Is Jesus Christ THE actual Creator of the entire universe, or the secondary, by whom one greater, God the Father, created?
There are some who use Scriptures like John 1:3, and Hebrews 1:2, to assume that God the Father is the “source” of Creation, and that He Created through the Lord Jesus Christ. The verses read;
John 1:3, “All things were made through him”
Hebrews 1:1-2, “God...by his Son...through whom also he made the worlds”
The King James Version, and some others, read “by”.
It is the word “through”, that is used to “prove” that Jesus Christ is not the actual Creator, which is God the Father, Who Creates through Jesus Christ. This is because of the meaning of the Greek preposition, “dia” is defined by some here, as having the meaning of “through”.
Dr George Winer, “In Jo. i.3, 15, the per of mediate agency is justified by the doctrine of the Logos, comp. Origen in loc.” (A Treatise on the Grammar of New Testament Greek, p. 474). Dr Winer was a Unitarian, so we can expect this from him.
But, we also have the Evangelical Greek Grammar by H E Dana and J R Mantey, "Although dia is occasionally used to express agency, it does not approximate to the full strength of hupo. This distinction throws light on Jesus' relation to the creation, implying that Jesus was not the absolute, independent creator, but rather the intermediate agent in creation. see Jn.1:3; Heb.1:2" ( A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, p.102)
Dr George E Ladd, in his, A Theology of the New Testament, says: "John asserts that the Logos was the agent of creation. He is not the ultimate source of creation, but the agent through whom God, the ultimate source, created the world. This same theology is expressed in Paul's words: that all things come from (ek) God through (dia) Christ (I Cor.8:6; see also Col.1:16)" (p.242. 1977 edition).
Why I say that this is no more than an assumption, is because these “authorities” have simply given the usual meaning of the preposition “dia”. However, as we shall see, that the “usual” meaning is not the only one, nor always the right one.
Take Hebrews 2:10, where we read,
“For it became Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings”
This is speaking of God the Father, where the words, “through whom are all things”, are used for Him. This, in the Greek is the preposition “dia”, and is also in the genitive case, like John 1:3, and Hebrews 1:2. Hebrews 2:10 is also speaking of the Creation of the entire universe, and here, like in John 1:3, and Hebrews 1:2, the Greek preposition “dia”, is used in exactly the same way. Are we to understand from Hebrews 2:10, that someone else was Creating through God the Father, Who is here the intermediate agent in creation, as the Greek scholars say of Jesus Christ?
Romans 11:36 is another verse that speaks of Creation by God the father:
“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen”
Here, like Hebrews 2:10, we have the Greek preposition “dia”, also in the genitive case, like John 1:3, and Hebrews 1:2, which has been translated “through”. Which brings us to the same question, is God the Father, the intermediate agent in creation, through Whom the universe is created? If, in these two cases, Hebrews 2:10 and Romans 11:36, the Greek preposition “dia”, does not have the meaning of intermediate agent, then why is this meaning forced in places like John 1:3, and Hebrews 1:2, when used for Jesus Christ? There are some who, because of their theological bias, that somehow God the Father is the “source” of all things, that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, though seen also as “God”, are not fully “equal” with the Father, even in the Godhead!
We need to look more closely at this Greek preposition “dia”, and its uses, to get a better understanding. The Greek scholar, Dr A.T. Robertson, says this;
"The word dia often conceals its root meaning. That is ‘two,’ ‘twain,’ ‘in two.’ This original conception appears clearly in some compound words." A. T. Robertson, The Minister and His Greek New Testament, ch. iv, p.29; also, C.F.D. Moule; An Idiom Book of New Testament Greek, p.54; H E Dana and J R Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, p.101)
The ancient Greek poet, Homer, used this preposition, with the meaning, "Through, by means of, by virtue of, by the help or working of" (Richard John Cunliffe; A Lexicon of Homeric Dialect, p.91). "By the help or working of", where two or more can do something, by equal participation, where there is no need to distinguish between the work done. And, “Mutual operation: with one another” (Henry Smith [G Crusius]; A Complete Greek and English Lexicon for the Poems of Homer, page, 106. 1871 ed)
It is very clear, that there is not a hard-fast “rule” in Greek grammar, that says the preposition “dia”, in the genitive case, is always to have the meaning of “through, intermediate”.
There is a very interesting example of this preposition “dia”, in the genitive case, used for God the Father and Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:9 reads, “God is faithful, through (dia) whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord”. Of which Dr Samuel Green tells us, “The Father is represented as acting on behalf of his Son, to bring Christians into fellowship with Him” (Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament, page 246). Here we have the Father as the intermediate agent, Who is acting for the Lord Jesus Christ. This does not in any way show any “subordination”, but rather “co-operation”, between God the Father, and God the Son, and also shows their coequality as Persons in the Godhead.
Galatians 1:1, is another interesting verse for the use of the preposition “dia”, in the genitive case. "Paul, an apostle not from men nor through man, but through (dia) Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead". The Greek for the latter part is, "alla dia Iêsou Christou kai theou patros". Notice that Jesus Christ is here mentioned first, and then the Father. Paul here uses the one Greek preposition, “dia”, to govern the whole clause. Some would have expected Paul to have written, “of (ek) God the Father, and through (dia) Jesus Christ. But this is not the case here. Paul is here saying, that his Apostleship has, not the calling of mere men, but by the Highest Authority, that of BOTH the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Father. The use of the Greek preposition, “dia”, as given by Homer, “Mutual operation: with one another”, is perfectly suited here. The verse, then, has the meaning, “...jointly through Jesus Christ and God the Father...”.
It is very clear, that the use of this Greek preposition, “dia”, is not restrictive in its use and meaning, and can and has been used for the purpose of “togetherness”, as its original meaning was. There is no reason, both theologically, and in accordance with Greek grammar, why this same use of the preposition, cannot be used in John 1:3, and Hebrews 1:2. The Bible is also very clear, that God the Father is not the sole Creator, nor the principal Creator, but is the joint Creator, together with the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
John 1:1, 3, can read, “God...Created all things with Him (The Word)”
Hebrew 1-2, “God...with Whom He also made the worlds”
This is perfectly consistent with the Greek grammar, and the teachings of the Bible, more of which we shall see.
