Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Main Idea: Christ has reconciled us to present us holy before God until the end
1. Reconciled while enemies
“21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled…”
• There can be no hope in ourselves for any sort of reconciliation on our own – God had to do something – He is the Only One who could make peace again.
• We all were once completely separated from God – we were estranged and we had no means of having fellowship and intimacy with God
• Our mindset, our core way of thinking – our whole disposition, our perspective and our way of processing and interpreting and reasoning and feeling and desiring were hostile to God – our minds were diametrically opposed to God’s way of thinking and perspective
2. Reconciled by Christ
…”he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death…”
• We’ve not been reconciled by anything we’ve done – we could not earn our reconciliation and we have done nothing to contribute to our reconciliation
• It is precisely we who were once enemies of God that have now been reconciled to God through the physical death of Jesus Christ in our place.
• The penalty for our sin has been paid in full and the death penalty no longer hangs over us – full restitution and reconciliation has been accomplished by the Son of the King, God Almighty and no further payment remains.
• By Christ’s death we’ve been reconciled to God and brought to a place where we are no longer hostile and He is no longer hostile to us – we can now have peace with God.
3. Reconciled to be presented
"in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,"
• And the goal of Christ’s death to reconcile us is so that He might present us to the King, the Creator of all, God as holy, blameless and above reproach.
• We have been reconciled to be presented.
• Matthew 22:2 parable of the wedding feast
• We’ve been chosen and we’ve been given the clothes of the Prince. He has presented us to the King Himself
• The word present in this text carries with it the connotation of standing by and being near to help, to be with us
• “to present” gives the sense to this passage that Jesus has reconciled us and is now standing with us and is near to us, reminding the Father of our holiness through His own death, as a constant testimony to the fact that He bore our blame and he bore all of our reproach and shame
• Now we are presented to God by the Son, without any spot or blemish and considered as faultless and unblameable in God’s sight.
• The word translated as “above reproach” gives the idea of that which cannot be called into account – unreprovable, anaccused and unable to be blamed
Ephesians 5:25-27 as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
4. Reconciled to hope
23 "if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard,"
• The hope of the gospel not just for our past but for our present and our future as well
• Our reconciliation is meant to have a result in our lives – we are meant to live our lives ever aware of our reconciliation, ever hoping in the gospel, living out our faith practically each day.
• And although God is the One who gives us faith, we are required to continue in the faith that He has given to us.
• The Greek word behind the English word “stable” has the meaning of being firmly established, grounded – something that has a solid foundation. It is a word that was often used in construction and it refers to the laying of a foundation of a building.
• We must remain grounded and stand on the only sure foundation that we have – Christ Himself. All other things will fail and if our faith is in other things, we will not continue stable and established.
• The hope of the gospel is meant to be the foundation on which our entire lives are built and grounded.
• It is the bedrock of every hope and all of our ability to trust God comes from the hope that we have in the gospel
• Paul gives another descriptor of what our hope, our faith is to look like, he says it is to be “steadfast”
• The Greek word for “steadfast” is a picture of being immovable, firm – unable to be unseated – something that doesn’t go anywhere
1 Corinthians 15:58,”Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord”
• This is an active hope– it is not a hope that we have once and then move on to other things - this is a hope to be continued in.
• We continue in this hope as we take steps of faith each day based not on our accomplishments or our earning favor before God but based on what Jesus accomplished
• At the same time that the gospel instructs us about the final perseverance of the saints, it also teaches that the saints are those who persevere in Jesus until the end.
• From the language Paul uses in these verses, he is not in doubt as to whether they have been reconciled but this verse is meant to guard against falling into a state of false security – and this is how it should function for us today.
• For those who love God, who have placed saving faith in Him and are seeking to live him, there should be no wavering – we’ve been reconciled and we have hope now.
• In these verses, the Holy Spirit is saying that we can have hope if we continue in the faith and don’t give in to shifting away from our true hope to other things.
• And at the end of this verse is a hint at the broad-reaching effects of the gospel….
“not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,
Romans 8:20-21 “the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
Colossians 1:20, He came to “reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
• The gospel is powerful and far-reaching in its effects – it is the answer for all of creation’s woes
• We live life now with hope in the ability to access His throne of grace – a once fearful place full of condemnation for us and instead we can receive mercy and His grace whenever we need it.
Potential Application Questions:
1. Why is it important to understand that we were enemies of God and hostile in mind towards Him?
2. How should remembering that we’ve been reconciled by Christ alone affect the way we live each day?
3. Why do we need to meditate on the fact that we’ve been reconciled to God?
4. How does knowing you’ve been reconciled to be presented holy, blameless and above reproach affect your confidence in your daily Christian walk?
5. How can we apply verse 22 to ourselves when we are feeling discouraged or condemned?
6. What are some practical ways that we can ensure we remain stable and steadfast in the hope of the gospel?
7. What are some (perhaps subtle) ways we are tempted to shift from the hope of the gospel in our lives?
8. How can we encourage each other in the hope of the gospel regularly?
