Thank you.
Have you ever been reading along in Scripture during your devotional and meditation times before the Lord, and all of a sudden something in the Word of God just leaps off the page?
There is one phrase that I will be sharing on today. When I read it, I said, “No way. I must have read this wrong.”
As I was studying it and researching it before the Lord, I think a brother asked me to share a while back. I said, “No, I can’t share it,” because this thing was just too big for me to share.
It is still too big to share. But it is something I probably should have known a long time ago. The Lord really spoke into my heart, and it brought so many things into focus for me personally. So I praise the Lord for it.
This brought to mind 1 Corinthians 2. This is not our Scripture today, but I would love for you to turn, if you have a Bible, to the Scriptures that I mention. It is good to hear the sound of the pages rustling. It is just great.
First Corinthians 2:9-13—we will read verses 9 through 13. This is just by way of introduction.
Things which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard,
And which have not entered into the heart of man,
Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love Him.But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit:
For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him?
Even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God.But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God;
That we might know the things that were freely given to us of God.
The thing we are going to share on today is described so wonderfully by this verse: “For unto us God revealed them through the Spirit.” The Spirit is the One who searches all things, even the depths of God.
The thoughts of God none of us can know, but the Spirit of God knows. And then verse 12—what a wonderful verse. We have received the Spirit who is from God, that Spirit who searches the deep things of God and knows the very thoughts of the Godhead. We have received Him so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.
What a wonderful Scripture. That is not what we are sharing on, but may the Lord, may the Spirit of God, reveal deep things of God to us today. That is my prayer. That should be all of our prayers.
The text today is Colossians 1:13-23. Really, this is the context of the phrase that is upon my heart, which is in verse 22. But we will start in verse 13 and read through verse 23.
John, where are you? Would you mind reading that for us? Would you stand up for us and read really loudly?
Who delivered us out of the power of darkness,
And translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love;
In whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
For in Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth,
Things visible and things invisible,
Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
All things have been created through Him, and unto Him;
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.And He is the head of the body, the church:
Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
That in all things He might have the preeminence.
For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fulness dwell;
And through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself,
Having made peace through the blood of His cross;
Through Him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
Yet now hath He reconciled
In the body of His flesh through death,
To present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before Him:
If so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast,
And not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard,
Which was preached in all creation under heaven;
Whereof I Paul was made a minister.
Thank you, brother.
First, I want to concentrate on a phrase that so spoke to me. It is in verse 22: “In order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” Holy, blameless, and beyond reproach.
But before we do that, I came across a good summary of our salvation from a pastor that I really like. As a background to redemption and reconciliation, I would like to read these. These are five terms that summarize our salvation, and they are said in such a way that they are easy for us to remember.
Isn’t that a wonderful salvation? That is what salvation is. But today we will be considering reconciliation.
Let us start in Colossians 1:21:
And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
This is akin to verse 13, where Paul says that we were in the domain of darkness. Paul is telling these Colossians—and we were in the same boat—that they were once alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds.
The word alienated means being shut out, cut off from, estranged—completely alienated and estranged from God.
The word hostile means that you were an enemy, actively opposed. This word carries the sense of anger and hatred. You were once hostile in mind; in other words, your very being was hostile toward God and full of anger and hatred for God.
As I was thinking about this, it seems that lately, in the world, you see this hostility and anger toward God and toward His people just coming to the surface. It has always been there, but lately it seems so visible and out front.
It is a terrible thing to be in that situation, where you are angry at God and full of hatred for God and His people. And you once were in that boat.
Romans 8:7 says:
Because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God;
For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be.
This hostility toward God is not only hostility toward God Himself, but toward His authority, His holiness, His justice, and everything that He stands for. Paul is telling these Colossians, “That is the way you once were.”
You were alienated and hostile toward God, and because of this alienation and hostility, your life was full of evil deeds. That is a pretty sad place to be. But God wants to change that.
The next phrase, in Colossians 1:22, says, “Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death.”
W. E. Vine describes reconciliation as “to change from one condition to another, so as to remove all enmity and leave no impediment to unity and peace.”
Reconciliation is a turning. God is turned away from man, and man is turned away from God. God cannot turn because there is this great sin, this great impediment. Man is turned away from God because he has sinned and is hostile toward God. The two are facing in opposing directions.
Reconciliation is when God is able to turn and face man with open arms. But what can make God turn and face man with open arms? Only the Lord Jesus.
That is where Paul says, “He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death.” I was so grateful this morning that the worship time was about His fleshly body. Often we do not think about His fleshly body and what His body went through. But He was pierced for us. He suffered great anguish and pain for us.
The Scripture here wants to point out specifically that it is through His fleshly body—His death on the cross—that we are reconciled.
Look at Romans 5:10.
For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
Much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.
When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.
Second Corinthians 5:18-19 says:
But all things are of God,
Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ,
And gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself,
Not reckoning unto them their trespasses,
And having committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Before you turned toward Him, He had already turned toward you. Christ, in your stead, settled all accounts with the Father and removed all obstacles—all the issues that the Father’s holiness and justice required. They were fulfilled by and in the Son.
Up to this point, I think we would all say, “I understand that, and I have understood that for quite a while.” I would say the same. It is basic, but wonderful.
Being saved and being reconciled is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Can you imagine what it would be like if there had been no reconciliation, no sacrifice by the Son, by which the Father could turn and face the world again with love and compassion? Without the Son and His death, it could not have happened.
It is impossible to consider. How wonderful reconciliation is.
And yet, there are these three words: “In order to.”
In other words, for this purpose. Reconciliation itself is a grand thing, but there is something else: reconciliation is in order to do something else.
Did you know that there is something beyond reconciliation, something that reconciliation leads to? I did not. But here we see that there was a purpose for this great reconciliation.
The next words are, “In order to”—what?—“present you.”
Who is presenting here in this verse? Who is the One presenting? The Lord Jesus. And who is He presenting us to? He is presenting us to God the Father.
This word present carries the thought of introduction: to stand by and exhibit the person or thing being introduced.
The Son introduces us and presents us to the Father. Did you catch that? I mean, I know you heard it, but did you know that you have been introduced by the Son of God to the heavenly Father?
Now, immediately, the theologians among us are saying, “No, no, be careful here.” That is what I said: “Be careful, Roger.” I took it to be literal now.
Think of the introductions in your life that really meant a lot to you.
I talked to my wife, Sarah, about when I was introduced to her extended family. They have a country home in North Carolina—a big house. Many aunts and uncles were there, and her cousins’ husbands were there. I had not met them yet.
We were engaged at that time, right, Sarah? We were engaged. For me, this was the biggest introduction I had had in my life up to that point. I did not know about this passage, but anyway, this ranked pretty high up there.
On the way down, I was pretty nervous about this introduction. How would they perceive me? Sarah’s father and her uncles were World War II veterans. Her father fought in the Battle of the Bulge. One was in the Pacific, and one worked as a gunner underneath the bombers. One of her cousins’ husbands was a colonel or a major in the Army, and the other was a pretty successful businessman.
And I am a painter. I paint houses. But I was Sarah’s fiancé.
I got out of the car, and the two big men—they were big—were throwing a football. I am talking about a real football, not the ones you kick with your foot.
I stepped out of the car. What do you think they did? They threw that ball to me. This was a big guy who threw it, Mike, a pretty good distance away. I could see that ball coming in a beautiful spiral. It was a little high.
I made a Beckham catch. Do you know what a Beckham catch is? Behind your back. I did not fall on the ground, but I caught that thing.
Inside, I was saying, “That could not have been better. I am not a wuss. I am a real man. I can catch the football, and I am worthy to be Sarah’s fiancé.”
We went into a great dinner. It was a wonderful dinner, and I met all the aunts and uncles. It was a great introduction, a great time of introduction. I was welcomed.
Can you think of an introduction that would be the greatest introduction on earth?
I was thinking this morning: what if Prince William called you up and said, “Hey, Roger, I want to introduce you to King Charles. What about next week? I will fly you over. You can have dinner with Catherine and me, and I will take you over and let you meet the King.”
What an honor and privilege that would be. But do you know that you have been introduced personally by the Son of God to the Father?
Now, some are thinking, “No, that is later—much later.” And indeed, there is an aspect of that. But let me read you four quotes, because I know you would not believe me if I said it was for now. I do not blame you at all.
F. B. Meyer, considering this very passage, says:
Do not put off this presentation to some distant future.
Today Christ presents you to the Father as an object of His supreme delight.
Today. Do not put it off for the future. Today, He has presented you to the Father. He has introduced you to the Father.
Sinclair Ferguson says:
Christ presents us to the Father now, in the courts of heaven, bearing our names on His heart.
Our present acceptance is just as secure as our future glory,
Because both rest entirely on the present ministry of Jesus at the right hand of God.
Watchman Nee says:
We do not wait until we die to be presented to the Father.
Christ is our presentation.
As He stands before the Father today, so we stand perfectly accepted, perfectly loved, and completely near.
John MacArthur says:
Although the ultimate presentation will occur when we stand before God, there is a sense in which Christ presents us to the Father now. The moment you were saved was the moment you were presented.
When you were saved, you did not know it. I am sure you did not. I did not know it until a little while ago. But when I was saved, I had been presented by the Son of God to the Father.
It must be seen in heaven time after time, millions of times: the Son escorts that saint, that newborn child, into the presence of the Father. And this has happened to you.
It says that you were presented before Him—before the Father. He is the One to whom you are presented.
This has great importance to us because this is our position in Christ as seen by the Father. This really is a declaration by God that you are in Christ forever. Your standing is in Christ.
Union with Christ is so magnificent, so real, that this verse lets you know that in the heavenlies you have been presented. I believe by name, in the heavens.
In Revelation, it talks about the worship that is going around the throne. Do not think you just traipsed in there quietly and alone, in some separate little place. That is what I would think: “Lord, introduce me to the Father, but not with all this worship going on, the exaltation, the glory, and the majesty of it.”
No, it says, “Before Him.” We are taken and introduced before Him, and all of heaven watches. There is this declaration: “This child, this one, is Mine,” the Lord Jesus says. “They are Mine.”
Our union with His Son is expressed in many verses. I know you know them, but they have to do with Christ in you and you in Christ.
At this presentation, God the Father is seeing you in Christ—Christ in you.
How else, brothers and sisters, could it be that when He presents you and me, there is this proclamation of three things?
“That child of Mine, that saint, is holy.” All of heaven says and agrees, “You are holy.”
All of heaven agrees and says, “That child of God is blameless.” That child of God is beyond reproach.
At this presentation, there is this declaration upon each one of us: you are holy, you are blameless, and you are beyond reproach—all because of Christ.
To me, this thought—this reality—of presentation brings into sharper focus what it means to be in Christ. What a wonderful thing.
You are presented and seen as holy. First Corinthians 6:11 says:
But ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.
Sanctification means to be set apart and to be made holy. To sanctify a person is to make that person holy.
Turn to Hebrews 10. We will read verses 10 and 14.
By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
We have been sanctified once for all by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus and perfected by Him. Those who are sanctified are perfected.
Praise the Lord. You all know that we are called saints. You know that we were chosen before the foundation of the world. In Ephesians, we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be—what is the next word?—holy. What is the next word after that? Blameless. What is the next word after that? Before Him.
Those words sound really familiar, do they not? You were chosen before the foundation of the world, even before this great presentation, that you would be holy and blameless before Him. Praise the Lord.
The word blameless literally means unblemished, without spot, faultless. Remember, this is God the Son declaring this about you.
Because your record has been completely washed clean by Jesus, there is no fault or defect left to find in you. Christ Jesus presents you to the Father, and when the Father looks at you, His eyes see holiness, purity, and a life free of defects.
Romans 8:1 says:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
None. Is that because you acted well today, or because your life is full of good things that God could look upon and say, “Oh, that is wonderful. You are holy today”? No. It is only based upon Christ and His holiness.
Beyond reproach means that no one can bring a charge against you in court. You are blameless in Christ, so the righteous Judge has no accusation against you and hears no accusation against you. The Greek word means unable to be called into account, or free from accusation.
What a wonderful proclamation that rang out through the heavens for each one of us: holy, blameless, and beyond reproach. That is the way you started as a new believer, that is the way you continue through your life, and that is the way it will be said over you when you meet the Lord.
That is in Christ. That is the heavenly vision of you. Now, we have a horizontal vision, and we have a hard time even believing this. “Lord, holy? Blameless? Beyond reproach? I could bring ten things to blame myself for.”
But the Lord Jesus took us by the hand, with our names written on His heart, into the presence of the Father, and presented us as holy, blameless, and beyond reproach.
This reconciliation was a complete and full turning of God toward us—complete and full. Having been reconciled and having been presented, I believe the picture is that His arms are outstretched fully toward you and me. What a wonderful picture.
He now can lift up His face upon His people. He has wanted to do that all along: that the countenance of His face would be lifted up toward His people whom He loves. That came up many times this morning in prayer.
There is a welcoming in this presentation. We are not received grudgingly, nor presented with sadness in heaven. No, there is great rejoicing.
Luke 15 tells us that there is great rejoicing in heaven when a sinner repents. That same rejoicing is in heaven when we are presented, because once we repent and come to the Lord, immediately we are presented before the Lord.
There is joy in the heavens. The angels are rejoicing, the Father is rejoicing, and the Son is rejoicing. There is a great spirit of rejoicing, active delight, and fellowship now between the Father and us because we have been reconciled. Praise the Lord for that.
We read in Colossians great, majestic things about our Lord. He is Head of the body. In Him all things were created. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. All the fullness dwells in Him. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the King of kings and Lord of lords. On and on we could go about our magnificent Lord Jesus.
But I think the Lord Jesus presents us as our elder Brother, not being ashamed of us, as it says in Hebrews.
Hebrews 2:11 says:
For both He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one:
For which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren.
He is not ashamed to call them brethren. He is our elder Brother, and He brings us and introduces us to the Father as One who understands us, who is intimately knowledgeable about our frailties, weaknesses, and everything about us.
He understands because He took on a body. He was made in the likeness of men, and He went through life. He is intimately knowledgeable about us.
Yet He presents us as our elder Brother. It is almost as if He takes us by the hand in this introduction and says, “This is My brother. These are My brethren. They are holy, blameless, and beyond reproach.” But He does it with an understanding of who we really are, which I find amazing.
I love Hebrews 2:12. I do not know if it has too much to do with what we are sharing, but I am going to share it anyway.
I will declare Thy name unto My brethren,
In the midst of the congregation will I sing Thy praise.
Do you know that there is a singing of Jesus in the midst of the congregation? When true worship happens, God Himself is present, singing with us.
Sometimes I think you can hear it, especially during the conference and the worship time. It is almost as if you could hear the singing of God in our midst. It is the Spirit of God singing in our midst. This is what the Lord wants: such great intimacy and fellowship with us.
Turn to Numbers 6.
As I was considering reconciliation, it seemed like the end of reconciliation is that God can lift up His face—lift up His countenance—upon us. There are some wonderful things that happen when He does that.
Numbers 6:24-26 says:
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Think of this verse:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
“The Lord bless you and keep you.” Because we have been presented before the Father by the Son, the Father turns toward us with openness and pours out upon us the great blessings from His Son. Every blessing that is in the heavens for us, He pours out upon us.
“The Lord make His face to shine upon you.” This reminds me of Psalm 27:8:
When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face;
My heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
When the Father turns fully upon you, when God turns His full face to you, He says, “Will you seek My face?” There is a response in the spirit: “Yes, Lord, Your face I want to seek.”
Verse 26 says, “The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
Psalm 44:3 says:
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword,
Neither did their own arm save them;
But Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance,
Because Thou wast favorable unto them.
It is the light of the Lord’s countenance, when it is lifted up upon us, that shows He is favoring us. That favoring is the same word used, I believe, in Isaiah 42:1: “My chosen, in whom My soul delighteth.”
This is saying that the delight of God is upon you because His face is shining on you.
Praise the Lord: we have been reconciled. We have been declared holy, blameless, and beyond reproach before Him. The full face of God is now completely toward us, and we can have fellowship with Him in a wonderful, wonderful way.
Verse 23—we will close with this verse:
If so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast,
And not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard.
Paul seems to say, after all these wonderful things, “If indeed you continue in the faith, firmly established and steadfast.” This “if indeed,” from what I understand, is like saying, “And you will.” It is not, “You might not.” It is, “And of course you will.”
You can see from the Colossians that they were full of faith. They had stable faith. They were really mature in their faith.
It seems that the real warning is the next phrase: “And not moved away from the hope of the gospel.”
If there is any warning for us today, after all the marvelous things that we have seen God has done for us—the Son presenting us before the Father, chosen before the foundation of the world—it is this: do not be moved away from Christ. Christ is our only hope.
Do not be moved away from the assembly of God, from God’s people. Do not be moved away, because once you do, you become prey to the enemy. Even in Colossians, it talks about visions that some people were having, and they were being drawn away by other things.
Brothers and sisters, what a wonderful Lord we have. He has done such wonderful things for us. Do not let our hearts—do not let your hearts—be drawn away. It happens slowly, inch by inch, bit by bit. You find your heart drawn away from Him.
This is the real warning: do not be moved away from the hope of the gospel, which is Christ Himself.
Lord, I want to thank You for this great presentation. Lord, I think of Jude 24, that benediction. I want to read it in Your presence.
Now unto Him that is able to guard you from stumbling,
And to set you before the presence of His glory without blemish in exceeding joy,
To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Be glory, majesty, dominion and power,
Before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen.
Lord, we do say that You are the One able to keep us. Keep us from stumbling. We praise You for it. Thank You for Your great love for us. Amen.