PT-3 "The Plan of Reconciliation" (Col. 1:20-21)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/30/2017 10:56 PM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  PT-43“The Plan of Reconciliation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Colossians 1:20-21

            Message of the verses:  “20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,”

            We want to begin by looking at the phrase “Hostile in mind,” this evening.  The Greek word for “hostile” is Echitros and according to John MacArthur this word could very well be translated as “hateful.”  Unbelievers are both hatful of God in their attitudes, but they are also hateful of God by their attitude.  We can go back to the first murder recorded in the Bible to see that Cain hated God as he resented God’s holy standards.  Cain knew what offering to bring to God but refused to do so because He did not agree with what God wanted him to bring thus He hated not only God but His standards.  By doing this we can plug in the last part of verse 21 for him which states “engaged in evil deeds.”  That is exactly what Cain did as he killed his brother Able.  Unbelievers love the darkness rather than loving the light and they do this because their deeds are evil.  “19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:19-20).”  The problem with unbelievers is not that they are ignorant but they willfully love sin. 

            “21  For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them (Romans 1:21-24).”

            Let us look at Romans 1:18-19

            “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”

            John MacArthur writes “The question arises as to whether man is reconciled to God, or God to man.  There is a sense in which both occur.  Since ‘the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God’ (Rom. 8:8), reconciliation cannot take place until man is transformed.  ‘Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ’ (2 Cor. 5:17-18).”

            As I look at the attributes of God, one of them that certainly is needed in our salvation, our being reconciled to God has to be His wisdom.  We have a Holy God who is angry with sin and we read “the wages of sin is death,” but we also have a Holy God who loves man “For God so loved the world.”  The story is told of a man who was a judge and into his courtroom came his guilty son, who committed a crime.  The father loved his son, but the father, being a judge also had to uphold the law.  He pronounces his son guilty and then says that he will take off his robe and go to jail to serve his son’s punishment.  Basically that is what God did for us to take care of what we humans would call a dilemma in order to satisfy His wrath and love along with He being just. 

            Ephesians 2:16 tells us “and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.”  This tells us that Christ’s death on the cross reconciled us to God. John MacArthur concludes this section by writing “In Romans 5:6-10, Paul gives four reasons for that.  First, lack of strength:  ‘we were still helpless’ (v. 6).  Second, lack of merit:  we were ‘the ungodly’ (v. 6).  Third, lack of righteousness: ‘we were yet sinners’ (v. 8).  Finally, lack of peace with God:  ‘we were enemies’ (v. 10).  It is only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ that anyone can receive reconciliation (v. 11).”

            For that we are blessed beyond measure!

1/30/2017 11:24 PM