“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight…” Colossians 1:21-22.

In the last study it was seen that God reconciled all things to Himself through the blood of Christ’s cross. And this meant everything whether in heaven or on earth all things have been reconciled to God by Christ’s sacrifice.

The apostle now includes the Colossians, and this would be for us too, in this reconciliation with God in verse 21.

“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled…” Colossians 1:21.

“It [righteousness] shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 4:24-5:2.

God speaks of the alienation which all men have with Him as a state of being dead, and in Christ they have been made alive. We all know that once a person is dead they do not come back to life, this is impossible.

We should really look at spiritual death in the same manner, dead is dead, period. One cannot be good, they are dead, one cannot do good works to please God, they are dead; however, one can cry out to God for help, because He hears those in distress.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…” Ephesians 2:1-5.

Just as it is impossible for a person to raise himself from spiritual death so the ability of God to raise them would also have been impossible if it were not for the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.

It is a simple question of logic; if an infinitely intelligent God were to try to figure out a way of dealing with the sin problem separating man from God once and for all, He would have come up with a much simpler plan if there were one.

But this one includes the death of God the Son on a cross to die for the sin of mankind. And still, men keep coming up with their own selfish plan of how to get to heaven. It is an insult to God when they do this.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

These verses in Colossians 1:21-22 go on to tell us that men who were once alienated and enemies of God, and dead in their sins, “now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death…”

But this is not simple death of the body and release to Paradise as it would seem. Rather it is death that included separation from God, which is what spiritual death ends up being if a person dies physically in sin.

It is this sense of abandonment and horror that caused Jesus to cry out in the last few minutes before He breathed His last.

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” Psalm 22:1-2.

“Now when the sixth hour [noon] had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour [3 pm]. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, ‘Look, He is calling for Elijah!’ Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, ‘Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.’ And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.” Mark 15:33-37.

It is this sort of death that is referred to in the following verses.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us [Jew and Gentiles], having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross [death], thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…” Ephesians 2:13-19.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:9.

There are those who say that Jesus was a great Man and example; but that is not what this says, He, “was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death”.

He did not come merely to be an example, though He was that too. He came to fulfill Scripture, God’s promise of a Savior.

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Hebrews 10:4.

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:11-14.

The power of the shed blood of Christ is so inconceivable that one could spend their whole life just considering that one subject.

In fact the power of the blood so cleanses us of sin that we are seen as:

“…holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight…” Colossians 1:22b.

The actions of the average Christian today, when examined carefully, cannot always seen as holy, we allow far too much evil to come into our hearts and out of our mouths.

Believers could hardly be called blameless because of the evil things we do such as, jealousy, hatred, contentions, selfish ambitions, or envy, which often harm others on nearly a daily basis.

Because of these things we could hardly be called irreproachable. The dictionary defines the word reproach as; 1. to find fault with, 2. to upbraid or to scold, 3. to be a cause of blame or discredit to [a cause or someone else] – among other things.

To be irreproachable or above reproach is just the opposite of this. Whether they know it or not, many Christians are often a cause of blame or are a discredit to Christ to the ungodly among whom we dwell.

It is very important for the Christian, myself included, to continually grow in Christ through reading of His word, prayer, and association with other believers.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16.

Consider again the power of the shed blood of Christ; we are said to be, “holy, and blameless, and irreproachable in His sight”. It is in His sight, God’s sight, that we are all these things, even though in the sight of men we are often terrible Christians and just as great of sinners as they are.

It is the stupefying power of the shed blood of Christ that makes us seen as in Christ and blameless as He. But what is the extent of its power, yes it is infinite, but also, by Him, God has reconciled.

“…all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” Colossians 1:20.

Because of this it is written:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31-39.

Do not be fooled though.

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:3-11.

Please consider this passage carefully; read it more than once or twice. There are Christians who go through years of truly heavy trials, even to the point of exhaustion.

Then in the midst of it all they look at you and ask, “Why is this happening, does God hate me?” No, God does not hate you.

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [full payment] for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10.

It cannot be said that God hates a Christian, but He can hate what they do. God does not hate the sinner either, but He does hate the sin that they are so insistent on clinging to.

The ungodly clings to his sin instead of letting Christ take it away; as a result the sinner cannot enter God’s presence where there is no sin.

If God cannot hate the Christian, whom He loves, He chastens them in the same manner as a father chastens his child, for their own good.

Is it then possible that the trial a believer may be going through would be chastening to get them to give up a certain kind of sinful behavior; rather than mere chance?

This is a tough question, but if someone has worked hard all their life and has had nothing but grinding poverty to show for it, is it possible that there is a reason for this?

Is it possible that a recent spate of ill health is due to a known sin in a person’s life?

If pressure at home or work has become unbearable, is it because of nothing at all, or is it due to sin in a person’s life?

Did you know that if a man treats his wife badly, his prayers will be hindered? That might not matter to some folks because their prayers are never answered, but to those who are used to having them answered; it is a disaster.

“Likewise you husbands, likewise, dwell with them [your wives] with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7.

It may be that a person’s troubles come for a different reason, but it certainly would not hurt them to examine their life to see what is causing their misfortunes.

Sometimes the answer to the question, “Why is this happening?” will pop up in a person’s mind the instant they ask it. But are they willing to hear the answer?

Other times it will be a matter of searching the Scriptures in an effort to find God’s will, or even asking a Christian friend if they might have an insight. Be careful who you confide in, not everyone is trustworthy.

Nothing happens for nothing; do not go through life like a chip of wood carried down a swift stream; that is not the life God has planned for you. Ask the questions, search for the answers, there will be a reason.

Colossians 1:21-22 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 12-18-13, updated on 2-29-20.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.