We’re working our way through the book of Colossians in these weekly posts. And even though we are still in chapter one, speaking for myself, I have learned so much. If you missed the previous posts, I’ll add the links below. In today’s passage, Paul moves from his beautiful hymn about the preeminence of Christ and a sweeping view of His reconciling work in the new creation to a closer look at the people of God and a summary of the Christian life. 

At the bottom, you’ll find a complete list of the other posts in this study on Colossians.

A Summary of the Christian Life

Colossians 1.21-23

A Little Review

By way of review, the book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul who had never actually visited the church there. The church was founded by a man named Epaphras. Epaphras had traveled to Rome to visit Paul in prison and share his concerns about the presence of false teachers who were attempting to lead the believers there away from the sufficiency of Christ and the gospel.  The book of Colossians was Paul’s response.

The first two chapters of his epistle are primarily doctrinal. This is important because genuine Christian living which Paul covers more in chapters 3 and 4, is based on solid Christian doctrine. This is just as true for us today as it was for the Colossian Christians.

In our previous lessons, we spent a great deal of time talking about the preeminence and sufficiency of Christ. Then we looked at how He has reconciled us to himself and made peace between us and God by the blood of his cross (Col. 1.20). We, also, looked at our union with Him and how He strengthens us so we can deal with the tests and trials of this life.

If you missed those posts, here are the links:

Introduction to Colossians

Colossians, the Preeminent Christ & Why It’s Important

Colossians | What Does Christ’s Preeminence Mean to Me?

Now to today’s lesson.

Before & After

In the beautiful hymn in verses 15-20 about His preeminence, Paul wrote about Christ’s role in creation (Col. 1.16-17) and in recreation in (Col. 1.20). Now he returns to the Colossians themselves and a summary of their lives before Christ and their lives in Christ.

Colossians 1.21-23:

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

As we look at Paul’s summary and his comparisons of life before and after salvation, we need to remember that what was true for the Colossians is just as true for us.

Alienated & Hostile

Verse 21:

²¹ And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

We were both “hostile in mind” and “doing evil deeds.” Apart from Christ, our minds, our wills, and our actions were all alienated from God. We were separated from Him by our sin, had no fear of God, and acted as our own authority. We were in rebellion against God.

In fact, the word hostile can also be translated “hateful.” In his New Testament Commentary, John MacArthur says:

Unbelievers are not only alienated from God by condition, but also hateful of God by attitude. They hate Him and resent His holy standards and commands because they are engaged in evil deeds. Scripture teaches that unbelievers “loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3: 19-20). Their problem is not ignorance, but willful love of sin.

This is a picture of total depravity.

The book of Judges paints a picture of our sinful and depraved condition. It ends with this:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Jud. 21.25)

If you have ever read through Judges you know that when people reject God’s authority, there is every kind of evil, perverse, and bizarre behavior. That was us.

The only reason we were not worse than we were was because of God’s common grace. 

Holy, Blameless & Above Reproach

Often, we were so far from God that we could not even recognize our desperate condition. And though we did nothing to deserve it, Jesus through His life, death, and resurrection, intervened on behalf of His people.

He brought us face to face with our sinful condition so we could repent and receive His grace through the gospel. Verse 22:

²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 

He not only reconciled us to God and took the penalty our sin deserved, He will one day present us to the Father holy, blameless, and above reproach. In fact, because of our union with Him (we are in Him and He is in us), we are already positionally righteous and holy.

God sees it as a finished work. As Paul told the Philippians:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1.6).

And in Jude:

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy (Jude 24).

Through the ups and downs, pressures, temptations, and trials of this life, He is gradually bringing that to pass.

Persevering & Enduring Faith

²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Paul brings us back to the sufficiency of Christ. Our salvation is based on the gospel alone and not works as the false teachers taught (Eph. 2.8-9). 

Saving faith is persevering faith. We persevere because of Christ in us. We are to keep our eyes on Him and remember our hope in the gospel. 

Finally, this verse tells us the gospel is “proclaimed in all creation.” Paul and the other apostles took the gospel to the known civilized world (Acts 17.6). And one day, at the consummation of the ages, that process will be complete (Matt. 24.14). 

Live in Light of the Gospel

We were alienated from God with no ability to save ourselves, lost and without hope until God saved us. Now we can rejoice because “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1.13). We belong to Him and He is at work in us conforming us to the image of His Son.

May we live everyday in light of all He has done in and for us.

You can scroll down to find links to some of my other recent posts.

Note: It has been a couple of weeks since the last post on Colossians and this one is on the shorter side. I returned from a trip sick with a virus that kept me down for a while and I’m still catching up. I hope to be back on track this week … God willing.

The Most Read Post

The most-read post from the last couple of weeks:

“Could You Be a Christian in Name Only?”

Other Posts from the Previous Couple of Weeks:

Here are the other most viewed posts:

“How Does Our Thinking Affect Our Emotions?”

“Have You Been Too Busy & Distracted?”

“Do You Live with a Sense of Guilt?”

“Dealing with Prodigals & Hard Questions for Every Believer”

“Medical, Political & Spiritual Pockets of Resistance”

“Is Your Filter the Lens of Scripture or Something Else?”

“How to Forgive When You’re Not Feeling It”

I hope you’ll check out a couple.

In the coming days, we’ll look at sin’s invisible hooks and discuss the battle for truth and religious liberty. We’ll also pose the question, “If others were to call you by your character, what would your name be?

You can sign up for this weekly newsletter or the daily posts here. 

Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna

Complete List of Posts in this Series

The Preeminent Christ & Why It’s Important | Colossians Part 2

What Does Christ’s Preeminence Mean to Me? | Colossians Part 3

A Summary of the Christian Life | Colossians Part 4

The Unfolding Plan of God, Crimes of Passion & Our Hope of Glory | Colossians Part 5

Rooted & Established in Christ | Colossians Part 6

The Danger of a False Gospel | Colossians Part 7

The Power of God in Us | Colossians Part 8

Our Union with Christ | Colossians Part 9

Seek to Be Like Christ | Colossians Part 10

Putting on the Character of Christ | Colossians Wrap-Up

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.

Do you ever struggle with prayer? Do you sometimes feel it’s just one more thing on your to-do list or that you don’t measure up in this area? Me, too, but these are some of the strategies that I’ve learned through the years that have helped me have a more consistent and meaningful prayer life.