Colossians 1:21-23
In the the previous verses Paul addressed the theme of reconciliation as it applied to the new creation, the church. Now he addresses reconciliation as it applies to the individual. Although he was writing to a first- century church facing a crisis of confidence, Paul has something to say to us. In what he says to that church Paul helps both those who do not trust Christ and those who trust Him to see themselves with clarity.
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Several years ago I found a book called, What They Didn’t Teach You in Seminary. I wasn’t really so surprised that such a book should be published. I was surprised at how small it was. I would have expected a larger book.
I learned some things soon after becoming a pastor that somehow weren’t mentioned at the seminary. I learned the proper size wheels an upright piano should have so the smallest Sunday school teacher can move it easily. I never learned that the pastor and often the musicians have nothing to do with deciding what piano a church buys. In a small church, the piano purchased may depend on whose widowed aunt wants to clear out some furniture so she can move in with her children.
Maybe I missed that day or maybe my teachers just assumed most of us had lived enough of life to know a sad fact about families. In any case, I hadn’t been a pastor long before I learned that many families fractured. I’m not talking about divorce; I am talking about breaks that rupture the larger family.
I hadn’t been at the little church long before I discovered there were several members whose families were touched by such a break.
--Two of our deacons had a brother who wouldn’t talk to them because of a perceived injustice several years before.
--Another member had a brother who periodically took him to court trying to get more of their father’s estate.
--A woman in the community told me I would never be welcome at her home because her parent—with whom she never spoke—had dared to take her children to church without her permission.
--Another member had a brother who got angry over something and just disappeared—he hadn’t been seen since the end of WWII.
I hadn’t expected this. My family certainly had it foibles and its share of neuroses but all everyone still spoke. Some of the stuff they talked about was really weird but at least they talked.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised at the level of estrangement I found in those families. After all, it could be argued that history is largely the story of the humanity’s estrangement from the One with whom it should have had the closest, most fulfilling relationship.
In these few verses Paul tells his readers that God had done something about that estrangement. This should have bolstered the waning confidence of the Colossians.
Paul tells us that through faith in Christ our relationship with God is restored.
To understand the dynamics of this story we have to begin with the recognition that
I
WITHOUT CHRIST WE ARE ESTRANGED FROM GOD.
(Vs. 21)
Paul seems to be operating on the principle that to appreciate where you are, you sometimes have to recall where you were. Paul helps the Colossians focus on their dilemma when they were outside of Christ. They were “alienated from God", his “spiritual enemies" as Phillips translates it. That's the reality of this estrangement.
This is the Biblical view of our condition. Though we bear the image of God, we are estranged from God. Alienated from God, we are like strangers to the one who has made us.
The language Paul goes beyond mere alienation to suggest that unredeemed humankind sees itself as God's enemy. Many are actively hostile toward God, trying to thwart what God is doing. They cannot bear to hear his Name mentioned positively.
Paul insists our anti-God hostility runs deep and is revealed in "doing evil deeds." In fact, the evidences of this alienation are plain to see. The empirical evidence for the Christian notion of original sin is staggering; in fact, there is probably no other doctrine—outside of Creation—which has greater tangible proof available to the observer.
There is such a preponderance of evidence that it takes a terrorist attack or envelopes filled with deadly bacteria to prompt us to speak of "evil" once again. All of this evidence—war, cruelty to children, self-destructive behavior, misuse of God-given talents—reflects our race's alienation from God.
But what is the root of this alienation?
Paul says it is rooted in minds in rebellion against God. McDonald comments, "the seat of this enmity against God is the mind, the central citadel of being where we think, imagine, reflect and will."
We may be alienated from another through no fault of our own. But Paul shows that humankind's alienation from God is clearly our fault. We are "hostile in mind".
This may explain the militant new atheism we encounter so often today. As you hear these new atheists, they seem oddly bitter at an entity they insist does not exist. They are so angry at this non-existent God that they insist all religions are not simply wrong but evil.
Their bitterness at God is so deep that they leave no door open to the possibility they might be wrong. Carl Sagan once suggested that if God had really wanted people to know he existed, he would have carved the Ten Commandments on the moon. But when you hear atheists like Sagan talk, you have the suspicion that even that would not persuade them. It’s easy to picture them looking at the moon with the Commandments engraved on its face and then turning away from their powerful telescopes and saying, “What a curious coincidence.” They are “hostile in mind” and insist the world’s problems can only be fixed if we rid ourselves of any notion of God
Yet, the real truth is we are estranged from God and nothing will be right until that breach is repaired. And that breach cannot be repaired without Christ
A few years ago, Steven Hawking, one of our time's most brilliant scientists, warned that the human race could be eliminated by a virus before the end of the millennium. As a solution, he suggested that we should consider colonizing other planets. Even if scientists could solve the problems associated with such an endeavor, Hawking ignores the fundamental fact that wherever we humans may go, we carry our greatest ailment with us—sin.
But, although Paul reminds us that without Christ we are estranged from God, he doesn't leave the story there. He also reminds us that...
II
THROUGH CHRIST WE ARE EMBRACED BY GOD
(vs. 22-23)
What a portrait Paul paints of God. As desperate as our situation was, God intervened. He did what was needed to deal with our great problem.
But now he has reconciled you—God brought us into a position where we may be regarded as God's friends, though we once were his enemies. Nowhere in the Bible are we told that God has been reconciled to humankind. Instead, we are told that humankind has been reconciled to God.
Remember that old story about the married couple who were driving along though the countryside. The wife said to her husband, "Do you remember when we first started dating? We used to sit so close to each other when we drove down the road. Now, you're over there and I'm way over here. What's gone wrong?"
I don't know," her husband said from behind the wheel, “I'm still sifting in the same place."
During their long estrangement God never stopped loving the crown of his creation, the only creature made in his image. Even while they were alienated, God still plotted to do good for humankind. Though we were rebels against him, God became the Author of our reconciliation.
How did the Author of our reconciliation accomplish this great change in our relationship with him? What was the means of our reconciliation?
Once again Paul roots it in what Christ has done for us in history. He says it was accomplished "by Christ's physical body through death." Christ's death was the means by which this reconciliation was accomplished. Earlier Paul had sung of Christ's death as a means by which he had reconciled the universe to himself. Now, Paul makes it more personal, he says to each of us, "Christ died for you.”
The verse has an interesting feature, the emphasis upon Christ's physical body. Does Paul going to the trouble of stressing Christ's possession of a flesh and blood body suggest something about the false teachings gaining ground in Colossae? It’s possible. Some of the earliest heresies would try to detract from the reality of the incarnation by saying Jesus' humanity was only an illusion. Although he may have been facing different problems, John addresses the issue in his letters: "This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. (I John 4:2-3)
Put simply, the false teachers were trying to say, "Jesus is not the Savior you think he is." Paul and others responded by saying, in effect, "He is much more than you even imagine him to be." Through him we have become reconciled to God.
To further bolster his reader's confidence Paul addresses the results of our reconciliation.
He does so by reminding us that the goal of Christ's death was to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." Because of our rebellion and sin we were unfit to stand in God's presence. Yet, God himself made us able to be in his presence. (As Paul says in verse 12, "he qualified us.") Charles Morrison offers a comment on the church that I’ve always loved, "The Christian church is a society of sinners. It is the only society in the world in which membership is based upon the single qualification that the candidate shall be unworthy of membership."
Although we were God's enemies (vs. 21) the death of Christ made reconnection possible: Friendship with God becomes a reality. Out of this transforming friendship we become 'holy,' 'blameless,' and 'without fault,' capable of being presented to God. Each of these words contains some powerful ideas.
We are now "holy," possessing the quality necessary for any who would see God.
We are "blameless," means we are without blemish (a notion reminiscent of the requirements for animals to be offered to God).
We are "without fault," free from accusation (the Accuser has nothing he can bring against us. Cf. Cot. 2:14). Think of it as a kind of spiritual "no double jeopardy". Because Christ bore our sins and our punishment, we cannot be placed on trial for them again.
Paul says all of this to point out the great contrast between where we were before trusting Christ and where we are after trusting Christ. Through Christ everything which might keep us from standing at peace in God's presence had been eliminated.
New Testament scholars tell us that Paul's statements about the quality of our reconciliation are "eschatological" in nature. That means our reconciliation will be fully experienced in eternity but we can have a foretaste of its joy right now. Contrary to what the false teachers seemed to be saying, it wasn't necessary to go through elaborate rituals or enter trance-like states to enjoy God's presence, those who simply trusted Christ could be aware of God's presence by faith.
With that great thought in mind, Paul turns to the responsibility of the reconciled (v23)
At this point Paul seems to add a qualifying element—we will have the inner assurance of acceptance by God if we continue to have faith in Christ. Paul describes such faith in both positive and negative terms. The Amplified Bible captures this when it says our faith must be well grounded, and settled and steadfast" in contrast to any shifting or moving away from the hope [which rests on and is inspired by the Glad Tidings.]” (Amp)
Paul was concerned that some of the Colossians were wavering in their faith. He knew that was dangerous. So, he gives them a clear warning against embracing a false gospel, one which isn't good news' at all.
In the same way, if we would have the certainty being reconciled to God, the certainty of standing before him without fault and blame, we must be faithful to the message preached by the church from the beginning—the same message which Paul had been preaching. That message focuses upon Christ as our Savior. He is the One who has opened the way to our salvation.
So, when Paul says, "Keep the faith," he means keep your personal trust in Christ strong and keep your commitment to The Faith.
It matters what the church preaches and teaches, it matters what we believe. The church does not have several gospels. Its message is the some wherever it goes.
That's what Paul means when he speaks of the gospel being preached all over the world, to every creature under heaven. It hadn't yet, but it had been preached to so many that Paul knew it would transcend any racial barrier.
No other message has proven to be so effective in dealing with the impact of sin on the human personality or so effective in leading to a transformation of life.
Like the Colossian Christians, we face those who would have us abandon the gospel. In an age of pluralism we are especially tempted to say it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere and as long as you don't try to impose your belief on others.
Yet, to abandon the gospel of God's grace is to cheat ourselves and future generations. To abandon it is to open ourselves to a crisis of confidence.
CONCLUSION
Last week we saw pictures of the Obama family as they traveled through South America. One picture showed the family visiting the famed “Statue of Christ the Redeemer” that stands above Rio de Janeiro. The 98 foot statue depicts Christ with his arms outstretched, seemingly ready to embrace all who might come to him.
It a world filled with hatred, war, division, it’s an appropriate way to portray Christ. It reminds us that we first must be reconciled to God is we would be reconciled to one another.
The President may not be aware but Christianity is growing rapidly in South America—in fact all across the global south. Maybe it’s due to the way Jesus taught us to think of God.
You remember the story: A young boy leaves home, lives disgracefully, then returns home, expecting to be treated like a slave. Instead, his father throws a party to celebrate his homecoming.
Of course, the story is misnamed. We call it “The Prodigal Son,” but the real hero of the story is the father. That story is a beautiful picture of the reconciliation Paul wrote about in this letter to the Colossians.
To those men and women in Colossae, who knew they were sinners, who were facing a crisis of confidence, Paul seemed to be saying: Look at God, look at the Father; his arms are open, ready to embrace you.
