Putting Christ First, The New Age. Colossians 1:21-23

Putting Christ First: Christ, The New Age

Colossians 1:21-23

Out with the Old (v. 21)

• Paul describes our state before Jesus
  • Alienate from God: Our standing
  • With our minds against God: Our thinking
  • Practicing evil: Our actions
• Paul connects evil actions with a hubris on our thinking
  • Presuming that we know better than God

 

Enter the New (v. 22-23)

• Through His sacrifice, Jesus ushered in a new age
  • Marked by reconciliation
• In which we are declared:
  • Holy: Set apart for God’s use
  • Blameless: Like the Old Testament sacrifices
  • Above reproach: Legally innocent
  • Not by our own merits, but by Christ’s work
• This declaration has a future-focused undertone
  • It is something started on the Cross
  • And something that Christ is working out in us even now
    • Thus, the call to continue in the truth of the Gospel
  • So that, when we stand before His Father, we will have in it fullness (Phil. 1:6)
• The work of Jesus has ushered in the Messianic era
  • Marked by holiness, righteousness, and truth
• But, we await the full culmination of this new age
  • Which will take place when Christ returns

 

Putting the Pieces Together

• Because Jesus is lord of all (v. 15-20)
• We can have confidence that God’s rescue mission (v. 13-14) will be successful
• Ushering us into the Messianic Age (v. 21-23)

 

 

So What?

• Have you trusted in Jesus’ work of reconciliation?
  • Having peace with God
• Are we letting Him transform us now?
  • Preparing us for eternity with Him

Meditation Verse: Colossians 1:22