Christ in Colossians – Part 12 – Atonement – Jesus is our Expiation
In the same way that Paul presents Jesus as their propitiation, he presents to the Colossians that Jesus is their expiation. On the Day of Atonement after the high priest had sacrificed the goat and sprinkled its blood on the mercy seat as Israel’s propitiation, he performed a ceremony with another goat:
And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness (Lev. 16:21-22).
Whereas the first goat paid for the sins of the people, the second goat actually removed those sins from the people. This cleansing from their sin is what we call expiation.
Paul reminds the Colossians that they were “doing evil deeds” (Col. 1:21). The Colossians are reminded of their “old self with its evil practice” (Col 3:9, NASB). They were a people that were marred by their sin, but Paul also reminds them of the expiation of Jesus. Jesus “has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Col 1:22). Through the cross of Christ, their sins are “set aside” (Col 2:14), and they are presented to God as holy. This is only possible because Jesus acted as their expiation, cleansing them from the filth of their sin.
Christ in Colossians – Part 10 – Atonement – Jesus is Our Christus Victor
Paul also connects Jesus’ work on the cross as a victory over sin and the rulers of this world. “Christ was victorious over evil powers in his death, resurrection and ascension. In recent years this emphasis has been particularly associated with the Swedish theologian Gustav Aulén, whose own position has become known as Christus Victor, after the book of the same name.”[1]
Paul presents Jesus as the Colossians’ Christus Victor in his letter when he states that “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:14-15). In one single act on the cross, Jesus took the penalty for the Colossians’ sin and a conquered its power. John Stott makes the connection in these verses for us in his foundational book The Cross of Christ:
Paul here brings together two different aspects of the saving work of Christ’s cross, namely the forgiveness of our sins and the cosmic overthrow of the principalities and powers. He illustrates the freeness and graciousness of God’s forgiveness (charizomai) from the ancient custom of canceling debts. ‘The written code with its regulations, that was against us’ can hardly be a reference to the law itself, since Paul regarded it as ‘holy, righteous and good’ (Rom. 7:12); it must rather refer to the broken law, which on that account was ‘against us and stood opposed to us’ with its judgment.…God frees us from our bankruptcy only by paying our debts on Christ’s cross. More than that He has ‘not only canceled the debt, but also destroyed the document on which it was recorded’.
Paul now moves from the forgiveness of our sins to the conquest of the evil powers…[I]t is surely significant that Paul brackets what Christ did to the ceirographon (canceling and removing it) with what he did to the principalities and powers (disarming and conquering them). The bond he nailed to the cross; the powers he defeated by the cross. It does not seem necessary to insist on the latter being any more literal than the former. The important point is that both happened together.[2]
Paul wanted the Colossians to see that Jesus’ death wasn’t only substitionary death on their behalf to pay their debt, but that his death was also victorious. Through Jesus’ victory on the cross, they now had victory over the power of sin and the rulers and authorities of this world.
[1] Steve Jeffery, Michael Ovey, and Andrew Sach, Pierced for Our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution (Crossway Books, 2007), 139.
[2] Stott, The Cross of Christ, 233-234.
Christ in Colossians – Part 9 – Atonement – Jesus Our Redeemer
Jesus is also presented to the Colossians as their redemption. Paul tells the Colossians that God the Father “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). As Jesus has paid for their penalty of sin, he also redeems them from the domain of darkness.
As a slave is redeemed from an evil master, so are the Colossians. They are no longer mastered by sin because of the forgiveness found in the cross. Paul restates it to the Colossians and says, “you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses” (Col. 2:13). In the atonement, Jesus becomes their redeemer.
Christ in Colossians – Part 7 – Atonement – Jesus is the Atonement for Sin
While Paul presents many different themes about the person and work of Jesus Christ in Colossians, none is more predominant than Jesus as the atonement for sin. It is in Christ that they have “the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). Paul makes reference after reference to the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the Colossians.
Each one of these is a reference to Jesus as the atonement for sin in one way or another, but each reference has its own flavor as to how Jesus is our atonement. The fact is that books have been written on each one of these themes in and of themselves. Therefore over the next couple weeks, we will briefly look at each one on it’s own to gain an understanding of the fullness of the message of atonement in Jesus that Paul was trying to convey.
Spiritual Discipline: Confession – Five tips for developing a habit of confession and repentance.
Martin Luther began his 95 Theses with the primary thought of, “the whole life of believers should be repentance.”[i] Repentance of our sins doesn’t end when we become a Christian. It continues until we are received into heaven.
Unfortunately most Christians slowly begin to forget that it is Jesus’ righteousness that puts us in relationship with God. Over time they begin to trust in their own righteousness. This leads to either despair or pride, neither of which Jesus wanted for his disciples.
Therefore, it is a necessity to continuously seek God to expose our sins to us through the power of the Holy Spirit, repent of those sins, and confess them to loving brothers and sisters in Christ. Through repentance and confession we are able to experience true community and love. We are able to see each other as we truly are and love each other despite our sins because of the blood of Jesus. Here are some simple tips and steps for developing a habit of repentance and confession.
Tip #1 – Keep a short list of sins. One of the worst things you can do is to hide your sin. Sin holds you captive and steals the joy that is yours in Christ. It separates you from those around you. Don’t build up a list of sins before you confess and repent. The instant that God reveals a sin in your life to you, immediately confess and repent of your sin.
Tip #2 – Find a righteous person. When James says that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working,”[ii] he isn’t saying that there are people who are actually righteous on their own merit. He is talking about those who trust in the righteousness of Jesus. This is the type of person that you need to find to confess your sins to. You need to find a person that will help you see your sin in light of Jesus. Many times when ours sins are made real to us, we tend to focus on ourselves. A righteous person helps you see that there is forgiveness found in Jesus.
Tip #3 – Keep a journal. As Jesus reveals the sins in your life to you, keep track of them in your journal. Make note of your sin, how it made you feel, the consequences of it, and the work of Jesus in your life to remove it. Later you can look back on your journal to see how God has been working in your life.
Tip #4 – Don’t get discouraged. You might think that as you grow as a Christian, you will begin to feel like less of a sinner. The reality is quite the opposite. When you look at the writings of Paul the Apostle, you see a progression in his understanding of his sinfulness. Early in his writings, Paul simply called himself a sinner. Then he called himself a chief sinner. Towards the end of his life here on earth, he called himself the greatest of all sinners. This isn’t because he began to sin more. Instead, it is because as you walk with Jesus, your understanding of the glory of Jesus deepens. As your understanding of his glory deepens, your understanding of your sinfulness grows in light of his glory.
The beauty is that you are a work in progress. The Holy Spirit is continuously working on conforming you into the image of Jesus. This is a project that won’t finish in your lifetime. Therefore, trust in Jesus and his work in your life.
Tip #5 – Focus on Jesus. The ultimate purpose of repentance and confession isn’t to focus on your sin but to focus on Jesus. True repentance and confession turns you back to finding your identity in Jesus. It’s only when we find our identity in Jesus that we have truly repented of our sins. Anything less is simply pointing out your flaws with no ultimate power to have change in your life.
[i] Martin Luther, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, 2008, http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/274.
[ii] James 5:16 (ESV)
What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part V – Worshiping Jesus
Jesus continuously worshiped God the Father. Depending on your background, the word worship could have a lot of baggage with it. Some view worship as a meeting time once a week. Some view worship as a music genre. Some view worship as doing a set of prayers/chants/mantras. Some view worship as singing some songs.
While all of these are forms of worship, they all fall short of a full understanding of what worship is. Worship at its core is giving value to something or someone. In his book Unceasing Worship, Harold M. Best defines worship better by saying that, “worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god.”[i]
Human beings are worshipers. Everything we do, says, think, or feel is an act of worship. At the heart of everything we do is giving value to someone or something. We are born worshiping and we never stop. The only thing that changes is what we worship. God is the only one worthy of worship. God’s original design was for us to continuously worship Him, but sin entered the world and we started worshiping lesser things. We started to worship created things (ourselves generally being at the top of the list). We started to worship idols.[ii]
The reality is that at the heart of all sin is an issue with worship. Romans 1:24-25 puts it this way, “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”[iii] Because of sin, instead of continuously worshiping God, we continuously worship created things. Because of sin, we have had no desire to ever give glory to God.
Now that we are being made into the image of Christ, we are able to glorify God with our lives once again. Jesus used everything in his life to worship God. He is the only person to perfectly worship God, and through the power of the Holy Spirit we can do the same. Instead of worshiping money, we can use money to worship God. Instead of worshiping our jobs, we can use our jobs to worship God. Instead worshiping our families, we can use our families to worship God. Instead of worshiping all of our stuff, we can use our stuff to worship God. In Jesus, we have been freed to worship God. Spend this week focusing on how you are called to worship God with all your life.
[i] Harold M. Best, Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts (InterVarsity Press, 2003), 18.
[ii] An idol is anything that we worship that isn’t God.
[iii] (ESV)
What is a Disciple of Jesus? – Part III – Finding Your Identity in Jesus
So where does our journey begin? Jesus. It all starts with Jesus. He is the creator of all things. He is ruler over everything. He holds everything together by His power. He came to earth; humbly born of a teenage virgin girl in a dirty barn in the Middle East over 2,000 years ago. He lived a perfect life by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was betrayed by one of His closest pupils. He was beaten to a bloody pulp and died a brutal death on a wooden cross for our sins.
It is in the work of Jesus on the cross that our relationship with God the Father is reconciled. Because of the sin of our father Adam, we were separated from God. In our sin, we ran as far away from God as possible. Before Jesus, we were viewed as sick-wicked-evil-despicable-depraved-sinful people. God the Father was ready to pour His wrath out on us.
But God, in His grace, came after us. He pulled us out of our sin and placed us in Christ Jesus. For those whom God has called to Himself we are now viewed “in Christ.” We are now “holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”[i] God the Father no longer sees us. Instead he sees his Son Jesus Christ.
This happens in what Martin Luther called the great exchange. On the cross, Jesus took our sin upon himself, and in exchange he gave us his righteousness. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”[ii] In Jesus, our sin has been exchanged for His righteousness.
But it’s not just about the removal of our sins; everything we do as Christians is “in Christ.” We are sanctified in Christ.[iii] We serve in Christ.[iv] We are redeemed in Christ.[v] We are made alive in Christ.[vi] We are no longer condemned in Christ.[vii] We are one body of believers in Christ.[viii] We are a new creation in Christ.[ix] We are reconciled to God in Christ.[x] We have freedom in Christ.[xi] We are spiritually blessed in Christ.[xii] We are created for good works in Christ.[xiii] We are encouraged in Christ.[xiv] We become mature in Christ.[xv] We are strengthened by grace in Christ.[xvi] Even our physical death is in Christ[xvii] (and this is just the short list).
If you have put your faith in Him, you are now in Christ. We no longer have our old sinful identity. We have His! We have received His righteousness as our own. We now have a loving relationship with God the Father by the blood of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Spend this week focusing on your new identity in Christ Jesus.
[i] Colossians 1:22
[ii] (ESV)
[iii] 1 Corinthians 1:2
[iv] Romans 16:3, 9
[v] Romans 3:24
[vi] Romans 6:11, 1 Corinthians 15:22
[vii] Romans 8:11
[viii] Romans 12:5
[ix] 2 Corinthians 5:17
[x] 2 Corinthians 5:19
[xi] Galatians 2:4
[xii] Ephesians 1:3
[xiii] Ephesians 2:10
[xiv] Philippians 2:1
[xv] Colossians 1:28
[xvi] 2 Timothy 2:1
[xvii] 1 Corinthians 15:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:16
An Open Letter to My Fellow Athletes
Hello,
With only a few days away from running in my first triathlon, I wanted to share some words of encouragement and wisdom with my fellow athletes out there. I didn’t grow up a very athletic person. I’m not that coordinated, and I’m not that strong.
I tried playing basketball, but I was to aggressive. I would generally only get to play for five minutes before I would foul out. I tried playing football, but I wasn’t big enough, strong enough, fast enough, or aggressive enough to be any good (it didn’t help that the coach wanted me to play center at 6′ and 135 lbs). There was really only one sport I was good at…track.
It doesn’t take a lot of strength or skill to run. So I did really well. I wasn’t fast, so I ran longer distance events. I wasn’t the best, but I always placed. I ran on the varsity track team at my school starting in eighth grade until I graduated. (we were a small division school). I loved pushing my body to it’s limit and then some. I loved competing. It’s this history of competition that starts to bring up some long lost feelings inside of me.
Some of my feelings are good and some are bad. I think sports can bring out the best and the worst in people (and sometimes at the same time). I know from experience that sports and competition can bring out a laundry list of sins in people…pride, selfishness, arrogance, timidity, course language, unrighteous anger, belittlement, ect.
I have seen people pray before a game and in the same breath speak crude and prideful words against the other team. I have been an arrogant winner and a sore loser. I have been poor sport. I have cheated. I have belittled and demeaned other athletes and teammates.
But I have also seen athletes become even more Christ-like through competition and sports. I’ve seen teamwork and unity abound. I’ve seen men with great talent and heart walk humbly in a knowledge of Who gave them their gifts. I have seen men suffer well in harsh anti-christian environments. I have seen men point to Jesus as their true prize and not some medal or ribbon.
It is with this in mind that I write this letter. I am determined that sports and competition will not bring me down. I am determined to not seek glory for myself. But I pray that my competing will be done in a way that brings glory to Jesus. I am determined that it is more important to finish the race with integrity proclaiming the good news of Jesus than to win and dishonor his name (not like I have a chance of winning). I am determined that Jesus is my ultimate prize. The reason I compete is to draw closer to Jesus and humbly point others to Him.
Whether I win or lose, I am determined to “run the good race.” I hope you are determined too.
To the glory of God,
Greg Qualls
26 Tips for Spending time with God…Hardcore Style
photo by: JasonRogers
If you’re like me, you have trouble spending time with God (I don’t like to use the words quiet time…it makes me feel like I’m five and in a “time out”). I’ve written in the past on some tips and tricks that I use to do this daily. But just like in a marriage relationship, sometimes you just need to spend more than a few minutes with your spouse. You need to spend the whole day. I call this spending time with God hardcore style.
I learned this concept from Doug Fields a few years ago. He talked about one of his youth saying that they “take God on a date.” Now taking God on a date is a little creepy for me, but I liked the concept. The idea is to just spend some extended time with God and nobody else.
To do this, I normally take an afternoon and spend the entire time reading scripture, praying, walking, reading some more, praying some more, and walking some more. The idea is to have a large chunk of time that is devoted to nothing but growing closer to God. This isn’t time to study your Bible and parse Greek verbs…this is time to just be with your Creator, Savior, and Sustainer.
The following are 26 quick tips that can help you with your hardcore time with God.
- Get out of your house. There are to many distractions there. To many things to play with.
- Get away from people.
- Go to a park or go hiking. Go be in His creation.
- Wear comfortable clothing.
- Turn off everything…phone, pager, radio, ipod, laptop, ect. If it has an on/off, make it off.
- Look for God in everything and then give Him the glory.
- Take your Bible (ESV
), a pen, and something to write on. - Anytime you think about something that you need to do when you get home, write it down and forget about it. This will allow you to focus on your time with God. (this is a good practice in general)
- Take a list of prayer requests and things/people you want to pray for.
- Have an agenda/time line.
- Don’t have an agenda/time line.
- Pray, pray, pray
- Take a snack and some cash.
- Take some water.
- Tell one person where you are going to be in case of emergencies (your wife goes into labor). This helps to keep your thoughts from being overtaken.
- Read through a whole book of the Bible several times.
- Read through a passage of scripture several times.
- Read all the gospels in one sitting (it can be done in an afternoon).
- Fast
- Eat
- Just walk and talk to God as if He was walking right next to you.
- Take a short nap (it’s better to sleep for 20 minutes than to fight it for 3 hrs).
- Write out your prayers to God.
- Pray for God to reveal sin in your life that is keeping you from Him.
- Take some time to sit and listen to God.
- Be diligent to focus on God and your relationship.
Well I hope that helps. I’m off to go spend some hardcore time with God. Leave me a comment, with any tips that you might have for spending hardcore time with God.
Confessions
photo by: meyshanworld
The following post is from my friend Sandra Bauman. Sandra and I met at City on a Hill a while back. Sandra is the type of person that you can become instant friends with, but one of the things I like to talk to her about the most is how her Jewish heritage her current relationship with Jesus. The following is an email that she recently sent out to all her friends. I hope you enjoy.
[Ash Wednesday] got me thinking — and got the Holy Spirit reminding me — about something that struck me this fall, which I fully intended to implement….but didn’t….
Every so often I miss a bit of the liturgy, the Hebrew prayers, and the traditions of my Jewish upbringing. So, this past Yom Kippur – (the Jewish “Day of Atonement” – the one day of the year a Jew has the potential to be forgiven everything one did last year and hopefully be written in God’s “book” to live another year) – I went to Adat Yeshua.
At one point in the Yom Kippur service the congregation confesses together out loud a litany of sins. The list was intriguing because I could identify something I had done in practically every line. My natural tendency, at the end of a day (or week, or month…or never), is to look back and not be able to specifically identify anything I would call “sin.” This list of sins totally blows that out of the water.
My intention after that YK service was to type the list up handily and go over it every evening before going to sleep. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. But now that I’ve confessed that please feel free to hold me accountable – ask me about it!
I also offer it to you (at the bottom) as a potential tool to use (and share) as we, individually and as a family, enter into this Lent season with the charge Dave and Donovan offered: to truly agree with God about our sin and need for Him, and allow Him to work an amazing transformation within us.
I love you and look forward to the adventures this challenge will bring!
Sandra
Confession*
The sin we committed in your sight forcibly or willingly
And the sin we committed against you by acting callously
The sin we committed in your sight unintentionally
And the sin we committed against you by idle talk
The sin we committed in your sight by lustful behavior
And the sin we committed against you publicly or privately
The sin we committed in your sight knowlingly and deceptively
And the sin we committed against you by offensive speech
The sin we committed in your sight by lewd association
And the sin we committed against you by insincere confession
The sin we committed by contempt for parents or teachers
And the sin we committed against you willfully or by mistake
The sin we committed in your sight by violence
And the sin we committed against you by defaming your name
The sin we committed in your sight by unclean lips
And for the sin we committed against you by foolish talk
The sin we committed in your sight by evil impulse
And the sin we committed against you wittingly or unwittingly
The sin we committed in your sight by fraud and falsehood
And the sin we committed against you by bribery
The sin we committed in your sight by scoffing
And the sin we committed against you by slander
The sin we committed in your sight in dealings with men
And the sin we committed against you in eating and drinking
The sin we committed in your sight by usury and interest
And the sin we committed against you by a lofty bearing
The sin we committed in your sight by our manner of speech
And the sin we committed against you by wanton glances
The sin we committed in your sight by haughty airs
And the sin we committed against you by scornful defiance
The sin we committed in your sight by casting off responsibility
And the sin we committed against you in passing judgment
The sin we committed in your sight by plotting against men
And the sin we committed against you by sordid selfishness
The sin we committed in your sight by levity of mind
And the sin we committed against you by being obstinate
The sin we committed in your sight by running to do evil
And the sin we committed against you by talebearing
The sin we committed in your sight by swearing falsely
And the sin we committed against you by groundless hatred
The sin we committed in your sight by breach of trust
And the sin we committed against you by a confused heart
*(Paraphrased from the High Holiday Prayer Book, Copyright 1951 by Hebrew Publishing Company, New York, and 1979 by Philip Birnbaum)
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