?

He holds the whole world together—when we can’t, when we won’t, when we break.

Appeal:

“You might be here today and feel like your life is unraveling.

But I came to tell you—you’re still here because Jesus is still holding you.

That’s not random—that’s not luck—that’s Jesus.

You’ve been kept, held, carried, and covered!”

IV. Christ Reconciles All Things (vv. 18–23)

Paul now moves from creation to reconciliation.