Reconciliation – Colossians 1:15-23
Reconciliation – Colossians 1:15-23
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 30, 2008 AM
A ceasefire can only occur between two warring factions if there is an understanding and a settlement that resolves outstanding issues that led to the conflict in the first place. I found this out when as a third grader I began to like a little blonde girl with pigtails. Of course I could not let her know that I actually liked her, that would have been gross. Instead, I had to publicly tease her and pull her pigtails so that my guy posse would never find out my true intentions. There is only one problem with this scenario: The female you like, whom you are teasing, will not understand and will want to take revenge on you. It is at this point you have to begin to make appeasement. Which can include a lot of humiliation on your part. Needless to say, we were not soon reconciled.
Spiritual reconciliation while being similar in some ways, is handled differently because of God’s mercy through Jesus Christ. Following his prayer for the Colossian believers, Paul embarked on a marvelous proclamation concerning Christ and the reconciliation believers have through Him. Paul’s teaching in these verses is one of the greatest affirmations concerning Christ and His work of reconciliation found in the New Testament. It teaches us the true meaning of reconciliation for our lives. Let’s discover what that means for you and I today...
READ: Colossians 1:15-23
Sometimes, peace can only occur if one side has the power to enforce it completely. Thus, we have the phrase, “Peace through strength.” This is not necessarily a bad thing because if the one side that has the power to enforce the peace is in fact desirous for reconciliation, then peace can be found. Even more so when the Creator of the universe holds the ability to make reconciliation! Paul maintained that our Lord is not only the Creator but also the Sustainer of all things. As such He is more than able to bring about our reconciliation to God through what He has accomplished. Therefore...
I. Our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is! (vv. 15-18)
1. Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation!” The word “image” for us can mean a copy of something, the term used here however conveys the meanings of both “representation” and “manifestation.” Jesus is the only One capable of making peace between sinful man and a Holy God. How? Here, Paul affirmed Christ’s deity as well as His lordship over all creation. Jesus is the visible expression of God. You see Him, you see God. Jesus in fact told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” And He affirmed that “I and the Father are one.” (John 14:9; 10:30) But more than that, it is also because “by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him!” Jesus is Creator God! He manifests God to us and He is preeminent over all creation! In fact, all that Christ has created is moving in His direction, for He is indeed its goal: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together!” WOW! Jesus has “supremacy” in all things, including the church, His body in the world! Just as Jesus is the manifestation of God, His church is the manifestation of Him! He is to direct it. It is His body doing His will in the world! Praise God that our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is!
EXAMPLE: Scientists say there is an invisible force that holds all things together. In fact it is so powerful that when you break the bond between atoms it creates a huge energy surge known as an atomic blast or nuclear fusion. The same is felt when you fall in love for the first time and then do something stupid like tease her to death. The resulting blast can harm you. Christ is the spiritual and ultimately the physical bond of all things. He is the One who binds creation together and holds it fast. From the smallest particle of matter in the universe to the largest galaxy, He gives coherence and maintains order. He not only is the Creator but also the Sustainer of the universe. He is the invisible God made visible and perfectly expresses who God is. How wonderful to know then that the One who created all things and holds all things together, chooses us, draws us to Himself, and holds us fast in His mighty creative hands! How marvelous to also know that our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is!
Little doubt exists as to the thrust of Paul’s message here. Jesus Christ is supreme in His church as well as in all of creation. Because of this, we are to worship Him and offer the reconciliation that is available through Him to lost people everywhere. In statements about Jesus and God, the creation, and the church, Paul affirmed the full deity of our Savior. People need to know that reconciliation with God is available and possible because of who Jesus is. However, Paul continues and relates that...
II. Our reconciliation is possible because of the cross! (vv. 19-20)
1. “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in” Jesus! The key word in this verse is “fullness.” The term refers to the full deity of Christ during His life here on earth. God was delighted to allow the “fullness” of deity to dwell in His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. The verb translated to dwell” indicates a settled, secure, and permanent place of residence. This is important for us to understand because of what this means for our lives. God displayed Himself in Jesus “to reconcile to Himself all things.” God did this through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, “by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” The term translated “to reconcile” (v. 20) refers to a change that takes place between hostile parties. They exchange hostility for peace and friendship. Although God loves us His wrath remains on anyone in sin, and while we are hostile and totally depraved toward God because of our sin, He still took the initiative to overcome our hostility toward Him through Jesus! The result is peace between God and redeemed humanity. The beauty of the concept is that although we are the offending party, God has taken the initiative in the process of reconciliation, and believers are the ones who benefit from it! Our reconciliation is possible because of the cross!
EXAMPLE: I do not think the human mind can easily grasp or wrap itself around the concept that the Creator of the universe came to live among us. He did not just simply walk around observing us, like an impartial scientific observer, but He actually pitched His tent in our midst, ate, drank, slept, laughed, cried, awoke, prayed, and wondered right along with us! In fact, He was born of a virgin woman, was raised by a earthly father, was instructed by town rabbis, and played with His siblings. He grew to be a man who took His direction from His daily moment by moment spiritual walk with His heavenly Father and placed His feet on the path to a place called Golgotha, near Jerusalem. There He died. But that is not all there is to this story. While His death on a cross obtained a sacrifice for our sins, a bloodletting we could never have obtained or endured, His resurrection from the grave assured our eternal existence with Him! “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.” (1 Corinthians 15:21) Never forget therefore that our reconciliation is possible because of the cross!
God has set forth Christ and His cross as the agency through which sinful humanity can come to Him. The verb translated “making peace” is a synonym for reconciliation. This reconciliation not only involves humanity as the crown of God’s creation, but it involves things on earth as well as heavenly things. People need to know that reconciliation is available and possible only through the death of Christ on the cross. Paul tells us this spiritual fact when he finally relates that...
III. Our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God! (vv. 21-23)
1. “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior!” How in the world then could we as the “enemies” of God make any reconciliation toward Him? We could not and we cannot! Nothing we could ever do or say would be good enough to pay the price of our rebellion. The term translated “alienated” refers to the condition of being estranged or in active revolt. In this instance that Someone we defy is God. We are in desperate need of what only God can provide! Paul next set forth the purpose of this reconciliation. The term translated “to present” contains the idea of purpose. It is often used in sacrificial as well as in legal contexts. God did this through Jesus in order that we may be 1) holy in His sight, 2) without blemish, and 3) free from accusation! We may not realize it but when we trust Jesus, we become a sacrifice as well in the sense that we are dying to ourselves and trusting Jesus to make us holy, without blemish, and thereby free us from all accusation! This is why Paul would ask, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” and he would quickly answer that “It is God who justifies!” (Romans 8:33) God justifies us through Jesus. “Therefore,” Paul would also declare, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Romans 8:1) “For [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”(Colossians 1:13-14) “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:1) Our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God!
EXAMPLE: Remember that little blonde headed girl I angered? Well, I tried to send emissaries to her girl camp, but she would have none of it. I lived therefore in mortal fear of what this would mean for me and just how she would get her revenge. As the days lingered into weeks, I began to think I was “safe.” Then one day while I was taking an unsuspecting sip from the drinking fountain, she appeared right behind me. My heart jumped into my throat, I trembled with fear, not knowing just how the wrath of an unhinged third grade girl could utterly disseminate me. “Hi,” I weakly croaked. She looked at me through narrowed eyes and then she asked, “Why did you tease me the way you did?” “Because I like you,” I murmured, sweating profusely. “Oh,” was all she said. She took my hand and we walked across the playground together. Reconciled. At peace. Later, she developed a crush for a fifth grader and I was toast, but I know what it means to be reconciled and not fear anymore. That is why I am so glad our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God!
Conclusion:
Our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is! Our reconciliation is possible because of the cross! Our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God.
—
NOTE: This article is copyrighted by Pastor Lee Hemen © 2008 and the property of Pastor Lee Hemen. You are welcome to copy it, email it, or use it but please if you copy it, email it, or use it you must do so in its entirety.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 30, 2008 AM
A ceasefire can only occur between two warring factions if there is an understanding and a settlement that resolves outstanding issues that led to the conflict in the first place. I found this out when as a third grader I began to like a little blonde girl with pigtails. Of course I could not let her know that I actually liked her, that would have been gross. Instead, I had to publicly tease her and pull her pigtails so that my guy posse would never find out my true intentions. There is only one problem with this scenario: The female you like, whom you are teasing, will not understand and will want to take revenge on you. It is at this point you have to begin to make appeasement. Which can include a lot of humiliation on your part. Needless to say, we were not soon reconciled.
Spiritual reconciliation while being similar in some ways, is handled differently because of God’s mercy through Jesus Christ. Following his prayer for the Colossian believers, Paul embarked on a marvelous proclamation concerning Christ and the reconciliation believers have through Him. Paul’s teaching in these verses is one of the greatest affirmations concerning Christ and His work of reconciliation found in the New Testament. It teaches us the true meaning of reconciliation for our lives. Let’s discover what that means for you and I today...
READ: Colossians 1:15-23
Sometimes, peace can only occur if one side has the power to enforce it completely. Thus, we have the phrase, “Peace through strength.” This is not necessarily a bad thing because if the one side that has the power to enforce the peace is in fact desirous for reconciliation, then peace can be found. Even more so when the Creator of the universe holds the ability to make reconciliation! Paul maintained that our Lord is not only the Creator but also the Sustainer of all things. As such He is more than able to bring about our reconciliation to God through what He has accomplished. Therefore...
I. Our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is! (vv. 15-18)
1. Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation!” The word “image” for us can mean a copy of something, the term used here however conveys the meanings of both “representation” and “manifestation.” Jesus is the only One capable of making peace between sinful man and a Holy God. How? Here, Paul affirmed Christ’s deity as well as His lordship over all creation. Jesus is the visible expression of God. You see Him, you see God. Jesus in fact told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” And He affirmed that “I and the Father are one.” (John 14:9; 10:30) But more than that, it is also because “by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him!” Jesus is Creator God! He manifests God to us and He is preeminent over all creation! In fact, all that Christ has created is moving in His direction, for He is indeed its goal: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together!” WOW! Jesus has “supremacy” in all things, including the church, His body in the world! Just as Jesus is the manifestation of God, His church is the manifestation of Him! He is to direct it. It is His body doing His will in the world! Praise God that our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is!
EXAMPLE: Scientists say there is an invisible force that holds all things together. In fact it is so powerful that when you break the bond between atoms it creates a huge energy surge known as an atomic blast or nuclear fusion. The same is felt when you fall in love for the first time and then do something stupid like tease her to death. The resulting blast can harm you. Christ is the spiritual and ultimately the physical bond of all things. He is the One who binds creation together and holds it fast. From the smallest particle of matter in the universe to the largest galaxy, He gives coherence and maintains order. He not only is the Creator but also the Sustainer of the universe. He is the invisible God made visible and perfectly expresses who God is. How wonderful to know then that the One who created all things and holds all things together, chooses us, draws us to Himself, and holds us fast in His mighty creative hands! How marvelous to also know that our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is!
Little doubt exists as to the thrust of Paul’s message here. Jesus Christ is supreme in His church as well as in all of creation. Because of this, we are to worship Him and offer the reconciliation that is available through Him to lost people everywhere. In statements about Jesus and God, the creation, and the church, Paul affirmed the full deity of our Savior. People need to know that reconciliation with God is available and possible because of who Jesus is. However, Paul continues and relates that...
II. Our reconciliation is possible because of the cross! (vv. 19-20)
1. “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in” Jesus! The key word in this verse is “fullness.” The term refers to the full deity of Christ during His life here on earth. God was delighted to allow the “fullness” of deity to dwell in His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. The verb translated to dwell” indicates a settled, secure, and permanent place of residence. This is important for us to understand because of what this means for our lives. God displayed Himself in Jesus “to reconcile to Himself all things.” God did this through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, “by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” The term translated “to reconcile” (v. 20) refers to a change that takes place between hostile parties. They exchange hostility for peace and friendship. Although God loves us His wrath remains on anyone in sin, and while we are hostile and totally depraved toward God because of our sin, He still took the initiative to overcome our hostility toward Him through Jesus! The result is peace between God and redeemed humanity. The beauty of the concept is that although we are the offending party, God has taken the initiative in the process of reconciliation, and believers are the ones who benefit from it! Our reconciliation is possible because of the cross!
EXAMPLE: I do not think the human mind can easily grasp or wrap itself around the concept that the Creator of the universe came to live among us. He did not just simply walk around observing us, like an impartial scientific observer, but He actually pitched His tent in our midst, ate, drank, slept, laughed, cried, awoke, prayed, and wondered right along with us! In fact, He was born of a virgin woman, was raised by a earthly father, was instructed by town rabbis, and played with His siblings. He grew to be a man who took His direction from His daily moment by moment spiritual walk with His heavenly Father and placed His feet on the path to a place called Golgotha, near Jerusalem. There He died. But that is not all there is to this story. While His death on a cross obtained a sacrifice for our sins, a bloodletting we could never have obtained or endured, His resurrection from the grave assured our eternal existence with Him! “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.” (1 Corinthians 15:21) Never forget therefore that our reconciliation is possible because of the cross!
God has set forth Christ and His cross as the agency through which sinful humanity can come to Him. The verb translated “making peace” is a synonym for reconciliation. This reconciliation not only involves humanity as the crown of God’s creation, but it involves things on earth as well as heavenly things. People need to know that reconciliation is available and possible only through the death of Christ on the cross. Paul tells us this spiritual fact when he finally relates that...
III. Our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God! (vv. 21-23)
1. “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior!” How in the world then could we as the “enemies” of God make any reconciliation toward Him? We could not and we cannot! Nothing we could ever do or say would be good enough to pay the price of our rebellion. The term translated “alienated” refers to the condition of being estranged or in active revolt. In this instance that Someone we defy is God. We are in desperate need of what only God can provide! Paul next set forth the purpose of this reconciliation. The term translated “to present” contains the idea of purpose. It is often used in sacrificial as well as in legal contexts. God did this through Jesus in order that we may be 1) holy in His sight, 2) without blemish, and 3) free from accusation! We may not realize it but when we trust Jesus, we become a sacrifice as well in the sense that we are dying to ourselves and trusting Jesus to make us holy, without blemish, and thereby free us from all accusation! This is why Paul would ask, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” and he would quickly answer that “It is God who justifies!” (Romans 8:33) God justifies us through Jesus. “Therefore,” Paul would also declare, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (Romans 8:1) “For [God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”(Colossians 1:13-14) “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:1) Our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God!
EXAMPLE: Remember that little blonde headed girl I angered? Well, I tried to send emissaries to her girl camp, but she would have none of it. I lived therefore in mortal fear of what this would mean for me and just how she would get her revenge. As the days lingered into weeks, I began to think I was “safe.” Then one day while I was taking an unsuspecting sip from the drinking fountain, she appeared right behind me. My heart jumped into my throat, I trembled with fear, not knowing just how the wrath of an unhinged third grade girl could utterly disseminate me. “Hi,” I weakly croaked. She looked at me through narrowed eyes and then she asked, “Why did you tease me the way you did?” “Because I like you,” I murmured, sweating profusely. “Oh,” was all she said. She took my hand and we walked across the playground together. Reconciled. At peace. Later, she developed a crush for a fifth grader and I was toast, but I know what it means to be reconciled and not fear anymore. That is why I am so glad our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God!
Conclusion:
Our reconciliation is established because of who Jesus is! Our reconciliation is possible because of the cross! Our reconciliation in Jesus makes peace possible with God.
—
NOTE: This article is copyrighted by Pastor Lee Hemen © 2008 and the property of Pastor Lee Hemen. You are welcome to copy it, email it, or use it but please if you copy it, email it, or use it you must do so in its entirety.
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