COLOSSIANS 1:21

The Bible says in Colossians 1:21-22, “And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” This verse tells us what Christians were before they were saved by Christ. It tells what Christ did in order to provide for their salvation. And it tells the purpose that Jesus wants to see realized in the life of each Christian.

Until you become saved by Christ you are “enemies in your mind by wicked works.” Those who are not saved are called the enemies of God because they belong to the spirit of darkness and in some way they contribute to the kingdom of darkness that opposes God and Christ. Whoever is not with Christ is against Christ. The enemies of God are enemies in the mind “by wicked works.” It all starts by what is taking place in the mind. Once you know Christ, your mind changes. Once your mind changes, your works will change also. What a person thinks about results in what a person does.

The problem is that every person has done wicked works: sin. And “the wages of sin is death.” The ultimate death is spiritual death, eternal separation from God. But God loves us. God does not want any one of us to go out into eternity to pay the wages of our own sins. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Even though Jesus was sinless, He paid the penalty for sin. Several words were used in this verse and in Colossians 1:20 to emphasize the price that Jesus paid so that we could be saved: blood, cross, body, flesh, death. His skin was slashed from His back with a whip. His beard was ripped from His face. A crown of cruel thorns was beaten into his skull. His hands and His feet were pierced by nails, and His side was stabbed with a spear. It was a terrible bloody death that Jesus suffered on a cruel Roman cross in order to pay the penalty for sin. But in addition to saving us from our sins, He also wants to see another result of the price that He paid for us. He wants to see us become “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” It is important to do God’s will. What is God’s will for each Christian? God’s will for you centers around the question of what kind of person that you are. If you become the person that God wants you to be then you will end up doing what God wants you to do.

Some Christians will not fulfill God’s will. Some Christians will not become what God wants them to become. Much can be lost. That is why the next verse starts with the word “if.” It says in Colossians 1:23, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.” In order to continue in the faith “grounded and settled,” one must become grounded and settled to start with. The word that is translated “grounded” refers to having a foundation. A wise Christian will study the scriptures and will obtain a foundation upon which they can base their lives. Anyone who does not gain this solid foundation for their faith will eventually be moved by the troubles and sorrows and difficulties of life and by unscriptural ideas.

It is one thing to hear the gospel and to believe it, but it is another thing to become grounded and settled so that nothing can move you from “the hope of the gospel.” The “hope” of the gospel is positive and joyful. The hope of the gospel refers to all of the wonderful things of the future that Christ will do for His believers. Something terrible has happened if a Christian can no longer be joyful about the blessed hope. David prayed in Psalms 51:12 “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.”

In Colossians 1:23 the Apostle Paul points out that he had a part in taking the gospel of Christ to every creature. He said that he was a “minister” for that very purpose. Paul was involved both in preaching the gospel to those who had not yet been saved, and he was involved in teaching those who were Christians already. Paul wrote in Colossians 1:24, “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” Paul paid a great price in order to fulfill his ministry. He suffered greatly. Because Paul was willing to suffer, others gained from his teachings.

Paul understood his calling. He wrote in Colossians 1:25, “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.” The word that is translated “dispensation” means literally “the management of a household.” When God gives you something to do, He has taken a part of His creation and given it to you for a time to administer for Him. The day will come when you will give an account for what He has placed within your hands. What a terrible day that will be for many of us.

Twice in this passage Paul has said that he was a minister. The word “minister” means servant. It refers to someone who serves others. Paul received his ministry from God. Paul received his ministry so that others would benefit even though he would suffer. And Paul received his ministry “to fulfill the word of God.” To “fulfill” means to complete. More than anyone else the Holy Spirit was using the Apostle Paul to write the New Testament. Once the New Testament was complete, the written Word of God was complete. This great Book that has been used by God over the centuries was completed because of the work done by the Apostle Paul and the other writers of New Testament scriptures. Of all the things that were accomplished in the life of the Apostle Paul, nothing had more lasting and eternal value than his writings. To speak is to speak to a few people for a moment in time. To write is to change the world and to change eternity. Of course, that is even more true concerning the Word of God.

Speaking of the Word of God that was revealed in the New Testament scriptures, Paul wrote in Colossians 1:26-27, “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Paul is saying that what God had given him to write was a “mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations.” The “ages” and “generations” that did not know the mystery refers to the times of the Old Testament. That is why you must be careful when you read or study or teach the Old Testament. You have to be careful that you bring the revelation of the mystery into your understanding and into your teaching. If Paul opened up the Old Testament and taught, you can be sure that Paul taught Christ, the hope of glory. It is a shameful thing how many times sermons are preached in our day from the Old Testament and the name of Christ is not mentioned even once. And there are other sermons from the Old Testament where Jesus Christ is not given the proper emphasis. What have we come to? We have come to the place in these last days where people do not even understand that the message from God is supposed to be centered on Jesus Christ. Of course, Colossians 1:26 says that this mystery about Christ “now is made manifest to his saints.” Therefore, maybe those who fail to preach the mystery are those who are not saints and who have never had the mystery revealed to them in the first place.

At the time of salvation by faith in Christ a believer first comes to know the mystery. At that very moment of salvation is when a new believer becomes one of God’s saints. But the Lord has much more for a believer to learn. He wants a believer to learn “what is the riches of the glory of the mystery.” One thing that is true about the great eternal Christ: there is always something more wonderful to learn about Him and to experience in your relationship with Him. Paul wrote of this same truth in Ephesians 3:17-19 where the Bible says, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Bernard of Clairveau wrote:

Jesus, the very thought of thee

With sweetness fills the breast,

But sweeter far thy face to see,

And in thy presence rest.

Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame

Nor can the memory find

A sweeter sound than thy blest name,

O Savior of mankind!

O hope of every contrite heart,

O joy of all the meek,

To those who fall how kind thou art!

How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah, this

Nor tongue nor pen can show,

The love of Jesus, what it is,

None but His loved ones know.

Colossians 1:27 makes it very clear what the mystery is. It gives a definition and says that the mystery is “Christ in you, the hope glory.” “Christ in you” is the central idea to the truth that has been revealed to mankind since Jesus walked the earth two thousand years ago. Of course, only true Christianity has this concept of “Christ in you.” All other religion is external. That is why false religion puts such a great emphasis on ceremony, and ritual, and human obligation, and the keeping of special days, and pilgrimages to geographical locations. All that these religions have is the external. They do not have “Christ in you.”

True religion is a relationship: a relationship between Jesus Christ and one human being. This is the mystery that was hid for ages: “Christ in you.” The word “in” speaks of an intimate relationship. It speaks of “knowing Christ.” It speaks of the fact that now Jesus Christ and you are forever linked in the closest of relationships. The experience of being born again takes place when Christ comes to you and becomes a part of you. Once Christ comes into you, He is in you forever. That is why Colossians 1:27 says that Christ in you is “the hope of glory.” Biblical hope is not a maybe. Biblical hope speaks of the anticipation of something good and wonderful that will happen in the future. If you are saved, the reason that you will go to heaven is not because of you. The reason you will go to heaven is because of “Christ in you.”

The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:28-29, “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” The word “preach” means to make a public proclamation. As elsewhere in the Bible we are reminded that the Lord wants the gospel to be proclaimed to all the world. Paul said that in his public proclamation that he was “warning every man” and “teaching every man.” The word that is translated “warning” means “to put in mind.” That is what a warning is all about. Someone is not thinking of all of the consequences of some course of action, and someone who cares about them warns them: brings to their mind information that they need to know. People are heading to destruction, and they need to be warned. They need to be told of the Deliverer who can rescue them: Jesus Christ.

Once people have accepted the warning and become believers in Jesus Christ, then they need to be taught the wonderful doctrines about Jesus Christ so that they can become “perfect in Christ Jesus.” The word that is translated “perfect” means: to be brought to its proper end, to be made mature, to be complete. You can become everything that Christ wants to make of you, but only if you receive the right teachings. Paul knew that it was so very important to spread the gospel to the unsaved and to teach Christians. Paul wrote, “I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” Notice that Paul labored and worked, but for lasting good to be accomplished it also required “his working,” that is, Christ’s working. That is how the work of God gets done in this world: a believer does the best that he can, and then the indwelling Christ does His work.

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