Thank you for joining us in studying the Bible. It doesn’t matter if you know lots about the Bible or if you have recently started following Jesus. There is something here for all of us to learn, and with God’s help, we will do this together.
Our last two lessons were about THE Preeminent Christ. This is Jesus who is over all, above everyone and everything, including every nation and kingdom in the physical and spiritual realm. After a sentence like that, take a moment and worship Him. He is Supreme, He is Preeminent!
Remember this Jesus as we look at the next section of verses in Colossians 1. This teaching will be spread out over the following two lessons, and our title is taken from verse 27: “The Mystery of Christ in You.” This awesome, preeminent Jesus we just talked about will actually live in you! How is this even possible? What does this mean?
Great questions. Let’s go with Bible teacher J Mark to Colossians 1 and see what we can learn together.
Do you like mysteries? I do. I’ve read books about people with an uncanny ability to unravel complex cases. People from ancient times have explored the mysteries of nature and even the spirit world. Mankind has an insatiable curiosity about finding answers to their questions.
Today, I’m thinking about something we use regularly, something that would have been a mystery to the people of my grandparents’ generation. They would not have been able to figure out how this invention works.
I’m talking about the Global Positioning Systems, GPS as we call it. Most cellular phones use it. This device allows us to know where we are and where we want to go. It works through a process known as triangulation. There are numerous satellites constantly circling our earth in an exact orbit. These satellites send signals back to Earth, and our GPS units need to pick up signals from 3 to 4 of these satellites and calculate the time it takes for that signal to arrive from each of them. Based on that information, the GPS can tell you where you are within just a few feet. And it happens in a few seconds!
The United States government first developed this technology for military applications. Eventually, GPS became a dual-use technology. As the saying goes, “the rest is history.”
In our study of the Colossians, we’ve come to chapter one, verses 21 to 29. In verse 27 of this section, we’re told that God has placed His GPS unit inside us: “… CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory.” My teaching today is titled “The Mystery of Christ in You.” Colossians 1:21- 29.
21And 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.
24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,
26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him, we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29 For this, I toil, struggling with all his energy, which he powerfully works within me.
This portion of Scripture reveals the several PROCESSES by which we can understand the mystery of Christ in us and be assured of its reality.
The First PROCESS is,
Reconciliation
This very word, reconciliation, alerts us to the fact that there’s been a separation, an estrangement, a break in relationship. There’s no need for reconciliation when walking in obedience to the Lord and in unity with my brothers and sisters in Christ. There’s fellowship, there’s connectedness, there’s mutual encouragement.
But Paul reminds the Colossian believers, and us, that, in the past, we were all in a continuing state of estrangement from God. And that estrangement, that alienation, was permanent unless a change occurred. Granted, we cannot effect that reconciliation on our own. God took the initiative to provide that reconciliation for us.
We must note that there are two parts to reconciliation. First, the objective part is that Christ’s death made it possible for all human beings to participate in this reconciliation. It is objective in that it is a settled fact. The second part of reconciliation is subjective; Christ’s death made my reconciliation and yours possible, too. But only if you and I accept what He has provided. We must decide whether to accept or reject that reconciliation.
Further, not only were we estranged from God, but we were actively hostile toward Him. That hostility begins in our minds and thoughts; we have evil intent. Those intentions naturally come out in our actions, as Paul graphically shows us in Romans 1:21 and the following. Paul says in Romans 8:7 that the carnal mind, or the mind controlled by the flesh, is hostile to God and His ways. We weren’t content to ignore God. Instead, we chose things to provoke Him deliberately.
As a teenager, I struggled with being estranged from my dad. I viewed him as the problem. I told myself that if he changed, the problem would go away. But because he didn’t change, I took a perverse pleasure in doing things that irritated him. I tried to find ways to cause him pain. Eventually, I could see that I was part of the problem and, by God’s grace, could own my choices and put the relationship on the path to reconciliation. It was a blessing to lay down that burden of hostility and be free!
As you can see, Paul’s description of what we were isn’t pretty! And yet, despite all our hostility, pride, and all the results of our sin, Christ died for us. His death effected our reconciliation. And don’t miss this: the word Paul uses here means “to reconcile fully and completely.” When you and I, by faith, accept the sacrifice of Jesus as the only acceptable payment for our sin, we become fully reconciled to God—no halfway measures here. God views us as being completely holy and without blame – Hallelujah!
Paul goes on to say that this reconciliation, this rapprochement, was made possible because Jesus was willing to go to the cross. Verse 22 says we are reconciled “in the body of His flesh through death.” This sacrifice of His flesh and blood secured our forgiveness and gives us standing before God. Here is Hebrews 2:14 to 17.
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation [atonement] for the sins of the people.”
Notice again the refutation of Gnosticism. Jesus had a physical body—flesh and blood—and willingly gave up His physical life so we could be reconciled to the Father. No angels or other spirit beings can secure that reconciliation for us.
Why did Jesus endure all the pain and sacrifice for our reconciliation? He did it so He could present us to His Father. His death enabled us to be “placed beside the Father” or in His immediate presence. We had to be made holy, blameless, and above reproach to be welcomed there. God, through Jesus, has “raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places,” according to Ephesians 2:6.
You may ask, “Where’s the mystery in this, pastor?” The mystery is that the all-powerful, all-holy God would choose on His initiative to reconcile us to Himself through the cruel death of His only Son. Here’s Romans 5:6 to 8. “For when we were still without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That is a part of the mystery!
The Second PROCESS (in understanding the mystery of Christ in us) is,
Sanctification
Before we examine this process, indulge me for a moment. Some pastors and Bible teachers say we shouldn’t use big words like sanctification because they’re hard for people to understand. My response is – Explain what you mean. That’s part of your job! No matter what you call this process or how you approach the subject, you’ll need words to explain it. Why reject words that encapsulate the process in favor of words that take even more explanation and still may fall short? Furthermore, preaching and teaching should not only be spiritually stimulating, but they should also challenge the intellect.
The root word of sanctification is sanctify. It means to set apart or to make holy. It’s not explicitly used in these verses, although a form of it is used in verse 22 and translated as our English word, holy. Sanctification has much to do with how we live and how our faith affects our choices. It’s the process by which we demonstrate that our faith in Jesus is genuine. Because of this, many people misunderstand it and equate it with trying to earn salvation. That’s unfortunate because the Scriptures give us numerous commands to be holy or to “sanctify ourselves.”
That sanctification, setting apart for holiness, demonstrates itself in outward actions but begins in the heart, according to I Peter 3:15. Listen. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts [internal], and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct [external] in Christ may be ashamed.”
Thanks, J Mark, for beginning the explanation of Christ in you. The first process is reconciliation, and the second one is sanctification. We are halfway through sanctification, which we will finish next time. We will then look at the final process, which, by the way, is glorification. Hopefully, you can join us next time to hear the rest of this incredible mystery of Christ in us.
However, if you miss next week, no worries. Here are a few other ways you can get our teaching. You could email us and ask for it—our email is hope@heraldsofhope.org. Or go to our website, which is heraldsofhope.org. There, you can contact us or go straight to the listen tab and hear just the teaching you want to hear. Use any method you choose. We would love to hear from you and help you with your request.
Thanks again for being with us today for the first part of this teaching. Till next time think about the incredible mystery we discussed from verse 27, here it is. To (his saints) God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. God Bless.
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.
