Colossians 1:20

Colossians chapter 1, reading verses 18 to 20, our focus on verse 20. And he, speaking of Christ, is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of his cross by him, to reconcile all things unto himself by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. May God bless to us His sacred and holy word this morning. You recall that Absalom committed a grievous offense against his father when he killed his brother, Amnon, who had raped Absalom’s sister. And so he took revenge and he killed Amnon, his stepbrother. This was a capital crime, and David as the king was obligated to put him to death. However, you recall that Absalom fled the country, and he was gone for three years. But we find that David mourned for his son every day, and he longed to go forth onto him. But the honor of his throne prohibited him from doing this. Well, Joe Ab, the army commander, decided he was going to resolve the issue. And he had a wise woman appear, actually a crafty woman in this case, to plead that Absalom’s crime might be forgiven. And she said to the king, this, that God doth to advise means whereby by his banished, be not expelled from him. You know, God has means by which to restore people. However, you recall that the reconciliation between David and Absalom really never took effect. David said, you can come back, but you can’t see my face. Go to your house. And Absalon, for his part, hated his father and raised a rebellion against him and tried to to destroy him. It is true that God has a devised means whereby there can be reconciliation between himself and the sinner. Not a partial reconciliation or a famed one, as we have in the case of David and Absalom. Otherwise, you would never see God’s face. You would never be able to be in his presence and be kept at a distance from him. Paul has been speaking about Christ, in particular Christ as the head of the church. And here in this text, he speaks about Christ as the reconciler of all things. I want to approach today’s study by looking at this text with a series of questions. What is? reconciliation. We have the word reconcile here in our text, and we have the word having made peace in our text. Hodge, the the theologian, defines reconciliation in this manner. To reconcile is to affect peace and union between parties previously at variance. What we’re dealing with here is a healing of a breach between two persons. There’s a state of hostility between these individuals and alienation, and that is changed to peace and friendship. Wrongs are righted. The cause for disagreement is removed. And there is a restoration of the relationship. relationship between the two parts. Now, a good human example of this, you recall that when Herod was mocking, he and his men of war were mocking Christ, and arraying him in a gorgeous robe, and they sent him back to Pilate. And the scripture says, in the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before they were at enmity between themselves. And their mocking of Christ, they became friends. At first they were enemies. That was a reconciliation that took place. Now, our text implies very clearly that there is a breach between God and man. It indicates to us there is an existing hostility between the two, and not peace. Man has grievously offended the Most High God. Man has cast off allegiance to God, and revolted against him, and despised his authority. Man has trampled upon God’s law, rejected his commandments, defiantly breaking them. Thus, man, as Scripture says, is alienated from the life of life of God. of God. And that man is at enmity with God. The scripture says your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you. Isaiah 59, 2. Isaiah 6310 says, they rebelled and vexed His Holy Spirit. Therefore, he was turned to be their enemy. Sinful human beings are classified in Scripture in the book of Ephesians, chapter 2 as children of wrath. They are under God’s divine judgment. Let me make this observation as we look at this. Beware of being fooled by much modern preaching in regard to God and man and their relationship. The modern pulpit doesn’t want to speak about the vital need for reconciliation between God and man. How little do people realize the immeasurable gulf that exists between God and the sinner? What we hear today is we’re all God’s children and God’s not angry with you at all. All man devised religions gloss over the fact the fact that the scripture says that God hates all workers. of iniquity. So, Psalm 5.5. There’s a great cover-up by most religions. They wish to conceal the fact that the Lord is far from the wicked, as the scripture says in Proverbs 1529. There’s an unbending insistence. Well, that God loves everyone. He’s favorably disposed towards you, even though you are a sinner. How often have we heard? Well, loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. He wants to be your friend. If only you’ll let him. And so we see that people come to church and they go through the motions of worship and you’re told, well, this is pleasing and acceptable to God as if all worship is acceptable to God. It’s if everything is just fine between you and God without reconciliation. My friends, it is not so. The Bible, indicates that Jesus Christ came for the very purpose of bringing reconciliation, of making peace. You know, the wicked talk about peace, peace, when there is no peace. Well, here’s an indication. If you look at the book of Isaiah chapter 1 and verses 10 through 16 with me this morning, you’ll see what God says about some of the worship that takes place. You know, people think that they. you know, well, I’m going to church. Everything’s fine between God and myself. I want you to see what God says here in this passage of Scripture about some of the worship that takes place. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom, give ear under the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. By the way, he’s not really literally speaking here to the people of Sodom Gimorah. He’s speaking to his own nation here, to the Israel. to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me said the Lord I am full of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beast and I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he goats verse 12 in chapter one when ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hand to tread my courts bring no more vain oblations incense is an abomination unto me. The new moons and the Sabbaths, the calling of the assemblies, I cannot away with it is iniquity. Even the solemn eating, he says. Your new moons and your appointed feast, my soul hateeth. They are a trouble unto me. I’m weary to bear them. And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yea, when you make your many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. What is he saying here? He’s saying, you’re not right with me. You’re coming to some kind of worship. You’re going through the motions of worship, but your heart isn’t right with me. And here we have the indication. They need to be reconciled to God. Worship in and of itself is not God. to benefit you if you’re not right with God. No one seems to understand this aspect. Proverbs 158 says, The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination under the Lord. So the word reconciled teaches you that you are an enemy. There’s no peace that exists between you and God prior to salvation. So what is reconciliation? It is bringing about a peace or a union between two parties that are at variance with one another. And here is the case with it is with God and man. The second question I will raise for you this morning is this. Why is there a reconciliation? How does it come about? For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell and having made peace through the blood of the cross by him to reconcile all to himself. When man fell in Adam, he became completely alienated from God. He could, and God could have left man in this miserable state. He could have just let him go on in this state. He could have treated man as he did the fallen angels and left them estranged from God. There’s no plan of reconciliation for the fallen angels. Fallen angels and men are in no condition, of course. They bring about reconciliation themselves. They have no ability to affect it. However, it pleased the father to do so. And here we see that he is the one that has brought about a reconciliation. It was according to his goodwill and purpose from all eternity to lay up all fullness in Christ for his chosen people and to reconcile to himself these people by Christ. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, the scripture says in 2. Corinthians 519. God and His eternal counsel purpose to provide a way of reconciliation. And therefore, he is the author, the originator, the provider of reconciliation. Now, this observation I’ll make, you should realize that salvation is entirely of the Lord. It pleased the Father. He could have left man in the state that he was in, and man, being in that state, would not have come to the Lord. There’s none that seek the Lord. It’s not, reconciliation is not some result between some negotiated peace between God and man, as if they each got down at the conference table. If reconciliation were left up the man, he would be hiding from God like Adam did from the very beginning. He would not seek to restore the fellowship. Man left to himself has no desire to make things right with God, and he would be happy to stay at a distance from God. You know, a stone that rolls downhill can’t reverse course by its own effort. it’s natural it will roll as far as it can go. My friends, that’s the way man is. Departing from God, it’s just, it’s natural for him to go as far as he can. So why is there a reconciliation? It pleased the Father. Salvation is because of God and God alone. Who provides the reconciliation? The scripture says here in our text, by him, and twice it says by him. emphasizes here that’s by Christ that this reconciliation takes place. Who is the hymn? Well, the apostle has called him the image of God, the firstborn of every creature, the head of the church, the one endued with all fullness of grace. Jesus Christ, the incarnate son of God. That is who he is speaking about here. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven whereby we must be saved. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, according to 2 Corinthians 519. God’s purpose didn’t lay idle, but in God’s plan, he used wisdom devise a means by which fallen sinners could be reconciled to him. This involved the incarnation of Christ. This involved Christ becoming the God man. This plan included the full satisfaction of God’s justice. Reconciliation would require a mediator that was duly qualified to represent God and to represent man. A mediator is a mediator. mediator, not of one, Galatians 320 indicates to us. So the mediator has to represent both parties. And there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man. The man Christ Jesus, Scripture says. For this purpose, the Son of God became incarnate. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory, the glory is of the only begotten of the Father. Who could be better suited? There is none like Christ. There is no one who can match him. He could perfectly represent both parties. He had an interest in both. He had a divine and human nature. He had the power to deal with both. He was the son of God and he is the head of the church. And therefore, Christ alone is qualified to provide a reconciliation. No one else could do so. many people recognize Jesus’ humanity. They accept them as a man, maybe even a godly man, a teacher, so forth. He lived many years ago. But I want you to see that reconciliation requires you to accept him as the God man. You have to accept his deity. Reconciliation is impossible without him being the God man. Many are like the young woman, who was engaged to Mozart before he rose to fame. Impressed by more handsome men, she decided to desert him and chase after someone, you know, tall, dark, and handsome. And so she gave up on him. And when the world began to praise Mozart for his outstanding musical accomplishments, she regretted her decision. She said this, I knew nothing of his greatness of his genius. I only saw him as a little man. Let’s not short change. Jesus Christ. Let’s not just see him as some little person in the past, maybe a godly person. No, it is the Godman that we’re talking about here. Fully accept his deity. Now notice here, and I’ll make this observation, it is a serious error to seek reconciliation by any other person, whether it be Mary, whether it be the angels, there is no one else that can bring about reconciliation. You know, the Roman Catholic Church has taught that Mary is a co-redeemer and co-mediator, sort of an equal of Christ in some way, but neither Mary nor any saint can bring about reconciliation between God and man. Why pray to Mary when Jesus Christ is clearly designated as the mediator, the one mediator between God and man? man. Mary herself confessed that God was her savior in the book of Luke chapter 1 and verse 47. How can one who needs a savior end up being the savior of others? How could Mary as a mere human being alone, fallen at that, represent God in reconciliation? Unless we see the danger here of trying to find someone else to be a means, media. We’re going to talk about the worship of angels sometime here when we get through Colossians. Angels couldn’t do it either. They’re neither God nor man, so how could they possibly represent either side? They couldn’t. So you see how Paul emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the only reconciled. Twice, he says, by him. Let’s not forget what he’s saying here. This is the only one that can provide reconciliation. My fourth point is this. How is reconciliation accomplished? The Bible says it’s accomplished here through the blood of his cross. Through the blood of his cross. As man, Jesus Christ had blood to shed. And he could die. So that he could make reconciliation for sin sin in the nature which had sinned. As a man, he did. As God, Jesus Christ, could draw near to the Father, could agree with the Father about the terms of peace and about the performance of those terms. We have said this many times. God cannot show mercy and cannot forgive sin at the expense of his justice and his holiness. The law demands death as a penalty for sin. There’s no question about it. But Christ, Christ could represent sinners. Christ could die in the place of sinners as a substitute for sinners and thereby bear the punishment of the broken law for those sinners. Thus, making peace by the blood of his cross. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. The scripture says. My friends, it’s going to take this drastic measure to make peace between God and man. Let us realize this very clearly. It took the death of Christ to make this peace. The death of Christ on the cross displays important lessons for man. It tells us one about the love of God that he would give his only begotten son to die. What an unspeakable gift. What a statement about God’s love for his people. those he had chosen in Christ, those of whom Christ was the head, that Christ would die for the church, laid on his life for the church. My friends, it ought to move you to love God for he first loved you and showed it and demonstrated it in the sending of his son. It teaches you to avoid and abhor sin. Sin sin. Sin must be a awful terrible, that it took the blood of the Son of God and the sacrifice of the cross to have you forgiven of it. The outpouring of Christ’s blood required the remission of sin is a horrifying event. We talked about this last Sunday night. My friend, the wrath of God born by Christ ought to make you realize that God is a holy God. He will severely punish sin in hell. And you can’t take sin lightly for God certainly doesn’t. It also teaches you that no kind of death for righteousness’s sake is to be dreaded. Christ left us an example. Did he not? For he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross in serving his father. To obey God, Jesus was willing to suffer and undergo the most shameful death imaginable, let God’s people be willing to follow in Christ’s steps, if necessary. necessary in order to honor God. John Huss, the courageous pastor of Prague, was known as the morning star of the Reformation. He was arrested, he was condemned, and he was sent sentenced to be burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church. And the Roman Catholic bishops had a paper crown made, painted with devils on it, and what they placed it on his head as he was going out to the stake to be burned. And Huss declared this. He said, my Lord Jesus Christ for my sake, wore a crown of thorns. Why should I not wear for his sake, this light crown, be it ever so disgraceful or shameful? The bishops said, now we commit thy soul to the devil, but Huss replied, but I commit my soul and do you. your hands, O Lord Jesus Christ. Let me make this observation. While the world ridicules Christians for having a bloody religion, God demands the blood of the cross. The story is told of one who passing through a village in Basuto land in South Africa noticed that all the little chickens had these red ribbons tied between their wings on their backs. And when the people were asked about this oddity, they said they protect the chickens from the many vicious hawks that will swoop down and get them. Evidently, they don’t like red ribbons. And so they won’t snatch the chickens if they put the red ribbons on. They said neither blue nor green, nor any other color would work. Only red would work. And so they put the red ribbons on the chickens. My friends, it’s the precious blood of Christ alone attached to us that protects us from God’s wrath falling upon us. Nothing else will do. Don’t despise the blood of Christ’s sacrifice. It’s guaranteed protection against divine punishment poured out upon sinners. Fifthly, who is affected by this reconciliation? He was going to reconcile all things unto himself, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. All things in this verse has been variously interpreted. All things in Scripture can be given a broad meaning, meaning all things in the universe. This would include all creatures and all the things that are animate and inanimate, rational and irrational, which have been cursed for the sin of man. So the passage is often applied to the final rest of of all things. If you would look with me at Romans chapter 8, verses 19 to 21. Romans 8, 19 to 21. For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who have subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption under the glory liberty of the children of God. So all creation is groaning and travailing at the moment waiting for the time when all sin is removed and all corruption is removed. And certainly there’s some truth to this that we could see from this passage of scripture before us. But I think if we look at it carefully, the subject, I think, is a bit narrower here. We’re talking about reconciliation by the blood of Christ. It’s not merely a union of subjection of all things to the same Lord. This reconciliation results in deliverance from sin and its misery. Peace with God. Right standing before a holy God. Look at verses 20 through 22 of our text in Colossians 1. He talks about this reconciliation. In verse 21, he says, and you, that were sometimes alienated in enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet hath he reconcept. And the body of his flesh through death present you wholly and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight. And he’s saying, I mean, you are included. He’s talking about here the church. He is the reconcaller of the church, in particular, in this section of scripture. Reconciliation seems to be a term only used in scripture with regard to human beings. Those who are brought to salvation. God was in Christ reconciling the world. If you look at that word carefully, you’ll see he’s talking about the Gentiles under himself, not imputing their trespasses under them. So that this reconciliation has to do with not imputing trespasses to people. Now obviously the holy angels don’t need reconciliation. They’ve never felt. They don’t have, they’re not at variance with God. Satan and the evil angels certainly are not at peace with God. They’re going to be punished for their sins for all eternity, and so they are not at reconciled here. The immediate context, though, speaking of Christ as the head of the church in verse 18, indicates to us that he seems to be thinking in terms of all those who are members of Christ’s body, who were alienated from God by their sin, by the fallen Adam, but now reconciled by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so all of God’s elect people are meant, the whole family of God, those in heaven, and those on earth. That this seems to be correct, I think, is from verses 21 and 22. But I’ll make this observation. Christ’s death assures reconciliation with God. Our text isn’t hypothetical. The text doesn’t come along and tell us what Christ accomplished on behalf of those for whom he died was to make it possible that they might be reconciled. That’s not what the text says. Paul doesn’t speak here about sort of opening doors or creating possibilities. God purposed by Christ to reconcile all things to himself. For the Lord of hosts have purposed and who shall disannul it, and if he’s purposed to do it, it will be done. Christ made peace between God and the sinner through the blood of his cross. The hostilities are ended for some people for those whom Christ died must without fail be reconciled to God and not have their sins imputed to them. Their trespasses held against them. There are a lot of people think that particular redemption or limited atonement is a terrible thing. How could you talk about Christ only dying for the elect? Here’s why we believe that Christ only died for the elect because Christ’s death saves. If you don’t have Christ’s death saving and bringing about a reconciliation if you want to have to die for everyone, then he just death doesn’t actually save. That’s the problem with those who would widen it. And so this certain persuasion of reconciliation being accomplished is what gives us encouragement when we come to the throne of grace that God is not hostile toward us. Yes, we have sin. Yes, we have failed. We struggle with sin in this life. But God is still the God who tells us we can come with boldness. to the throne of grace and find grace to help in the time of need. Because Christ has brought about a reconciliation. You’re God’s friend. You come as his child. God doesn’t cast off his people because Christ’s reconciliation assures this. Well, let me close this morning. As David was reminded, God doth devise means whereby his banished be not expelled from him. you as a believer have been reconciled to God God by his free grace. It’s an accomplished fact. May this age your troubled conscience. As you wrestle with sin in this life, there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8 1. Let us be assured of that. Let us find confidence in that.