²¹ And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, ²² yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh THROUGH DEATH, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— ²³  IF INDEED (εἴ γε) you continue in THE faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting 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 (Col1:21-23).

This opening chapter of Colossians is packed with theology, some of which is far from easy to unpack. Paul is addressing Gentiles who were previously alienated from and hostile to the values and principles of the gospel. That pertained to the fact that they had been, like everyone by nature, “in the flesh” (Rom7:5). It is necessary to refer back to Romans fully to understand what Paul is intimating here, particularly where he writes that the Colossian believers had been reconciled (to God) “in His body of flesh THROUGH DEATH”.

Of course, Paul is alluding to Christ’s death on the cross, and possibly in view of certain heresies that were developing, the fact that it was His actual body (flesh and blood) that suffered and died (cf. 1Jn4:2). But it is not just the Saviour’s death that Paul will have had in mind, but also the believer’s. What? Didn’t you know that we died with Him when we were baptised? Better let Paul do the persuading:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? ²Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that OUR body of sin might be  done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin (Rom6:1-6)

So, contrary to many of the commentaries I have seen on the internet, it is not just about Christ’s death, resurrection and righteous living, but OUR’s also. “Our old self was crucified with Him so that OUR body of death might be done away with” so that we may come to walk “in newness of life”. THAT is why the Colossians were now reconciled to God – not just because through Christ’s death their sins had been pardoned, but because they now were “no longer slaves to sin”. Their lives were no longer dominated by the desires of the flesh (old self) but by the impulses of the spirit or “inner man”. As Paul wrote, speaking of his pre-converted state:

“For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my body’s parts. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Rom7:22-24)

But now that “body of death” has been destroyed, effectively by Christ’s death and the believer’s participation in it through baptism. It is therefore not merely a matter of forensics, still less the imputation of Christ’s righteousness (which makes a nonsense of so many scriptural exhortations, especially Christ’s own teaching). For sure, ongoing grace in terms of forgiveness and cleansing are needed for the believer to be “presented before God holy and blameless and beyond reproach“ .

As John affirmed, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us – but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin”(1Jn1:7&8). Returning to our Colossians text, THAT is how, according to Paul, the Christian can be “presented  before (God) holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (v22).

I have hopefully demonstrated the believer’s active participation in that process, and this is also the case in terms of perseverance. For Paul qualifies the Colossians state of reconciliation and sanctity with a caveat: “if indeed (εἴ γε) you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard”(v23). The Greek (εἴ γε) is emphatic – these blessings are conditional upon our continuance in the faith, being the gospel Paul and the apostles had proclaimed to the churches of their day.

Regretfully, in view of historical developments within the churches, unlike the original recipients of Paul’s letter at Colossi, there is no guarantee that all who regard themselves as Christians were ever “in the Faith” in the first place. That particularly pertains to my quote from 1John (above) regarding being cleansed by the blood (see also Jn6:53-54). This yet more foundational issue was covered in an earlier post regarding my 95 theses.  

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