Colossians 1.23-The Colossians Must Continue to Obey the Gospel In Order to be Holy, Uncensurable and Unaccusable at the Bema Seat
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday June 28, 2015
Colossians: Colossians 1:23-The Colossians Must Continue to Obey the Gospel In Order to be Holy, Uncensurable and Unaccusable at the Bema Seat
Lesson # 30
Colossians 1:21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. (NASB95)
Colossians 1:21 Indeed, because each and every one of you at one time existed in the state of being alienated, specifically enemies because of your attitude, because of your evil actions, 22 He has now in fact reconciled each and every one of you by means of His body composed of human flesh by means of His death. The purpose of which is to present each and every one of you as holy, uncensurable and unaccusable in His presence. 23 Of course, if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument each one of you continues to persevere according to the standards of the Christian faith so that each one of you is established, and thus solid individuals. In other words, so that each one of you is not moved away from the confident expectation (of blessing) produced by obedience to the gospel which each one of you has obeyed. This gospel was publicly proclaimed throughout all creation which is under the heavens, of which I myself, Paul became a servant. (Author’s translation)
Colossians 1:23 contains the protasis of a first class condition which indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
The protasis is “if and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument each one of you continues to persevere according to the standards of the Christian faith.”
The apodosis appears in the purpose clause at the end of Colossians 1:22 which is παραστῆσαι ὑμᾶς ἁγίους καὶ ἀμώμους καὶ ἀνεγκλήτους κατενώπιον αὐτοῦ, “The purpose of which is to present each and every one of you as holy, uncensurable and unaccusable in His presence.”
Paul is emphasizing with these faithful Christians in Colossae that in order to be holy, uncensurable and unaccusable at the Bema Seat evaluation of the church, they must continue to remain faithful to his apostolic teaching which was faithfully communicated to them by Epaphras.
The relationship between the protasis and the apodosis is cause-effect.
The cause is the faithful Christians in Colossae continuing to persevere in life according to the standards of the Christian faith whereas the effect is that they will be presented as holy, uncensurable and unaccusable in the Lord’s presence at the Bema Seat.
So Paul is emphasizing with the Colossians in the protasis of this first class condition that they must continue to remain faithful to his apostolic teaching if they are to receive rewards and commendation from the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat.
When Paul speaks of the Colossians continuing to persevere, he is speaking of them continuing to remain faithful to his apostolic teaching which Epaphras had been faithfully communicating to them up to the time he penned this epistle.
Thus, each one of these faithful Christians in Colossae must persevere according to the holy standards of the Christian faith in order to be presented as holy, uncensurable and unaccusable at the Bema Seat.
So the protasis serves as a warning to the Colossians in that there is no guarantee that they will be holy, uncensurable and unaccusable in an experiential sense at the Bema Seat.
It can only happen if they continue to make good decisions and exercise faith in the gospel which results in obedience to the gospel.
In a positional sense, they are holy, uncensurable and unaccusable.
However, experientially, this can only be accomplished by their continued obedience to the gospel.
The false teaching of the Essene branch of the Judaizers with their incipient form of Gnosticism was a danger to their continued obedience to the gospel, thus, Paul issues this warning.
For the Christian, “perseverance” is remaining faithful by being obedient to the Word of God despite the obstacles in life such as the old sin nature, self, the cosmic system of Satan and is bearing up under intense pressure and not quitting on God.
“The Christian faith” refers to the content of what Paul taught the churches or in other words it is another description of the gospel and refers to the gospel from the perspective of a body of doctrine or that which is believed by the church.
Thus, it is synonymous for the gospel and Paul’s apostolic teaching and speaks of them from a different perspective, namely that which the church believes.
Conforming to the standards of the Christian faith requires faith in the gospel or that body of doctrine the Christian community believes which results in obedience to the commands and prohibitions in this body of doctrine which constitutes the apostolic teaching.
If these faithful Christians in Colossae continue to persevere according to the standards of the Christian faith, then as a result they will be stabilized in their souls.
As a result of being stabilized in their souls, they would continue to be “solid individuals” in the sense that they continue to be serious in their purpose in life and with regards to their character.
Then, Paul explains from a different perspective what he meant by the Colossians continuing to persevere according to the standards of the Christian faith.
This other perspective is that they would not be moved away from the confident expectation of blessing at the Bema Seat by obedience to the gospel.
So therefore this epexegetical statement indicates that if these faithful Christians in Colossae continue to persevere in life according to the standards of the Christian faith, then as a result they would not be moved away from the confident expectation of blessing at the Bema Seat by obedience to the gospel.
The “confident expectation (of blessing)” refers to receiving rewards from the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church as a result of persevering in life according to the standards of the Christian faith.
Receiving rewards is contingent upon the Christian growing to spiritual maturity and becoming like Jesus Christ experientially and this too is a part of this confident expectation and is produced by obedience to the gospel.
Paul then affirms that these faithful Christians in Colossae were already obeying the gospel which they heard communicated to them by Epaphras.
When he speaks of their obedience to the gospel, he is referring to not only the Colossians’ conversion experience when each one of them heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and obeyed it by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Savior but also to their faith in the gospel after their conversion.
This interpretation supported by the fact that in Colossians 1:5-6 Paul affirms that these faithful Christians in Colossae were appropriating by faith the gospel.
So Paul in Colossians 1:23 affirms that these faithful Christians in Colossae were obeying the gospel and he is exhorting them to continue doing so in order that they may grow to spiritual maturity and receive rewards for faithful service at the Bema Seat.
So here in Colossians 1:23, Paul has not only been warning these faithful Christians in Colossae that they must continue to remain faithful to the gospel, if they are to grow to maturity and receive rewards at the Bema Seat but he has also been encouraging them by affirming that they were presently obeying the gospel.
His statements here in Colossians 1:23 are thus related to experiential sanctification and the experiential aspect of their salvation.
Positionally, they were saved and sanctified and at the resurrection or rapture of the church their sanctification and salvation will be complete and perfected.
However, the experiential side of their salvation and sanctification is not a guarantee but is only a potential since it is contingent upon their continued obedience to the gospel.
In Colossians 1:23, Paul declares that the gospel was publicly proclaimed throughout all creation which is under the heavens or in other words, he claims that it was publicly proclaimed throughout the entire earth.
He is speaking of the entire known world or more specifically, the Roman Empire.
Eventually of course the gospel has been proclaimed publicly throughout the entire earth through the efforts of many evangelists and pastors who lived after Paul.
He affirms that the Christian community led by the apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor-teachers publicly proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ in a dignified and authoritative manner which commanded the respect and attention of their audience.
The apostle Paul concludes his remarks in Colossians 1:23 by asserting that he had become a servant of the gospel.
Paul was one of the most prominent individuals in the church to publicly proclaim the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.
When he says that he became a servant of the gospel, he is referring to his conversion experience which resulted in him receiving the gift of apostleship and the command to publicly proclaim the gospel to every creature on earth.
This servanthood is manifested by Paul communicating to the non-Christian community and Christian community the gospel.
By stating he was a servant of the gospel, he is stating he has a stewardship related to the gospel and for which he will have to give an account to the Lord Jesus Christ at the Bema Seat.
At the same time, he is reminding these faithful Christians in Colossae that they have the same stewardship as well.