Prison Epistles

The Prison Epistles
Sermon Number Thirty
The Sufficiency Christ (Part 3)
Colossians 1:15-23
October 30th, 2005
Jim Bordwine, ThD
Introduction

The sufficiency of Christ--this is the topic we are considering as we look at the first chapter of Paul's letter to the saints in Colossae. This is such a simple phrase--the sufficiency of Christ--but so substantial. This is a monumentally significant statement because it deals with your eternal destiny. That's what we talk about on Sundays when we gather for worship. We talk and read and sing and pray about your relationship with God. And we use that short phrase, the sufficiency of Christ, and in using that short phrase we are employing a statement of enormous importance.

When we speak of the sufficiency of Christ, we are speaking of your offense before a Holy God, an offense that was so hideous as to warrant an eternity of separation from Him. And we are saying that Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, has provided an atonement that is sufficient to satisfy the just demands of an offended God. We are saying that an offense of infinite character has been satisfied by a sacrifice of infinite worth. When we read that it was "the Lord of glory" who was crucified for us (cf. 1 Cor. 2:8) and that wicked men killed "the Prince of Life" (cf. Acts 3:15) and that God purchased the Church with His own blood (cf. Acts 20:28), we are being taught of the immeasurable worth of the sacrifice made on our behalf. The value of the sacrifice directly relates to the dignity of the one making it (cf. Boettner). In this case, it is the God-Man who makes and is the sacrifice in our atonement. Nothing greater or more effectual can be given.

That's what we mean when we talk of the sufficiency of Christ. This is no ordinary topic of conversation. This isn't one of those subjects that has little or no bearing on us--this topic, as suggested, bears upon the nature of our existence in this world and in the world to come. This isn't a subject of little interest to you; this is a subject of maximum interest. Our present study is taking us into the heart of the gospel, to the very core of the message that has been proclaimed in this world since those few followers stood on the street in Jerusalem after the resurrection and said: "Repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ."

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul is countering teaching that said those who had trusted in Christ alone for salvation needed more than Christ. That is what was at stake in Colossae--the very idea that a sinner can trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation was at stake. This is the issue at stake in every generation as someone or some movement posits an alternative or an addition to the pure gospel. If it's not Arius in the fourth century teaching that Jesus Christ was not fully and truly God, then it's the Watchtower Society sending visitors to your door to tell you that Jesus was a nice man, but you need something more than Jesus because, after all, he wasn't fully and truly God. And if it's not the Mormons bicycling through your neighborhood declaring that Jesus Christ was only a man who became a god, then it's men within our own ranks who are obscuring the blessed gospel with confusion of concepts and redefinition of terms. Someone is always trying to destroy, dilute, or compete with the truth of the gospel. That is what we are reading about in Paul's letter.

"God expects more from you," these saints were being told. "God wants your sacrifice and your offering of a restricted or rule-bound life so that He might forgive you," they were hearing. "You cannot truly believe that sin is removed by an act of faith alone, can you?", they were asked. In a moving style, the apostle has put before his readers--and before us--a description of Jesus Christ that blows away all competing notions of winning favor before an offended God; he has put in writing an explanation about Jesus Christ that forever answers the question: "How can a sinner be reconciled to God?"

And the answer given is forever relevant. The answer is that God Himself came to this world in the flesh and paid for our transgression. The answer is that the One Who was the image of the invisible God, the One through Whom all things exist, the One to Whom has been given all authority, suffered unbelievable torments in our flesh and finally, allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross where, contrary to what His enemies thought, He secured peace through the shedding of His precious blood. And this same One is now bringing His reconciling ministry to the world through His Body, the Church. Thus far, that is what Paul has declared in this passage.

When we speak of the sufficiency of Christ, we mean that He did what was necessary, in a complete and perfect manner, to satisfy the God in Whose eyes we were condemned. Now you tell me, if this is true, if it is true that God Himself has become our Redeemer, what more do we need? And you tell me, if this is true, if God Himself has become our Savior, how much time should we give to the notion, no matter what the source, that suggests that the work of God in the flesh is incomplete? How could God provide anything less than what was needed and how could God provide an atonement that was anything less than what was required? That is what we mean by that short phrase, the sufficiency of Christ. Do you see that although it is a simple phrase, it has packed within it all that a condemned sinner needs to hear?

I noted in the last sermon that though we've heard marvelous things about Christ, though we've heard that He is God in the flesh, that He is the Creator of all things, that He is the Head of the Church, there is something more to come. We are ready this morning to consider in detail the last few words Paul wrote in this passage we have been studying. I will read Col. 1:15-23 one more time, therefore:

1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 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, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

The Sufficiency of Christ (continued)

God in the flesh has secured peace, Paul writes, through the blood of His cross (v. 20). What a striking image--God in the flesh raised above the earth, suspended upon that cross, with spikes through his wrists and ankles, with blood flowing down from the many wounds inflicted upon Him by those very creatures He made. And it was that blood, that life, shed and given by Him, through which we are saved. His blood for ours; His life for ours. His infinitely worthy sacrifice in place of our continually deficient efforts. This is where Paul's words must lead; they must lead to the personal aspect of what the Savior did up on that cross.

The atonement made was not made blindly or with no particular object; the atonement was made for His people, those appointed to eternal life by the sovereign decree of God before the foundation of the world. For us, He walked that road; for us, He surrendered His life; for us, that blood mentioned by the apostle was spilled. And for us, He has made peace. We may not consider the work of Christ as if it were some undefined mission or as if He sought only to make salvation possible. No, that cross was endured for that perfect number known only to God--it was a particular atonement; and if it wasn't, then we are still in our sins.

Understand that we did not need a salvation that was only possible, we needed a salvation that was accomplished, and that is what we have in Christ. We haven't understood the nature of the atonement until we can say: "O Lord Jesus, for me You gave Yourself." This is the truth Paul is now going to proclaim to the Colossians as he completes his thoughts about the sufficiency of Christ. He is going to emphasize to them the personal aspect of redemption because understanding this truth is required so that a life of holiness may follow.

Paul begins this turn toward the very personal when he tells the Colossians what they were before Christ delivered them. They were "formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds" (v. 22) The nature of the atonement is not grasped by us until we view it from a personal--"Jesus died for me"--perspective; and the nature of the atonement is not fully grasped until we understand what we were without Him. We did not simply need guidance to find our way; no, we were already committed to a way, a way of death and rebellion. We did not need someone to tend to a wounded soul; no, our soul was not wounded, it was in a state of spiritual death before God. We did not need a "nudge" in the right direction; no, we weren't looking for the right direction but were committed to following the course dictated to us by our fallen, sinful natures.

Understand the state of our fallen race and then you will be ready to comprehend more fully the glory of the atonement provided for us by Christ. We were at war with God, we had no desire to know Him or serve Him. We were, by nature, alienated from God and perfectly happy to remain in that state of darkness. Sin corrupted us and caused us to be satisfied with our separation from God. That alone testifies to the hideous nature of sin; it is so destructive that it causes the one who came from the hand of God to prefer a state of alienation and turmoil. This truth is right in the Scriptures. In fact, speaking of us in our natural state, this same apostle wrote: "there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one." (Rom. 3:10-12) After such an indictment, where do you turn for help? You certainly don't look to yourself--by yourself, on your own, your cause is lost. You must, should God see fit to give you the ability to perceive rightly, turn to Another, One not corrupted by sin, One not under the condemnation of God, One able to provide a sacrifice to pay for your sins.

You see, we did not need a little help, we needed life; we needed Someone to go to God on our behalf and atone for our transgressions. And we needed Someone to mediate between us and God so that there might be peace. That is what Jesus did. That is why we bear His name. He came for us in the very state Paul describes, a state of alienation and hostility of mind, a state in which we pursued wickedness because of our fallen natures. That is why we are always talking about Him. That is why such lovely hymns and songs have been written about Him. When we study the Scriptures, we come to know what He did for us. And when we study a passage like the one we're considering in Col. 1, we come face to face with information about Him that only magnifies His greatness and calls forth even more adoration from us. We praise Him and He is the center of our existence as believers because of what He did for us.

When we hear the Bible's assessment of us as fallen creatures, we should shudder. We don't want to think of ourselves in that manner. We don't want to look at our precious little ones and admit that, as sinners, they are alienated from God and hostile toward Him. We hear a description like this of ourselves and it sounds strange because we don't face this truth very often. But let me ask you: When you hear that your salvation required the bloody death of the God-Man upon the cross, what kind of condition do you think we are in as fallen creatures? That's what you were and where you were, Paul tells the Colossians. It's not a description that is easy to hear, but how can the atonement be fully appreciated if we don't know how bad things were for us?

Have you ever had something done for you or given to you in which your response was something like "How can I ever repay you?" We make such declarations to other human beings sometimes when they are particularly helpful to us or come to our aid in some manner. But what about Jesus? Have you ever lifted your eyes toward heaven and said: "Oh Lord, how can I every repay You for what You've done for me?" Have you ever been overwhelmed by a sense of obligation to Him as you've come to learn about His work on your behalf? I don't mean a sense of obligation grounded in the belief that you need to add to what He's done, but a sense of obligation grounded in the realization that Jesus Christ has completely and forever resolved your guilt before God. Thanksgiving to Christ arises from the heart of the sinner who knows what he was and what, therefore, was done for him. Grateful service follows when the sinner realizes the depth of sin from which he has been delivered.

Now, note well what Paul writes: "Although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death..." Reconciliation--what a beautiful word for the sinner to hear! Reconciliation--because of Christ, we are no longer alienated from God, no longer hostile to Him in our minds, no longer living contrary to His will. Jesus knew what we were when He came and He knew what price would have to be paid to reconcile us to God--and He came nevertheless and He paid that price. Can you even conceive of a greater love than that? Totally undeserving, yet He took my guilt as if it were His own. Totally innocent, yet He was nailed to that cross as if He deserved to be there. The gospel isn't just about Jesus saving sinners, the gospel is about Jesus saving me. The gospel is about my sin imputed to Him and His death taking place instead of mine. Whatever sin you committed this past week, if Christ is your Savior, it was on His back when He was nailed to the cross and suspended between heaven and earth. Now multiply that a thousand times or ten thousand times and imagine the love of the Lord that drove Him to that awful place for you.

Fully God and fully Man, Jesus Christ our Savior. Through Him, I have been brought back to God. Although I was formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled me in His fleshly body through death. That is an amazing concept! And it's not finished yet. Paul goes on to say that Jesus did this for us "in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach." He rescued me and now He is remaking me, one day at a time, one victory over temptation at a time, week by week and year by year until one day, I'll be found in Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Imagine the sinner--lost and hopeless, an enemy of God by nature, a creature dedicated to the expression of his corruption--imagine the sinner being recreated so that he ends up standing before God one day without fear. That is what the Savior has done for us. Jesus has joined us to Him and He will not let us depart--ever. He delivered us from the domain of darkness and is now teaching us how to live in His Kingdom of light. We get a glimpse of it now, in this world, but the greatest glory is to come.

This passage ends with a statement that reminds us of what prompted Paul to send this letter in the first place. In v. 23, after giving such a glorious description of the Savior and His work, the apostle warns the Colossians that all he has said to them will be of no value to them if, in fact, they turn away from the gospel. And that is, as I've said before, the issue in this church at this point in history. Those who had professed to believe the gospel with all of its wonderful implications were being told the gospel was not enough; they were being told that the work of Christ, the One just described by Paul, was not sufficient to win God's saving favor. They were being told that they needed to take up rules and practices of various kinds in order to supplement what they received in the gospel. That was utter foolishness. "Continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast," Paul exhorts; "do not be moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard." This last verse not only concludes this passage, but it also will serve as an introduction to the next few verses, which we will return to later.

Application

We have been studying vv. 15-23 for three consecutive weeks. We've spent this much time on this passage because of its crucial importance in the matter of understanding who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us. I want to close this morning, therefore, with five reminders for you to take with you; these are truths that are based on this wonderful series of verses about the nature and work of our Savior.

First, remember that your Savior is God in the flesh. The offended God did not ask for the impossible--that being a sacrifice of such worth so as to atone for infinitely offensive sin. Instead, He provided that sacrifice by coming Himself to the place of your captivity--this earth--and by giving Himself in your place. Nothing testifies more fully to the love of God for us than this. Don't ever doubt the love of God. No matter what you face in this life, no matter how difficult life becomes, you need never doubt the love of God if you are in Christ.

Second, remember that the sacrifice given by your Savior was absolutely, unquestionably sufficient for the need. Don't let yourself be troubled by any teaching telling you that you must "improve" upon what He did or telling you that you must "do your part." You have no part in your redemption except to believe that Jesus is your Substitute. He is a complete Substitute, by which I mean that He gave precisely and perfectly what God's justice required and nothing remains for you to do if you trust Him as your Savior. This isn't, of course, an argument against living a holy life, it is an argument against any who say that we are obligated to God in some fashion so that our salvation might be complete.

Third, remember that your Savior has all power and authority. Paul made that point clear, too. You don't have to worry about ever being taken from Him. You don't have to worry about falling from that state of redemption in which you now rest as a Christian. There is no authority to challenge your Savior; that means that you are eternally secure in Him.

Fourth, remember to rejoice in and enjoy the peace that Christ has established between you and God. The blood of His cross, Paul told us, has brought peace--peace between the sinner and a holy God. That truth, all by itself, is worthy of our life-long contemplation. It's true that you were, at one time, distance from God and bent on an existence of defiance. But Jesus has changed all that. He has reconciled you to God. That means that whatever stood between you and God has been removed. There is nothing more you need to do. You need only rest in Christ and dedicate yourself to living a life of honor to Him.

Fifth, remember the pure gospel and be prepared to defend it. Guard your own mind so that this blessed message is not corrupted. Guard others for whom you may be responsible so that they are taught regarding the sufficiency of Christ. Those who have come before us have declared solo Christo, and we are called to pick up that chant and make it our own. Christ alone is all we need. Christ alone has accomplished our redemption. Christ alone is to be glorified and served.

Let's pray...

Conclusion

The hymn we just sang reminds us of the sufficiency of Christ. He is our all in all. This sacrament seals to us all that I have declared to you today and all that you have witnessed in this time of worship. By receiving the elements, your status among the redeemed is being affirmed and your call to a life of holiness is being emphasized. This is the Table of the One presented to us by Paul. This is the Table of the God-Man who gave Himself in our place. He has secured our salvation and now, in this symbolic manner, He invites you to eat of His table in peace.

The Scripture says:

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. (Matt. 26:26-28)