September 4, 2022
Morning Service

Last week God revealed Himself to us in that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation.”  We learned that Jesus was the Creator as all things were made “through Him and for Him.”  He indeed is Lord of all and He is not part of our world, we are part of His.  As Paul continues his revelation to us about who God is, the heading over this next section is “Christ is preeminent in Redemption.”  I want to first paint the picture of why we need a Redeemer, Savior in the first place.

 Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

 

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

 

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

 

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

            The picture painted here is that our sins separate us from a Holy, Just, and Righteous God.  His Holiness will not allow sin in His presence.  The problem is we are all sinners and the wages of those sins are death (separation from God).  We find ourselves in a place of being helpless.  We cannot restore the broken relationship sin has caused between us and our Righteous Creator.  We need someone to step in and offer us a solution to this problem.  We need a Redeemer.  The only way redemption, remission, or forgiveness can occur is through the shedding of blood.  The OT sacrifices were but a shadow of what we are about to see.  The blood of animals sacrificed upon the altar did not redeem those who offered them fully, but only rolled the debt forward to a future time when the balance would be due.  The key phrase in all of these scriptures begins with a word that changes all of this and give us hope; but.  “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Remember who He is; “the image of the invisible God.” That sets the stage for where we are in Colossians so let’s dive in as Paul here is speaking of Jesus:

Col 1:17-19 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  (18)  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.  (19)  For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,

            “In Him all things consist and He is the head of the body, the church.” It pleased God the Creator to become one of His own creation to fulfill His perfect plan of salvation (redemption) as a gift to those who will choose to accept it.  It pleased God to have His Son to be born of virgin in a manger to live a perfect, sinless life for the sole purpose shedding His blood for remission of the creation’s sins.  This was His plan from the beginning as Jesus was the Architect this plan of salvation and then was the One who carried it out for us.

Heb. 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

            Jesus, knowing what He was doing was worth the result, endured the cross and fulfilled the purpose for which He was born. Isaiah prophesies of the plan’s completion upon the cross hundreds of years before it happened.

Isa 53:10-12 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.  (11)  He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His Knowledge My Righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.  (12)  Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

            The Holiness and Justice of God stay intact as the price for sin was paid for.  He did not simply overlook our sins, but Jesus paid for them in full and God was satisfied with the sacrifice.  Paul emphasizes his point that Jesus is the Redeemer of all mankind but adds something personal to that now:

Col 1:20-23 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.  (21)  And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (22) in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— (23) if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

            Jesus reconciled mankind to God, restored our broken relationship with Him, by paying the sin debt owed through His blood on the cross (without the shedding of blood there is no remission). (Hebrews 9- “Why Jesus had to die.”) This is the broad view from 1000 feet up in verse 20 showing that Jesus died for everyone giving all a chance for redemption.  Paul then zooms in like Google Maps focusing in on just me.  This free gift is offered to me who at one time was “alienated and the enemy of God by my wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.”  It is important for each of us to understand the broad view of salvation, but it is vital that we accept it personally for ourselves.  My sins separated me from God.  My relationship with Him was broken and unfixable from my end, BUT He offered to pay the wages of my sins that I could not pay.  Through His sacrifice of Himself, the shedding of His own blood, He presents me holy, blameless and above reproach in His sight; something I could never do myself.  It is not by my works or efforts that I am made perfect, but only by Him.  He is my Redeemer!  Once I realize that and grasp the love He has for me, I am energized to follow Him wherever He leads me.  In verse 23 Paul challenges us to “continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, not being moved away from the hope of the gospel.”  This is not an action to earn my redemption, but my reaction to being given redemption.  I have faith that He truly is and now that faith must be put into action through my life.  Notice how Paul’s perspective is towards his current circumstances of being imprisoned and persecuted solely for his faith.

Col 1:24-25 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, (25) of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,

            Paul rejoices in his sufferings that he might endure even a small part of what Jesus did.  Suffering is a part of Paul’s calling for Christ as Jesus told Ananias to tell Paul; “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."  Suffering will be part of our journey as well, but really ours is much lighter than the imprisonment and beating Paul endured.  We often complain when we are inconvenienced, our plans are interrupted by the Spirit calling us to service.  Paul calls our calling a “stewardship from God.”  We are called to love and serve others as He has loved and served us.  This can be very difficult if we try to do that with our own strength and abilities, but we don’t have to.  We are empowered to love and serve by the Holy Spirit that lives within us.  A mystery revealed to believers.

Col 1:26-29 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.  (27)  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  (28)  Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.  (29)  To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily

            We are indwelled by Christ through the person of the Holy Spirit.  We never walk our journey alone or face a task without His help.  Paul explained it to the Galatians this way:

Gal 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

            Through our acceptance of the free gift of salvation (redemption) and obedience to His Word we received the gift of eternal life.  That eternal life comes from the gift of the Holy Spirit which is given to us at that time.  We become the friends of God, His children and His heirs.  We become part of His body, the church and are called to be His hands and feet within this world in which we live.  We are the tools God is using to build His kingdom.  To this end we too need to “labor, striving according to His working in us mightily.”  Just as we are saved through Him, we are empowered by Him to do His Will.  “He does not call the qualified, but qualifies the called.”  He will work through you; things you could never do on your own.  It is the natural part of our journey with Jesus to begin to yield our will to His and allow the Holy Spirit to use us for the glory of our Redeemer!

 

Father, thank You for offering to us this wonderful plan of Redemption through Jesus.  Open our eyes and hearts to how much You love us and let that motivate us to draw closer to You.