Thank you for stopping by and taking to time to watch, listen, or read this week’s message, Through Jesus.
I hope you find encouragement in your faith in Jesus, and maybe even learn something new along the way 🙂
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Over the last few weeks we have been talking about the book of Colossians. We’ve looked at the first few verses in Colossians chapter one. We have seen how Paul talks about our life in Christ, that Christ is in us. In Christ, we gain many benefits from that relationship.
We talked about how, by being in Christ, that we are holy. Because of Christ, we can become faithful and fruitful and be thankful for all that he’s given to us. We can grow in in many aspects in life, one of which is our ability to love. Through Christ we are able to grow in love for Him and our love for one another.
Last week we talked a little bit about who Jesus is as He walked this earth. He was the image of the invisible God. He was the firstborn over all of creation. Being before all things, He was the creator of all things. It is in Christ that all things are held together. He is the head of the body, which is the church and is the supreme authority over everything.
Today we are going to continue our look into the letter to the Colossians. In this next section we will learn a little bit more about who Jesus is and what happens to us as we live in Christ and through Him.
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For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
– Colossians 1.19-23
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1. Jesus is Filled with God the Father—19
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him”
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The truth of the matter was that when Jesus walked this earth he was not alone. He had his father with him at all times. Jesus made comments affirming this truth. In John 10.30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” That was one of those statements that irritated the religious leaders of the day. He was equating Himself with God and that is why they hated him so much. However, He had an understanding that of His place with the Father.
Another passage is John 14.11 where Jesus states, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” He had an understanding, a realization, that His life was not his own. He knew that He was living by the Father’s life that was in him. One other passage from John tells us, “Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does” – John 5.19-20.
The Father was pleased to fill Jesus with his presence. By doing this, as Jesus walked this earth, He was able to be the presence of God, to be God in the flesh. That is the God that we serve. That is the Christ for whom we live. Jesus was in the Father, and the Father was in Him, and because of this truth…
2. Jesus is Reconciling All Things to Himself—20
“and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
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So, at the beginning of time, God created everything. We have talked about this many times. God created all things, including man in His own image and likeness. It was not good for man to be alone, so God created woman out of man. God wanted them to be fruitful and multiply, to love Him and serve Him. However, they were deceived and chose to go their own way. Because of this, we became separated from God.
Because of that sin, God sent His Son, He sent Jesus to the earth to reconcile and restore everything to Himself. In this reconciliation, God was bringing about a greater purpose that will come to light at the end of time. Again, Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 15.20-28,
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
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God is in the process of reconciling mankind, all of creation, to Himself. Right now, He is putting everything under Christ, and all things will one day be given to Jesus. At the end of time, everything will be His, including us. However, at that time, Jesus is going to turn and give all things back to the Father. When this happens, the Father will literally be all in all. He will be everything. Everything will be in Him.
So, God is in the process of reconciling all things to Himself. Because of this reconciliation…
3. Through Jesus we are Restored to God—21-22a
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death”
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Whether we realize it or not, our lives were filled with evil. We did things our way, not God’s. But now He is reconciling us, He is restoring us into a right relationship with Him. There is separation between man and God because of the sin of Adam and Eve. Even though we were created in His image and likeness, because of sin there is the need for restoration., they used to be that union between God and mankind that is was created in his image in his likeness through Christ we have reconciled we have been restored into a relationship with him and
How true are Paul’s word as he writes that we were all alienated from God, that we were all once separated from Him. We were all enemies in our mind because of the way we lived our lives in the flesh. We lived for ourselves and not for Him.
But now He has reconciled us through His death. Jesus went to the cross to be that sacrifice, the payment, for the sins that we commit. We cannot do life perfectly, thus we need Jesus to be made whole. We have to have that substitution. There must be perfection, a perfect sacrifice, a perfect offering to God.
Because of the sacrifice through Jesus, we are restored. We are restored in our relationship with Him and can grow through that restoration process. This restoration takes place by faith in Jesus, and…
4. Through Jesus, by Faith, we are now Holy, Perfect, and Blameless—22b-23a
“to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.”
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It is by faith in Jesus that we are restored. By faith in Jesus, we are holy, perfect, and blameless in his sight. It is hard to wrap our minds around this truth because we are not holy and blameless by our own efforts. But the truth is… we are… by faith in Christ alone. He is the one who makes us what we were created to be.
Paul tells us that we are holy, perfect, and blameless… IF… if we continue in our faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
Do we believe this? Is our faith established and firm? Are we holding tightly to the hope we have in the gospel? What is the gospel? The gospel is good news! There is a new King! There is a new ruler! His name is Jesus!
Through faith in Him we are holy, righteous, pure, blameless, and perfect in every way in His sight. Even though we aren’t by our own abilities, because of Jesus, we are holy, without blemish, and free from accusation.
In this reconciliation work, Jesus made that comment that God the father was pleased to fill him with his presence. Because of this, Jesus was able to walk with God’s life within Him. Just as Jesus had the Father, we have Jesus. Because of this reconciliation, this restoration, we can now have the life of Jesus within us.
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Jesus made this statement, recorded in John 14.20, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Jesus said that whatever He saw the Father doing, that is what He did. He lived His life fully and wholly for Him because He was in the Father, and the Father was in Him. that’s what I do.
The reality of this reconciliation is that we can now live the same life that Jesus lived. Jesus saw what the Father was doing and that’s what he did. In the same way, we have Jesus within us. We can see the work Jesus is doing around us and follow His lead.
We are reconciled by faith, established and firm, believing that Jesus is the only way to life eternal. Because of Jesus, we are restored. When God looks upon us, he sees His Son. He does not see the mess that we are, in our natural state. He sees his Son within us. That is why we can say we are holy, blameless, righteous, pure. We are not this was because of what we have done, but because Jesus has accomplished.
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Paul ends this section of his letter writing, “This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
Jesus was filled with the Father and we can be filled with Christ. That is the gospel message… Christ in you! We can have a substantial life on this earth because we are no longer just ourselves. Just as Jesus had the Father in Him, we have Christ in us. We are now in Christ, and Christ is in us, and we can be led by the Spirit of God. Because of the Spirit within us, we can have the mind of Christ and can be led by Him.
Like Paul, let us become a servant to the gospel of Jesus Christ!
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