Chapter 1 (part 2)
1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him
should all fulness dwell
For it pleased the
Father that all the fullness should dwell in Him.
Wow! We will read in chapter 2 what “the
fullness” is, but for now let me just say, whatever “the fullness” is, it was
all, all of it, in Christ.
1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of
his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, whether things
in earth, or things in heaven.
We saw in v 14 that we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Here we see that he made peace
through the blood of his cross. Peace? With who? With God. How do I know
that? Because by the blood of his cross he has reconciled all things to
himself. He redeems us, he reconciles us. By his blood.
1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and
enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
He explains what it means to be
reconciled: We were alienated from God; we were enemies of God; yet now, by the
blood of his cross, he has reconciled us, restored us to the Father. But,
please read that sentence again. I ended my last sentence with a period, but
this verse does not end with a period. No the sentence continues:
1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to
present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
He reconciled us in the body of his
flesh through death. This is the cross. Where Jesus was crucified. Where he
shed his precious blood for us. We are redeemed by his blood. We are forgiven
by his blood. We are reconciled by his precious blood. The cross is so
beautiful to us, so powerful. I can never get past the cross. Jesus, the
Christ, the Son of God, the one in whom all fullness dwelt, the Creator and
sustainer of all things, died on the cross for me, that I might be reconciled
to God; that he might present me to the Father holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in his sight. Amen!
1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and
settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel…
That’s my plan, man. 53 years ago this
month I trusted Jesus with my life. I still believe he is the Christ, the Son
of God, who was crucified, died, and was buried, and that on the third day he
rose again from the dead. I am continuing in the faith, I am not moved away
from the hope of the gospel. Is this about me? How faithful and wonderful I am.
Ha! I repeat, Ha! It’s not me. Jesus is my Savior.
1:27
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in
you, the hope of glory:
Back in the day, God dwelt among the
Israelites in the tabernacle. As it is written, He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place
which he shall choose in one of thy gates (Deuteronomy 23:16). Now we
Gentiles have this hope of glory, Christ in us. In each one of us, and in our
gathering together.
Everything is Jesus. The fullness is
in him. He has redeemed and reconciled us by his blood. He is our hope of
glory. All hail King Jesus!
The blood that Jesus shed for me
Way back on Calvary
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
It reaches to the highest mountain
It flows to the lowest valley
The blood that gives me strength
From day to day
It will never lose its power
Andraé Crouch, 1962
No comments:
Post a Comment