A window opens.

No services:

Thursday, August 2nd or Sunday, August 5th.

Next luncheon:

Sunday, August 19th

A window opens

COL 1:21-23

COL 1:21-23 is a pivotal passage.

COL 1:15-20
is a hymn to the glories of Christ.

COL 1:24-29 is about Paul’s ministry, and his striving on behalf of the church.

Paul is proclaiming Christ, admonishing and teaching every saint so that he may present them all complete in Christ.

What’s the connection between the glories of Christ and the strivings of Paul?

The spotlight shifts to the saints.

COL 1:21-23

The connection between the glories of Christ and the strivings of Paul is found in the hope that …

…the saints would be presented before our glorious Lord, presented holy and blameless and beyond reproach.

We see an opposing force.

It is trying to stop the saints from continuing in the faith.

It is working to shake that faith and move the saints away from the hope of the gospel.

And that hope has to do with the saints being presented to Christ as holy and blameless and beyond reproach.

Am I really saved?

Does this passage mean that I can lose my salvation?

Or that if I don’t continue in the faith, then I was never really saved in the first place?

Is it possible that this is not even talking about eternal salvation at all?

1. What is Paul mean by “in order to present you before Him” ?

2. What does it mean to be “holy and blameless and beyond reproach” ?

3. What about that little phrase
“if indeed” ?

4. How do we continue in the faith?

5. What does it mean to be moved away from the hope of the gospel?

6. And what is the hope of the gospel?

COL 1:21-23

COL 1:21-23 is also a window that opens onto the rest of the letter.

Reconciled → Continuing → Not being moved away → Presented

Verses 21 and 22 give another presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

COL 1:13-14

They all present the eternal salvation
of the saints as an accomplished fact.

The saints need to be reminded that they have already been saved eternally, and this cannot be taken away from them.

Because of that force that is trying to move them away from the hope of the gospel.

Grace

One of the greatest things about God is that He is gracious.

But what exactly is grace?

ROM 11:6

Grace means that God doesn’t deal with us according to our works.
He doesn’t deal with us according to our sins.

Grace is God acting righteously, in view of the cross.