Christ in Colossians – Part 13 – Atonement – Jesus is our Reconciliation
Of all the ways that Paul presents Jesus’ atonement, he devotes most of his attention to Jesus being presented as the Colossians reconciliation. Colossians 1:19-22 states:
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
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….
Grudem defines reconciliation as “the removal of enmity and the restoration of fellowship between two parties.”[1] It is through Christ that the relationship that God once had with humanity in the Garden of Eden is restored.
Paul tells the Colossians that they were alienated. MacArthur explains that “Apallotrioo (alienated) means ‘estranged,’ ‘cut off,’ or ‘separated.’ Before their reconciliation, the Colossians were completely estranged from God.”[2] There was no relationship between them and God. As we’ve already seen, this wasn’t an estrangement in which God was simply ignoring them though. Instead, they were cut off from God and under His wrath.
This estrangement went two ways though. Paul continues to write that the Colossians were “hostile in mind” (Col 1:21). Stott says, “True, we were ‘God’s enemies,’ hostile to him in our hearts. But the ‘enmity’ was on both sides. The wall or barrier between God and us was constituted by our rebellion against him and by his wrath upon us on account of our rebellion.”[3] The Colossians’ estrangement from God was their choice as they were hostile towards God and chose to do “evil deeds” (Col. 1:21). God in his righteousness could not be in their presence because of their sin and had to separate himself from them.
Paul shows the Colossians are no longer estranged from God though. The relationship has been restored, and it is Jesus who reconciles them by “making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20). Jesus “has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death” (Col. 1:21). Reconciliation happens by the blood of Jesus on the cross. Hendriksen explains what this reconciliation means:
Through the blood of the Son of God’s love peace had been made. He, meaning this Son of God’s love, in his body of flesh (that was the sphere of the reconciliation), and through his death (that was the instrument) had brought about a return to the proper relation between the Colossians and their God. A return, not as if there had been a time, many, many years ago, when these Colossians had been Christians, but rather in this sense, that the establishment of peace between the Father-heart of God and the soul of the sinner is for the latter a going back to the state of rectitude in which God originally created man.[4]
Jesus pays the penalty for their sin and cleanses them from it, allowing the Colossians to have the close, intimate relationship that man once had with God.
In this passage, Paul also speaks of Jesus’ reconciliation of all of creation. This isn’t reconciliation in the same sense that is spoken of for the Colossians. Paul isn’t presenting a doctrine of universalism. Instead, Paul is referencing back to the preeminence of Christ in creation that is stated in verse 16 as Paul says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” MacArthur clarifies that “there is a sense in which even fallen angels and unredeemed men will be reconciled to God for judgment – but only in the sense of submitting to Him for final sentencing. Their relationship to Him will change from that of enemies to that of the judged.”[5] Paul is speaking of a reconciliation that brings all things under the rule of Jesus Christ.
[1] Grudem, Systematic Theology, 1253.
[2] MacArthur Jr., Colossians and Philemon, 60.
[3] Stott, The Cross of Christ, 197-198.
[4] Hendriksen, Phillippians / Colossians / Philemon, 83.
[5] MacArthur Jr., Colossians and Philemon, 59.
Christ in Colossians – Part 3 – Jesus is a Member of the Trinitarian Godhead (Trinity)
While Jesus is fully God, he lives in relationship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit as a member of the Trinitarian Godhead. Paul consistently presents Jesus as fully God, but he also presents Jesus as the Son of God. This doesn’t make Jesus any less of God, because Paul clearly articulates Jesus’ deity. But Paul distinguishes Jesus’ role and relationship within the Trinitarian Godhead. According to Bruce Ware,
The Son, then, is fully God. He is not one-third God, but fully God. Yet, it is not the Son alone who is fully God, but he eternally exists along with the Father and the Spirit, each of whom also possesses fully the identically same divine nature. Because of this, what distinguishes the Son from the Father and the Spirit is not the divine nature of the Son. This–the one and undivided divine nature–is also possessed equally and fully by the Father and the Spirit. Therefore, what distinguishes the Son is his particular role as Son in relation to the Father and to the Spirit and the relationships that he has with each of them.[1]
Throughout the epistle to the Colossians, Paul shows the relationship between Jesus and God the Father. Paul’s first reference between Jesus and God the Father is in Col. 1:3 when Paul gives thanks to “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul establishes that there is God the Father and God the Son. Continuing in Colossians, God the Father delivers “us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). Paul declares that it is “the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in [Jesus]” (Col. 1:19, NASB).
Paul also makes known that the Son’s role is in submission to the Father’s authority. Jesus was used by the Father “to reconcile to himself all things” (Col. 1:20, ESV). “God [the Father] made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses” (Col. 2:13). Jesus’ role as the Son is to be used as the Father’s agent of salvation. Jesus is the Father’s agent of creation as “all things were created through him” (Col. 1:16). The Father also “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in [Jesus]” (Col. 2:15). Lastly, Jesus is our mediator to the Father. Paul says that the Colossians are to give “thanks to God the Father through [Jesus]” (Col. 3:17). Through Jesus, the Colossians had a relationship with the Father.
While Paul makes several references to God the Father, there is only one reference to the Holy Spirit in the epistle to the Colossians. In Col. 1:7, Paul speaks about Epaphras being a “faithful minister of Christ” to the Colossians. In the same sentence, Paul says that Epaphras has “made known to us your love in the Spirit” (Col. 1:8). While this doesn’t give us much of an understanding of the role and relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit, it does let us know that the Colossians would have known there is a third person of the Godhead. The Colossians would have to rely on other epistles from Paul that would eventually circulate to them, the gospels, and the teachings of Epaphras to get a better understanding of the rich interaction between Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
[SIDE NOTE: To have a better understanding of the Trinity, go buy Bruce Ware's book "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance
[1] Bruce A. Ware, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance
(Crossway Books, 2005), 69.
What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part VI – Living in Community
Jesus lived in community. He grew up in a large family. He spent his entire ministry with 12 close-knit friends. He had larger groups of people who followed him during his ministry. He constantly ate meals with people. He healed people. He prayed for people. He preached to multitudes. His life was marked with constant and continuous community. Everything he did was within the context of community.
Jesus’ lifestyle of continuous community didn’t start with his ministry here on earth but was just an extension of his eternal relationship with the Father and Holy Spirit. We are called to live in community because God lives in community with Himself.
God’s tri-Personal reality is intrinsic to his existence as the one God who alone is God. He is a socially related being within himself. In this tri-Personal relationship the three Persons love one another, support one another, assist one another, team with one another, honor one another, communicate with one another, and in everything respect and enjoy one another. They are in need of nothing but each other throughout all eternity. Such is the richness and the fullness and the completion of the social relationship that exists in the Trinity. [i]
In John 13:34-35, Jesus tells us the way that we image him to those around us is by living in loving community. He puts it this way: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”[ii] When Jesus says we will have love for one another, he isn’t talking about the typical-everyday-pithy love that we come across. He is talking about a deep, never ending, never failing, all-encompassing kind of love. It is the same kind of love that he showed his disciples by loving them at their best and at their worst. It is the love Jesus is talking about when he said; “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”[iii]
Because of this love, it is in community that we help each other grow. It is in community that we pray for one another. It is in community that we repent. It is in community that we care for one another. It is in community that we spread the gospel (more on this next week). It is in community that we bear the image of God and ultimately bring glory to Jesus and find deep joy in our lives. Spend this week focusing on how you are called to live in loving community with brothers and sisters in Christ.
[i] Bruce A. Ware, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance (Crossway Books, 2005), 25.
[ii] John 13:34-35 (ESV)
[iii] John 15:13 (ESV)
Do you Medicate?
A few weeks ago my wife was talking with an older gentleman about stress and life in general. The older gentleman who is very big on Thai Chi asked my wife, “Do you meditate?” But my wife heard him ask, “Do you medicate?”
Now I know that both of these can help reduce stress… but the means are very different. Let’s just say there was a little confusion until they cleared that up.
It’s amazing how the words we use convey so much meaning. By a simple change of words what we are trying to express is completely changed. If you don’t agree with me, try responding to the phrase, “I love you,” with “I like you.” The difference is worlds apart (and could mean the end to a wonderful relationship).
In the past few years, there has been a growing trend among churches to change some of the words that are used. I know of one church in California that has weekly meetings to go over the language that is used in their church each week. The trend is to move away from using words that have lost their meaning over the years.
One word that I think has lost is meaning over the years is the word service when we talk about our church services. We go to the church service. We have church services. The service was really long this morning. What did you think about the service?
The words role off our tongues without any thought to what they actually mean. It’s just another word in our vocabulary. I think the original meaning might have been the idea that we come together to serve each other. But I don’t think that we even give it any thought any more. If anything the meaning has changed. The word no longer has the meaning of serving each other, but I would say now has the connotation of serving ourselves.
How well was I served this morning at church? The word has the intrinsic focus on self. The reality is that hardly anyone in today’s Christian subculture thinks of church as a time to serve each other. The focus is all inward. “I didn’t like the worship today.” “That sermon was really boring.” “I wish they would have…” “I don’t like it when we sing hymns.” “I don’t like how they’re always asking us to do things.”
The reality is that church is not about the individual. When you look at Acts you constantly see that the church is about community and not about self. You see at the end of chapter two that people are sharing all their possessions. They, “were together and had all things in common.” It wasn’t about them individually. It was about the community.When you read through Acts, you see that the church never had services. Instead you see that they gathered (assembled) together. The church wasn’t about the individual coming to the church, but instead about the church gathering together.
Therefore we have changed the language at our church (like many others) to reflect this concept. We no longer use the words church service, but instead we talk about our gatherings. We don’t have services, but instead we gather. We want to constantly put the focus of our church on the community and not on the individual. Some might just say that this is just semantics or legalism, but we see it as essential to who we are. We want to always be putting the truth forward in every word we use.
So I pose the questions to you:What words have lost meaning for you? What words no longer mean the same for you? Do you ever think about the words that you use and the meanings you are portraying?Do you medicate?
Follow Me
Recent Comments
What I'm Doing...
- BBQ in 15 min. Come join us. We got the dogs and burgers. (@ Casa de Qualls) http://4sq.com/aSBjXK 1 week ago
- It's really annoying when people try to make up nicknames for themselves...I'm looking at you Radio Shack. 1 week ago
- Great morning. Got up, went swimming with Asa, bought him some books at Savers, had pancakes for lunch...and now to nap. 1 week ago
- Hey #ABQ where is the best/cheapest place to get an emissions test? 2 weeks ago
- More updates...
Categories
- Baby
- Beer Tip of the Day
- Church
- Church Planting
- COAH
- Current Events
- Discipleship
- House
- Jesus
- Life
- Pictures
- Re:Train
- Religion/Spirituality
- Spiritual Disciplines
- Survey
- Tech
- Tech Wednesday
- Tip and Tricks
- Uncategorized
- Videos
Flickr Photos
