Key Text: 2 Corinthians 5:21

Study Focus: Col. 1:20–29, Romans 5, 2 Cor. 5:18–21

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul teaches that we have all things in Christ. Jesus is our Creator and Redeemer. The apostle elaborates on this idea by ascribing to Jesus titles that reflect what He has done for us. Jesus is the Head of the church, the Beginning, and the Firstborn from the dead, resulting in His preeminence in all things (Col. 1:18). Paul says that “it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell” (Col. 1:19, NKJV). In other words, Paul is asserting that Jesus is God! Simply put, Paul is telling us that Jesus does what He does because He is who He is! As fully God, He is able to create and redeem. In Colossians 1:19, 20, Paul implies that God was pleased with two things: (1) that in Jesus all His fullness should dwell, and (2) that through Jesus all things should be reconciled to Him. These two ideas indicate that Jesus’ divine status and His work of reconciliation are inseparable.

This week’s lesson emphasizes three major themes:

1. God takes the first step in reconciling us to Himself. For that purpose, He sent Jesus into the world to bring humanity back to Him. But, in response, we must “continue in the faith” and not be “moved away from the hope of the gospel” (Col. 1:23).

2. In our work for Christ, we must remember that we are merely His agents in a much bigger divine plan.

3. The power of the gospel causes us to mature for salvation in Christ.

Part II: Commentary

Illustration

“Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s parents disapproved so strongly of her marriage to Robert [Browning] that they disowned her. Almost weekly, Elizabeth wrote love letters to her mother and father, asking for a recon­ciliation. They never once replied. After ten years of letter writing, Elizabeth received a huge box in the mail. She opened it. To her dismay and heartbreak, the box contained all of her letters to her parents. Not one of them had ever been opened!

“Today those love letters are among the most beautiful in clas­sical English literature. Had her parents opened and read only a few of them, a reconciliation might have been effected. The Bible is God’s letter of reconciliation to us. We should open and read it thoroughly and often.”—Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), p. 297.

Reconciliation, Faith, and Hope

The Bible clearly indicates that God initiated the process of reconciling humanity to Himself. When our first parents fell into sin, God visited the Garden of Eden to seek them (Gen. 3:9). Paul says that “our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies” (Rom. 5:10, NLT). This teaching echoes Paul’s sentiment in Colossians 1:21, 22. Notably, God’s initiative in bringing about reconcilia­tion is a pervasive theme in Romans 5:5–11, as one can see in the table below.

There is a close parallelism between verses 6, 8, and 10 (see also Eph. 2:4, 5). When we were still weak, when we were sinners and enemies, Christ died for us, thereby reconciling us to God. Paul also touches on this theme elsewhere, with minor adjustments, as the table below shows.

God is always the ultimate Agent and Initiator of the reconciliation process. In Galatians 4:4, 5, Paul uses adoption language to refer to God’s initiative in reconciling us to Himself. As John eloquently states, “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NKJV). Reconciliation is made possible through the death of Christ (Rom. 5:6; 2 Cor. 5:21; Col. 1:20; Eph. 2:13, 16; etc.), and it results in peace with God (Eph. 2:14–19). Because we have been adopted as God’s children (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 3:26; Gal. 4:4–6; 1 John 3:1, 2), our elevated status, through faith in Christ, results in access to Him (Rom. 5:2, Eph. 2:18, Eph. 3:12, Heb. 10:19–22).

In response to God’s initiative, we must “continue in the faith” and not be “moved away from the hope of the gospel” (Col. 1:23, NKJV). Faith and hope are Christian virtues that go hand in hand (1 Cor. 13:13, Gal. 5:5, 1 Thess. 1:3, 1 Thess. 5:8, 1 Pet. 1:21). We believe and hope in God for salvation (1 Pet. 1:21), not in human achievements.

Players in a Much Bigger Plan

In Colossians 1:25, Paul states that he “became a minister according to the stewardship from God . . . to fulfill the word of God” (NKJV). Paul knew that his ministry was not an end in itself. He was just a player in a much bigger plan. Otherwise, how could he rejoice in his sufferings (Col. 1:24)? Only someone who knows that our afflictions in this world are but a momentary pang, when compared to the “exceeding and eternal weight of glory” God is preparing for us (2 Cor. 4:17, NKJV), is able to rejoice in them. Paul affirms that the fulfillment of the Word of God has to do with “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints” (Col. 1:26, NKJV). Truly, Paul understood that he was really an actor in a story much bigger than himself.

For the fulfillment of His eternal purpose, God has called many charac­ters throughout the centuries to enact their role in the story of redemption. For instance, Joseph did not realize, at first, that God was guiding events to preserve the people through whom the promised Messiah would come. Yet, this orchestration of events was precisely what God was doing. On the way to Egypt, “for a time Joseph gave himself up to uncontrolled grief and terror. But, in the providence of God, even this experience was to be a blessing to him. He had learned in a few hours that which years might not otherwise have taught him.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 213, emphasis added. Finally, the years taught Joseph that God was leading all the events “ ‘to save many people alive’ ” (Gen. 50:20, NKJV).

What about other biblical characters? There are so many that it is impossible to talk about them all (see Hebrews 11). For instance, what about the book of Ruth? In light of the broader biblical narrative, Ruth’s story shows that God is working, even when it seems He is not. Ruth played an important role by becoming the great-grandmother of David, the great king of Israel (Ruth 4:13, 21, 22). She was but a character in a much bigger story. God made a covenant with David by promising that He would set up his seed after him and “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12, 13, NKJV). This promise is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, the eschatological Son of David (Matt. 1:1). God is leading all the events on earth for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose in Jesus Christ! This purpose is the mystery that was hidden but has now been revealed (Col. 1:26).

Maturity in Christ

As Christians, we are called to grow in maturity by believing and putting into practice the Word of God. Paul indicates that the goal of the gospel is to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:28, NKJV). God wants us to grow as we prepare ourselves for the Second Coming, knowing that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6, NKJV).

Spiritual growth involves at least three things. First, we must grow in faith. When writing to the Corinthians, Paul made it clear that he expected their faith to increase (2 Cor. 10:15). Similarly, in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, Paul thanks God for the Thessalonians because their “faith grows exceedingly” (NKJV). Second, we must grow in knowledge. Peter warns us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18, NKJV; see also 2 Pet. 1:3). Likewise, Paul urges the Colossians to “walk worthy of the Lord” and increase “in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10, NKJV). Third, we must grow in love. Thus, Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 3:12, “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you” (NKJV; see also Phil. 1:9). Obviously, spiritual growth comes from God. Believers are called to grow “with the increase that is from God” (Col. 2:19, NKJV; see also Phil. 1:6; 1 Cor. 3:6, 7; 2 Cor. 9:10).

Part III: Life Application

Meditate upon the following themes. Then ask your students to answer the questions at the end of the section.

It is incredibly encouraging to know that God takes the initiative in our salvation, isn’t it? Without His initial outreach, would we even be able to approach Him on our own? Surely not! As Wilson Tozer persuasively said, “Before a man can seek God, God must first have sought the man.”—Tozer and W. L. Seaver, Prayer: Communing With God in Everything—Collected Insights From A. W. Tozer (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2016), p. 238.

The Bible shows that God took the initiative, not only on a cosmic level by reaching out to the only sheep that went astray (our planet, earth) but also on a personal level. After all, isn’t this exactly what Jesus did with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1–42), Nathanael (John 1:48), and many others?

While God takes the initiative to save us, we must not forget that He expects us to respond to His love by loving Him back and playing our part in His divine plan of cosmic salvation. God can use us despite our weaknesses and limitations. In His power and strength, we can do more than we think we can. Yet, we have to keep in mind that we are merely actors in a divine story much bigger than our own particular narrative threads. One day, we will be able to comprehend more fully the role our individual stories played in the grand narrative of redemption. Until that day comes, God wants us to grow in faith, knowledge, and love, as instruments of reconciliation and hope!

Questions:

1. In what ways has God sought you in the past? Share an expe­rience with the class.

2. What part do you have in the grand scheme of salvation? With whom have you shared your story of God’s redemptive love? How has your story already impacted the lives of others in a meaningful way?