The Hope of the Gospel: Seeing with Both Eyes (Colossians 1:21-23).Sunday May 31, 2026
Col 1:21-23 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach — 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Intro:
Hope is the ability to see our future glory with Christ in heaven, in the presence of the Father, and not only seeing this. Hope is also the ability to see our Christ-like lives on the earth in the age we live.
Hope has two eyes - they are the eyes of your heart. One eye is looking upon earth now. One eye is looking to eternity then. We do not put both eyes on one or the other.
One eye is on this age and our Christian lives in it and the other is on the new heavens and new earth, but in our hearts, like our physical eyes, we see one image, in this case Christ.
Review: Fullness, all, everything in Christ (now and in heaven).
If we have this 3D vision of now and then, we will see the fullness (3D) of Christ.
Col 1:4-5 love which you have for all the saints (now); 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven (then).
Col 1:9-12 that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
The faith which sees the need of the people in the world now, and the will of God for you to provide that need, and the faith that sees the presence of God in heaven has the full picture.
A partial picture will not do. If we are focused on heaven and not earth, we will neglect our ministry to others. If we are focused on earth and not heaven, we will think the end all-be all of life is here and will unwittingly be conformed to this world.
The fullness that Paul writes of extends itself from the source, the heart of the gospel.
Col 1:15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Eyes on Christ’s work in time, and at the same time, our final glory and fulfillment with Him in heaven, gives us the vision to see that the God Man, the Creator and Savior, is in everything.
1. Then and now and not yet.
Then: enemies of God
You were alienated (from God and from Israel), hostile in mind (connotes active not passive), [engaged] in evil works.
Now: reconciled
The act of reconciliation was a physical one. “By the blood of His cross” (1:20).
Reconciliation is judicial and personal. God’s justice is satisfied and the believer is drawn near to the person of God in Christ. The obvious implication is that if a believer is reconciled to God in a relationship, a personal relationship with God is life changing, as well as challenging. (This is true of any meaningful relationship)
“In order to present you before Him …” The verb means to be brought into the presence of and before Him meaning in His sight.
The evil, actively hostile enemy is dragged before the Lord whom he offended.
These were rescued from the dominion of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son (1:13) by the Son Himself.
2. Perseverance of the saints: What does it look like?
If indeed you continue…
The conditional clause (“if” plus an indicative) indicates Paul’s confidence in them.
It is an introduction to Paul’s hinge in the letter:
Col 2:6-7 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
“The faith” is objective: what we believe about Christ.
God tells us these several first-class conditional statements so that we can know that He never designed Christianity for converts leaving the faith.
Some take it too far, some, not far enough. Salvation is by faith and not by works. We are saved by faith alone because the salvation was accomplished completely by Christ.
Col 1:20 through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Col 1:22 He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death.
Col 2:9 in Him you have been made complete,
The language used (“firmly established and steadfast, not moved away from the hope) is that each believer is like a building set on a sure foundation and erected with strong supports and buttresses and so they remain true to the gospel.
3. Hope: Already and not yet
We are complete (Col 2:9) but not yet fully redeemed (Rom 8:23).
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Hope makes us really live because it makes us live in this life but not live as if it is our end all be all, or our home.
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption which as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare … There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” [C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory]
4. Conclusion
We are exiles that live alongside, resident foreigners.
The already-not yet tension is uncomfortable at times. Living for Christ in a world full of people alienated to Him and hostile in mind and in evil works means that suffering is a given, more so for those who follow Christ.
As aliens from heaven living alongside the world, society will be transformed.
It is a lofty and sacrificial challenge. Not often do we associate sacrifice with the word hope, yet it is just that.
Hope has two eyes - they are the eyes of your heart.
One eye is looking upon earth now. One eye is looking to eternity then. We do not put both eyes on one or the other. |