Reconciled In Christ

• We often disqualify ourselves from action because of insecurities and faults that we see in ourselves. Being forgiven in Christ, means that everyone, from Satan to our own consciences, cannot legitimately accuse us. Let us serve with bold confidence that in repentance, we are forgiven, cleansed and cleared of all changes.

Christ’s reconciliation makes believers holy, blameless, and beyond reproach before Him. God sees believers now as we will be in heaven when we are glorified. He views us clothed with the very righteousness of Jesus Christ. The process of spiritual growth involves becoming in practice what we are in reality before God. We “have put on the new self” and that new self “is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” (Col. 3:10). The Christian life involves “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord [which covers us before God, and] being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). The goal of justification is not only heaven when we die, but holiness now (cf. Lev. 19:2; Matt. 5:48)! Sanctification is a current reality for believers as a gift from Christ (cf. Acts. 26:18; 1 Cor. 1:2, 30; 6:11; Heb. 10:10, 14). It is also a progressive, Christlike living (cf. Eph. 1:4; 2:10; 2 Tim. 2:12; James 1:4; 2 Pet. 3:14) and an eschatological goal (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:27; 1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23; 1 John 3:2) (Utley, R. J. (1997). Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians) (Vol. Volume 8, p. 20). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.).

Illustration: The process of sanctification can be compared to an iceberg, which is almost 90 percent under water. As the sun shines on the iceberg, the exposed part melts, moving the lower part upward. In the same way, we are usually aware of only a small part of our sinfulness and need, which is all we can deal with at any one time. However, as the light of God’s work in our lives changes us in the areas we know about, we become aware of new areas needing the work of God.( Green, M. P. (Ed.). (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)

Finally, Christ’s sufficiency to reconcile humanity to God is seen through:

4) The Evidence of Reconciliation (Colossians 1:23)

Colossians 1:23 [23] if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (ESV)

Of all the marks of a genuine Christian presented in Scripture, none is more significant than the one Paul mentions here. People give evidence of being truly reconciled if they continue in the faith. This verse is not saying that we will be presented holy and blameless if we remain faithful, as if our eternal salvation depends on our performance. This verse is not teaching that loss of salvation is possible. The Greek first-class conditional sentence (ei, Gk., “if, since,” plus the indicative mood) expresses Paul’s certainty that they will in fact continue. The word “if” could well be translated “since”: “He has reconciled [you] … since indeed you continue in the faith.” Paul’s purpose is to lead them to appreciate their reconciliation, not to doubt it. Every true believer in Christ will endure to the end (John 10:28, 29; Phil. 1:6).( Criswell, W. A., Patterson, P., Clendenen, E. R., Akin, D. L., Chamberlin, M., Patterson, D. K., & Pogue, J. (Eds.). (1991). Believer’s Study Bible (electronic ed., Col 1:23). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.) Paul is not in doubt about whether the Colossians will remain faithful (see Col. 2:5). He is confident that because they have understood what it means to be reconciled they will remain faithful to the gospel that reconciled them. He writes this as an expression of confidence and as a warning to avoid the religious fads of the false teachers of Colosse. (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 284). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.) The Bible repeatedly testifies that those who are truly reconciled will continue in the faith. If the gospel teaches the final perseverance of the saints, it teaches at the same time that the saints are those who finally persevere—in Christ. Continuance is the test of reality.( Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (p. 79). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)