All Things Exist For and Through Jesus
'All things' in the Bible can have natural exceptions. Psalm 8:6 says God
put 'all things' under mankind's feet, but that didn't include angels or
God himself. So when Colossians 1:16 says 'all things' were created
through Jesus, Jesus himself can be the exception — he was created first,
then everything else through him.
This is a common JW defence against the argument. Turn it on its head using the very passage they cite. Walk through step by step:
(1) The JW points to — 'all things subject to mankind' has exceptions (angels, God). True enough for Psalm 8.
(2) But read on. Verse 9 says 'but we see Jesus' — the author applies the passage to Jesus, not just mankind. Jesus was 'made lower than the angels for a little while' then 'crowned with glory and honour.'
(3) Verse 10 delivers the knockout: 'For it was fitting for him, for whose sake all things exist and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Chief Agent of their salvation perfect through sufferings.' The 'him' here is the Father — all things exist 'for' (di' hon) and 'through' (di' hou) God.
(4) Now compare the prepositions. uses 'for' and 'through' for the Father. uses the exact same pair — 'through him' (di' autou) and 'for him' (eis auton) — for Jesus. The Bible applies identical Creator language to both the Father and the Son. If that language identifies the Father as the supreme Creator in Hebrews, it must identify Jesus the same way in Colossians.
The very passage the JW uses to limit 'all things' ends up using the same divine prepositional formula for both Father and Son — which only makes sense if they share the same divine nature.
The JW's own proof text backfires. uses the Greek prepositions di' hon ('for whom') and di' hou ('through whom') for the Father. uses the same prepositional pair — di' autou ('through him') and eis auton ('for him') — for Jesus. The Bible gives identical Creator language to both Father and Son. If it's divine language in Hebrews, it's divine language in Colossians.
Hebrews 2:6-7 is about mankind, not Jesus — it's quoting Psalm 8 about Adam's dominion.
Read carefully. Verse 6-7 quotes Psalm 8 about 'man' (anthropos). But the author of Hebrews isn't just retelling Genesis — he's building an argument. Verse 8 says 'we do not yet see all things subject to him.' Then verse 9 says 'but we see Jesus.' The author deliberately shifts from mankind in general to Jesus in particular. The Greek 'autos' (him) in verse 8 is dative masculine singular — it refers to a single person, and verse 9 identifies that person as Jesus. The author uses Psalm 8 to show that Jesus fulfils what Adam couldn't.
All things having exceptions proves Colossians 1:16 can exclude Jesus too.
Even if 'all things' sometimes has contextual limits, look at what Paul does in . He doesn't just say 'all things' — he exhausts every Greek category: 'things in heaven, things on earth, visible, invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities.' Paul goes out of his way to leave nothing unmentioned. And itself uses 'all things exist for and through' language of the one who made Jesus perfect — divine language for divine creative authority.
Verse 10 is about the Father, not Jesus — the Father is the one for whom all things exist.
Exactly right — and that's the point. Compare with . Colossians says all things were created 'through him [Jesus] and for him [Jesus].' says all things exist 'for [God] and through [God].' The same creative language — 'for' and 'through' — is applied to both the Father and the Son. Either Jesus shares in divine creative authority, or there's a contradiction.
Don't dismiss the JW's point about exceptions too quickly — Psalm 8 does have contextual limits on 'all things.' Acknowledge that, then show how the author of Hebrews goes beyond Psalm 8 to apply it to Jesus. The strength is in following the text's own logic, not in dismissing their observation.
Read slowly next to until you can trace the argument from memory: "man" in verses 6-8, the turn to "but we see Jesus" in verse 9, and the Father "for whom" and "through whom" all things exist in verse 10. Then put beside verse 10 and mark the matching "for" and "through" pair. Read both passages in the NWT on jw.org so you can point to them in the Witness's own Bible. Practise conceding aloud that Psalm 8's "all things" has limits before you turn to verse 10. Rehearse the "verse 10 is about the Father" reply: agree warmly, then lay alongside it.