Ladies' Corner

Colossians 1:21-23

²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled ²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Paul just finished verses 13-20 revealing who Christ is and why He is enough. Now in verse 21, he shifts his focus from the work of Christ to a reminder for the believer. He reminded the Colossians that some of them were once alienated and enemies of God. Do you ever look back and think about who you were before God saved you? For some, God pulled them from a deep pit of sin. The sins of the flesh were evident in their words, actions, and deeds.  But there were also some who were saved from this life of sin.  Rather than the very visible sins of the flesh, we found ourselves battling the sins of the mind and heart.  Both were an egregious affront to a Holy God. But I think we can sometimes convince ourselves that we are/were not that bad. The problem with that is, the bible would tell us otherwise!

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
There are none that seek after God. Romans 10:11
Our righteousness is as filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6

Doesn’t that just rub against the grain of our nature? We’d like to think we’re pretty good. We try to do the right thing. We try to love others well. We try to control our tempers. We try to steward our time in a God-honoring way. But the fact that it takes effort and that our flesh would rather do something contrary is a reminder of our sin nature that we just can’t seem to shake.

Aren’t you glad the verse doesn’t end with our being alienated and enemies of God? Paul quickly gets to the good part! When my boys were little, they didn’t care so much about watching the whole movie or show. They wanted me to skip ahead to certain scenes-their favorite parts. Paul gets us there very quickly in this verse. He reminds us that we have been reconciled…so that He [God] may…present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.

Have you ever had a disagreement with your spouse, a family member, or with a friend? You knew it had to be dealt with, but you dreaded what it would take to get there? Maybe working through hurt feelings or admitting your own sinful contribution to the conflict? Maybe your fear was that the other party had no real desire to be reconciled. But in our being reconciled to a holy, just, and righteous God, He wanted reconciliation, and He provided it! We were His enemies, yet, through faith in Christ, we are now called His friend (John 15:15; James 2:23). What comfort! What love! What peace!

Verse 22 very clearly tells us how we are reconciled: In the body of his flesh through death. Let that sink in. We did the sinning, and He took the punishment. Jonathan Edwards once said, "You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary." We were alienated and enemies, and Christ reconciled us through His work on the cross. Paul, metaphorically speaking, is placing his hands on the Colossians’ shoulders and asking, “Why would you pursue another gospel?” Christ is enough! What an exhortation to fall into the arms of Christ.

Paul’s next reminder is a call to ground ourselves in what we know. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,

It can be easy to pursue something other. As bible believers, we can find ourselves confident in our standing with God. We know that it is by grace alone through faith alone, and we have that settled. But if we’re not careful, that can feel boring. In time, it just isn’t enough. We would never say that, but think about our pursuits. Instead of specifically naming things here, take a minute and think about your social media algorithm. What pops up in your feed? The aesthetically beautiful life? The newest conspiracy theory? The most recent church controversy? The latest fashion trend? Mindless entertainment? And, yes, now I’m speaking to all of us who watch ridiculous amounts of cat videos – but they’re so cute! It’s a scary thought, but our technology reveals deep truths about what we value, more so than our words. And it’s an endless pursuit. A mostly unsatisfying pursuit because there is always one more opinion. One more perspective. One more level of understanding. One more empty promise that if you reach this point, you’ll find satisfaction or happiness or peace. Just one more. The only true rest we should pursue is in Christ alone.

This is not so much an admonition as it is a call to reflection about where we place our hope. God has given us this life to enjoy good and beautiful things. Isn’t He kind in that way? But don’t let your hope be placed in any of these good things – in anything other than the hope of the gospel. Trends come and go, but the gospel never changes.

This is also not a call to sin so that grace may abound just because Christ completed the work of reconciliation on the cross. Instead, we should be growing in our sanctification, and that requires us to recognize the areas where God is still working on us and in us. We can live in the confidence that our salvation is not of our own doing (reconciled in the body of his flesh through death), yet, our sanctification is not passive (to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel). Two things can be true at the same time. Sister, there is joy to be found in resting in Christ’s forgiveness; in knowing that we are no longer enemies of God. There is joy in knowing Christ is enough, and there is rest.

Reflection:

Sit for a moment and think about what it means that Christ completed the work of reconciliation. Make a mental list. Now ask yourself, how might I live differently as someone who has been reconciled? Do I find myself anxious, or have I found this rest?