[Transcript represents full sermon's text]

       Beginning at verse 19. Colossians 1:19: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (ESV).

       Upon reading this first, the mind’s first inclination is to see the Son as somehow lesser than the Father—for at first glance, it would appear the verse is implying the Son was created at one point in time or something like that. What seems to be the case, since that obviously could not and would not be the matter, it seems that the Apostle Paul is implying that when Christ took on the form of a human, when he became as us, taking on human flesh (the incarnation), that he still remained fully God. In other words, any of the Son’s original God-ness was not lost when he took on human flesh to come into the world. It is interesting that, in Ephesians, Paul calls the church the fullness of Jesus. He says there about after Jesus returned to Heaven, “he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:22, 23, ESV). So, just as the Son is the fullness of God, so the church is the fullness of the Son.

       A reason for what is a distinguishable way of the the wording of the verse may be due to the following. It is almost as if the Apostle is responding to a counterargument, and that does seem likely to be the case. There were those who had influence in Colossae who were teaching that Christ was not actually God, and one reason for this, as the reasoning goes, is that God would not reside in a human body. That would be too beneath him. He wouldn’t do that. (We will return to this in a little while.) So, what Epaphras had taught them, the truth about Christ, was being strived against from these incorrect people. We understand that this kind of belief, this line of thinking, is still present in our world today—seemingly within what some would call ‘Christian’ thought, where a group uses this verse to deny the Godship of Christ, the Deity of Christ. We would know these people as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And recently, in a God-setup conversation with an unbeliever, this question was brought up. “They seem like nice people,” it was said, but it was also admitted, even from someone not following Christianity currently, that “They seem suspect.”

       Re-reading verse 19: “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 there it is. That’s what was just being discussed. That’s the church. Those who have been reconciled into relationship with God. It’s also the physical elements, those of Heaven, and those of the earth. Physicality. Humans as well as the creation have been brought into peace with God by the blood Jesus shed on the cross. This contrasts with the relationship with God that existed in the Old Testament, where sins had to be atoned for every so often with animal sacrifices, where there was a veil in the temple of God that represented the separation between God and mankind. It could also be inferred from this that there is peace between the Jews and Gentiles, in that God accepts both as his children. It’s no longer the Jewish people who are his primary focus, but also now the Gentiles.

       This brings up the idea, while discussing these two people groups, that all will be saved. All will be saved. Universalism. The belief, the idea, that in the end, God will end up bringing everyone into Heaven, or everyone to the new earth. Hell may not exist, or it may exist and then people turn out of it. These are the ideas. And while they certainly sound appealing, and while some individuals have gone to great lengths in trying to argue the case for it—there simply is a lack of evidence. To deny Hell, that’s nearly impossible in reading the Gospels and New Testament both. Some try then to say people will come out of Hell—that they will be saved after going there. One by one they will come, turning from their disbelief, or their rebellion, and repent, and thusly enter into eternal peace with God. The problem with that, and a verse that seems impossible to get around, is what Jesus said in Matthew 25. There, starting in verse 45, he says, “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:45, 46, ESV). Notice the word “eternal” before punishment.

       Paul doesn’t follow that line of thinking, for the next verse confirms it. Notice the contrast: “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:21, 22, ESV).

       This brings us back roundabout to what was being said a couple weeks ago, in discussing the conversion experience for the Christian. And it was said that it is indeed an experience, where one transforms from one life to another life, a new life. Paul contrasts the difference of the old life with the new life. Characteristics of the old are, one, alienated from God. Not having peace with him. Not knowing him. And two, he says we were “hostile in mind.” That is, we followed ways that were not in alignment with God’s ways. This brings to mind what Paul told the Corinthians, remember, in chapter 6, and this ties in well to our theme here of “eternal punishment”? He said, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11. ESV).

       So, these where the characteristics Christians have before knew Jesus. That would also mean there should be a contrast now in the lives of Christians. There should be a difference—and unfortunately, this difference is often seen to be lacking in a lot of people who make the claim of faith. This is noticed to be especially true among evangelical churches. It seems to be most prevalent there. Evangelical Christianity’s blurring of the line with the world (and this supposedly to win people over, which, actually, seems to be a facade) has also translated itself oftentimes into a blur in people’s characters, people’s behaviors. This disparity has led some to seek other avenues, other modes of practice, fellowship, whatever you want to call it, but let’s not get too off track here. The point is that there should be a clear difference between what was in the past before knowledge of Christ, and what is now in relationship with Christ. (And for those who came to know Christ as a young child, it’s understandable if there wasn’t much a former life. Let’s acknowledge that and not forget those individuals). Remember, though, in Paul’s time, the church was new. Christianity was new.

       To double-down, for really there is no way around this, as the verse itself is a double-down in a way, Paul tells us the end result of what our relationships with Christ are supposed to be. He says of the church, “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22, ESV).

       It would be easy, and perhaps convenient to assume the verse is talking about the future. You know, it could be said in the future Christ will present us “holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” That would mean that it wouldn’t matter much what we do now in our lives. But it appears better to assume, and most seem to agree, that the verse is talking about the life process by which this occurs. Holiness comes over one’s life, as one become more like Jesus. Blamelessness comes over one’s life, as one becomes more and more aligned with Jesus. Being “above reproach” is a reputation that is garnered from practicing the truth—the truth found in Jesus. Remember, this is why Paul said an elder, or overseer, “must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6, ESV). This confirms the philosophical basis for the onward progression of what we are discussing.

       And it’s simply not outward actions we are focusing on. Indeed, Paul will refute that idea in chapter 2 of this letter. The change in one’s character occurs in the development of our consciousness, or levels of consciousness, which occurs when the way the mind thinks is changed and re-geared by understanding of the truth (and that often occurs through life-experience). The good-old life experience with what the truth actually is and how it applies, and with experience in how God operates, with his faithfulness, grows our faith in our relationship with him. It would seem that as we grow closer and closer to God, that a mutual trust develops on each side. There is a trust wherein we understand God will provide for us and lead us in the right direction. And there is a trust God has in us wherein he knows, and believes that we will make good choices, and go in right directions. The idea that we are helpless individuals that always need God to point the way seems to be of lower consciousness, and doesn’t seem to be the experience the more mature that we get. So, in a way, the greater the maturity in character the more power that is bestowed on us, and perhaps the more freedom to choose the way ourselves. Hence, God becomes more open because he trusts us. (This is how we are with other people, right?)

       Now comes the dreaded part, or feared part. Let’s back up a little bit in the verse. It says, “to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.”

       Let’s focus on the word “present.” Is Paul saying that if the believers do not continue in the faith that that will not be presented as “holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” Or, is he saying they will not be presented at all if they shift from the hope of the gospel they had heard. This is the great debate. So, in essence, it is one keeping their salvation versus one losing it. The answer to this question—truth be told—is based on what position a person takes as far as their view of salvation and keeping that salvation. Traditionally, there are the Calvinists who say once saved always saved. Then there are the Arminians who say you’re saved unless you give up the gift of salvation yourself. Less traditionally, there are the Molinists, who would say that everyone who is saved will persevere to the end. And then there are the Open Theists who say it’s not yet determined, that it’s really up to you.

       So it depends on which view is taken, but the point is that our behavior in this life matters greatly in how we are presented before God at our judgments. We definitely want to get into Heaven, and we really don’t want to incur a loss in any rewards when we get there. A person could try to say, “Well, why does it matter whether I develop my character in life if I am going to just be made instantaneously perfect when I enter the next life?” The belief is present among this individual that the character development in the Christian is really just ceremonial, like prayer can be viewed. After all, if we are made perfect upon entering the next life, it could in fact be seen as pointless. And this is where the loss of rewards is brought up. In Luke 12, starting in verse 47, Jesus makes the following point: “And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more” (Luke 12:47,48, ESV). This passage from our Lord appears to indicate there will be different status’ among people in Heaven, in the very least that people will be entrusted with more in the New World. How we behave, then, and what we do, could have a direct impact on the importance of our careers in the next life. And, going back to social status, remember the other familiar passage: “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19, 20, ESV).

       Having said all that, let’s not miss the last part of the verse, which says, “not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.”

        The temptation to shift. For sure, there are a lot of those temptations, aren’t there? Why, this was the ploy, or enticement, that Satan laid out before Jesus at his time of tempting. Recall? Satan presented Jesus with the ability to have all the kingdoms of the world right then and there. No wait. No cross (assuming Jesus had knowledge about the cross at that point in time). If we say he did, think how tempting that would of been. We know it would have been tempting because we see later that Jesus asks the Father if the cup my pass from him. He wants to see if there is any other way God’s will can be accomplished in saving the world. He doesn’t want to endure the cross. Yet, we are aware in this instance, that there was no other way. God refused his request, and Jesus faithfully went through the torment of it all. But to continue on this conversation, Satan also worked through false teachers in the early church in order to try to get Christians to shift “from the hope of the gospel.”

       A popular form of false beliefs that Satan used on the early church is what we have come to call Gnosticism. This is the fully developed form of what was being discussed in the opening of the message today. Basically, there were people during the time of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John (for it seems John also confronted the beliefs head on in his epistle of 1 John), who were cultivating these ideas and making their influence. The beliefs were a mix of what Paul was saying, along with some older Jewish beliefs and even some secular (or pagan) ideas. It was a blend that led to wrong conclusions, which led to wrong behaviors. And the idea was that everything physical was evil while everything spiritual was good. Sounds bizarre to us probably in our day and age. Though, at times, it seems like some Christians are even promoting such a type of a belief system—that the world God created is so corrupted that all is evil. We have to be careful with that. Even after the fall, and though the world is under the curse until the future, it is still good. God created it good, and it is still our responsibility as humans to take care of it and manage it.

       Let’s not get too off track in talking about this early form of belief, but what we need to understand is that Satan presents other gospels, and even other forms of beliefs, by which people can live by. And many people, including Christians, are carried along by these beliefs. Perhaps more common in our times (which was also present in the early church fathers as they are called—even later to John Calvin), and really dare this even be discussed, is the thought-process among Christians of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, the mother of God, the mother of Jesus. This is the idea, or belief, that Jesus’ earthly mother Mary remained a virgin even after she had Jesus. It is believed to be unholy and disrespectful to think, among Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic believers, that Mary was not a virgin her whole life. The presumption is that if Mary had had relations with Joseph that this somehow would have sullied her, made her less of a pure individual. Argued here, though, would be the idea, and it certainly seems so, that this was based on a lesser view of women that prevailed at the time, something that Jesus himself stealthily worked against in his earthly ministry.

       The point in saying all this is that a far-off view can enter our thinking, as Christians, and that we need to be careful. That’s why we filter everything through the Scriptures. Gnosticism obviously has no basis in Scripture, nor, in reality, does the Perpetual Virginity. Those in the latter group, because it is not a major core doctrine really affecting other doctrines, are still to be classified as true believers regardless of this. But careful attention needs to be paid. Even though it may not be central, it still doesn’t line up with the evidence of the Scriptures, and we don’t want anything that we are believing which does not line up.

       For us, in American society, another prevalent way in which Satan operates is through the goodness that most of us experience, in that he uses the good times people experience to lead them to forget about God, and the need for personal purity. What is meant is that because most of us live in circumstances which are not hard, per se (at least compared to other times and existences in world history; or other areas of our current world), it can be easy to become complacent. Even more than that, it can become easy to just assume that it really doesn’t matter what we do. It doesn’t matter for the women struggling in her marriage to go ahead and get a divorce. It doesn’t matter for the Christian boyfriend and the girlfriend to go ahead and move in together. So mindsets such as these. After all, everyone is doing it right? So, the goodness we experience intermingled with the discreetly poor example of everyone else can lead people to shift from the gospel, the truth, from being followed in one’s life.

       Anyhow, continuing in verse 23: “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” (ESV).

       What does Paul mean that the Gospel “has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven”? That doesn’t seem to make sense, considering that by his time, early on, that Gospel had not gone into all the varying parts of the world. Well, we could, for one, say that it is a prophecy. Maybe Paul is telling us, giving us a hint through the Spirit of God, of what is going to happen in the future—that the Gospel is going to reach all the different parts of the world. That’s possible. Or, two, he could mean that it has been already proclaimed in all the known or populated areas of the time. Three, we could say that the Gospel had been proclaimed to all the known people groups. (This obviously would have excluded people like the Native People of America since they weren’t a known people at the time). All of these theories of what Paul is saying here are reasonable, and perhaps it is a combination of all of them. But the point is that the Gospel is going forward, and should go forward, since it carries the truth that individuals can be saved from their sins and come into right relationship with God.

       So, the Gospel is the key, it is getting back to the basics. It is keeping things on track where the false teachers had lead people astray. That’s what Paul was seeking to do—that which he was personally called by Christ to do—to spread that good news. That fact can often be forgotten—that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news. Why would anyone want to shift from the good news? The temptation to shift comes when the eyes are overly focused on this present world, right? It is when attention is taken off of God in the unseen realm and rather it is all focused on what is present in the seen realm. Indeed, this would happen to Paul at the end of his ministry, where those who were closest to him, most of them in fact, would abandon him for this present world. And it will grieve Paul’s heart in the future from the moment he is writing this. It’s sad to think about, and it’s another call to us, each of us individually, to not shift “from the hope of the gospel [we] heard.” The temptation is there. It could be argued we don’t even need Satan’s influence to make such a shift, if that were possible. Our sin-natures can get us to focus on the wrong things, the wrong desires within us materialized in the external world.

- Daniel Litton