Colossians 1:21-23

Our new position in Christ

21 And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, Col 1:21.

It is not simply Habitual wrong doing that has turned our minds away from God.

The work “mind” here is to reflect the possesses of understanding and intellect.

Thought and action both pushing one another into further and further depths of corruption.

Paul earlier makes a point to address this in his opening prayer.

Colossians 1:9–10 (LSB)

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

10 so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and multiplying in the full knowledge of God;

Lets read Romans 1:21–32

Romans 1:21–32 LSB

For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions; for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper, having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the righteous requirement of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Wrong thinking leads to vice, vice to further mental corruption. The mind still not totally ignorant of Gods standard finds itself applauding and encouraging evil.

Ephesians 2:1–7 LSB

And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:18 LSB

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

Romans 5:10 LSB

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

We were not strangers, we were enemies. We would have have mocked him from the foot of the cross with the Roman soldiers.

How will knowing that all people are hostile to christ affect how we share the gospel?

Were you hostile to God before?

John 3:20 LSB

“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed.

Why are people hostile to God?

Our flesh loves the sinful things we are doing. From birth we are predisposed to disobey due to our desire to satisy our selfish desires.

By nature we resist athouraty because we want to be free to do what we want. this verse shows that we are not only sinners in theory, but also in practice. A sinner commits sin. That is what we do. That is what we are good at. It took divine intervention to stop us. For that we should be grateful.

Colossians 1:22 LSB

but now He reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—

For what purpose has Christ reconciled us?

To present us as holy and blameless before God. His chief goal is not our comfort or our convenience. His chief goal is to make us holy and to present us as a gift to God. This is the reason that God has saved you. If you wonder why you face difficulties and trials this is the answer. God cares about your character more than your comfort.

Are you becoming more holy?

If people were to blame you for something, in what area would it likely be?

Hostile people have a motive to find the ways in which we are not reflecting the image of Christ. They want to mock and ridicule his people. Show all the ways in which they are falling short.

We have a tendency to want to distance ourselves from those things and that is good. the question is;

How do we distance ourselves from the holdouts of Sin?

the entire blessing of redemption consists mainly in these two things, remission of sins, and spiritual regeneration. (Jer. 31:33

Jeremiah 31:33 LSB

“But this is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Philippians 3:8–14 LSB

More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:23 LSB

if indeed you continue in the faith firmly grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

In this verse we are reminded of the responsibility we face in this equation. It is God who saves. He is the one working in us. But we are charged with persevering. We are to continue in the faith and not be moved. We are to remain steadfast and firm. We are to allow God to work in us. We must be willing tools of Him and be malleable clay in His hands.

Steadfastness and Firmness:

1 Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."James 1:12: "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."Colossians 1:23: "If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard."

Allowing God to Work in Us:

Philippians 2:13: "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."Ephesians 2:10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."Hebrews 13:20-21: "Now may the God of peace... equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Being Malleable and Willing:

Isaiah 64:8: "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."Jeremiah 18:6: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel."Romans 9:21: "Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?"