Christ is enough (Colossians 1:1-2:5)

Introduction

Illustration

The book of Colossians was written to address the growing concern of the changing gospel message faced by the believers in Colossae. He knew they faced the pressure to add certain requirements to thier understanding of salvation. (Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” )

Faith in Christ (Colossians 1:1-13) - In Christ

Colossians 1:1–3 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,”

Right off the bat, Paul makes it clear where he stands. Shooting his opening message to his buddy Timothy, he introduces himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (verse 1).

He's Team Christ, not Team Caesar, appointed by the big guy upstairs as one of His apostles, with the job of laying the groundwork for God’s new kingdom crew. But if that sounds a bit too formal, he quickly closes the gap by highlighting what he, Timothy, and the Colossians share.

He shoots a shoutout to them as “God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ” (verse 2), just like how Timothy is “our brother” (verse 1). And these aren’t just fancy words—they’re the ties that bind them, and all of us, across time, space, and cultures.

Now, there’s a common misunderstanding about being called “holy.” It’s not a judgment on how high you’ve climbed on some holiness ladder. Contrary to a common misunderstanding, being described as “holy” is not a moral judgment—it is not a matter of how high one has reached on some sort of righteousness ladder.

It is not a matter of how high one has reached on some sort of righteousness ladder. After all, Paul had never met these Christians, so how could he possibly make such an assessment? Instead, his point is that their holiness is a statement of fact: a declaration of what God has done in and for these believers. Their holiness and faithfulness to Christ are the direct results of their being “in Christ” (a central theme of Colossians). This is what binds them all together, and is the foundation of everything, Paul will write.

Colossians 1:4–5 “since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,”

Having personal confidence and trust in Christ is the key deal for any Christian, right from the get-go and for the whole journey (Colossians 1:4 talks about hearing of "your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints"). But Paul wasn't just doing a happy dance because they gained some new believers. He knew this was a big deal—it wasn't just a walk in the park, especially in a time when Christianity was like the new kid on the block in that region. See, the Colossians weren't just saying yes to Jesus; they were giving a big ol' thumbs down to all the other gods and fancy ideas floating around. But hold up, this wasn't just some fancy intellectual hype about a cool new concept or religious trend. There's more to it.

(v5) He speaks of the good things to come. This is with a view to their temptations, that they should not seek their rest here. For lest any should say, “And where is the good of their love toward the saints, if they themselves are in affliction?” he says, “We rejoice that ye are securing for yourselves a noble reception in heaven.” “Because of the hope,” he saith, “which is laid up.” He shows its secureness. “Whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth.” Here the expression is as if he would chide them, as having changed from it when they had long held it.

The word “hope” in the Bible means “expectation” or “anticipation,” never a doubtful thing. It is something for which the believer hopes because it has not yet happened; but it is as certain as if it had since this hope is firmly rooted in God’s biblical promises. It is the hope of eternal life with God Himself. It is the hope that one day we shall be entirely free from sin and all its misery. The believer’s hope, then, is the basis for his faith in God’s promises for this life. If God will provide all that in eternity, surely He will provide for the small needs of this life. If the greater, then surely the lesser.

The anticipation of the eternal inheritance is, naturally, an essential part of the good news. The message is not merely that one’s sins may be forgiven, but also that one may spend eternity with Jesus Christ, clothed not only in His imputed righteousness, but also in a perfect righteousness that is imparted as well.

What one looks forward to with hope is important to how he lives here. If he longs for righteousness, not merely for its personal blessings, but because it pleases his Lord, that will influence his goals and desires today.

The reason believers can endure through hardship is that Christian hope is emphatically not wishful thinking. They are not idly holding out for a kind of spiritual lottery jackpot. Their hope does not depend on luck. Instead, hope’s core is a promise—which is why Paul equates hope with the message he and countless others like Epaphras proclaim. “The hope … you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you” (v 5–6). God’s promises in Christ are what make this news good: that is because they are all about that grace we have already touched on. The Colossian Christians understood it (v 6) and knew it to be true. That is why they hoped for it.

So even though Paul has never met them, these believers from Colossae are very dear to him. Their conversion fills him with God-filled joy. Their lives exhibit precisely the qualities we should always expect in new believers:

■ faith in Christ

■ love for all God’s people

■ hope for heaven

Colossians 1:9–13 “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”

Paul recounts broadly his prayers for the Colossians in response to their faith, which he has just described.

He speaks of a continual habit of prayer, with particular attention to the filling with knowledge he desires for the new believers.

This knowledge is rooted in God’s will and produces both wisdom and understanding. He sees these as integral to the Colossians’ walk in the Lord, which is described in the following verse.

1. From knowledge of God to worthiness for God

It may seem bizarre and hard to imagine, but some Christians claim to find theology dull and irrelevant. Yet, how can delving into the depths of who God is and what God does ever be boring?

Paul’s first focus is on God’s plan for us.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.” (v 9)

This is not a one-off prayer but something he is committed to praying “continually”. Remember, these are young believers who have started well in their faith.

The need to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will is constant. But what does that mean exactly?

Is this primarily a matter of guidance, so that we discover what God wants from us on a day to day basis? That is certainly how this verse is sometimes taken. Of course, it is vital, and right, to lean on God for his direction in big life decisions—like those about work, marriage, future service and so on. Yet Paul’s weighty prayer here points to something different but even greater.

It is perhaps now easier to understand why this prayer must be continual. There is always room for improvement when it comes to being like our heavenly Father. So, we could say that to know God’s will is effectively to know God’s character.

To understand what God wants we need to know what God is like. To know what God is like we need to spend time with him, listening to what he says. This marks the difference between theology as a dry, cerebral pursuit (the sole object of which is clever and complicated statements) and theology as a living, breathing way of life. It is all about our relationship with God. No wonder this is an important prayer. It is one prayer that God longs to answer.

The key word here is “wisdom”.

Our contemporary world seems to have forgotten wisdom’s value. If people talk about it at all, they usually confuse it with knowledge.

Memorising swathes of theology serves little purpose if it stays as head knowledge. The grandest purpose of theological knowledge must be to pursue godly wisdom. What is the best way to gain wisdom? Surely, it is to spend time with wise people! And there is no one wiser than our God. So Paul’s continual prayer in Colossians 1:9 is for God, by his Spirit, to give us both knowledge and the wisdom and understanding to know what to do with it.

Paul does not pray for the Colossians to have a quick fix, but for God to do a lifelong work. Paul is in the discipleship business. What does he hope will result?

“… so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” (v 10)

A life worthy of the God who has called us to be his. Notice how unrestricted he is here. It is the whole of life that is to be worthy; it is to please God in every way—to produce every good work.

There is a kind of virtuous circle at work here. Paul prays for the knowledge of God’s will that brings godly wisdom—which itself leads to a worthy and pleasing life. But then, the more we live like that, the more we will actually get to know God better! We prove him right and so we trust him more.

2. With God’s power for patient perseverance

After reflecting on his victory at Waterloo in 1815, the Duke of Wellington remarked magnanimously, “Our men were not braver than the enemy. They were merely brave five minutes longer.” He was a realist. True warriors know how tough battles get.

Paul wants every Christian to endure to the end. It means keeping going in faith, love and hope until the thing we hope for has been attained. Notice that these paragraphs (v 3–13) constantly have that end point in view. But that is an intimidating thought—especially if the battle with temptation or opposition rages fiercely. How do we keep on bearing the fruit of good works then? Look how he continues:

“… being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.” (v 11)

We are never abandoned to fight this battle alone. Just as the Spirit fills us with wisdom and understanding, so he enables the very perseverance he calls us to. In fact, the most powerful evidence for his invisible work must surely be the fact that believers still believe despite their horrendous circumstances. Like the Romanian Richard Wurmbrand, who endured 11 years of solitary confinement in a communist prison; or my East African friend with an aristocratic Muslim background, who lives under threat of death from his family for his bold proclamation of the Christian faith; or the teenager who endures the malicious jeers of school friends for her faith but keeps coming to the church youth group.

It doesn’t matter what the battle is—if we are in the middle of it, it is still tough. We feel alone. The future seems bleak. The pressure looks set only to increase. But this is precisely the moment to turn to the Lord (even if that is the last thing we feel like doing). It is all the more important to pray these things for others.

So perhaps, as Paul did for the Colossians, you could learn about a minority Christian community in another part of the world and commit to pray for their growth in wisdom and perseverance. It makes no difference that you are never likely to meet them. That never stopped Paul from rolling up his sleeves in prayer for churches. There are many agencies and organisations that offer this kind of information, so ignorance of what is going on out there is really no excuse.

Paul knew that the Colossians had made the first steps of faith and so he prayed for them to carry on through to the end. He didn’t seek converts but disciples, and their perseverance was the surest sign of the Spirit’s work.

3. In joyful gratitude for kingdom glory

If this prayer has so far made the Christian life seem like drudgery, then the next verses put us straight. Perseverance might be hard, but it pales in comparison with what we already have in Christ and what we can look forward to in Christ. This is why Paul bursts with gratitude to the Father for the news from Colossae (v 12).

Then suddenly, Paul’s gratitude for the Colossian believers seems to launch his imagination into the stratosphere. This is because he does not regard them only as citizens of a far-flung provincial Roman town. Nor does he think they have made a supposedly peculiar lifestyle choice about what god or gods to believe or reject. Still less does he think they have been deluded or conned. He is convinced that an event with cosmic reverberations has taken place. There has been a revolution in their lives, bringing a transformation as total as the difference between night and day. Why? Because God “has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light” (v 12).

Qualifications are a modern obsession. It is perfectly understandable when the jobs market is so competitive, of course, especially in a globalised world. In a dog-eat-dog culture, the only way to get ahead is to prove that I am superior to all rivals. So, an obvious route to self-promotion (apart from the traditional methods of birth into a well-connected family or collecting contacts) is to accumulate letters after your name. I know one friend who, after her law degree, qualified as a lawyer; she then decided to train as an accountant, passing with flying colours; and now, as if that wasn’t enough, she is doing a theology degree in her spare time. Useful for defending a Christian who ends up in court for tithing on their tax return perhaps! What is clear, though, is that each set of letters after her name represents months and months of long and lonely study. She is truly qualified!

So what qualifications can Paul have in mind for sharing in God’s “kingdom of light”? He says that this inheritance comes to “holy people”. Does that mean we need to obtain a certain level of holiness? And if so, how holy must we be? Is it a bit like the Olympic high jump, where we need to get into training and reach a basic minimum to get into the games? Or is it more a matter of studying for theology exams?

That is certainly what many imagine Christianity to be: a religion for good people, and for which the “bad” need not apply. “I’m not good enough for church,” someone may think or say when we invite them to join us on Sunday.

There are so many things wrong with this view that it is hard to know where to begin. First, it never originated with Jesus himself. He spent most of his time with the “sinners and tax collectors” (as they were labelled in his day) whereas it was the religious, “churchy” types who orchestrated his execution. The second problem is how to measure goodness. How good is good enough? Most of us pitch ourselves somewhere roughly between Stalin and Mother Theresa, and hope for the best. But, supposing the holiness pass mark is 50%, what happens if I only get 49% holy? That’s still quite a lot of holiness—just not quite enough. And anyway, since when was anything less than perfection appropriate for God?

The remarkable, even miraculous, truth of the Christian gospel is that this kind of discussion is entirely unnecessary and futile. Look again at verse 12 and notice why gratitude can be the only appropriate response.

This qualification is granted—never earned. The Father does the qualifying. He gives us the status of holy people (ESV: “saints”) in the first place. Which is just as well, because since we are all trapped within the dominion of darkness, we ourselves have no means of escape to the kingdom of light. It is impossible.

As he says in verses 13–14, “he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”. He has not only made the impossible possible; he has made it available even to us today. How else could we, who cannot make ourselves holy, get qualified? Even if I decide to turn over a new leaf today, I still have my years of sin and rebellion behind me to deal with, and no one can change the past. But God in Christ offers forgiveness for all that—which means that nobody ever has to be a slave of their history.

This marks nothing less than a transfer of cosmic citizenship. In the spiritual realms of the universe, there are no human empires—there is one ultimate battle between darkness and light. But the ruler of the dominion of darkness is much more subtle than human powers because he prefers to skulk around in the shadows, without its subjects even being aware of his existence. But the dark dominion certainly makes its presence felt as soon as God’s kingdom surfaces. The last thing it wants is for people to flee to and seek asylum in the light. The only hope is for rescue to be achieved and won on our behalf. That is precisely what the Lord Jesus has done. His victory has repercussions that thread through the whole of what Paul writes in Colossians and Philemon.

We must read on to learn more about how he has done this and what it means for us. But for now, Paul is clear. This calls for overwhelmed gratitude to God. What Christ did for us in his first coming, ultimately at the cross and resurrection, gives us full confidence that we will be loved, accepted and welcomed when he returns at his second coming.

Preemince of Christ (Colossians 1:15-23) - By Christ

Colossians & Philemon for You (1. Know Jesus of Nazareth, Know God the Father)

1. Know Jesus of Nazareth, know God the Father

God is invisible. But paradoxically, the Son is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), meaning that he makes the invisible visible. If you wanted to know what I am like, you could start by typing my name into Google and looking at my photograph—at my image. So it is with God. If you want to know what God is like, you need to look at his Son—because he is God’s true image. Or in the words of Hebrews, he is “the exact representation of his being” (Hebrews 1:3). Like a great portrait, Jesus offers a true likeness of the Father.

It is a bit like visiting a great medieval cathedral famous for its magnificent vaulted ceiling. It is covered in intricate stonework as well as the emblems of important benefactors and stonemasons. Stare at it too long and you will get a cricked neck. Consequently, scores of visitors leave without the slightest sense of the glories above. Tourist-savvy institutions therefore provide slanted mirrors on trolleys, so that visitors can move around for as long as they want and look down in order to see what is up above. Jesus is like one of those slanted mirrors—we look at him and can see what is far beyond our range of sight.

But of course, this illustration only works up to a point. He is far more than a mere picture of God. He actually is God. He is not simply God’s representative on earth (as the ambassador of a foreign country is a representative of his home state). He is God on earth. So the next time someone asks you if you have ever seen God, the answer is simple. “No, of course not. But I would have done if I’d lived in Judea 2000 years ago!”

Some are troubled by Paul’s next words, since they appear to contradict what he has just said. Jesus is “the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Some, including Jehovah’s Witnesses (following the ancient heresy of Arianism) take this to mean that Jesus of Nazareth was a creature like you and me—a human being but no more. He is special, we are told, because of his unique authority as “firstborn over all creation”. But he is merely first among equals. He is certainly not divine.

There are at least two reasons why this cannot be Paul’s point: the significance of the word “firstborn”, and the subsequent verses.

“Firstborn” had a specific connotation in Paul’s day. It described the rights associated with being the main inheritor of a family’s wealth. In the majority of cases, that person was the firstborn son, but there could be exceptions. The main point of this word picture is the fact that this individual inherits, rather than who his biological father is. So Paul is saying that Jesus of Nazareth is the inheritor of all creation by right.

Why is that?

2. Know Jesus of Nazareth, know the Creator of everything

The simple answer is that he made it all. “For in him all things were created,” Paul writes (v 16). It is a staggering claim. Yet it stands to reason. If a great artist paints a masterpiece, he or she has full ownership rights over it, right up until the moment it is sold to a collector or given to a friend. Well, Jesus has never done that with his masterpiece. He never would. He made everything. So he owns everything.

And by “everything”, Paul really does mean everything:

“things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” (v 16)

This therefore includes the microscopic and cosmic; the physical and spiritual; the biological and geological; even the human and demonic. The entire Roman Empire, from the North Sea to the Black Sea, was under his sway as its Creator. The satanic realm of deception and evil is under his sway as its Creator. The entire cosmos of stars and constellations is under his sway as its Creator.

Of course, that provokes the question of how on earth that could be consistent with his integrity and goodness, but that will have to wait until later in Colossians.

For now, one thing is abundantly clear. Kuyper was spot on: it is all his because he made it all.

I hope there are aspects of our world that still astound you. Perhaps it is breathtaking scenes in nature documentaries such as the vast animal stampedes across Africa’s savannahs; or the wonder of birds that can migrate thousands of miles to precisely the same nesting spot; or the intricate but always unique beauty of a snowflake. Or perhaps it is simply the freshness of a sunny spring morning. It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is that all that is beautiful and inspiring about the world is that way because Jesus made it like that.

3. Know Jesus of Nazareth, know the Sustainer of everything

As if that wasn’t enough to boggle the mind, then Paul’s next point surely will stretch it to breaking point. Jesus, this astonishing man, who walked throughout ancient Judea, who got his feet muddy in the River Jordan, and who enjoyed a wedding feast with friends and family, existed before it all began (v 17).

This explains that pin-drop moment when Jesus yet again found himself in a tangle with religious leaders. Abraham was, of course, Israel’s founding father. Every Jewish person could trace descent from him. So, when questions arose about the origins of Jesus’ authority, it is not hard to see how inflammatory his responses were. He claimed to know Abraham personally, and that Abraham “rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day …” (John 8:56). To top it all …

“ ‘Very truly I tell you,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”

(John 8:58–59)

This wasn’t simply arrogance, still less a poor grasp of grammatical tenses. It was blasphemy. But only if it was a falsehood. Jesus was asserting his existence before creation, and thus his divinity. Even the way he phrased it—“I am”—alludes to God’s revealed name, Yahweh (meaning “I am who I am”). That is why these leaders felt entirely justified in preparing to stone him. Jesus was outrageous.

Last but not least, according to Paul, Jesus keeps the universe going. Gravity may well exert the most extraordinary forces on everything from insects to planets, yet Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, is the one on whom it depends second by second. As Paul says, “In him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17) This is not simply an idea to explain the aspects of our universe that science cannot explain. God works through those that we can explain too! Instead, the Bible writers’ conviction was that God’s creative power is not only seen in some ancient one-off event but is ongoing. God is actively involved in sustaining his creation moment by moment. Without him, everything would revert to the nothingness and chaos that existed before God got to work in Genesis 1. Jesus is at work all around us at every single moment.

PART TWO

Christ the universal: irreconcilable, reconciled

It should now be obvious why Jesus stamps everything with the word “Mine!” He made it all. Yet this truth only serves to ratchet up a problem: if it is all his, why doesn’t he do something about everything that has gone so badly wrong?

Looking back over the past century, then, it is hard to hold back the tears and rage. And that is before we have even started on the likes of Ceauşescu, Mao, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mobutu, Pinochet, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi. And yet, Jesus Christ is Lord of all …

What do we do with this?

Of course, Paul had no illusions about the Roman Empire: a regime that could be just as ruthless and cruel as more modern examples. He was its prisoner! There were benefits to citizenship, to be sure, and he made full use of them to serve God’s kingdom. But even in his day, the regime showed little love for Christ and no respect for Christ’s authority. This never stopped Paul from asserting that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. He had few doubts about that, in large part because of what he goes on to write. Human powers may well continue to commit atrocities and injustices, but Christ is all too aware of what is going on.

Jesus the rescuer: firstborn over the new creation

We now get to the heart of why the cosmic Creator would ever desire to become a creature. It is an act that gives us a glimpse into God’s breathtaking genius. For by becoming human, Jesus simultaneously showed both how seriously he takes the devastation we have wrought in his world and how much he values us, his creatures. But the evidence for both of these vitally important truths comes from a very surprising place: the church.

Ask the person in the street what they make of “the church” today, and their answers will be many and varied. But few, if any, would come even close to suggesting that it is proof of divine genius. The more positive might dwell on the church’s psychological and social benefits for its members, and even its positive impact on surrounding communities. On the other hand, pointing to declining numbers and media scandals, some might focus on the dangers of organised religion. It’s no different from any other flawed human institution, and so deserves to wither into irrelevance, they might say.

If you were asked about your own church, it is unlikely that you would leave God’s purpose out of the picture as completely as these contemporary perspectives do. But would you see it as evidence of God’s genius? See what Paul has to say.

A parallel authority

Just as Jesus made the cosmos, so Jesus made the church. The words and structure of Colossians 1:18–20 deliberately echo those of verses 15–17. The implication, therefore, is that the church is the starting point for God’s new creation. Its very existence assures us that everything will be remade, restored, renewed.

■ Jesus’ authority over creation is echoed by his authority over the new creation: “he is the head of the body, the church” (v 18).

■ Jesus’ right to inherit his creation is echoed by his rights over the new creation: “He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead”.

■ The totality of Jesus’ rule over creation is echoed by his rule over the new creation: “… that in everything he might have the supremacy”.

But this still does not actually explain why it was necessary for Jesus to become human. The first clue lies in the phrase “firstborn from among the dead”. Bizarre though it sounds, Jesus “inherits” all those who have survived death, precisely because he is the first person to have conquered death. He proves that there is life beyond this life. But the fact that death exists at all reveals the reality of something having gone very badly wrong in God’s creation. That was never God’s design. The world today is not how God first created it to be.

A divine presence

Paul then picks up on his previous statement in verse 15 about Jesus’ nature as God’s image. He now explains how it was possible for him to reveal God’s true nature. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” he writes (v 19). It’s a strange way of putting it perhaps—the idea is that God has taken up permanent residence in Jesus. But there are no half-measures here. It is yet another of Paul’s “universals”. This time, his subject is not the scope of Jesus’ authority but the basis of his identity. Of course, these words should never be dislocated from their context to suggest that there was ever a point at which God’s fullness did not dwell in the Son. That would be absurd in the context of everything else Paul teaches here. His point is surely that God was simply delighted for his fullness to be expressed in his Son as a human being. He had no reservations about that whatsoever.

This is breathtaking. It is impossible to find the words that capture it adequately. But I love these concise words of the seventeenth-century preacher-poet John Donne that somehow nail it:

Twas much, that man was made like God before,

But that God should be like man much more.

A victorious sacrifice

Bleeding was a serious matter in the ancient world. Even the slightest cut could be lethal because of the possibility of infection. We take our antibiotics, antiseptics and sterile operations entirely for granted, confident that most ailments can be fixed with a pill or a swab. But that simply wasn’t the case even just a few generations back. The sight of blood was a serious matter. This is why Leviticus insisted that “the life of every creature is its blood” (Leviticus 17:14), because when blood oozes out of a wound rather than pumping around the body, death is not far off.

But in Old Testament times, the sight of blood often represented something worse: a violent death. Jesus’ death was supremely violent. It came in response to the sentence of a kangaroo court, after extreme verbal and physical abuse, and involved the most barbaric form of torturous execution. Paul alludes to all of that in his phrase “his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20). It comes as a shock, then, to discover that not only was this central to God’s plan in the Son becoming human, but also that this brutal end might actually achieve something.

For blood had an even greater significance. In the temple system, the blood from a sacrificial offering symbolised God’s gift of a substitute: one death in the place of another to provide freedom from judgment. When an animal’s blood was smeared on Israelite doorframes in Egypt, this was a sign to God that there had been a death in that household (see Exodus 12:21–23). The family had taken God’s warning of his imminent judgment seriously. They had taken him at his word and so they performed the sacrifice and painted the blood (despite that being a very peculiar thing to do in itself).

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (Exodus 12:12–13)

One death in place of another: God’s template for dealing with the threat we face from his justice.

One thing we can be clear on, however. Jesus Christ, Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, is not to blame. He has nothing to repent of, nothing to confess. It is we who have rejected him. That cosmic sin needs to be named and shamed—he cannot simply overlook it as if it were irrelevant. The havoc we have wreaked in the world is bad enough. But the personal affront to the One on whom we depend for our very breath is the worst of it. Justice demands a facing up to truth and the imposition of the right penalty. If we reject our Creator, we deserve our Creator’s rejection.

It seems like a dead end. There is nothing we can do about our problem.

But this is where the miracle of the gospel begins to gleam in all its glory. Jesus takes the initiative, to do for us what we could never do for ourselves.

Summary: Jesus is unique

■ Jesus is uniquely qualified to reconcile us: Because Jesus is fully God, he therefore has the power to take the initiative to bring us back to himself. He alone has the authority to show mercy to rebels against him and forgive. Even more significantly, because he is fully human, he knows what it is really like to be us. He has come down to our level and can relate to every aspect of life on earth. That is crucial, because in any reconciliation negotiations, it is vital for those involved to understand the perspectives of all sides. The one who is fully God and fully man is able then to bring both sides together.

■ Jesus uniquely sacrificed himself to reconcile us to God. Because Jesus shed his blood on the cross, nothing remains to add. He has died the death that my sin deserved. To take the words of Paul in Colossians 1:12, it is Christ’s cross that has “qualified us” for the kingdom of light. This is what brought our “redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (v 14). This explains Christ’s great victory cry in death: “It is finished” (John 19:30). At last, it becomes possible for rebel creatures to return to where we belong—in dependent relationship with our Creator.

If we have any doubts that the cross really was enough, Paul dispels them immediately. Calvary has truly cosmic scope. The cross is the means by which God can “reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20). This is universal reconciliation—a new creation which overturns all that has gone wrong in the first creation. Would that the world would recognise it!

The extraordinary thing is that the evidence of God’s work of new creation is the existence of the church. This does not simply mean the Church with a capital “C” that is, the body of believers drawn from every nation and generation. God’s evidence includes the church that meets down the street where you live; and the local congregation that you are perhaps part of; and the fellowship nearby that gets up to some slightly whacky activities that you don’t fully understand or accept; plus the tiny group of brothers and sisters forced to meet in secret because of an oppressive government regime; not to mention the church that seems staid and formal, and is opposed to any music written after 1700. All of these are expressions of God’s people living out their faith. As such, all are evidence that God is bringing about a new creation.

What God is doing in the church is the focus of the rest of what Paul wants to say in this letter. But for now, we can summarise the wonders of these verses like this. There is a clear parallel between the first creation and the new creation. In both we see Christ at work and reigning supreme. He is the one for whom both “creations” exist—which is why he inherits both as the firstborn. Without Christ, there would be no cosmos and no church. Neither would have been created, neither would be sustainable. He is the universal Lord of all.

Sufficiency of Christ (Colossians 1:24-28;2:1-5 ) - For Christ

Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon: Commentary (Chapter 1)

Paul’s message was not merely the gospel, but, in addition, the fact that God had admitted Gentiles into the Church in exactly the same way as Jews, namely, on the basis of faith. There were obscure hints of this possibility in the Old Testament. Now that Paul had been commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles he fought for the complete equality of believing Gentiles and Jews (See Galatians 1–4). Through him, largely, this truth was being made known to his generation as it had not been in ages past (v. 26).

God wanted His people (the “saints”) to know about the riches of the eternal glory of heaven in the Kingdom of light. What was the secret, now disclosed? That Christ is among the Gentiles (probably the correct translation, rather than “in you” [gentiles]) as He is among believing Jews. They, too, could anticipate and eagerly look forward to this heavenly glory.

Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament Paul’s Ministry and the Sufficiency of Christ (1:24–2:23)

PAUL’S MINISTRY AND THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST (1:24–2:23)

Now that Paul has introduced his Letter to the Colossians, he is able to delve into the crucial theology he is seeking to emphasize. From 1:24–2:23, Paul concentrates his attention on providing a theological discourse that will establish the foundation for his practical instructions in the remaining chapters. Paul tends to establish theological concepts before launching into ethical teaching. The section has two major parts. The first in 1:24–2:5 is more personal, focused on his ministry work and his relationship with the Colossian church. The second in 2:6–23 is theological, emphasizing the importance of faithful living and warning against any teachings that diminish the importance of the finished work of Christ.

Paul’s Motivation and Service (1:24–2:5)

Paul provides personal testimony regarding his own motivation and mission in regard to the gospel. His reference in 1:23 to his role as minister likely motivated the personal statement here. He uses his own life as an example to follow, but he also uses his testimony as an opportunity to explain important theological truths related to the work of Christ.

Sacrificial Service for Christ (1:24–29)

Paul is detailing his role in relation to Jesus’ work in salvation. He doesn’t emphasize any natural attributes that make him worthy of his role, as he did when discussing Jesus (1:15–20). Instead, he places himself under Christ and explains his work as being in response to the full knowledge of Jesus’ preeminence.

1:24 This verse introduces Paul’s excurses into his own role in relation to the church. He connects his own life with the previously described work of Christ (1:15–23) by continuing the reconciliatory process. This isn’t a repeating of Jesus’ work but a natural continuation whereby the message of Christ is conveyed to the world. In this verse, Paul begins a discussion of the church.

1:25 Paul now describes his role in relation to the gospel as a minister of the church. He states that this task has been given to him by God for the benefit of the church. As a minister, he has been given the task of preaching the word of God to the world. This concept leads to his explanation of the content of his message in 1:26–29.

1:26 Paul now begins his explanation of the content and purpose of the message he mentioned in 1:25. He states that these words of God are the hope of old and weren’t fully understood until Christ. Believers are chosen recipients of this revealed message. This sets the stage for his further explanation of the content, which is centered in the person of Jesus, as is seen in 1:27 and 2:2.

1:27 This verse continues the language of “mystery” from 1:26 but now relates it to the gentiles. They are recipients of the revealed message because God willed it as such. Paul then explains what this mystery is: “Christ in you.”

1:28 Having introduced the primary content of the word of God (1:25) that he is preaching as Christ (1:26), Paul now describes his method and goals. He states that his goal is to produce complete followers of Jesus, and in order to do this he proclaims Christ via two means: (1) admonishing and (2) teaching. Paul is not selective about for whom this correction and instruction is meant; rather, he says, he is providing the message to all people.

1:29 Paul wraps up his general description of his preaching by describing how he is able to accomplish his ministry. He states that he labors in this endeavor through Christ’s power. This is in congruence with 1:17, where Paul has already stated that it is Christ who holds all things together. The entire book of Colossians is meant to elevate Christ, and Paul’s acknowledgment that his ministry is though Christ’s power fits into this central theme.

The Mature Christian (2:1–5)

Paul reveals more of the content of his message and what he strives to achieve. The descriptions he provides more fully express what he means by idea of completion mentioned in 1:28. This section explains what he is striving to accomplish in his “admonishing” and “teaching.” He describes his goals in 2:2 and his hope that these keep believers from straying in 2:4.

2:1 Paul now explains the labors he mentioned in 1:29. He makes clear that his struggle has not just been for those churches he has started but for all believers. He states specifically that his work has been for the Colossians and Laodiceans, who are both to be readers of this letter. He has not personally visited these churches, but he makes it known that he is still striving for them and all others whom he has not yet met.

2:2 Paul explains what he is hoping for in regard to the churches and his labor. He gives three goals, which build progressively: (1) Their encouragement, which comes from being joined together in love and results in a better (2) understanding. This understanding, which manifests spiritual wealth, results in (3) true knowledge of Christ. Paul uses the language of mystery yet again, bringing full circle the concept he introduced in 1:26.

2:3 Paul further explains God’s mystery, which is Christ, as the resting place of all the “wisdom” and “knowledge” the Colossians need. In 2:4 Paul expresses his goal that the Colossians remain faithful to the true message. This verse provides the rationale for them not to stray—Christ is the sufficient source of truth.

2:4 Paul now explains that his goal in emphasizing Jesus’ primacy in all things (specifically wisdom and knowledge) is that the Colossians would not be enticed by other messages they may encounter. Everything he has said from 1:13 until 2:3 has been meant to keep them from being persuaded by outsiders who are adding elements in addition to Christ to salvation. His emphasis is to ensure they are not enticed by these arguments and that they remain faithful to Christ alone.

2:5 Paul concludes his theological discussion and the explanation of his work in relation to the Colossians by providing a word of encouragement. He acknowledges that though he is not with them physically (2:1), he is with them spiritually. He rejoices over their discipline and stability, and these are also the elements he wants to encourage in the Colossians throughout the remainder of the letter.

Conclusion

Sources

Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Preeminence over Death (1:17–20))

Colossians and Philemon For You

Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon: Commentary (Chapter 1)

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 1.13: Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Homily I)