Continuing through Colossians 1 here. I’ve been asking myself, is this the best use of my time?
Probably not, but I know that as I go through the Word, it isn’t a waste of time, at the very least.
So, again, thank You, Lord, for the reading of Your Word.
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
In Christ, all of the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. This means that our Father is fully present in Christ, and vice versa. With this in mind, it’s just natural to follow this up by saying that through Christ, the fullness of God was reconciled to all things. All creation, on heaven and on earth, has been made at peace with the Father, by the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed at the cross.
So with this in mind, Christ really meant to say ‘It is finished’ at the cross, versus where I assumed He should have said it, in confirmation: At the empty tomb.
Why was reconciliation finished at the cross? Because that’s where Christ’s blood was shed. Apparently, with the shedding of blood indeed comes the forgiveness of our sin, but we should also consider – with the shedding of His blood, the fullness of God was reconciled to all things, on earth or in heaven. This is further confirmed by the ‘reconciliation’ expressed at the temple in Jerusalem, where, as Christ was at the cross, the veil separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the world was torn from top to bottom.
Christ’s blood was shed. We have been forgiven of all sin. We who believe join in all creation, on earth and/or in heaven, which has been reconciled to the Father. God, now as our Father, now has unrestricted access to us, as we do to Him.
By the blood of Jesus, we have been brought to the presence of the Father, and all the fullness of God is pleased to dwell in us.
As it is written later on in this chapter… Christ is IN us, the Hope of Glory.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 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, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.Colossians 1:19-23
There is hope in the gospel that we proclaim, for we ourselves are directed by no less than the Holy Spirit, and convicted by Him – constantly reminded that once, we were sinners hostile to God, but now we are His sons and His daughters, presented before Him by Christ, who lay His body down that we would be His righteousness.
Did we get all that? It all just lines up with where Paul said that Christ became our sin that we would become His righteousness, and, yes, as we are brought into right standing with God, so we have been presented holy and blameless before our Father.
Long story short, by the blood of Christ, the fullness of God dwells in us.
By the body of Christ, we have been presented fully holy and blameless before Him.
That’s what was finished at the cross. That’s what needed to happen before our Savior committed His Spirit to the Father.
That’s why we praise Him, that’s why we sing,
that’s why we offer Him our everything!
That’s why we bow down and worship this King,
’cause He (was the first to give) us everything,
’cause He gave us everything!
Thank You so much, Lord!
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.Colossians 1:24-26
Here, the way I see it, Paul shifts and says that with all this in mind, ‘it is no surprise that I find myself suffering‘. Paul not only mentions that he anticipated it, but when the hardships came, he also rejoiced.
Are we masochists this way, as ministers? Not at all. The ministry that we received from the Lord, the call we answered to, was not without its perils and hardships, but the reward of all that we do is seen when the Word of God is made fully known to everyone within our reach.
In other words, it is our pleasure to unveil your eyes, that you would see what has been revealed to us:
27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Colossians 1:27-29
I didn’t think I’d finish the chapter here, and today, but well, here we are. We’ve come full circle, recognizing the sheer impact of Christ’s birth, death, resurrection and ascension, much so that we have been saved absolutely, and that for His obedience, Christ is given the Name that is above every other Name.
We’ve recognized that the glory of Christ is infinite and timeless, that He was glorious before, during, and after His finished work – and even much more so, after His obedience, after He lay His body and blood for all who would believe to be reconciled to the Father, along with all creation.
You give a minister enough time to elaborate on the sheer supremacy of Christ, and the everlasting love of the Father expressed through Christ’s finished work… and he does not find himself floating in the clouds, as if ignorant; No, on the other hand, the minister faces all of his sacrifices, all of his pain, all he has left behind, all he has squandered, calling all of it cause to rejoice… because it’s all worth it if more and more people would come to the knowledge of God’s saving grace, and if more and more people would come to see the mystery revealed in the fullness of time: That is, no less than Christ, the Hope of Glory.
In other parts of Scripture, to the Philippians, if I’m not mistaken, Paul tells them that NOW is the hour of salvation, he tells them to be reconciled to God. Here, we’re saying that it’s only in Christ that we have Hope, because as the fullness of God dwells in Him, so we shall be raised up in glory, in the fullness of time.
We say that in Christ all things are held together, and we say ‘amen’ to this… but we also say, in the fullness of time, all our suffering, all our toiling, all our pain shall be made worth it – because Christ will bring it all together.
All from and for the glory of His name, now and forever.
Indeed, for all this, we give glory and honor to the name of Jesus Christ. We find cause to rejoice always. We have reason to give thanks to the Lord.
Because of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are able to pray without ceasing, relying on the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf, and, when provoked, we speak the Word of the Lord with authority, ourselves.
And because of Jesus Christ, we are able to flow with the Spirit, not quenching Him; We are able to discern, abstaining from all evil, and holding fast to what is good.
Thank You, Father. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Holy Spirit.
Thank You for enlightenment and encouragement, from Your finished work.
Thank You, for the reading of Your Word. Amen.
86765/365000
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment