Read: Colossians 1:21-23
He has now reconciled [you] in his body of flesh by his death. (v. 22)
Paul told the Colossians that at one time they had been hostile to God. They had done “evil deeds.” Whoa! Seems a little harsh. Shouldn’t Paul save that kind of language for mass murderers and such? Were the ordinary Colossian Christians really that perverted before they embraced the gospel message? Spiritually speaking the answer is yes. There is no such thing as being just a little bit fallen. You can no more be a little alienated from God than a woman can be a little pregnant.
That would be a message of Bad News were it not for what comes next: Jesus took all of that rotten, evil stuff and suffered on our behalf in his body of flesh. He reconciled us to God. He became the bridge that we could walk across to have a wonderful reunion with God.
These verses are the conclusion of that enthusiastic explosion Paul began in verse 15. Paul capped it by saying that this gospel message of reconciliation had been declared to “every creature under heaven” (that is the literal Greek in verse 23). Seems a little over the top. Every creature has heard the gospel? Grasshoppers? Frogs? Well, it may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the reach and the power of the gospel are the point. It is the power of reconciliation, and it does affect the whole creation. Every creature! Thanks be to God! —Scott Hoezee
As you pray, praise God for the gift of the body of his very Son who saved us.
About the Author
Scott Hoezee is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church of North America. He served two Michigan congregations from 1990-2005 and since 2005 has been a faculty member at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he serves chiefly as the Director of The Center for Excellence in Preaching. He is the author of several books, including most recently Why We Listen to Sermons (Calvin Press 2019) and is the co-host of the “Groundwork” radio program.
