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All things were made by him: the Divine nature and eternal existence of the Lord Christ, is evident from his efficiency in the creation of the world: what the evangelist here calleth all things, the apostle to the Hebrews, Heb_1:2, calleth the worlds; and St. Paul, Col_1:16, calleth, all things that are in heaven and earth, visible and invisible; Moses calls, the heaven and the earth, Gen_1:1. These were all made by the Word; not as an instrumental cause, but as a principal efficient cause; for though it be true, that the preposition dia is sometimes used to signify an instrumental cause; yet it is as true, that it is often used to signify the principal efficient cause; as Joh_6:57 Act_3:16 Rom_5:5 11:36 Eph_4:6, and in many other texts: it here only denotes the order of the working of the holy Trinity.
Without him was not any thing made that was made; nothing that was made, neither the heavens nor the earth, neither things visible nor invisible, were made without him. There is nothing more ordinary in holy writ, than after the laying down a universal proposition, (where no synecdoche is used), to add also a universal negative for the confirmation of it: so Rom_3:12, There is none that doeth good; then is added, no, not one; Lam_2:2, and in many other texts. The term without him, doth not exclude the efficiency either of the First, or Third Person in the Trinity, in the creation of all things; the Father created the world by the Son, his Word; and the creation of the world is attributed to the Spirit, Gen_1:1 Job_33:4 Psa_33:6.