Colossians 1: 21,22 – straight through His death

And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension, by wicked acts, yet now He reconciles by His body of flesh, through His death.

While the total reconciliation of ‘all’ is still on the horizon, believers are already participating in this two-sided reconciliation (vertical and horizontal). They are no longer alienated and hostile in thinking as expressed in “wicked acts.” That reconciliation process is taking place now, in the present tense. But whatever the timing of the reconciliation of alienated and hostile creatures, whether now or later, the means by which God accomplishes this is the same.

It is through the Son who was killed on the cross that God reconciles ‘all’ to Himself (verse 20). This formulation emphasizes the manner in which the Son died. In verse 22, however, Paul emphasizes the fact that the Son’s death was not an end point, but a passageway. The Son died, “in His body of flesh.” And just as physically, God also raised Him up. Straight “through death”!

God gives the Resurrection Life through Him who was crucified by the world. That is God’s response to our enmity. His love never ends. And thus He turns all enemies into enthusiasts!

Delen: