Jesus Christ, Who Became the Atoning Sacrifice for Us
14in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins; 15who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. 18He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him; 20and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross. 21You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds, 22yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him, 23if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant. 24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly; 25of which I was made a servant, according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you, to fulfill the word of God, 26the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints, 27to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; 28whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; 29for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
Everyone has received the same love and grace from God. And yet, as time passes, people compare how much grace and love others have received, and instead of gratitude and obedience they show discontent and pride.
Jesus may even have relied on Judas Iscariot more than on the other disciples. That is because, as keeper of the money, Judas saw firsthand how hard pressed Jesus and the disciples were. But when he began to think that the power of Jesus would be of little help to him in getting on in the world, he committed the sin of judging the absolute love of Jesus. At first he followed and served Jesus without condition, whatever Jesus did or did not possess. As time went on, however, he came to feel that all his hard work was earning him none of the world’s wealth, and he wanted a reward. Gripped by the conviction that his own judgment was right, he sold Jesus. This was contempt for Jesus, since to sell Jesus is proof that the word is not precious to you. Watching Jesus work miracles, he had grown proud, assuming that as a disciple he could enter heaven. That human righteousness clouded his sound judgment, and in the end he brought on himself the ruin of casting his own soul into hell.
Had Judas Iscariot kept his first love, he might perhaps have been the very first to be made chief disciple. This is the trap that people easily fall into when pride goes ahead of their work. Looking at Judas, who did so much and still ended in hell, we must ask whether we ourselves are now putting self ahead of the grace of God. We were sinners headed for eternal punishment, and we have been blessed with life in the everlasting kingdom; it is only right, then, that we should lay down our lives in devotion. If people like us judge God’s grace by the values of the world, we too may meet the same end as Judas Iscariot. If we believe that Jesus came to this earth in the likeness of sinful flesh, we must show him a faithfulness that offers up our very lives.
The apostle Paul urged the church in Rome, by the mercies of God, to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, for this is the spiritual worship God’s people are to offer. [Romans 12:1]
Colossians 1:14
14in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;
Redemption carries the sense of paying a price to obtain something. When Jesus paid the price of sin with his own life on the cross and rescued sinners from death, that too is called redemption. The word flesh, used of the body Jesus gave to redeem the sins of all humanity, is the same word used for the meat of the animals offered in the sanctuary as the price of people’s sins. The suffering of those animals, which died as sacrifices with sinners’ sins laid on them, is the same as the bodily suffering Jesus bore on the cross to redeem the sins of humanity, because each was a sacrifice that had to die bearing the sins of sinners rather than its own. Look at the animals sacrificed in the sanctuary, and you see why Jesus took on a human body and came to this earth. Animals had to be sacrificed again and again, every time people sinned, but Jesus forgave sin once for all, and the effect of his sacrifice lasts forever; this is the reason he had to come to this earth.
Genesis 2:17
17but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
God looked on all things he had created by his word, all of them free of sin, and saw that they were good. Yet Adam and Eve, though they had heard God’s command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, gave in to Satan’s temptation and ate its fruit. God always warns before he judges. They made excuses, but God’s word, that in the day they ate of it they would surely die, does not change, which is why they met death in both spirit and body. Adam and Eve did not die on the spot when they ate the fruit, of course, so it may not look as though they died. But being driven out of Eden, where they had met God whenever they wished, was their spiritual death; and when the time God has set arrives, the body meets its death and returns to the dust.
Because God’s word does not change, their sin cut them off from ever meeting God again. God had created all things so that Adam could live in goodness. Yet Adam and Eve clung to their own thoughts and their own righteousness rather than to God; that is how they became Satan’s partners. The way for us to enter heaven now is to believe in Christ. I hope you will not forget that it is when you are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ and reconciled to God that you can enter heaven.
Having turned against God, people gained the power to choose good and evil by their own will and to pass judgment on whatever happens in the world. When our own righteousness grows stronger than God’s word, we commit the sin of judging. Believers tend to think it is the people of the world who go to hell, but the Bible speaks of the judgment that falls on those who have come into the church when their faith has been corrupted.
John 10:11
11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
There is only one who is good in this world: Jesus Christ. Those who judge good and evil by man-made ethics can never understand the good word of the all-knowing, all-powerful God. Those who ate from the tree fell into the pride of judging everything at Satan’s bidding, and so they came to live hardened lives, unable either to understand the word when they hear it or to turn back. Sadly, the proud do not know they are proud. They always have a reason and an excuse, which makes it hard for them to repent. If, when you stray from the truth, you make no excuses and turn back at once, not only will God forgive you, but you can grow through the experience.
Satan’s aim is that people should live as sinners. Satan, too, is a creature of God, yet he wanted his eyes opened like God’s and longed to be the standard himself, in God’s place. But Satan is no match for God, and when he could not achieve his aim, he corrupted the people God loves, thwarting their salvation. Foolishly, people who had received God’s love and yet could not give thanks for his deep grace were cut off from God for the sin of defying his word. God could no longer embrace those who had become Satan’s partners, who reeked so of corruption that they could not come out into the light. Just as he had said they would die if they ate from the tree, people’s bodies and souls alike died under the power of Satan. Now, to bring them back to life and lead them into heaven, an extraordinary measure was needed.
Romans tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 6:23] The only way to revive the soul and give eternal life is for Jesus, the very one who said they would die if they ate from the tree, to rescue people from death. So it was that God the Son came to this earth, bore the sins of humanity in his own body, and became the atoning sacrifice who endured the agony of having his flesh torn on the cross. Before Jesus came, it is true, people received forgiveness by laying their hands on animals to transfer their sins to them and then killing the animals. But offering burnt offerings did not bring forgiveness forever; sacrifices had to be offered again every time people sinned. Because of that, Christ himself became the substance of the sacrifice.
Jesus is God the Son, and because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit he was without sin; yet he took on all the sins of humanity and willingly completed the work of atonement. As he breathed his last, with the words “It is finished,” he set free those bound by the second death and gave new life to those who have faith. Sinners who wore death like armor, with no power to take it off, have now cast death aside and been set free. This is the very grace God wanted to give us from the beginning. If children who have received such love are ungrateful and proud and judge everything through a negative lens, in the end they will bow to the power of Satan. We who have received God’s absolute love must set our hope on the eternal world, and we must train ourselves to lay down our own righteousness so that we can preach the gospel, which is God’s earnest will.
2 Corinthians 5:19
19namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Just as God entrusted the work of atonement to Christ, he has now committed to us a holy word: the plea that we save those souls. We who have come to live in freedom in Jesus Christ have received the calling of evangelism, so that the people of the world may be reconciled to God. We know well how much pain God endured to save sinners. If those who have received such love fly into anger over small things, complain, and lack patience, they will not fulfill the calling God has entrusted to them. Seen within the great frame of salvation, the affairs of the world are trivial; yet when we lose our gratitude and grow proud, our judgment is clouded, and we cannot help following the voice of Satan. We who, like Christ, know the will of God must not trust in this utterly vain world, or in ourselves, but must look closely at what Christ has said.
John 1:3-4
3All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 4In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The heavens and the earth, every plant and animal on the earth, and even human beings were all created by Christ through the word; that is why life flows in them. Because Jesus Christ is life itself, created things have life. He also rules over the things that are invisible — the world of spirits, the world of angels, and even thrones, principalities, and powers. The apostle Paul said that God created all these things for himself. In Isaiah, too, God says that he formed this people for himself, so that they would sing his praise. [Isaiah 43:21]
Just as children who are happy will hum a song without being told to, believers who know how good God is, and how precious it is to serve him, will sing his praise until the day they leave this world. If the purpose of creation is to hear the praise of his people, then we must give God glory and lift our voices in praise. Offering praise with our voices is precious, but living a life of goodness is also an offering of praise, so we must live as God’s people should.
Colossians 1:18
18He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
The church is the body of Jesus, and Jesus is the head of the church. We are its members, closely bound to one another, so we must not act or judge according to our own ideas. When the members each quietly do the work given them in their own place, the church can show its power in preaching the gospel to the world. We must therefore be led by the Holy Spirit, for only through absolute obedience and loyalty to Christ’s command can we enlarge the Kingdom of God. If even one believer works toward a mature faith, the church will grow stronger and will be able to resist evil spirits with the wisdom of the word.
Philippians 3:21
21who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus came back to life by the power of Jesus, but when his bodily life ran its course, he returned to the grave, and so we do not say that Lazarus was resurrected. Just as Jesus ascended, escorted by angels, and sat down on the throne, believers too will rise in glory with transformed bodies and enter the Kingdom of God. In this way, Jesus’ becoming the atoning sacrifice is bound up with the work of creation, with the resurrection, and even with the final judgment. Without the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity would not have endured. Christianity is not a religion made overnight; it is a history planned and carried out by the self-existent God, and therefore it will never be corrupted or fail, but will be fulfilled in every part.
All humanity must become people who exalt and worship God’s name and offer him praise, thankful for the life they have received. The apostle Paul, who daily beat his body into submission and did his utmost to keep the faith, hoped that the Colossians would, like him, rely on Christ alone and live lives of thanksgiving. May you, too, since you were made in God’s image, become people who praise God, exalt him, and give him glory. People call evangelism and service a sacrifice, but they are the way to be reconciled to God and, in the end, a form of thanksgiving by which we work out our own salvation. Once we lived for the world, but now that we know why Jesus suffered such cruel agony on the cross, we must live godly, righteous, and holy lives as citizens of heaven.
Colossians 1:24
24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the assembly;
Paul is being persecuted for the gospel, but this is suffering he chose for himself, because after he received Jesus he threw away everything — the distinguished family, the education, and the wealth and honor that so many had envied. When he became the apostle to the Gentiles, he resolved to give himself faithfully, in his own flesh, to the work Christ had wanted to do in the world. That he says this tells us plainly how hard the ministry of the gospel is; Paul knew it well, and still he chose the path of suffering.
In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul tells us that five times he received forty stripes minus one, three times he was beaten with rods, and he suffered countless hardships and afflictions. The rods used on him in Rome had lead at the tips of the lashes, so he would have been gravely wounded. Under Roman law a Roman citizen could not be beaten with rods, so Paul did not have to be beaten, yet he did not reveal that he was a Roman. He endured in silence because he understood God’s purpose in making him the apostle to the Gentiles for their salvation.
In the phrase “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus,” the word present carries the sense of offering. When a pastor presents the congregation before God through the word, and when believers share the gospel, they are offering God the fruit of salvation. Those who preach the word must do their utmost to establish people in the truth, so that the fruit of salvation they offer is whole. Those who have received God are, in legal terms, completely set free from death. Paul wanted the Colossians, who had become children of God, not to lose heart but to rely on God, their strength and comfort, and to become precious fruit that God would gladly receive.
Children of God, Jesus Christ, who died for us, rose again, ascended into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God, will come again in glory when the time comes. On that day we will all be raised in great grace, transformed, and brought into the new heaven and the new earth, to live a blessed life forever.
This is the purpose of creation and the blessing God wants to give us.
The apostle Paul gave himself until the day his life ended, and he humbly said that even that self-giving was possible only because Christ gave him the strength. The faith of Paul, who offered up his life in service, is the faith we owe to God. Like Paul, we know that God lives, and we know the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit; we must therefore give ourselves to the work of mission. A humble believer who honors God will, like Paul, rescue souls from evil spirits and receive the crown of life from God. That glory is a holy reward beyond human words, so if we lay aside the greed of the world as we live, we can live with God forever.
I hope you will not be like Judas Iscariot, a fool who worked himself to death and was cast away, but like the apostle Paul, born again through the word of truth and loved by God. May you become discerning believers who lay down your own righteousness for the righteousness of God, and live the life of heaven boldly as his children.