Passage: Colossians 1:20-22
The Big Idea
Salvation is like a coin with two sides. God is our Judge, and we were guilty, so we needed to be justified. God is our Father, and we broke the relationship, so we needed to be reconciled. At the cross, Jesus did both. Now God sees us holy, blameless and above reproach.
Two Sides of a Coin
There are two ways of looking at our need for salvation:
- God is the Judge, and we are guilty. We need His forgiveness and justification.
- God is our Father, and we damaged the relationship. We need reconciliation.
Both are true, and neither is more important. Both were fully taken care of at the cross, two thousand years ago, by the real man Jesus who really died there. And that moment directly affects you today.
Whichever side you look at, it’s still the same coin: your salvation.
- You’ve been justified. The Judge has declared you righteous.
- You’ve been reconciled. The Father has nothing against you. Nothing stands between you.
Relational pain is one of the worst kinds of pain. Being separated from someone you love by disagreement or wrongdoing tears your heart apart. We don’t just need forgiveness. We need the relationship healed.
(Speaking of arguments, my friend and I argued about which vowel was best. I won.)
The Fullness (Colossians 1:19)
The Father was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Jesus (Colossians 1:19). Jesus has all that God is, and He wants to give it to you.
Read: Colossians 1:20-22
Through Jesus, God reconciled all things to Himself, things on earth and things in heaven, making peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who were once alienated, enemies in your mind because of your evil deeds, He has now reconciled through Christ’s physical body by His death, to present you holy, blameless and above reproach in His sight (Colossians 1:20-22).
- The problem: we were alienated.
- The solution: reconciliation.
Alienated
The Greek word for alienated carries the idea of being transferred to another owner.
When did that happen? Back in Eden. God created us in His image with free will, to freely choose to serve Him and partner with Him in caring for His creation. But we used our free will to follow Satan’s lead instead. We were transferred to another owner. Alienated from God.
That’s the problem. We fell into slavery to sin and the great rebel (John 8:34; Ephesians 2:2). And since we all descend from Adam, we all start out alienated.
Then we confirm it by our wicked works.
Paul says we were enemies in our minds, and our wicked works proved it. We do what God would never do, what He hates, what causes separation and immeasurable pain. We sin. We side with the rebellion. We want freedom from God and His good ways.
- We all once lived in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling its desires, and were by nature children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). Before we’re saved, the flesh is the only resource we have, and it’s broken, always wanting to rebel.
- Our understanding was darkened, alienated from the life of God because of the blindness of our hearts (Ephesians 4:18). The brokenness runs from the mind all the way to the heart.
The alienation was complete, real and painful. We could never fix it. We needed a Savior.
Enter Jesus. And the crowd goes wild!
By Him, By Him
Paul says it twice: by Him.
Jesus is the only One who could reconcile us. Just as He created the original creation, He authors and completes the new creation in our lives. He’s the Head of both creations.
How Far Does It Reach?
The reconciliation reaches things on earth and things in heaven (Colossians 1:20).
Someone has been running around trying to keep you away from God. Satan loves to accuse you before God, to start an argument. But Revelation 12:10 announces that the accuser, who accused God’s people day and night, has been thrown down.
Jesus ended every accusation Satan could ever bring. Now, whatever he says about you, the answer is always: “Jesus paid for that.” “Jesus destroyed that.” “Jesus took care of that.”
How Did He Do It?
Paul says Jesus made peace through the blood of His cross, reconciling us in His physical body through death (Colossians 1:20-22).
The death of Jesus is how we’re reconciled to God.
And His death is one of the best-attested events in ancient history. Even skeptical scholars, like agnostic historian Bart Ehrman, affirm that Jesus really lived and was crucified. Then we tell them He was also God in human flesh. “Well, He’d have to prove that with miracles, maybe even rise from the dead.” Should I tell him? People who honestly investigate the evidence sometimes find themselves skeptics no longer.
But how does His death bring reconciliation? Simple. Someone had to die. That was the just penalty for our sin and rebellion. And Jesus looked at us in love, obeyed His Father, and took our place on the cross. He accepted separation from God so we never have to be separated from our Father again.
That could only happen if Jesus was God who fully became a man:
- Only God’s life would be valuable enough to pay for all our sins.
- Only a human life could be offered in place of humans.
That’s why Jesus became a man and died for us.
The Purpose: Holy, Blameless, Above Reproach
The goal: to present you holy, blameless and above reproach in His sight (Colossians 1:22).
- There’s no more pain in the relationship between you and God.
- In His sight, you are holy and blameless.
- Above reproach. Nothing can be held against you.
- As holy as Jesus.
None of this was done by you. It was done for you, and given to you as a free gift of grace.
People talk about seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. God sees His children through blood-red glasses. He doesn’t see your sin. He sees the blood of Jesus.
Back to Passover
Remember the Passover in Egypt. Each family killed a lamb and put its blood on the doorposts. When the Lord passed through that night, He passed over every house marked by the blood (Exodus 12:13). It didn’t matter how good or bad the family inside was. It mattered whether the blood was on the door.
(Which army base is off-limits on Passover? Fort Leavenworth. And how many Pharaohs does it take to change a light bulb? One, but he won’t let it go.)
Jesus was crucified at Passover. He’s our Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). All they had to do was get under the blood. Putting your faith in Jesus is exactly that: getting under the blood, choosing the right side.
If God reconciled us through the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, how much more will we be saved by His life now that we’re reconciled (Romans 5:10).
Grace Takeaway
You were alienated, owned by another, an enemy in your mind. Now you’re reconciled, at peace, holy and blameless in His sight. The Judge has declared you righteous, and the Father has welcomed you home. Both sides of the coin are yours, paid for by the blood of the cross.
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