Day 9 What Continuing to Live in Christ Looks Like

What Continuing to Live in Christ Looks Like

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   Colossians 1:20

If ‘all things’ in heaven and on earth were created through Him (1:16) and yet ‘all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven’ have to be reconciled to God through Him, it follows that ‘all things’ have been cut off from their Creator. In Romans 8:19-23 Paul speaks of the creation as involuntarily ‘subjected to frustration’ (8:20) but as destined to ‘be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God’ (8:21). Since the liberty of the children of God was purchased by Christ’s redemptive work, the release of creation from its bondage to decay is assured by that same redemptive work. The universe has been involved in conflict with its Creator and needs to be reconciled to Him. The conflict must be replaced by peace. This peace has been made through Christ, by the shedding of His blood on the cross.

But the process of reconciliation between God and man is not an automatic process. Paul clearly believed it was possible for human beings to reject God’s offer of salvation and that at the last judgement those who had done so would be themselves rejected (Romans 1:18-2:16; 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10). Reconciliation only occurs when someone is in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) which elsewhere (Romans 3:21-31; 6:1-11; Galatians 3:26-29) is correlated clearly with faith and illustrated in baptism.

By taking human flesh in order to bring creation to its climax (1:15-17) God has fulfilled His eternal purpose of making humanity the master and ruler of the world. As he had been ‘pleased to dwell’ on Mount Zion (Psalm 67:17) so He is now ‘pleased to dwell’ among His people in human form (c.f. John 1:14). In making a world He could enter, He made man and woman in His own image. The creation of such beings entailed the possibility they might rebel against Him. Such a rebellion would not confound His purposes. In fact it would bring forth the greatest demonstration of love the world would ever see – the cross. He came, therefore, to defeat sin in the territory it had made its own – Adam’s flesh. Reconciliation was effected through the death of the Son, the Son God the Father was ‘pleased to have all his fullness dwell in’ (1:19). Christ was the ultimate man, Lord of the old creation and the Lord of the new creation.

In Jesus Christ God has revealed Himself to be the one God of all the earth, the creator and redeemer of all. He is not one more rival to other gods of paganism. He reigns supreme over all. He has given Himself to this world in selfless sacrifice, to create out of sinful humanity a people for His own possession, with the intention of eventually bringing the whole universe into a new order and harmony. All this has been done in and through Jesus, His Son, His perfect human self expression.

It is also noteworthy that the New Testament emphasis is not that God is reconciled to us, but that we are reconciled to Him. God’s feeling toward us never needed to be changed – only His treatment of us. In a very real sense, God does not move in relation to the sinner; the sinner moves in relation to Him.

Categories

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top