Christ’s death restores us in the image of God

Good morning, church family. Today we are reading Colossians chapter 1, verse 13 to 23.

Colossians 1:13–23

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved

son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God,

the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things

were created through him and for him. And he 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, the firstborn

from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God

was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in

heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind,

doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body or flesh by his death, in order to present you

holy and blameless and above re-approach before him. If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and

steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all

creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

I want to start with just that phrase that most of us knows,

the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I want to ask the question, why is it always greener?

Well, I think it goes something like this. When we look inside, we actually don't like what we see.

We're not the people we want to be.

We're not in the circumstance of life that we want to be in.

And we make it worse because we look around and we think that others

have the good life that we crave but haven't been able to get.

And so that leaves us feeling restless

and unhappy and unfilled and empty.

We long to be somewhere else.

We long to be transferred or transported to that happy place.

But even then, at the same time, I think we fear that even if we could get to the place of our dreams,

the place of happiness, of deep connection, of security,

I think we fear that, well, when we get there, we're just going to mess it up again.

And others will bring the same pain and hurt to us as we've experienced in this place.

So, a new place, no matter how wonderful it is in our dreams,

will mean little if we get to that new place and we're the same old broken person.

So, we long to be transferred, but we also long to be transformed.

We want to be free to build and experience the dream life in all its fullness or satisfaction.

But then again, you see, we might, at that point, we might then act

as though we have freedom and resources to make our dream life a reality.

But even as we're acting that out, deep down again, we know or we fear that we're stuck in a cycle.

We're stuck in a cycle of dreaming of the good life,

which then just gets bitterly shattered and disappointed because we can never get there.

We can't actually change ourselves.

And so, we're stuck because of our, we're stuck in our emptiness.

We're stuck in our disappointment because our inability to be different.

Now, that that I'm trying to describe, hopefully you already picked that up.

Hopefully, that's not just me feeling that.

But I think advertising have really done a good job of exploiting exactly those longings.

So often, they use really powerful before and after images in advertising.

There's lots on the TV at the minute, if any of you still watch TV.

Maybe that's just an old person's thing.

Anyway, there's one on the TV at the minute by dairy farmers.

And so, just a mouthful of their flavoured milk transports you from being stuck in a long queue at the supermarket checkout,

which I think depicts the boring dullness, routineness, unfulfilledness, emptiness of ordinary life.

You'd have a sip of your flavoured milk.

And lo and behold, you're bright.

You're in a sexy, tropical beach party scene.

Yeah.

And that's just dairy farmers.

I tell you, you need to buy some.

I've been drinking it by the gallon.

And I tell you, advertising is cruel.

It's cruel because, at very best, it can only offer you a temporary fix.

And that's probably more to do with sugar than actual transportation.

See, promises are not reality.

And what we need when we look inside, that desire, that longing to be transferred and transformed,

that tells us that what we need is a new reality.

We need someone with the power to deliver us into that good life of fullness, that good life of our dreams, that dream life.

My friends, as I say this morning, we need Jesus.

And we need the renewing power of his gospel.

Paul wants the Colossian Christians to be convinced that they already have fullness of life in Jesus.

And by extension, he wants every single believer here this morning to know that we also have fullness of life in Jesus.

And he wants to challenge anyone here this morning who is not yet a believer to know that you can have fullness of life in Jesus.

He wants to say this morning.

He wants to be with you.

He wants to know that you can have fullness of life.

Fully restored to being our authentic selves.

Restored to have freedom to be who we truly are.

Restored to being true image bearers, living life to the full.

and in the text that I'm looking at this morning

short three verses but so jam-packed with things

Paul also uses a very powerful before and after

image that Jacob's really helpfully picked up in the children's segment

before and after image to help

people realize, help empty people realize and discover

fullness in Christ

he starts off in verse 21, that's the focus of

21, 22 and 23 are my focus this morning

he starts off in verse 21 saying

what you once were, you who once were

alienated and hostile in mind doing evil

deeds

what you were, once you were in a persistent state

of total rebellion against God

in our natural born state

every single person is effectively at war with God

it's as if we've all made a declaration of independence from God

the consequence of which is that

the relationship has been fractured

we're alienated, we're estranged

we're cut off from relationship with God

what's the controlling drive for that declaration of independence?

it's the drive for autonomy

the drive to be separate from God

to create life under our own resources

in our own way

and it comes from our inmost being

it starts in our minds

it's in our attitudes

it's in our heart

it's in our desires

hostile in mind

and then all of that overflows

into our actions

described here as evil deeds

why are they evil or offensive to God?

because all our actions are designed

to suggest that God doesn't even exist

that we live life apart from God

we answer only to ourselves

everything is designed

to reject God's claim

to authority in our lives

and so as Bo said in his introduction

contrary to what we want to believe

and contrary to what our society and culture tells us

people are not good at heart

quite the opposite is true

in our natural born state

we have a bad heart towards God

and as a consequence

a bad track record before God

but there's another aspect of alienation

mentioned back in verse 13

which is a really important one to get hold of

so just look back in your text to verse 13

where it says

he, that is Jesus

has delivered us from the domain of darkness

now that word domain

has to do with authority

being captive

you see

in our natural born state

our perception of autonomy from God

is that we actually have freedom

to do whatever the heck we like

freedom to build something good in life

freedom and fullness of life apart from God

but we're told in verse 13

that the reality is

that rebellion

autonomy

puts us into the domain

of darkness

that is

it's a jurisdiction

where we're held captive

so our perception of autonomy

and freedom

is just that

it's actually a perception

that deceives us

and masks

what is really

a captivity

it's a distorted reality

the truth is

that we've been deceived

and taken captive by sin

and are heading for a showdown

with God's justice

that's a pretty heavy point

to stop at isn't it

a breakout

but

I do that

to introduce the next sentence

thankfully

God has not left people

in that distorted

deceived

alienated

guilty

reality

he has done something

totally left field

so we continue in verse 21

he had

verse 22

actually

he has now reconciled

so you

who once were alienated

he has now reconciled

in his body of flesh

by his death

see the before and after

starting to come out

God has done something

totally left field

God has now

reconciled

in and through

Christ's death

now I'm just going to

unpack the words

God has reconciled

now we're so familiar

with that word

and that was my problem

when I started to prepare this

I looked at that

and I thought

what am I going to say

oh man

that's familiarity

breeding contempt

God has reconciled

in other words

God has rescued us

from rebellion

and hostility

God has made his enemies

into his friends

now where does that happen

in our world

dog eat dog world

God has restored us

to full relationship

of peace with him

and all of that

is something that

God has graciously

done for us

it's an action

that's sourced

in God's love

and God's determination

not in us

in any shape or form

something we have not

deserved

God has done for us

something we have not

no part in

God has done for us

to be reconciled

by God

and to God

is to have a

totally new standing

before God

characterized

not by enmity

but by peace

not by alienation

but by

inclusiveness

and closeness

and intimacy

it's characterized

by total blessing

and my friends

it is something

that we simply

accept

thankfully

because God

has done it for us

and all this

is the result

verse 22

all this is the result

of Jesus' death

on the cross

the second word

by which he has

redeemed us

now in Paul's word

in Paul's

in Paul's world

slavery

was common

so this picture

would mean much more

to the Colossians

than it means to us

so

in the world

of slavery

you could

change

and transfer

the ownership

of a slave

by paying

the slave owner

a price

so you paid

your price

you bought

or redeemed

the slave

and then you

became the owner

of that slave

the slave's master

now

when that sort of thing

happened

and again

this is where

we won't actually

be able to get

into this illustration

really easily

the consequences

for the slave

were life changing

he or she

would have a new master

he would be transferred

to a different place

he would have

different conditions

of living

now

here's the rub

and this was often true

in the ancient world

if the new master

was kind

and good

and generous

then redemption

was a wonderful thing

it meant deliverance

from a terrible

empty life

into a wonderful

new life

of fullness

a new sense

of freedom

to enjoy

and serve

their new master

in delight

quite literally

in many

many instances

in ancient

world

that transfer

would see

a slave

brought into

essentially

being one of the family

and treated

like a child

and this is what

God has done

for his people

in the death

of Jesus

if you look back

at 13 and 14

again

read that verse

again

he has delivered us

from the domain

of darkness

and here's the word

transferred us

to the kingdom

of his beloved son

in whom we have

redemption

the forgiveness

of sins

everything changes

the direct result

of Jesus' death

is that God

has transferred

revels

from a position

of alienation

and living under

condemnation

condemnation

to the domain

of life

darkness

to life

captivity

to freedom

and if you look

at verse 22

back to 22

sorry I made you

jump back and forward

I'm sure you can handle it

it says that

he's reconciled us

in his body of flesh

by his death

in order to present you

that word present

was a word

that was used

in the courts

and it's as if

God has legally

and publicly

declared

and committed

himself to

the fact

that he would

had paid

the price

of rebellion

and that he

would

no

never again

abandon

or hold

those people

to account

for their sin

because it had

been dealt with

we were

in that context

we were stuck

we were done

for

but Jesus

has paid

the price

of our rebellion

he's paid the penalty

for our rebellion

Jesus died

in payment

of my sin

as a consequence

I am forgiven

I am restored

to full relationship

in peace

I am delivered

from the domain

of darkness

and transferred

into God's domain

or God's kingdom

in light

and life

that's a massive

before and after

thing isn't it

but there's still

more

and God has

verse 22

again

God has

transformed

rebels

back into

his image

God's intention

in salvation

or redemption

where as you see

there in verse 22

to make

his people

holy

what is that

well

it's to restore

their ability

to live

obedient

blameless

delighted

lives

before God

as I said

before

the word

present

present

in verse 22

is a legal word

so God

has legally

bound himself

always to

treat

his reconciled

people

just as if

they'd never

ever sinned

my friends

put those two

words together

now

in Christ

we experience

not just

a new position

a new orientation

before God

we actually

experience

a change

of heart

transfer

transform

our bad

track record

is wiped

clean

and

we're changed

from the inside

out

by God's

spirit

living within

us

we have a new

heart

new DNA

which results

in new

attitudes

new desires

new actions

new freedom

to live as

happy

obedient

children

before our

gracious God

again

look back

at verse 12

we didn't

read this

earlier

but look

back to

verse 12

another

interesting

concept

in there

given

thanks to

the father

who has

qualified

you

to share

in the

inheritance

of the

saints

in light

in Christ

God has

done

everything

required

to qualify

rebels

to become

part

of his

family

with the

same

rights

and the

same

inheritance

as Jesus

himself

that's

huge

but we

become so

familiar with

it

I become

so familiar

with it

I miss

it

what a

before and

after picture

what a

contrast

previously

in our

natural

born

state

we were

guilty

rebels

set apart

for

condemnation

and

destruction

that was

in our

natural

born

state

now

in

Christ

restored

to

fullness

of life

and relationship

with God

we are

set apart

for

obedient

committed

lives

of service

and worship

the

contrast

couldn't

be

greater

so

we've been

asking each

week through

this series

what is

fullness in

Christ

well

fullness in

Christ

what is our

fullness in

Christ

well it's

new

identity

as those

qualified

to be

in God's

eternal

family

it's a

new

standing

before

God

now

viewed as

beloved

sons and

daughters

who will

never be

abandoned

or rejected

it's a

new

freedom

through

new

spirit

controlled

hearts

to enjoy

life

as we

were

originally

created

to

do

it's

new

passion

to

worship

Jesus

as

both

Lord

and

Savior

in

all

of

life

and

we

cannot

separate

those

two

even

though

we've

had

to

do

it

for

the

sake

of

preaching

breakdowns

so

Dave

last

week

took us

through

verse

15

to

20

where

Paul

established

the

lordship

of

Jesus

in

everything

in

this

world

wherever

you

can

think

or

whatever

you

can

think

of

this

world

Jesus

is

there

he's

today

we're

saying

Jesus

as

Savior

the

two

cannot

be

separated

because

he is

lord of

everything

in the

universe

verses

15

to

20

because

of

that

he

is

qualified

to

be

our

Savior

Jesus

is

God

come

into

the

world

as

a

sinless

human

being

and

so

he

is

an

acceptable

sacrifice

for

our

sin

that's

the

picture

that

Jacob

had

in

the

children

segment

this

morning

because

Jesus

is

lord

he

is

qualified

to

be

our

savior

now

add

the

second

part

because

he

has

been

a

savior

of

such

enormous

proportion

then

he

must

be

our

lord

because

he

is

saved

at

such

enormous

cost

to

himself

as

part

of

God's

salvation

purpose

then

he

must

be

our

lord

he

must

be

our

lord

personally

as

individual

christians

and

he

must

be

our

lord

demonstrably

as

a

church

community

a

church

family

unit

the

new

resurrection

community

or the

church

church

no

what

might

prevent

us

from

experiencing

this

fulence

again

that's

the

second

question

we're

committed

to

asking

each

week

well

look

at

verse

23

Paul

highlights

two

things

which

might

rob

us

of

confidence

to

live

in

fullness

in

christ

now

the

likelihood

is

as

soon

as

we

start

to

read

verse

23

we

might

start

thinking

of a

performance

based

response

we'll

read it

so

all

that's

been

stated

in

verse

21

and

22

and

then

it

goes

on

comma

at the

end

of

verse

22

and

23

if

indeed

you

continue

in

the

faith

stable

and

steadfast

not

shifting

from

the

hope

of

the

gospel

that

you

heard

which

has

been

proclaimed

in

all

creation

under

heaven

and

of

which

I

Paul

became

a

minister

so

here's

the

question

the

if

suggests

a

contingency

based on

what

Paul

has

already

said

the

question

is

what

is

it

that

Paul

expects

of

the

believers

at

Colossi

as they

live

day by

day

in this

knowledge

of having

been

reconciled

that's

the

question

you have

to ask

as you

start to

read into

verse 23

what does

Paul expect

from them

well I

say this

very very

simple

expects

nothing

except

loyalty

to the

gospel

they

already

know

and

have

received

and

experienced

it's

very

emphatic

there

in

verse 23

it goes

on

there

is

only

one

gospel

there

is

only

one

gospel

yes

it's

the

gospel

that

brought

newness

to you

guys

at

Colossi

when

you

heard

it

and

understood

it

in

the

past

yes

it's

the

gospel

which

is

producing

similar

results

wherever

it's

spoken

around

the

world

the

same

gospel

the

same

result

and

ultimately

it's

the

same

gospel

that

had

taken

Paul

captive

to

serve

Jesus

Paul's

point

here

is not

to put

us

on a

performance

treadmill

fullness

of

life

was

not

about

their

performance

in

response

to

what

God

has

done

for

them

and

in

them

rather

it

was

accepting

what

God

has

done

for

them

and

living

in

the

light

of

that

living

in

the

light

of

what

is

now

true

for

them

given

what

God

has

done

for

them

my

friends

it

is

not

about

being

driven

by our

feelings

on

any

day

by day

basis

I

don't

feel

renewed

therefore

I

can't

be

renewed

that

moves

away

from

what

God

has

done

for

us

Paul's

point

here

is

very

simple

when

they

came

to

believe

when

they

came

to

faith

in

Christ

they

experienced

fullness

in

Christ

or

the

full

benefits

of

Jesus

as

Lord

and

Savior

God

has

acted

in

their

lives

in

the

past

fullness

has

already

become

part

of

their

lives

in

the

past

and

they

live

every

day

into

the

future

on

the

basis

of

what

God

has

done

for

them

they

have

been

rescued

perfect

passive

if

you're

interested

in

grammar

they

have

been

redeemed

please tell me

I got that

right

yes

no

don't

say

anything

alright

they have

been

rescued

they have

been

redeemed

they have

been

transferred

they have

been

reconciled

they have

been

given

peace

new

identity

new

standing

before

God

new

freedom

to love

and serve

new

passion

to

worship

in

the

past

now

it's

something

they already

experience

now

the

problem

is

that

many

Christians

seem

to

think

that

as

they

move

forward

into

the

future

they

continue

to

have

one

each

of

one

foot

in

two

boats

you ever

tried

to

straddle

two

boats

one

foot

in

each

it

just

doesn't

work

but

I

think

that's

how

lots

of

Christians

think

of

life

oh

I

don't

know

which

boat

I'm

in

that's

impossible

according

to what

Paul

has

said

here

a

person

can

only

be

one

or

the

other

either

you're

alienated

and in

the domain

of

darkness

or

you've

been

brought

in

to the

kingdom

of his

son

in

light

God

has

done

it

for

you

either

you're

in

Adam

alienated

hostile

and

pursuing

autonomy

from

God

or

you're

in

Christ

rescued

transferred

into

God's

family

transformed

from the

inside

out

so your

heart's

desire

is to

love

and serve

God

and live

under

the

rule

of

Jesus

now do

you hear

what I'm

saying

your

heart's

desire

I'm

not

saying

perfection

in

the

accomplishment

of

that

your

whole

new

orientation

is that

you now

want to

love

and serve

Jesus

okay

where have

we got

I've just

lost a

page here

now

that was

a bit

of a

shock

to me

I'm

sure

there's

going to

be

an

climax

here

it's

still

here

put it

down to

14

weeks

and a

lot

of

rust

second

thing

second

place

where we

might

not

experience

fullness

in

Christ

is

verse

23

again

is that

we're

not

single

minded

in

serving

Jesus

as

Lord

and

Savior

Paul

uses

very

specific

words

here

he says

you're

to be

continue

stable

and

steadfast

again

it's

not a

performance

thing

the words

there

just

mean

you're

to be

single

minded

don't

change

don't

allow

yourself

to be

dissuaded

from

trusting

that you

have

fullness

of life

in

Jesus

and

start

looking

for it

somewhere

else

that's

what

Paul

is

saying

what

you

do

going

forward

as a

Christian

is

keep

your

eyes

firmly

fixed

on

the

reality

of

what

God

has

done

for

you

again

fullness

of

life

is

not

about

performance

in

response

to

the

gospel

but

fullness

of

life

is

there

for

us

providing

we

refuse

to

entertain

any

thought

that

anything

or anyone

other than

Jesus

can deliver

fullness

of

life

the

Colossians

now lived

in God's

kingdom

where Christ

is king

they placed

themselves

under the

lordship

of Christ

and so

the question

for Paul

is very

simple

will you

continue

to do

that

tomorrow

and next

week

and next

month

will you

continue

to serve

him

as king

gladly

or would

they settle

back into

thinking

sometime

again

well maybe

maybe there's

more fooling

somewhere else

maybe there's

better satisfaction

in some other

place

and subtly

shift

their focus

to those

things

my friends

in summing

up then

before

before the

foundations

of the

world

our lives

were

inextricably

tied to

God

our hearts

and dreams

were always

meant to

belong to

him

when our hopes

and dreams

are taken

captive by

anything else

they're bound

to fail

because they

lead us

away

from Jesus

or encourage

us to

add something

to what

God

has done

for us

in Jesus

but in

Christ

our greatest

dream of

being acceptable

to God

of being

with him

in heaven

forever

has already

become

our new

reality

that's a

truth to

live by

isn't it

that's a

clarity

to see

and hold

on to

and navigate

life

by in a

confused

world

that's

true

fullness

of life

well pray

with me

please

as Bo

said at

the very

start

Lord

so often

our concept

of you

though strong

may just be

that you're

useful

and not

beautiful

Lord your

beauty

is shown

in so many

places in

your world

but in

the greatest

most obvious

place it's

shown in

your action

to reconcile

us who

previously were

alienated and

facing condemnation

we thank you

that you have

transferred us

from the

domain of

darkness

into the

kingdom of

your son

from darkness

to life

to light

from death

to life

we thank you

Lord that not

content with

that you've

also transformed

us and

continue to

transform us

may it never

be Lord that

either individually

or as a

church family

we are guilty

of

taking our

eyes of you

and starting

to find

and look for

fullness

somewhere else

once again

in Jesus name

I pray

Amen

thank you much

for listening to

me