[Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
…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—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
— Colossians 1:17-23
Anselm, writing in the 11th century, raised a question: Why did God become man? This is the enigma of Christ. His answer went like this: Only man should solve the problem of sin (because sin is, after all, a mess that human beings have made), but only God could. A prophet dying on a cross would at most be a martyr and a model. But Jesus Christ was really human and also divine. Therefore, his sacrifice had a human face on it, but it is a divine offering.
That is why a passage like Colossians 1 is so important. It speaks of both the person of Christ, and his work on our behalf. Regarding his person, “he is the image of the invisible God” (v. 15), and “in him all things were created” (v. 16), and “all [God’s] fullness” dwelt in Jesus (v. 19).
And so, because of who Jesus was, he was able to reconcile to God all things “by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (v. 20).
On that most violent of all days in human history, God was reaching out to those who were alienated from him and at enmity with him. He offered us reconciliation so we could end up “holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Only God could do that.
Ponder This: What is something about yourself that you know only God could change?
Dr. Lawrenz,
I am an old man now trying to ride a bike
We call it the peloton in cycling culture
Many say that we travel faster together
Would say this those who travel together
Faster than those alone
Said this about church
Would say this as an American
We separate church and state
Love is demonstrated
Went to the cross
Gospel I see