12th Sunday after Pentecost: Colossians 1:21-23
INTRODUCTION
Two weeks ago we considered how joyfully giving of thanks to God was one aspect of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. Paul then goes on to give three reasons why we should joyfully give thanks to God. The Christian is to give thanks to God for the New Exodus that he has accomplished for us in Christ. (12-14) And last week we learned that we are to give thanks to God for the universal supremacy of Christ in creation and recreation. (15-20) This week we learn that we are to give thanks to God because: The reconciliation of all things in Christ is applied to us to make us holy, provided we remain in the faith. IOW what we see in 21-23 is the application of last week’s text to the lives of the Colossians.
I. The need for their reconciliation. (21)
Last week I noted that reconciliation presupposes alienation, the rupture of a relationship. And it is this alienation that is now brought to foreground. Paul does this in order to throw the spotlight on the wonder of God’s grace in salvation. As many have pointed out, you don’t really grasp the nature of grace apart from understanding the nature of sin.
A. Their former state.
1. An emphatic statement of the plight of the Colossian apart from Christ.
2. If we were to bring out the force of the grammar: “they were once
continually and persistently out of harmony with God.”
3. The term speaks of estrangement and separation from God.
4. And this was the plight of all of us Gentiles (see Eph. 2:12ff).
Paul then proceeds to describe what this alienation looks like.
B. Their former attitude.
1. The term translated “mind” has a meaning similar to “heart” in the OT.
2. It refers to the seat of the mind, will, and emotions.
3. Thus the reference here is to their whole attitude and desires.
4. This whole complex was “hostile” to God.
5. As the seed of the Serpent they manifested that enmity towards God
resulting from the Fall.
C. Their former actions.
1. Their hostile attitude and desires were expressed in their wicked works.
2. And this is the way it is with all sin, it begins in the mind/heart and
works its way out to the actions of the hands and the feet.
3. This is why it is so important to guard your minds and hearts.
a. Men.
b. Young adults.
4. Its one of the reasons we believe so strongly in Christian education b/c the attitudes and desires of the mind and heart determines the course of one’s life.
5. The types of works that fall under this description are listed in 3:5-9.
What/who they once were is then contrasted with God’s action in Christ in their behalf and who that makes them.
II. The instrument of their reconciliation. (22a)
A. The action: reconciliation.
1. Though they were alienated and estranged from God, something occurred to change all that.
2. Last week I defined reconciliation as the bringing together of two partier formerly estranged.
3. This bringing together of God and man had “now” occurred for the Colossians.
4. And note that in order for this bringing together of God and man to take place, the cause of the estrangement must be dealt with: sin.
B. The instrument.
1. And it is the problem of sin that is dealt with “in the body of His flesh through death.”
2. Whereas in verse twenty the ground of reconciliation is stated to be “the blood of His cross,” here it is “the body of His flesh.”
3. But of course the reference is to the same event: the death of Christ.
4. It was the death of Christ for our sins, his becoming sin for us, embodying the curse for us, that restores us to God.
III. The purpose of their reconciliation. (22b-23)
A. Their future presentation. (22b)
This bringing together of God and man has a future orientation.
“To present you…in His sight” is a reference to the Last Day.
Rom. 14:10 is a good parallel, “stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
So how shall we appear before him? Here Paul fuses sacrificial and legal imagery to make the point.
1. Holy and blameless.
a. These terms were used to describe the unblemished animals set apart for God as sacrifices.
b. The verb trans “present” is used of the presentation of sacrifices in Lev. 16:7.
c. And of course Paul uses it in Rom. 12:1 to refer to the presentation of our lives as living sacrifices to God.
d. So here the idea is that by the reconciling work of Christ, based upon his atoning death for us, we become consecrated as holy and without moral defect before him.
e. That is God’s purpose in establishing peace with you.
3. Above reproach.
a. This is a legal term referring to our public conduct.
b. The one who was blameless, or above reproach, was one against
whom no charge could be brought.
c. 1 Cor. 1:8 employs this same term in the same end times context, “who will confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
d. This text also helps us grasp how these things could be: it is through the ongoing work of the Risen Christ in you by the Spirit.
e. So putting all together we can say:
i. This purpose in rooted in eternity past.
ii. Is definitively accomplished in the Cross.
iii. Is carried out in the present by the Spirit.
iv. And will be fulfilled at the day of Christ.
This future fulfillment is conditioned upon their response to the grace of God in the present.
B. Their present obligation. (23)
This obligation is set forth in the form of a positive and then a negative condition.
1. Positively: Remain in the Faith.
a. The term trans. “continue” is based on the term to “dwell, or abide” and sets the stage for two architectural terms “grounded” and “steadfast.”
b. Grounded is a term referring to the foundation and steadfast is the term referring to the structure.
c. The building itself is “the faith” a reference to the Christian faith focused upon the person/work of Christ.
d. Paul’s saying if you want to appear before God on the Last Day, holy and without blemish and free from acusation, then you better abide in the apostolic faith of Jesus Christ.
e. How do you do that? You remain active in the church of Jesus Christ, devoted to the reading and preaching of the word, to sacraments of Jesus Christ, and to set and spontaneous times of prayer and devotion to Christ.
f. You must give yourselves to these disciplines of grace.
g. For if the faith is merely something that you have a passing interest in, that’s not going to cut it!
2. Negatively: Don’t be moved away from the hope of the gospel.
a. The word trans. “moved” is a word meaning “to shift” or “remove” and is used in the OT a couple times to describe an army being put to flight.
b. They are not to allow themselves to abandon lit. the hope that is the content of the gospel.
c. And we’ve seen the hope of the gospel is a reference to Jesus Christ Himself and the inheritance He has won for His people: the NHNE.
i. And again he reminds them that this gospel is not something spoken in a dark corner but is a universal message declared in all creation under heaven and concerns the whole creation.
ii. He always emphasizes this truth re: hope b/c it is hard to maintain faith in what is not seen.
iii. Everything in our culture leads us to put value on the present, but Paul:
d. So then if you want to appear holy and blameless and without accusation in the Day of Christ, you must not allow your mind and heart to be moved away from faith in blessed Hope and appearing of Jesus Christ.
e. In the words of Peter you must fix your minds upon the grace that is to be brought to you when Christ is revealed at the last day.
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
So then we’ve seen how the reconciliation of all things in Christ extends and is applied to us, to those who have heard and believed the gospel of Christ. And that this reconciliation is effective, it does not leave you unchanged. It transforms you from someone alienated and estranged from God, to someone who is brought near to him to serve him as his priests. It transforms you from someone whose mind and heart were in opposition to him, to someone who is becoming and will be without moral defect. It transforms you from someone who actions with wicked, to someone whose actions will render you free from accusation on the last day. And yet it only does this as you diligently persevere in the Christian faith, as you give yourselves to this faith as the very substance of your life. And as you guard your heart and mind from being moved away from a fixed belief in the coming of Jesus Christ to bring in the NHNE. This faith that you are called to embody and live out is a message that concerns not only you, but all creation and ultimately will bring about a new creation filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. AMEN!
Two weeks ago we considered how joyfully giving of thanks to God was one aspect of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. Paul then goes on to give three reasons why we should joyfully give thanks to God. The Christian is to give thanks to God for the New Exodus that he has accomplished for us in Christ. (12-14) And last week we learned that we are to give thanks to God for the universal supremacy of Christ in creation and recreation. (15-20) This week we learn that we are to give thanks to God because: The reconciliation of all things in Christ is applied to us to make us holy, provided we remain in the faith. IOW what we see in 21-23 is the application of last week’s text to the lives of the Colossians.
I. The need for their reconciliation. (21)
Last week I noted that reconciliation presupposes alienation, the rupture of a relationship. And it is this alienation that is now brought to foreground. Paul does this in order to throw the spotlight on the wonder of God’s grace in salvation. As many have pointed out, you don’t really grasp the nature of grace apart from understanding the nature of sin.
A. Their former state.
1. An emphatic statement of the plight of the Colossian apart from Christ.
2. If we were to bring out the force of the grammar: “they were once
continually and persistently out of harmony with God.”
3. The term speaks of estrangement and separation from God.
4. And this was the plight of all of us Gentiles (see Eph. 2:12ff).
Paul then proceeds to describe what this alienation looks like.
B. Their former attitude.
1. The term translated “mind” has a meaning similar to “heart” in the OT.
2. It refers to the seat of the mind, will, and emotions.
3. Thus the reference here is to their whole attitude and desires.
4. This whole complex was “hostile” to God.
5. As the seed of the Serpent they manifested that enmity towards God
resulting from the Fall.
C. Their former actions.
1. Their hostile attitude and desires were expressed in their wicked works.
2. And this is the way it is with all sin, it begins in the mind/heart and
works its way out to the actions of the hands and the feet.
3. This is why it is so important to guard your minds and hearts.
a. Men.
b. Young adults.
4. Its one of the reasons we believe so strongly in Christian education b/c the attitudes and desires of the mind and heart determines the course of one’s life.
5. The types of works that fall under this description are listed in 3:5-9.
What/who they once were is then contrasted with God’s action in Christ in their behalf and who that makes them.
II. The instrument of their reconciliation. (22a)
A. The action: reconciliation.
1. Though they were alienated and estranged from God, something occurred to change all that.
2. Last week I defined reconciliation as the bringing together of two partier formerly estranged.
3. This bringing together of God and man had “now” occurred for the Colossians.
4. And note that in order for this bringing together of God and man to take place, the cause of the estrangement must be dealt with: sin.
B. The instrument.
1. And it is the problem of sin that is dealt with “in the body of His flesh through death.”
2. Whereas in verse twenty the ground of reconciliation is stated to be “the blood of His cross,” here it is “the body of His flesh.”
3. But of course the reference is to the same event: the death of Christ.
4. It was the death of Christ for our sins, his becoming sin for us, embodying the curse for us, that restores us to God.
III. The purpose of their reconciliation. (22b-23)
A. Their future presentation. (22b)
This bringing together of God and man has a future orientation.
“To present you…in His sight” is a reference to the Last Day.
Rom. 14:10 is a good parallel, “stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
So how shall we appear before him? Here Paul fuses sacrificial and legal imagery to make the point.
1. Holy and blameless.
a. These terms were used to describe the unblemished animals set apart for God as sacrifices.
b. The verb trans “present” is used of the presentation of sacrifices in Lev. 16:7.
c. And of course Paul uses it in Rom. 12:1 to refer to the presentation of our lives as living sacrifices to God.
d. So here the idea is that by the reconciling work of Christ, based upon his atoning death for us, we become consecrated as holy and without moral defect before him.
e. That is God’s purpose in establishing peace with you.
3. Above reproach.
a. This is a legal term referring to our public conduct.
b. The one who was blameless, or above reproach, was one against
whom no charge could be brought.
c. 1 Cor. 1:8 employs this same term in the same end times context, “who will confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
d. This text also helps us grasp how these things could be: it is through the ongoing work of the Risen Christ in you by the Spirit.
e. So putting all together we can say:
i. This purpose in rooted in eternity past.
ii. Is definitively accomplished in the Cross.
iii. Is carried out in the present by the Spirit.
iv. And will be fulfilled at the day of Christ.
This future fulfillment is conditioned upon their response to the grace of God in the present.
B. Their present obligation. (23)
This obligation is set forth in the form of a positive and then a negative condition.
1. Positively: Remain in the Faith.
a. The term trans. “continue” is based on the term to “dwell, or abide” and sets the stage for two architectural terms “grounded” and “steadfast.”
b. Grounded is a term referring to the foundation and steadfast is the term referring to the structure.
c. The building itself is “the faith” a reference to the Christian faith focused upon the person/work of Christ.
d. Paul’s saying if you want to appear before God on the Last Day, holy and without blemish and free from acusation, then you better abide in the apostolic faith of Jesus Christ.
e. How do you do that? You remain active in the church of Jesus Christ, devoted to the reading and preaching of the word, to sacraments of Jesus Christ, and to set and spontaneous times of prayer and devotion to Christ.
f. You must give yourselves to these disciplines of grace.
g. For if the faith is merely something that you have a passing interest in, that’s not going to cut it!
2. Negatively: Don’t be moved away from the hope of the gospel.
a. The word trans. “moved” is a word meaning “to shift” or “remove” and is used in the OT a couple times to describe an army being put to flight.
b. They are not to allow themselves to abandon lit. the hope that is the content of the gospel.
c. And we’ve seen the hope of the gospel is a reference to Jesus Christ Himself and the inheritance He has won for His people: the NHNE.
i. And again he reminds them that this gospel is not something spoken in a dark corner but is a universal message declared in all creation under heaven and concerns the whole creation.
ii. He always emphasizes this truth re: hope b/c it is hard to maintain faith in what is not seen.
iii. Everything in our culture leads us to put value on the present, but Paul:
d. So then if you want to appear holy and blameless and without accusation in the Day of Christ, you must not allow your mind and heart to be moved away from faith in blessed Hope and appearing of Jesus Christ.
e. In the words of Peter you must fix your minds upon the grace that is to be brought to you when Christ is revealed at the last day.
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION
So then we’ve seen how the reconciliation of all things in Christ extends and is applied to us, to those who have heard and believed the gospel of Christ. And that this reconciliation is effective, it does not leave you unchanged. It transforms you from someone alienated and estranged from God, to someone who is brought near to him to serve him as his priests. It transforms you from someone whose mind and heart were in opposition to him, to someone who is becoming and will be without moral defect. It transforms you from someone who actions with wicked, to someone whose actions will render you free from accusation on the last day. And yet it only does this as you diligently persevere in the Christian faith, as you give yourselves to this faith as the very substance of your life. And as you guard your heart and mind from being moved away from a fixed belief in the coming of Jesus Christ to bring in the NHNE. This faith that you are called to embody and live out is a message that concerns not only you, but all creation and ultimately will bring about a new creation filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. AMEN!
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