Colossians - part 1

INTRODUCTION

• Colossians is the book that can truly be described as the book for our age.
• It has as its main focus, Christ as the answer for all our problems.
• 95% of scientists that ever lived is alive today.
• With this, science is trying to work out if God is part of the creation or the Creator.
• Col 1:16 addresses that question clearly.
• We see a world system pushing for a one world religion , not just between Catholics and Protestants, but even for Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism to join hands.
• Colossians tells us there is one true church with Christ as its head.
• In an age of absolute lawlessness and rebellion to all authority, we see people bringing Jesus down as just another wise man, on level with Buddha and Muhammad.
• Colossians tells us who Jesus really is – the image of the invisible God, in whom the fullness of the Deity dwells.
• Paul wrote this book from Rome while he was in prison for the third time.
• Colossae was located in the roman province of Asia – modern day Turkey
• Colossae population consisted of Jews and Gentiles.
• The founder of the church at Colossae was Epaphras.
• 2:1 proves that the churches in this district has never seën Paul’s face.
• 4:1 tells us that Epaphras was a local, who was probably saved under the ministry of Paul during a visit.
• He was now so concerned about the false doctrines arising in the city that he traveled the 2100 km to visit Paul in prison.
• Colossians is then a preventative letter. a warning about what to look out for.
• The false doctrine contained elements of Judaism as well as paganism, but in totality it was attacking the sufficiency of Christ.
• Paul warns them to hold to the gospel truth.
• In Paul’s opening statement, v3-8, Paul suggests 7 aspects of the gospel.
       o It is received by faith
       o It results in love
       o It rests in hope
       o It reaches the world
       o It produces fruit
       o It is rooted in grace
       o It is preached by people

Col 1:1-2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, (2) To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
• This is the normal way in which Paul started all his letters, as we saw in Ephesians.
• Paul mentions Timotheus
• He was mentioned in most of Paul’s letters as a faithful brother who served him for many years.
• They met on Paul’s second missionary trip and he has been with him ever since.
• Paul was now in prison in Rome, yet Timotheus was still with him.
• Paul loved this man as a child of God and spoke highly of him. Phil 2:19-22

THE GOSPEL TRUTH IS RECEIVED BY FAITH

Col 1:3-4 We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, (4) Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, ,
• Why do Paul give thanks to God?
• For the faith which thy received from God
• He does not give them the credit for their faith, he gives God the credit
• We learned in Eph 2:8-9 that faith is a gift of God, not of works so that no man can boast
• Paul was not saying that he was always praying for them
• He was saying that when he was praying for them, he always gave thanks to God
• So what is faith
• The word used is pistis
• It means to be persuaded something is true and to trust in it
• It comes from the root word peitho which means to obey.
• So faith is to be persuaded that something is true, to trust in it and obey it.
• Faith is not the “take a leap in the dark” thing that are taught by churches today
• Faith gives assurance and certainty about unseen realities
• Saving faith contains repentance and obedience.
• The Greek word for repentance is metanoia and means change of purpose
• So in other words, change of purpose, you turning from bad to good.
• Repentance in the Bible includes three things
            o turning to God
            o turning away from sin
            o intent to be obedient
• Phil 1:6 – The faith which God gives is permanent.

THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH RESULTS IN LOVE

and of the love which ye have to all the saints
• True faith will result in a transformed life
• Part of that transformation is genuine love for the brethren.
• Joh. 13:34-35
• John gives a couple of scriptures stating this very point.
• Joh. 2:9-11, 3:10, 3:14-15, 4:20
• Our love for each other is a reflection of His love for us
• It is also obedience to His commandment we read in Joh. 13.
• True biblical love is so much more than just an emotion.
• We show biblical love when we sacrifice ourselves to give what someone else needs.
• It is sacrificial love
• We are saved by faith, we are saved to love

THE GOSPEL TRUTH RESTS IN HOPE

Col 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
• Faith, hope and love are the three non-negotiable Christian virtues of which love is the greatest
• 1 Cor 13:13
• Other scriptures also talk of these three – 1 Thes 1:3, 5:8
• This laid up is the word apokeimai, which means reserved or stored up
• Heb. 6:18-19 speaks of this hope, which is the chain holding us secured to God’s throne.
• God established this hope by making us His children and will fulfill this hope by making us to look like His Son – Joh. 3:1-2
• This hope makes us willing to sacrifice the present looking forward to the future.
• This is opposite to our nature, we want everything now
• But the Christian is willing to sacrifice present luxuries and wants for the glory which is to come.

THE GOSPEL TRUTH REACHES THE WORLD

Col 1:6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world;
• The gospel was not meant for Jews only, or for a certain part of the world only.
• It was meant for the whole world.
• The universality of the gospel is often talked about in the bible.
• Mat 24:14, Joh. 8:12, Rom 10:18, Rev 7:9-10
• The body of Christ is made up of people from all cultures over the whole world.

THE GOSPEL TRUTH PRODUCES FRUIT

and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it,
• The gospel is not just a set of moral standards
• it is a living, moving and growing reality.
• Heb. 4:12 – quick = zao = alive, to live
• The gospel causes growth individually and universally
• It causes internal transformation of individuals
• It causes external growth of the church
• Spiritual growth in individuals leads to new converts being added to the church.
• Acts 9:31 is an example of this
• 1 Thes 1:6,8 shows us that the believers were the reason the word went out

THE GOSPEL TRUTH IS ROOTED IN GRACE

and knew the grace of God in truth:
• Grace is the very heart of the gospel
• It is God giving us forgiveness of sin and eternal life without us deserving it
• We cannot obtain eternal life by works, which is opposite to all other religions
• When the first gentiles got saved, what did the apostles say
• Acts 11:18 – God granted, gave
• The phrase “in truth” carries the weight of genuineness.
• God is freely, God is sovereignly merciful and God is forgiving.
• We can do nothing to cause our own salvation
• God saves us freely by His grace and by His will

THE GOSPEL TRUTH IS REPORTED BY PEOPLE

Col 1:7-8 As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; (8) Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
• Although salvation is only by Grace
• God uses humans as channels of that grace
• In Acts 1:8 Jesus said that we are to be His witnesses in the power of the Holy Spirit
• 1 Cor 1:21 speaks of those who believed after hearing the message preached
• Rom 10:14 is probably the verse that speaks about this clearer than any other verse.
• As stated in the intro, Epaphras brought the gospel to the people of Colossae
• Paul often speaks of himself as a bondservant of God – doulos
• Here he calls Epaphras the same word, but as his fellow bondservant.
• This shows that Paul connects Epaphras’ ministry with his own, which gave it a lot of credibility.
• Epaphras was Paul’s representative in Colossae backed by the authority of Christ and of Paul as an apostle.
• Epaphras kept Paul up to date about the love of the Colossians, and that probably brought great joy to his heart

APPLICATION

• God gives us the wonderful privilege and sobering responsibility of being His agents in proclaiming the gospel of His grace
• We should be faithful in sharing it with others
• Not just sharing it, but sharing it in love, in truth and with grace
• Do not be ashamed of the gospel.
Next week – Col 1:9-14

Collosians - part 2

• Last week we looked at the introduction, Paul’s greeting, he also shared the fundamentals of the gospel with them and mentioned that when he prays for them, He always thanks God for their faith.

• Well, in that light we will be looking at a prayer for them from Paul tonight.
• We do not have to be close to someone to help them with their spiritual wellbeing.
• We can even secure blessings from God for them without speaking to them.
• The powerful means we have is prayer.
• Paul knew that the prayers of others are important for his ministery
• He mentions it a few times.
• 2 Cor 1:11, Phil 1:19, Philem 22
• It is then no surprise to find the new testament teaching us to pray for one another in numerous scriptures.
• Eph 6:18, 1 Tim 2:1, Heb. 13:18
• In fact, all through the Bible we have examples of Godly people praying for each other.
           o Job prayed for his friends (Job 42:10)
           o Moses prayed for Aaron (Deut. 9:20) and for Miriam (Num. 12:13)
           o Samuel prayed for Israel (1 Sam 7:5&9)
           o David prayed for Solomon (1 Chron 29:18-19)
           o Hezekiah prayed for Judah (2 Kings 19:14-19)
           o Isaiah prayed for the people of God (Isa 63:15-64:12)
           o Daniel prayed for Israel (Dan 9:3-19)
           o Jesus prayed for His disciples (John 17:9-24)
           o The Jerusalem church prayed for Peter’s release (Acts 12:5)
           o Paul prayed for Christians (Rom 1:9-10, Eph 1:16-19)
           o Epaphras prayed for the Colossians (Col 4:12)
           o Other people praying (2 Sam 24:17, Ezek 9:8, Neh. 1:4-11)
• Because prayer is so important Paul starts this letter with a prayer.
• His prayer has two distinctive parts, petition (v 9-11) and praise (v 12-14)

THE PETITION

• Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
• For this cause – Paul is referring to the good report he got from Epaphras
• Most of our prayers are normally filled with supplications for those who are struggling in some way
• For some reason we tend to forget to pray for those with whom it is going well.
• These are exactly the ones we should be praying for the most.
• Satan is likely to attack those who are closer to the Lord more, because they can be used by God more effectively.
• Every time Paul heard good things about a church he was moved to pray for them
• To pray for people we have to be aware of their needs
• Our love for God will cause us to pray continuously, and our love for people will give us reason to pray

might be filled with the knowledge of His will
• Greek word for filled is plēroō - it means to be completely filled or controlled by.
• Paul prayed for them to be controlled by knowledge
• The normal Greek word for knowledge is gnosis, but Paul adds epi which makes it a thorough and deep kind of knowledge.
• Knowledge is the central theme in Paul’s writings.
• He mentions it in all his letters
• Moral values in our society are all based on human opinions, there are no more absolutes
• For the Christian, the Word offers absolutes
• Knowledge of doctrinal absolutes is the foundation for Christian living.
• Most of Paul’s letters start with doctrinal knowledge and then goes to practical living
           o Romans 1-11 = doctrinal, 12 – 16 = practical
           o Galatians 1-4 = doctrinal, 5-6 = practical
           o Ephesians 1-3 = doctrinal, 4-6 = practical
• Philippians and Colossians are also split up like this.
• We have to work at being knowledgeable people, read and study scripture
• The Word warns us against a lack of knowledge
• Prov. 19:2, Isa 5:13, Hos. 4:6, Eph 4:13-14
• How do we get this knowledge.
• We have to desire this knowledge Hos. 6:3
• We must rely on the Holy Spirit
• It is through Him that we know the things God reveal to us 1 Cor 2:10-12
• We must study the word, it is the Word that makes us adequately equipped for every good work 2 Tim 3:16-17
• Paul prays here for the filling of the knowledge of His will
• God’s will is no secret, except to those who do not study the word.
• Examples
             o It is God’s desire that a person. be saved – 1 Tim 2:4, 2 Pet 3:9
             o After that person is saved it is God’s will that they be filled with the Spirit- Eph 5:17-18
             o After that, sanctification is the will of God – 1 Thes 4:3
             o Suffering may be God’s will for us – 1 Pet 4:19
             o Giving thank is God’s will – 1 Thes 5:17
• You can only know God’s will if you study God’s word
• Having knowledge of God’s word will control our minds, which is the foundation for self-control
• Knowledge of God’s word will lead to all wisdom and spiritual understanding,
• Good bible study will result in knowledge of God’s will
• Knowledge will result into understanding general things about Godly behavior
• With that understanding will come wisdom into how to apply this behavior to situations

THE RESULTS

Col 1:10-11 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; (11) Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
• Here Paul lists 5 purposes that are fulfilled by such spiritual knowledge.

A WORTHY WALK

That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing
• A mind controlled by wisdom, understanding and knowledge of the Word produces a walk worthy of the Lord
• It seems impossible to do, but scripture demands it
• 1 Thes 2:12, Eph 4:1, Phil 1:27
• God does not just leave it to ourselves to try and do this
• Gal 2:20
• Christ dwells in us in the form of the Holy Spirit who enables us
• Paul prayed for the Ephesians – Eph 3:16-17
• What is a worthy walk?
           o Walk in humility Eph 4:1-3
           o Walk in purity Rom 13:13
           o Walk in contentedness 1 Cor 7:17
           o Walk by faith 2 Cor 5:7
           o Walk in good works Eph 2:10
           o Walk different from the world Eph 4:17-32
           o Walk in love Eph 5:2
           o Walk in light Eph 5:8
           o Walk in wisdom Eph 5:15
           o Walk in truth 3 John 3-4
• Those are just a few of the “walks” found in scripture – study the Word and you will find the rest

A FRUITFUL LIFE

being fruitful in every good work
• Fruitfulness is another result of knowledge
• Fruit is the by-product of righteousness and the mark of every true Christian
• John 15:8, Rom 7:4
• We have to abide in Christ to be able to bear fruit – John 15:4-5
• Fruit comes from wisdom, knowledge – James 3:17
• 2 Pet 1:5-8 states that we have to work hard and continuously to bear fruit

GROWTH

and increasing in the knowledge of God
• This is a third result of knowledge – growth
• Knowledge of the word causes growth 1 Pet 2:2
• Spiritual growth causes a deeper love for God’s word
• Spiritual growth causes greater obedience 1 John 2:3-5
• Spiritual growth cuases larger faith – 2 Thes 1:3
• Spiritual growth causes genuine love to grow – Phil 1:9

STRENGTH

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power
• The word dunamoumenoi indicated a continuous strengthening.
• It is from God, it is limitless, and performed by the Holy Spirit in us and through us
• Acts 1:8 Eph 3:16, Rom 15:13
• This power is available to the Christian who is filled with the knowledge of God’s word

ENDURANCE

unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
• Knowledge leads to endurance
• Knowing the promises in the Word gives the Christian the strength to endure all trials and tribulations
• Not enduring with pain and frowning faces, but joyfully.
• Paul knew that if he prayed for them for knowledge, they would live lives full of fruit and worthy of the Lord.
• This first part was Paul’s petition, now we move to the thanksgiving

Col 1:12-14 giving thanks to the Father, who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. (13) For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.
• We have to give thanks
• Phil 4:6, 1 Tim 2:1, Col 4:2
• We so easily pray give give give, but we forget to thank
• God so often answer our prayers that we start expecting it
• Rom 1:21 says that the unbeliever does not give thanks
• Before Jesus handed out the bread and fish he gave thanks – John 6:11
• Before raising Lazarus from the dead he gave thanks – John 11:41
• Rev 7:11 tells us that the angels give thanks

PAUL GAVE THANKS FOR THE INHERITANCE

giving thanks to the Father, who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light
• Father – this is proof that we were adopted into the family of God
• Therefore we are partakers of the inheritance
• that “meet to be” means God has qualified us, empowered us to receive it.
• It was not our doing
• We have looked at this inheritance before
• It includes eternal life, quality of life (Gal 2:20) the earth (Mat 5:5) all the promises of God(Heb. 6:12)
• When do we get this inheritance – we have it already ( Rom8:16-17)
• Who does it belong to – saints in light – only those who have been saved

PAUL GAVE THANKS FOR DELIVERANCE

For He has delivered us from the power of darkness
• Delivered is the Greek word ruomai and means to be rescued or drawn to oneself
• God drew us to Himself when He rescued us from satan’s darkness
• Jesus crushed this power of darkness on the cross
• Christians do not have to be scared of it because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world

PAUL GAVE THANKS FOR TRANFERENCE

and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.
• Translated means to be removed from the darkness and placed into the light
• Redemption means to be freed by a ransom that was paid
• Through Christ’s death, God forgave our sins, gave us an inheritance, delivered us from the power of darkness, and cleaned us from our sin, which allows us into heaven.
• This should cause us to give thanks continually when we speak to God
• Let us change the way we pray, let us make a bigger issue of thanksgiving
• Let us clear a space in our diaries to start studying the word, let there be no distractions
• Let us pray for others, especially those with whom it is going well spiritually.

Colossians - part 3

• Last week we saw that prayer is important.

• That prayer should always consist out of two parts, petition and thanksgiving
• We also saw that we should always pray for each other
• We should pray for knowledge, wisdom, understanding, fruit, endurance, growth and strength.
• These are all Godly things to pray for each other.
• This week we look at v 15-19, which deals with the pre-eminence of Christ, the excellence of Christ
• Now, we all know that the whole Bible is in fact a book that speaks about Jesus
• The old testament, every part of it basically points to His coming and the work He would do.
• The gospels speak of Him as He became flesh and lived among us
• Acts talks about how His message went out and He started forming His bride
• The epistles teach the Theology of His teachings, His life, His work and His making Himself known through His body, the church.
• And then we find Revelations, speaking about Him as King of kings and Lord of lords, on His throne, forever
• Luk 24:27, Joh. 5:39
• But no scripture compares to the one we are looking at tonight

Col 1:15-19 who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation. (16) For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. (18) And He is the Head of the body, the church, who is the Beginning, the First-born from the dead, that He may be pre-eminent in all things. (19) For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell.
• As we saw in the introduction, the heresies that were coming out in the town was attacking the person. of Christ
• They put Christ on the same level as other lesser spiritual beings that came from God – basically same as angels
• They thought it was stupid to think that God himself could become a man.
• According to their belief, Christ could not bring salvation either
• Salvation needed secret, higher knowledge, worshipping of angels and keeping of the Jewish ceremonial laws.
• In the first 3 chapters of this book, Paul confronts the heresies head on
• In Col 2:9 he tells them that the full deity of God dwells in Christ
• In Col 2:18 he rejects their worship of angels
• He also speaks against their ceremonialism in 2:16-17
• In 2:3 he tells them that only in Christ is the knowledge, their is no higher knowledge.
• For Paul the most serious of these was the attack on Christ’s deity
• He starts by defending this
• He shows this by relating Christ to 4 things, God, The universe, the unseen world and the church

Jesus Christ in relation to God

who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation.
• To defend the fact that Christ is not some lesser spiritual being Paul says He is the image of God
• The Greek word used here is eikōn which means image or statue
• This is the same word used to describe how man was created
• The difference is this.
         o Man is not holy but sinful
         o We do not possess his attributes like omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience or immutability
         o We are human, He is divine
• What is the same
         o We have a rational personality – intellect, emotion and will – we think, feel and choose
• There was an original image of God in man, which was destroyed with the fall of man
• Before the fall man was innocent, free of sin and incapable of dying.
• Those who put their faith in Christ are promised that they will be restored to that original image
• Rom 8:29, 2 Cor 3:18
• We will become sinless again when we enter the final stage of our eternal life
• Jesus, unlike man, is the perfect, absolutely accurate image of God.
• He did not become this image after being born again but has been it from all eternity
• Heb. 1:3 says He is the shining splendor of His glory
• Phil 2:6 says that He is in the very vorm of God – so Jesus could say what He said in John 14:9
• In Christ, the invisible God became visible.
• By using eikōn to describe Christ Paul was saying that He was the representation and manifestation of God.
• He was the full, final and complete revelation of God
• He is God in human flesh
• He claimed this in John 8:58, John 10:30-33
• Scripture also claims that the man Jesus was fully God – Rom 9:5, Tit. 2:13
• To think anything less of Christ is blasphemy
• Secondly Paul describes Him as the first born of all creation
• This Greek word prōtotokos is sometimes used for someone who is born first, but mostly, and in this text it is used to show rank or position
• In Jewish and Greek culture, it is this first born that got the inheritance.
• This does not mean the oldest son.
• Esau was born first, but Jacob was called the first-born.
• Jesus is the heir of all things – Heb. 1:2
• These people were saying that first born means that Jesus was a created being, but he was a superior being
• The Jehovah’s witnesses still argue this point with this very verse today.
• But everywhere where this word, is used with regards to Jesus it points to His superiority above all other beings
• The very next verse Paul says that He created everything that exists, how can He then be created?

Jesus Christ in relation to the universe

For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. (17) And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.
• We just looked at Jesus as God, as Paul is showing the supremacy of Christ
• Now Paul proves His supremacy by looking at the universe.
• Firstly, Paul says that Jesus is the creator therefore more supreme than the creation.
• These guys who started the heresies believed that a good creator could not be evil, or create evil.
• Because Jesus was in flesh, and the flesh is evil by nature, He cannot be God
• Paul rejects this blasphemy by saying by Him all things were created.
• In heaven, on earth, under the earth, visible or invisible.
• Secondly Paul says, Jesus is more supreme, because He was first
• Before Him there was nothing.
• All things were created through Him
• The third reason that Paul gives for His supremacy is that in Him all things hold together
• He did not just create everything, He is holding it all together
• He is sustaining the whole universe
• Keeping everything perfectly balanced so that we can live
• He is gravity, He holds every star in its place,
• In a oxygen nucleus there are 8 positively charged protons and 8 neutral neutrons,
• Positive repels positive, but negative and positive attract.
• Scientists are amazed that everything that exists exist, because according to the law of physics, these protons in every single atom should repel each other
• Yet, some strange, undiscovered force is holding them all together
• Everything around us is a potential nuclear bomb
• 2 Pet 3:10 talks about how God is going to destroy the earth one day, and He might use this power to do it.
• If every atom does what the law says it is supposed to do, this world will explode in one big bang
• I am so glad that Christ upholds everything by the power of His word Heb. 1:3

Jesus in relation to the unseen world

whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers
• As these guys were saying Jesus was like one of the angels, this scripture argues that teaching
• Thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities here speak of the ranks of angels and fallen angels
• This is confirmed by the writer of Hebrews who makes a clear distinction between Christ and angels Heb. 1:7-8
• Eph 1:20-21 states that Jesus was seated FAR ABOVE all these powers and principalities
• That is why every knee will bow, every includes not just humans but angelic being as well
• Angels, according to scripture worship Him
• His authority over these beings also proves He is God.

Jesus in relation to the church

And He is the Head of the body, the church, who is the Beginning, the First-born from the dead, that He may be pre-eminent in all things.
• Here Paul shows four great truths about Jesus’ relation to the church
• 1. Christ is the head of the church
• The church is often spoke of as the family, a kingdom, a vineyard, a flock
• But the nicest metaphor is that of a body of which Christ is the head
• Not the head as in the boss of a company, but as the head of a living organism
• He gives it direction, He controls it, He sustains it’s life
• Christ is not some angelic being serving the church Heb. 1:14 – He is the head
• 2. Christ is the source of the church
• Source here is translated from the Greek word archē which means beginning
• We were chosen in Him from the foundation of the world – Eph1:4
• And He gives it life
• 3. Christ is the first-born from the dead
• Of all those who has been raised from spiritual death and ever will be, Christ is the head
• He holds a supreme position over them all
• 4. Christ is the pre-eminent one
• Because of His death and resurrection, He has first place in everything
• Phil 2:8-11
• Paul sums up his argument in verse 19

For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell.
• Contrary to the teachings that were raising its head, that the fullness of God is divided into small packages
• which was divided between the angelic beings, of which Jesus was one
• Paul is saying NO!!, the fullness of God dwelled in Jesus, not just a part of it
• Paul is telling these people that they do not need angels to help them get saved
• They are complete in Christ
• We as Christians share in His fullness John 1:16

Application

Know that the fullness of God dwells in Christ
Know that the fullness of Christ dwells in you
If you can grasp that, you will live a life more devoted, in reverence and fear, in obedience, holiness, bearing much fruit and in love, humility and repentance.

Collossians part 4

• Last week we looked at the supremacy of Christ.

• We looked at His supremacy in relation to God, the universe, the unseen world and the church.
• We said that the fullness of God dwells in Christ and that the fullness of Christ dwells in us.
• Tonight we look at the fact that we are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
• The new testament uses 5 key words to describe the riches of salvation
• Reconciliation is one of them together with justification, redemption, forgiveness and adoption
• In justification we stand guilty before God, but God declares us righteous. Rom 8:33
• In redemption we stand as slaves, but is granted freedom – Rom 6:18-22
• In forgiveness we stand before God as debtors, but the debt is paid for us and forgiven – Eph 1:7
• In adoption we stand before God as strangers, but is made sons – Eph 1:5
• In reconciliation we stand before God as enemies, but becomes His friends – 2 Cor 5:18-20
• We will have to do a full study on each of these words if we want to understand salvation, but in our text tonight, Paul takes a look at reconciliation.
• The word in Greek katallassō means “to change or exchange”
• It is used in three other places
• In 1 Cor 7:11 it is used where the woman is reconciled to her husband
• In Rom 5:10 and 2 Cor 5:18-20 it is used where man is reconciled to God.
• Here in Col 1:20&21 Paul uses a stronger form of the verb
• The word Paul uses is apokatallassō which means “thoroughly, utterly, completely and totally reconciled.”
• Remember, the false doctrine that was arising in Colossea was that Christ was not God, just a spiritual being sent by God.
• Now the results of that false teaching was that Jesus alone cannot reconcile us with God, we need other things as well.
• That is why Paul uses this strong form of the word, to say, Jesus and Jesus alone is all we need for the reconciliation.

THE PLAN OF RECONCILIATION

Col 1:20 And through Him having made peace through the blood of His cross, it pleased the Father to reconcile all things to Himself through Him, whether the things on earth or the things in Heaven.
• The bible never speaks of God needing to be reconciled to man, but man being reconciled to God
• Rom 8:7 says that the carnal mind is at enmity with God.
• Because of this, we need to be reconciled.
• When sin entered the world, man became estranged from God, enemies of God
• But sin did not just affect man, it affected the whole creation
           o Certain angels sinned, and the Bible does not teach that they will ever be reconciled – Jude 6
           o Animals were affected, they also suffer sickness death and pain – Rom 8:19-22
           o The ground was cursed – Gen. 3:17 – thorns, weeds and thistles
           o The stars are under the curs – Job 25:5
• God had a plan of reconciliation
• We must understand, God was not caught by surprise when man sinned.
• It was part of God’s plan.
• See, false teachers today teach that when Adam sinned, God had to make a new plan.
• God then came up with the plan of sending Jesus to make it all right again.
• But actually, God planned the cross before He planned anything else.
• The whole gospel is about Jesus’ work on the cross.
• That is the centre of the gospel
• Creation, the fall of man, everything as we know it, was made to make that initial plan work.
• Sin did not surprise God, it is going according to God’s plan
• Remember – as I always say – doctrines in the Bible is like train tracks
• They run next to each other and we might not understand how they can work together
• but scripture teaches both
• God’s responsibility and man’s responsibility in each doctrine
• Same in this case
• Adam sinned and got punished for it, we are still being punished for it
• But Adam could not, not sin, because it was part of God’s plan.
• Do not ask me how God can hold us responsible for something we did which was according to His plan
• We might understand it one day when we receive our heavenly bodies.
• Rom 9:18-21
• Well, as I mentioned, God had a plan and it included reconciliation
• One of the main reasons why Jesus died on the cross was to make this reconciliation possible.
• Reconciliation for people as well as the rest of creation
• Now there are false teachings going around today which uses this verse to prove their doctrine
• They say that all things means that even unregenerate men, fallen angels and the devil will be reconciled to God.
• This cannot be true because scripture clearly teaches that unsaved men will go to hell
• Phil 2:10 – this verse is also used to prove this false teaching
• What we see-in Phil is not reconciliation but subjugation
• Subjugation is –“ to conquer by force and compel to submit to the government or absolute control of another.” – Webster’s Dictionary
• Reconciled means that we were made right with Him, that we are now His friends, that we now worship Him as Lord.
• Subjugate means to be forced to acknowledge that He is God, not worshipping, just acknowledging.
• The Bible says the demons believe and they shudder. They are not reconciled
• Math 25:41 & 46
• How can we even try to think that all things will be reconciled, when it is so clear
• It is true that the relationship of fallen angels and unredeemed men will change towards God.
• According to the meaning of the word they will be reconciled, but in a different way
• Reconciled as we saw meant a changed relationship
• These people and angels will experience a changed relationship
• They will change from that of enemies to that of judged, as they will submit to His judgment on that great day when He returns

Col 1:21 And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
• Now Paul, speaking in general brings it a bit closer to home, making it more personal
• He speaks about the reconciliation of Christians like the Colossians
• The fact that they were reconciled should be enough evidence that Christ is sufficient to reconcile.
• He reminds them of how they used to be before they were changed, or their relationship was changed
• He does the same to the Ephesians – Eph 2:12-13
• All humans are the same, we are separated from God until we are reconciled through Christ
• Then we become separated to God

THE MEANS OF RECONCILIATION

Col 1:21-22 ... yet now He has reconciled (22) in the body of His flesh through death,
• In verse 20 Paul starts to explain how this reconciliation happened
• Through the blood on the cross
• The blood of Christ speaks about the atonement, not about the physical blood of Christ
• It is a metaphor
• If it was physical blood how would we explain John 6:53-54, Math 27:24-25
• We have to agree that talking about the blood is symbolism.
• We do not drink His physical blood when we have communion
• Heb. 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness
• This shedding of blood is not just talking about bleeding, but about a violent death
• the kind of violent death Jesus died on the cross
• The critical element in salvation is the sacrificial death of Jesus for our sin – Rom 5:9-10
• In this verse “by His blood” and “by the death of Hi son” is the same thing and both is described as the means of reconciling us to God.
• If Jesus bled on the cross but did not die, it would not have served the purpose it was supposed to serve
• He had to die and thus shedding of blood speaks of that death
• So it is not His blood, but His death that saves us
• Christ did not just die as a sacrifice, but also as a substitute
• He has reconciled you in His fleshly body through death
• Rom 8:3 tells us that God sent His Son to condemn sin in the flesh while he was in the likeness of sinful flesh
• He was our substitute and died a death that paid the full price, satisfying God’s wrath
• Contrary to the false teaching of that day, Christ was sufficient to pay the full price for sin

THE AIM OF RECONCILIATION

to present you holy and without blemish, and without charge in His sight,
• The ultimate aim of reconciliation for God is to present His elect before Himself as holy and pure
• 2 Cor 11:2, Jude 24,

HOLY

• The word hagios means to be separated from sin and set apart to God
• As a result of our relationship with Christ, God sees us as holy as His Son
• Eph 1:4 says that we should be holy and blameless before Him
• That should is not a request, it is a fact. He will finish the good work He started in us
• We see the same thing in 2 Cor 5:21

BLAMELESS

• amomos means “without blemish
• In the OT it was used to speak of the sacrificial lamb
• In NT it speaks about Christ
• Heb. 9:14, 1 Pet 1:19
• Through the reconciliation we are given a blameless character

BEYOND REPROACH

• anegkletos does not just means blameless, it takes it a bit further
• It means no one will be able to bring a charge or accusation against us Rom 8:33
• Reconciliation makes us holy, blameless and without charge or accusation before God
• He sees us now already as we would be in heaven one day
• We are already clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
• Spiritual growth is just us becoming in practice what we are in reality before God
• 2 Cor 3:18

THE EVIDENCE OF RECONCILIATION

Col 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard and which was proclaimed in all the creation under Heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister,
• It is a sad fact that not all who profess to be Christian will one day enter into heaven Mat 7:22-23
• One of the greatest marks of someone who is truly reconciled is if he continues in the faith, grounded and steadfast
• The bible speaks about this in numerous places
• Luk 8:13, Joh. 8:31, 1 Joh. 2:19
• And what were they to continue in?
• In the gospel as Paul preached it, the gospel that they heard
• Those who were spreading the false doctrine was accursed according to Gal 1:8-9
• Let us end of by quickly looking at 2 Cor 5:17-21
• 5 truths found in here about reconciliation
         o It transforms men – “v17 – new creatures”
         o It satisfies God’s wrath – V21 “to be sin on our behalf”
         o It comes through Christ – v18 “reconciled us unto Himself through Christ”
         o Available to all who believe – v19 “in Christ reconciling the world”
         o We been given a ministry of proclaiming the message of reconciliation – v18-19 “ given us the ministry of reconciliation” & “committed us to the word of reconciliation”

Aplication

Verse 20 – we need the same attitude as Paul – we need to beg people to accept the reconciliation that was made possible for them through the work of Jesus on the cross. Before it is to late