Introduction
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”[1] The ministry of reconciliation is one of the most powerful aspects of the gospel and involves both forgiveness and bringing together that which has been torn apart.[2] Colossians 1:15-20 is a creedal treatise on reconciliation from the theocentric perspective. Paul couches this creed within a teaching on the practical aspects of reconciliation in the life of a believer. By combining both the theocentric and anthropocentric views of reconciliation, Paul provides a powerful remedy to division and disunity. For example, circumcision and apostacy almost tore the early church apart, but reconciliation as presented in Colossians 1:15-20 drove church leadership to seek unity and peace in the body of Christ.
The Theology of Reconciliation
Theocentric: Creation – Sovereignty – Peace
Colossians 1:15-20 presents a theocentric understanding of reconciliation and accomplishes three tasks: (1) it affirms that even though the people of Israel were still oppressed, God was ultimately sovereign, (2) that the world is still in need of reconciliation, and (3) that the firstborn over all creation is God and He will bring about reconciliation. The creed opens with an assertion that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation … [and that] everything was created by Him.”[3] From the context, Jesus’ preeminence over creation is stated in direct opposition to the daily oppression that the occupied Jews experienced (i.e. corruption, Roman control, and persecution).[4] Jesus’ divinity and involvement in creation are emphasized in these verses so that people would understand that He is capable of bringing about the reconciliation that He promised.
Verses 16-18a transition from creative exclusivity to ultimate sovereignty. Colossians 1:16 states that “whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him.”[5] This verse transitions from affirming power over physical creation to the establishment of subordinate rulers and authorities. In opposition to corrupt leadership and oppressive governance, the creed affirms that Jesus the Messiah is sovereign over all governments, authorities, principalities, powers, and forces in the world. Though these verses also implicitly acknowledge that creation and authorities together are in rebellion against God, it does not mean that they have supplanted Him, as “all things have been created through Him and for Him.”[6]
In response to this rebellion, God enacts a plan to “reconcile everything to Himself.” Thus, even though creation and authorities have rejected God, they will not do so forever. The means by which reconciliation will happen is through a “peace” that is brought about “through the blood of His cross.”[7] From a systematic theology perspective, this peace represents the following: (1) the satisfaction of God’s wrath through blood atonement, (2) the restoration of relationship between God and mankind, (3) the restoration of creation from the effects of the fall, (4) the removal of sin, rebellion, and death from mankind, and (5) the total execution of God’s authority through mankind in the earth.[8] In summation, the Colossians creed affirms that when God’s wrath is satisfied, creation and the redeemed will be reconciled to God.
Anthropocentric: Sin – Alienation – Holiness
The verses surrounding the Colossians creed provide the anthropocentric side to reconciliation with God. From the human perspective, the need for reconciliation begins where the separation from God occurred. Colossians 1:21 highlights “evil actions” or sin as the reason for mankind’s separation from God.[9] Thus, the separation was not in any way the fault of God or the breakdown of communication between two parties, but the renouncement of a relationship on the part of humanity.[10] The one-sided nature of the ruin of the relationship reinforces the theocentric method to restore the relationship. Mankind had no desire nor ability to reconcile.[11] Only God, in His faithfulness and never-ending love, had both the desire and power to bring forth reconciliation.
Mankind’s sin did not only bring about the cessation of relationship, it also caused mankind to be alienated from God, creation, and himself.[12] Colossians 1:21 states that people were “hostile in [their] minds,” which gives the impression of people being at war even with themselves.[13] Just as the creed indicated that “by Him all things hold together,” by implication, all things fall apart without Him.[14] The hopelessness of mankind’s situation is directly reflected by the centrality of Jesus’ death on the cross in Colossians 1:20-22 where it was “His physical body” that made reconciliation and peace possible.[15] Mankind was in complete alienation as a result of his sin and only through God, in whom “all things hold together,” could that alienation be dealt with and reconciliation be achieved.[16]
Thus, the completion of reconciliation from the anthropocentric perspective is not focused on the cosmic stage but on the hearts and lives of individuals. First, the death of Christ is directly linked to individual salvation. Colossians 1:14 leads into the creed saying that “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him.”[17] Colossians 1:22 echoes this sentiment, stating that “He has reconciled you through His physical body.”[18] Second, the death of Christ allows individual people to be presented “holy, faultless, and blameless before Him.”[19] Christians have been brought back into relationship with God not only because they have been forgiven, but because the things which caused the disintegration of the relationship have been dealt with. Christians are now without sin or blemish (holy), they are fully forgiven and justified (faultless), and they are free of all of the consequences of their prior actions (blameless). Thus, the people of God are able to stand before God fully justified and reconciled to Him.
Necessity of Reconciliation to Unify Jew and Gentile
The theology of reconciliation from Colossians 1:15-20 had major applications in the early church, one of which was the unification of Jew and Gentile into one body of believers. The relationship between Jewish Christians, Hellenized Jewish Christians, and Gentile Christians during the first 100 years of the church was fraught with division.[20] For example, the Hellenists fought with the Jewish Christians over the proper distribution of funds to the widows.[21] Another issue was whether or not Gentiles had to observe the dietary laws and circumcision as a necessary part of salvation.[22] Finally, those who fell into apostacy under persecution were banned from the church even though they repented.
In answer to these problems, the theology of reconciliation in the Colossians creed argues for unity in the church. Reconciliation between the Hellenist and Jewish factions did not reside in the power of man, but in the power of God. The creationist and sovereignty statements found in Colossians 1:15-20 place all divisions firmly in the hands of mankind. Thus, the issue in both situations mentioned above – that certain people are favored and others are not – resulted from sin and a lack of reconciliation. Had this creed been adhered to, these warring factions may have realized that they were not fighting over the distribution of funds or the necessity of observing the Jewish law; rather, they were fighting with their inability to fully reject “the domain of darkness” and embrace “the kingdom of the Son He loves.”[23]
In order to resolve these divisions and come to a place of reconciliation, the church eventually applied the tenets of the Colossians creed. First, concerning the lack of funding, the Jewish Christian leaders sought to make the peace of Christ known throughout their own community by empowering those who were overlooked to execute the duties that God had placed in their hearts. The leaders purposefully appointed Hellenized Jewish Christians as deacons in an act of solidarity and unity.[24] This decision led to the expansion of the church as reconciliation took root.[25] By propagating the peace of Christ, the hostility between the Hellenistic and Jewish Christians was assuaged and Christ was allowed to be “the head of the body.”[26]
A second major contention that arose in the early church was whether or not circumcision and adherence to Jewish dietary laws were required for justification.[27] From Paul’s theology of reconciliation in the Colossians creed, it is clear that Paul’s contention was that something other than “the blood of His [(Jesus’)] cross” was being promoted as reconciling people to God.[28] However, Paul argued that it is not possible to be made “holy, faultless, and blameless before Him” through any other means than “His [Jesus’] physical body.”[29] Peace with God, and in a beautiful parallel, peace between Jew and Gentile would only come “through Him … [as He] reconcile[s] everything to Himself.” Thus, though Scripture does not record the full outcome of the conflict, the theology of reconciliation could have been applied to this situation by recognizing that it is God who reconciles, not adherence to rituals.
Necessity of Reconciliation to Unify the Persecuted and Apostate
Another issue that Colossians 1:15-20 proleptically addresses is the division of the church over former apostates. Throughout the first 300 years of the church, there were numerous regional or national persecutions under which Christians were subjected to torture and death. By the end of these persecutions, as many as three-fourths of a congregation were guilty of direct apostacy – denial of Jesus as Lord – and were summarily banned from partaking of the Lord’s Supper.[30] Many people wanted to readmit those who had fallen away under persecution, but “how could the church receive those who had denied the faith?”[31]
The answer can be found in the doctrine of reconciliation found in Colossians 1:15-20. Mankind’s response to reconciliation was not as the judge or arbiter of salvation; it was only to be the recipient. Mankind was disobedient, sinful, rebellious, and alienated, and thus required that God make him holy, righteous, at peace, and reconciled. Instead of returning to a pure doctrine of theocentric reconciliation, the early church gave the power of forgiveness to the priests who then officially determined who was reconciled to God and who was not.[32] By going back to the theocentric understanding of reconciliation, the early church could have avoided this problem and the doctrinal errors that sprang from it.
Colossians 1:15-20 argues that Christ created everything and rules everything “for Him.” To circumvent Christ’s lordship will inevitably lead to division and rejection as it did in the early church. To remedy this, the early church could have gone back to making sure that Christ “might come to have first place in everything.”[33] By placing forgiveness back in the hands of Christ and His declarations, apostate believers would have been able to reenter by the same means that they did the first time – “through the blood of His cross … [and] by His physical body.”[34] Similarly, by adhering rigidly to this doctrine of reconciliation, the enmity between those who suffered persecution and those who did not would have been broken down as there are no differences and barriers between those who are in Christ.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the theology of reconciliation presented in Colossians 1:15-20 firmly places reconciliation, peace, and salvation in the hands of God alone. Through this theology, many of the early church problems find simple resolutions. First, in the case of the widow being overlooked, the creed asserts that Christ must remain first in everything, thus entreating the Jewish leadership to take a position of humility and allow others to exercise the authority of Christ in love. Second, in the case of circumcision, the Colossians creed affirms that it is not through works of the law but through the death of Christ that people are reconciled to God and brought into the people of God. Third, in the case of apostasy, the Colossians creed would affirm that individual sins are not powerful enough to keep a person apart from God when Christ’s blood has reconciled him or her. As in history, the theology of reconciliation is a robust theology that will continue to have practical impact in the church today.
Bibliography
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Public Domain, 1949.
Elwell, Walter A., ed. “Reconciliation.” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.
Kylstra, Chester, and Betsy Kylstra. Biblical Healing and Deliverance: A Guide to Experiencing Freedom from Sins of the Past, Destructive Belief, Emotional and Spiritual Pain, Curses and Oppression. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2005.
Noll, Mark A. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Third. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.
Shelley, Bruce L., and R. L. Hatchett. Church History in Plain Language. 4th ed. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2013.
Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007.
[1] 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (HCSB).
[2] Walter A. Elwell, ed., “Reconciliation,” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 992.
[3] Colossians 1:15-16 (HCSB).
[4] Mark L. Strauss, Four Portraits, One Jesus: An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), 112-114.
[5] Colossians 1:16 (HCSB).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Colossians 1:20 (HCSB).
[8] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Public Domain, 1949), 7515-7550, 8179-8281, Kindle.
[9] Colossians 1:21 (HCSB).
[10] Genesis 3:1-6 (HCSB).
[11] Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 4857, Kindle.
[12] Chester Kylstra and Betsy Kylstra, Biblical Healing and Deliverance: A Guide to Experiencing Freedom from Sins of the Past, Destructive Belief, Emotional and Spiritual Pain, Curses and Oppression (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2005), 38.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Colossians 1:17 (HCSB).
[15] Colossians 1:20-22 (HCSB).
[16] Colossians 1:17 (HCSB).
[17] Colossians 1:14 (HCSB).
[18] Colossians 1:22 (HCSB).
[19] Colossians 1:22 (HCSB).
[20] Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Third. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 22.
[21] Bruce L. Shelley and R. L. Hatchett, Church History in Plain Language, 4th ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2013), 80.
[22] Galatians 2 (HCSB).
[23] Colossians 1:13 (HCSB).
[24] Shelley and Hatchett, Church History in Plain Language, 19.
[25] Acts 6:1-7 (HCSB).
[26] Colossians 1:18 (HCSB).
[27] Galatians 2:14 (HCSB).
[28] Colossians 1:20 (HCSB).
[29] Colossians 1:22 (HCSB).
[30] Shelley and Hatchett, Church History in Plain Language, 79-80.
[31] Ibid, 80.
[32] Ibid.
[33] Colossians 1:18 (HCSB).
[34] Colossians 1:20,22 (HCSB).
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