Colossians 1:15-23 - Jesus, the Reconciler of All Things

1 Amens

Amen

I am certain most all of us have had a falling out with someone – friend, spouse, parent, supervisor that has left us with lots of questions of how to move forward and to reconcile the broken relationship. On his first Inaugeration Day, March 4, 1861 Abraham Lincoln had a lot of questions about how to move forward and reconcile a broken nation. By this time 7 US states had already seceeded from the union to form the Confederate States of America. One month after he took office, 4 more states seceded. This all led to 5 years of war that would leave the nation divided and wounded. When the war finally came to an end on April 9, 1865 – then began the difficult task of reconstruction and reconciliation. Its one thing to reconcile with an individual. How do you reconcile a nation that nearly tore itself apart? No doubt the task was nearly impossible – but it was in Lincoln’s heart that the nation should be healed to the extent that it appeared no injury had occurred. He never wanted to go to war, but he believed fighting through the conflict would lead to healing. So after the war Lincoln approached reconciliation and reconstruction with charity rather than with an iron fist which is what some in government wanted. During his second inaugural address with victory at hand Lincoln said: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds… While Lincoln's desire for healing the nation was certainly noble, I think it only succeeded politically. The 11 confederate states were reintegrated into the union, but negative sentiments between north and south remained. Slavery turned into segregationism and racism. Reconciliation it seems was not achieved.

When we think of Christmas we often think of things like “peace, joy, love, good-will, charity”.

But I realize not all of us associate Christmas with warm feelings. Some of us associate stress, anxiety, credit card bills with Christmas – any joy you could have is sucked into the black hole of Christmas craziness. And still, there are some who carry deep wounds because one year during Christmas, something happened – a parent got angry and did something that you have never been able to recover from. You and a sibling got into an argument and the rift continues to this day. Your spouse left you around Christmas time for someone else and now Christmas is nothing but a painful reminder of brokenness in your life and your relationships. No matter where you are today, you have come to the right place. What we’re going to talk about is something that puts all of this into perspective - how God sent his Son into the world to bring healing and reconciliation to all.

READ – Colossians 1:15-23

 

TRANSITION: Ever since the first human beings rebelled and seceded from the Kingdom of God - a type of "civil war" began between God and man, and between men. Their sin also subjected the world and everything in it to the effects of their sin and rebellion. War, disease, death, injustice are all the effects of Adam’s first sin. And on the day Adam sinned God had already determined he would take action to fix everything to the extent that no signs of injury remain. And he determined he would accomplish this – not with an iron fist – but charity, love.
    Maybe you noticed the phrase "all things" or something equivalent is repeated in our text. As we consider the world, all of its problems, injustice, economic downturns, tyranny, disease – Paul wants it to be abundantly clear that Jesus Christ came to fix all of it, he is fixing it and he will fix it forever when he returns. What is Christmas about? It’s about how the creator-sustainer of all things has come to earth to reconcile all things to God by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.


(16)  By him all things were created

Ø               What does he mean by all things? Does he mean just the birds and the trees, the clouds and the seas? That and more - the physical and the spiritual.

Ø               "things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible". “IN the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)

Ø               Wait a minute! - What about all of the things humans have made? God didn't make my car! God didn't build my house, I didn't get my Wii from the "God" store!


Ø               True, but none of these things were created by humans out of thin air – the materials were created by God, and he made the people who make these things SO in a way its correct to say:

o                                    Jesus built the Great Wall of China, invented the Model T, the microprocessor.

o                                    Al Gore didn't invent the internet - Jesus did!

Ø               None of it would exist if it were not for Jesus. And none of it could maintain its existence apart from Jesus who at this present hour is holding together – sustaining all things.

(17) in him all things hold together.

Ø               Your car, ipod, your house, roaches, the universe,  yes even you – it was all created by Jesus and it is all being held together and constantly sustained by him.

Ø               Even in its state of corruption by sin - all of creation is held together by the power of Jesus.

Ø               Think about it - when Eve held the fruit of the forbidden tree in her hand and took a bite - the only thing keeping every molecule in her body from flying apart was Jesus - that is grace.

Ø               So much for the hard-nosed, grumpy, angry perception of God so may have today.

Ø               And this is true of each one of us - even while sinning - Jesus sustains our very existence.

Ø               The simple fact that he doesn't just obliterate us in response to our sin and rebellion is truly amazing if we really understand the magnitude of his holiness and glory.

Ø               God has always shown his grace in his dealings with sinful man, ever since the beginning.

Ø               But his constant outpouring of grace is not the result of him overlooking sin. Sin and its effects on creation still needed to be dealt with.

Ø               Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:19 that God went about reconciling the world to himself in Christ by not counting men’s sins against them. He counted them against Christ.

Ø               Christ took our punishment which is what makes real peace possible. And this trickles down to God's good world which is suffering from the effects of sin.

Ø               Paul says in Romans 8 - creation was subjected to frustration. So when Jesus came to earth as a baby he came to live a perfect life, to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

Ø               He came to save the world - to reconcile "all things" as Paul goes on to say in Romans 8 that the hope of creation is that it will be liberated from its frustration.

Ø               So Jesus came to reconcile everything he created to God.

(20a) [God sent Jesus] to reconcile to himself all things whether things on earth or things in heaven..


Ø               Out of love for all that he made God himself came down and took upon himself the insurmountable task of reconstructing a broken world and reconciling mankind to himself.

Ø     When Paul says all things he is referring to everything that was fashioned and shaped by him  held together in him and over which he reigns supreme. How did he accomplish this? 

(20b) He did this by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Ø               IN Luke's gospel, Luke tells us that just after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that some shepherds were tending sheep not too far away.

Ø               Luke 2:9-14 - 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Ø               And so when the angels declared to the shepherds that the long-expected Messiah had come they declared: "Peace on Earth" – this wasn’t like the hippies concept of peace in the 60s.

Ø               When there is conflict, rebellion, when there is a breach in the relationship there is no peace.

Ø               Their concept of peace was really a denial of the breach - pretending it wasn’t there.

Ø               The Union leaders never saw an end to the fighting as a sign that everything had been healed.

Ø               This false idea of peace only calls for an end to active violence and fails to rightly deal with what caused the hostility…not to mention, is unable to successfully deal with the resulting fallout.

Ø               This idea of peace betrays true peace. A biblical definition of the peace Jesus brought always carries with it this idea that a significant price has been paid to obtain it.

Ø               When the angels declared peace on earth - it meant that the only one who could pay the price for true peace had finally come.

Ø               As Paul says here in 20: Jesus came to bring peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

(21-22) Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation...

Ø     So the message of the angels to the shepherds that first Christmas was this: there was a war, there was a rebellion, there was a breach in the relationship between God and man.

Ø     But God has sent his Son Jesus to earth to end the hostility between God and humanity and to bring healing and reconciliation.

Ø     Your sins are going to be paid for by Jesus, this little child lying in a manger.

Ø     And this message is the same today as it was that first Christmas night - a savior has been born to you - he is Christ the Lord who has come to reconcile all things to God.

Ø     What about my financial situation? What about my failing marriage, my children? What about disease, sickness and death? Jesus came to reconcile all things to God.

Ø     What about the suffering and injustice? What about global warming and pollution? Jesus came to reconcile all things to God. Let me elaborate and tie this together.

Ø     Humanity's sin affected every aspect of human life (physically, socially, psychologically, economically, spiritually) and it affected all of God's good creation.

Ø     In the same way his work of reconciliation affects every aspect of human life and all of his good creation - he came to reconcile all things - things in heaven and on earth.

Ø     So that difficult financial situation, that troubled marriage, that strong-willed child, that cancerous tumor, the pollution in the air – Jesus is in the process of making all things new.

Ø     His work is holistic in scope – encompassing all of human life and all of creation.

Ø     How does one come to experience this level of reconciliation? Let me explain with an illustration

 

CLOSER: The Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett-Browning had a tyrannical father. Her mother had died when she was young so her father raised her and her siblings. He never wanted any of his children to marry. When she met Robert Browning the two developed a romantic relationship that led to their marrying secretly in 1846. After the wedding the Brownings sailed for Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives. But even though her father had disowned her, it has been said that Elizabeth never gave up on the relationship. According to some sources, she wrote several letters to her father. Not once did he reply. After 10 years, she received a large box in the mail. Inside, Elizabeth found all of her letters; not one had been opened! Had her father only read a few of them, it is possible that their estrangement might have be healed – they might have experienced healing and restoration. 

What was God doing in sending Jesus to earth? 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 tells us that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God."
    Jesus is like those letters Elizabeth sent to her father. And so many people each year receive this letter when they go to Christmas services, sing carols and hear about the birth of Jesus - but every year they return the letter unopened. Friends the only way we can experience reconciliation is to open the letter and discover God’s desire for you and for the world is that it be healed to the extent that no traces of injury remain. And it all begins when you put your faith in Jesus. Have you opened it? Have you read the good news of God's work of reconciliation in Christ? If not, consider all I have said this morning about Christ coming to reconcile all things, to establish peace on earth and to bring healing to all the nations as a preview of the content. And I, as Christ's ambassador, one entrusted with the ministry of Reconciliation implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. This is the meaning of Christmas - the reason why Christ's birth is celebrated - his coming is the Gospel - the good news of reconciliation. This is the whole message of the Christian faith – God and sinners reconciled. If you have not opened the letter - I urge you, don’t miss out - open it and be reconciled to God.

I am certain most all of us have had a falling out with someone – friend, spouse, parent, supervisor that has left us with lots of questions of how to move forward and to reconcile the broken relationship. On his first Inaugeration Day, March 4, 1861 Abraham Lincoln had a lot of questions about how to move forward and reconcile a broken nation. By this time 7 US states had already seceeded from the union to form the Confederate States of America. One month after he took office, 4 more states seceded. This all led to 5 years of war that would leave the nation divided and wounded. When the war finally came to an end on April 9, 1865 – then began the difficult task of reconstruction and reconciliation. Its one thing to reconcile with an individual. How do you reconcile a nation that nearly tore itself apart? No doubt the task was nearly impossible – but it was in Lincoln’s heart that the nation should be healed to the extent that it appeared no injury had occurred. He never wanted to go to war, but he believed fighting through the conflict would lead to healing. So after the war Lincoln approached reconciliation and reconstruction with charity rather than with an iron fist which is what some in government wanted. During his second inaugural address with victory at hand Lincoln said: With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds… While Lincoln's desire for healing the nation was certainly noble, I think it only succeeded politically. The 11 confederate states were reintegrated into the union, but negative sentiments between north and south remained. Slavery turned into segregationism and racism. Reconciliation it seems was not achieved.

When we think of Christmas we often think of things like “peace, joy, love, good-will, charity”.

But I realize not all of us associate Christmas with warm feelings. Some of us associate stress, anxiety, credit card bills with Christmas – any joy you could have is sucked into the black hole of Christmas craziness. And still, there are some who carry deep wounds because one year during Christmas, something happened – a parent got angry and did something that you have never been able to recover from. You and a sibling got into an argument and the rift continues to this day. Your spouse left you around Christmas time for someone else and now Christmas is nothing but a painful reminder of brokenness in your life and your relationships. No matter where you are today, you have come to the right place. What we’re going to talk about is something that puts all of this into perspective - how God sent his Son into the world to bring healing and reconciliation to all.

READ – Colossians 1:15-23

 

TRANSITION: Ever since the first human beings rebelled and seceded from the Kingdom of God - a type of "civil war" began between God and man, and between men. Their sin also subjected the world and everything in it to the effects of their sin and rebellion. War, disease, death, injustice are all the effects of Adam’s first sin. And on the day Adam sinned God had already determined he would take action to fix everything to the extent that no signs of injury remain. And he determined he would accomplish this – not with an iron fist – but charity, love.
    Maybe you noticed the phrase "all things" or something equivalent is repeated in our text. As we consider the world, all of its problems, injustice, economic downturns, tyranny, disease – Paul wants it to be abundantly clear that Jesus Christ came to fix all of it, he is fixing it and he will fix it forever when he returns. What is Christmas about? It’s about how the creator-sustainer of all things has come to earth to reconcile all things to God by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.


(16)  By him all things were created

Ø               What does he mean by all things? Does he mean just the birds and the trees, the clouds and the seas? That and more - the physical and the spiritual.

Ø               "things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible". “IN the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)

Ø               Wait a minute! - What about all of the things humans have made? God didn't make my car! God didn't build my house, I didn't get my Wii from the "God" store!

Ø               True, but none of these things were created by humans out of thin air – the materials were created by God, and he made the people who make these things SO in a way its correct to say:

o                                    Jesus built the Great Wall of China, invented the Model T, the microprocessor.

o                                    Al Gore didn't invent the internet - Jesus did!

Ø               None of it would exist if it were not for Jesus. And none of it could maintain its existence apart from Jesus who at this present hour is holding together – sustaining all things.

(17) in him all things hold together.

Ø               Your car, ipod, your house, roaches, the universe,  yes even you – it was all created by Jesus and it is all being held together and constantly sustained by him.

Ø               Even in its state of corruption by sin - all of creation is held together by the power of Jesus.

Ø               Think about it - when Eve held the fruit of the forbidden tree in her hand and took a bite - the only thing keeping every molecule in her body from flying apart was Jesus - that is grace.

Ø               So much for the hard-nosed, grumpy, angry perception of God so may have today.

Ø               And this is true of each one of us - even while sinning - Jesus sustains our very existence.

Ø               The simple fact that he doesn't just obliterate us in response to our sin and rebellion is truly amazing if we really understand the magnitude of his holiness and glory.

Ø               God has always shown his grace in his dealings with sinful man, ever since the beginning.

Ø               But his constant outpouring of grace is not the result of him overlooking sin. Sin and its effects on creation still needed to be dealt with.

Ø               Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:19 that God went about reconciling the world to himself in Christ by not counting men’s sins against them. He counted them against Christ.

Ø               Christ took our punishment which is what makes real peace possible. And this trickles down to God's good world which is suffering from the effects of sin.

Ø               Paul says in Romans 8 - creation was subjected to frustration. So when Jesus came to earth as a baby he came to live a perfect life, to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

Ø               He came to save the world - to reconcile "all things" as Paul goes on to say in Romans 8 that the hope of creation is that it will be liberated from its frustration.

Ø               So Jesus came to reconcile everything he created to God.

(20a) [God sent Jesus] to reconcile to himself all things whether things on earth or things in heaven..

Ø               Out of love for all that he made God himself came down and took upon himself the insurmountable task of reconstructing a broken world and reconciling mankind to himself.

Ø     When Paul says all things he is referring to everything that was fashioned and shaped by him  held together in him and over which he reigns supreme. How did he accomplish this? 

(20b) He did this by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Ø               IN Luke's gospel, Luke tells us that just after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that some shepherds were tending sheep not too far away.

Ø               Luke 2:9-14 - 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Ø               And so when the angels declared to the shepherds that the long-expected Messiah had come they declared: "Peace on Earth" – this wasn’t like the hippies concept of peace in the 60s.

Ø               When there is conflict, rebellion, when there is a breach in the relationship there is no peace.

Ø               Their concept of peace was really a denial of the breach - pretending it wasn’t there.

Ø               The Union leaders never saw an end to the fighting as a sign that everything had been healed.

Ø               This false idea of peace only calls for an end to active violence and fails to rightly deal with what caused the hostility…not to mention, is unable to successfully deal with the resulting fallout.

Ø               This idea of peace betrays true peace. A biblical definition of the peace Jesus brought always carries with it this idea that a significant price has been paid to obtain it.

Ø               When the angels declared peace on earth - it meant that the only one who could pay the price for true peace had finally come.

Ø               As Paul says here in 20: Jesus came to bring peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

(21-22) Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation...

Ø     So the message of the angels to the shepherds that first Christmas was this: there was a war, there was a rebellion, there was a breach in the relationship between God and man.

Ø     But God has sent his Son Jesus to earth to end the hostility between God and humanity and to bring healing and reconciliation.

Ø     Your sins are going to be paid for by Jesus, this little child lying in a manger.

Ø     And this message is the same today as it was that first Christmas night - a savior has been born to you - he is Christ the Lord who has come to reconcile all things to God.

Ø     What about my financial situation? What about my failing marriage, my children? What about disease, sickness and death? Jesus came to reconcile all things to God.

Ø     What about the suffering and injustice? What about global warming and pollution? Jesus came to reconcile all things to God. Let me elaborate and tie this together.

Ø     Humanity's sin affected every aspect of human life (physically, socially, psychologically, economically, spiritually) and it affected all of God's good creation.

Ø     In the same way his work of reconciliation affects every aspect of human life and all of his good creation - he came to reconcile all things - things in heaven and on earth.

Ø     So that difficult financial situation, that troubled marriage, that strong-willed child, that cancerous tumor, the pollution in the air – Jesus is in the process of making all things new.

Ø     His work is holistic in scope – encompassing all of human life and all of creation.

Ø     How does one come to experience this level of reconciliation? Let me explain with an illustration

 

CLOSER: The Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett-Browning had a tyrannical father. Her mother had died when she was young so her father raised her and her siblings. He never wanted any of his children to marry. When she met Robert Browning the two developed a romantic relationship that led to their marrying secretly in 1846. After the wedding the Brownings sailed for Italy, where they lived for the rest of their lives. But even though her father had disowned her, it has been said that Elizabeth never gave up on the relationship. According to some sources, she wrote several letters to her father. Not once did he reply. After 10 years, she received a large box in the mail. Inside, Elizabeth found all of her letters; not one had been opened! Had her father only read a few of them, it is possible that their estrangement might have be healed – they might have experienced healing and restoration. 

What was God doing in sending Jesus to earth? 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 tells us that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God."
    Jesus is like those letters Elizabeth sent to her father. And so many people each year receive this letter when they go to Christmas services, sing carols and hear about the birth of Jesus - but every year they return the letter unopened. Friends the only way we can experience reconciliation is to open the letter and discover God’s desire for you and for the world is that it be healed to the extent that no traces of injury remain. And it all begins when you put your faith in Jesus. Have you opened it? Have you read the good news of God's work of reconciliation in Christ? If not, consider all I have said this morning about Christ coming to reconcile all things, to establish peace on earth and to bring healing to all the nations as a preview of the content. And I, as Christ's ambassador, one entrusted with the ministry of Reconciliation implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. This is the meaning of Christmas - the reason why Christ's birth is celebrated - his coming is the Gospel - the good news of reconciliation. This is the whole message of the Christian faith – God and sinners reconciled. If you have not opened the letter - I urge you, don’t miss out - open it and be reconciled to God.

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