It is the act in which God makes those who are his enemies his friends, even better his children. Reconciliation in an interpersonal and relational term.
Our Present Status: Reconciled through Christ (vs. Then Paul interjects some of the most powerful and beautiful words in Scripture, 'but now he has reconciled us.' Your past does not have the last word on you because Christ intervenes and changes our present status to reconciled through Christ. Do you feel the depth of our helplessness and hopelessness outside of Christ? Why does Paul tell us this and why am I expounding upon it ad nauseam? It is always good to remember where we come from, the depth of our sinfulness and hopeless and helpless condition because it magnifies the work of Christ. Even the most altruistic or heroic acts are sinful because they come from a sinful heart. Every thought, every desire, and every action before Christ intervenes is sinful and evil. This hostility finds expression in our minds as our ideas are perverted, distorted, prejudiced against God and this evil thinking leads to evil behavior. We may acknowledge God generally and even seek after God in some sense but when it comes to Christ there is only rebellion and hostility. Scripture paints a much more antagonistic picture. Contrary to what many think, we are not indifferent nor neutral toward God. In our natural sinful condition we are in a spiritually hopeless and helpless condition. With God this alienation is exponentially worse, it has left us separated from God, our sin and his wrath being insurmountable obstacles. Many of us may have experienced the hurt and bitterness and barriers that arise from being alienated from others. Paul describes our condition outside of Christ as alienated and hostile in our minds. Our Past Condition: Alienated and Enemies (vs. Now Paul describes this reconciliation to the Colossians, as an example those who have been reconciled through faith in Christ.īig Idea – The gospel turns enemies into friends and promises that we will one day stand before God sinless and pure. The rest of humanity and the hostile angelic creatures will be defeated and pacified similar to a military defeat. He will reconcile humanity to God through faith in Christ.
#Destiny perfect balance series#
We are in a series on Paul's letter to the Colossian church, called “The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ.” Two weeks ago we saw Paul describing the universal scope of Christ's reconciliation, Christ will reconcile all things to God in two ways. The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ, part 6
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