Reconciliation to God
This was made possible by the baby born in a manger in Bethlehem.
This is an awesome gift.
Colossians 1:21-23 NLT
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
Examine the Scriptures:
Colossians 1:21-23 NLT
21 This includes you who were once far away from God.
“This” refers to the previous two verses. (Christ is supreme.)
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
This highlights the universal human condition apart from God’s grace.
Minds and hearts far from God.
Hostile toward God in thoughts and attitudes.
Separated from God by sin.
Everyone
Romans 3:23 NLT
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 6:23 NLT
23 For the wages of sin is death,
Separation from God.
Our condition as Gentiles.
The church at Colosse was predominantly a Gentile congregation.
Ephesians 2:11-13 NLT
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 4:17-18 NLT
17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
- At one point in time, we were all enemies of God, separated from Him by our evil thoughts and actions.
22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself
Reconciled
Transformed
Reconciliation is the restoration of a broken relationship, particularly the mending of the relationship between God and humanity that has been damaged by sin. It involves bringing two parties back into harmony and peace with one another.
Review verses 12-14 (Part of Paul’s prayer for the Colossians.)
12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
This is a reminder of the things God has done for us.
He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people,
Titus 3:7 NLT
7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.
who live in the light.
God has enabled us to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people.
13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,
We are no longer under Satan’s power.
14 who purchased our freedom
Redeemed.
Deliverance and freedom from the penalty of sin, paid for by the death of Christ.
Romans 6:23 NLT
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
and forgave our sins.
through the death of Christ in his physical body.
- God has reconciled believers to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body.
Romans 3:21-26 NLT
Christ Took Our Punishment
21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
This emphasizes the tangible, real nature of Christ’s sacrifice. It wasn’t abstract or symbolic—it was a historical act where Jesus gave His life as a ransom for sinners.
The false teachers of Colosse denied Christ’s true humanity and His true deity.
False teachers taught that Jesus only appeared to have a physical body.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless
Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT
4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Colossians 3:12 NLT
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,
Chosen by God.
Made Holy by God.
Loved by God.
as you stand before him without a single fault.
The reconciled believer has been made holy, set apart from sin, without blemish or defect, totally without grounds for criticism. Paul was speaking about the Christian’s position in Christ.
The result of this reconciliation is a complete transformation of the believer’s standing before God. In Christ, they are no longer guilty but are viewed as holy, blameless, and justified in God’s sight.
This is a picture of God’s grace.
- Christians are chosen by God, made holy by God, and are loved by God.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it.
John 6:29 NLT
29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
- Believers are called to remain steadfast in their trust in Christ.
Christians are in a spiritual battle.
1 Peter 5:8 NLT
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 6:10-13 NLT
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.
- Run with endurance the race God has set before you.
Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Matthew 25:21 NLT
21 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
2 Timothy 4:7 NLT
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
- The believer’s faith must be rooted and grounded, not easily shaken by false teachings or trials.
Believers need to hold tightly to the hope of the Gospel and not be swayed by alternative teachings or worldly distractions.
Philippians 1:6 NLT
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Progressive sanctification.
Philippians 2:13 NLT
13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.
- The existence of false teachers is a reality.
Romans 16:17 NLT
17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 NLT
Warnings against False Teachers
4:1 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.
1 John 2:19 NLT
19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.
- Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.
The Good News has been preached all over the world,
Colossians 1:6 NLT
6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.
John 3:16 NKJV
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 1:16 NLT
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
Matthew 28:19 NLT
19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
John 5:24 NLT
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
- The Good News is being preached all over the world.
and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
