Colossians 1:21-23
Paul expands on that it means for Christ to make peace between us and God by his death on the cross: we were alienated from God and enemies of God but through the body of Christ we are now reconciled to God and seen as holy in his sight. The physical body of Christ is subtly emphasized again (in the previous passage it was the blood of Christ). I wonder if Paul is laying the ground work for a defense of Christ's humanity or physicality.
The fullness of the gospel message is contained in these few verses: we were alienated from God because of our actions and in full rebellion against God because of our nature but we have been completely reconciled to God by the death and resurrection of Christ so that not even an accusation can be brought against us that would condemn us in the eyes of God. The death and resurrection of Christ has fully satisfied the justice of God.
I believe that Paul recognized the grace of God in his life in ways that I have never and that this is what motivated him to be so fervent for the gospel. In some ways it was easier for him because he surrendered to Christ as an adult and so he saw how evil he really was before he met Christ (even though he thought he was fulfilling God's will). But coming to Christ as a child and being brought up in a Christian home and Christian culture is no excuse for me to fail to recognize how great the grace of God is. I know my heart and as much as I might try to say that I have never done anything "that bad" I know that my desires still tend towards evil and rebellion. If it was not for the restraining and protecting grace of God, I know that I would be in deep trouble.
One last thought from this passage: Paul says that the gospel has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. This is an interesting phrase and not one that I would usually associate with the gospel. I think it connects to the previous passage: through Christ God reconciling all things to himself. Humanity's rebellion against God did not just affect humanity's relationship with God but echoed through the spiritual world and had devestating effects on all of creation. The good news message of Jesus means that humans can be reconciled to God but also that all of creation will one day fulfill the ultimate purpose for which it was created and that is good news for creation as well as us.
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2 comments:
Some good points Jer. Yeah it can be tough to relate to the grace of God sometimes, but on the flip side I have messed up pretty good at times, so I am thankful for his grace. I am wondering though why we still feel contained. We have been set free by Christ and yet we still live like we are trapped by our sin. I think when we understand grace fully we will see the freedom we have, and we will forget about what we have done and live in the freedom of Christ, knowing that we are justified and nothing can hold us back, tough thing to live out.
I know what you mean about not experiencing the freedom of grace. The message of Christianity in essence is to love God with all you have and are and love your neighbour as yourself and then do whatever you want. Now that sounds dangerous (because we react to the do whatever you want and forget that what I want is filtered through loving God with all I am and have and loving my neighbour) and it is but that's the risk Christ was willing to take when he declared the end to religion.
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