JESUS, THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHER -- Tomorrow:
"And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled, in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight." (Colossians 1:20-22)
Devotion 13 of 32
". . . by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself . . . "
The Spirit now unveils the magnitude of the salvation "that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Tim 2:10). In every way, what is provided in Christ Jesus is a "great salvation" (Heb 2:3). It is associated with God's "manifold wisdom" (Eph 3:10), and "the exceeding greatness of His power" (Eph 1:19). It unveils "the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory" (1 Cor 2:7).
In Christ Jesus, a "righteousness from God" is made known – a righteousness that is appropriated "through faith" (Rom 1:17; Phil 3:9). Here is a salvation that is characterized by "much more" (Rom 5:9,10,15,17). Where sin "abounded," the Gospel announces a grace that did "much more abound" (Rom 5:20). This salvation provides a means by which men can justifiedly be "made righteous" (Rom 5:19), become a "new creation" (2 Cor 5:17), and be "joined to the Lord" (1 Cor 6:17).
Here is a redemption in which God affirms, "their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb 10:17). Those who were once "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph 2:1), are not only "quickened," or raised up, but made to "sit together with Christ in the heavenly places" (Eph 2:6).
This is a salvation where sin – all of it – is "put away" (Heb 9:26). In it, Satan himself is "destroyed" (Heb 2:14), and the "principalities and powers" that once dominated the world are "spoiled," or plundered (Col 2:15). The law – a holy and righteous law that "stopped every mouth" – has been ended as a means "to righteousness" (Rom 10:4). The debt created by man's failure to keep this spiritual law has been liquidated – blotted out – by the Lord Jesus Christ (Col 2:14).
This is a salvation where men have "access by one Spirit to God" (Eph 2:18), "access by faith into this grace wherein we stand" (Rom 5:2), and admittance to "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places" (Eph 1:3). The Lord is known (Heb 8:11). Jesus Christ is known (Phil 3:10). The truth is known (John 8:32). We know who we are in Christ (1 John 3:1-2), and we know what we shall be (1 John 3:3). We are "not ignorant" of Satan's devices (2 Cor 2:11), and we "know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth to Me, I will recompense" (Heb 10:30).
We should not expect that something of this magnitude – requiring an "eternal purpose" (Eph 3:11), the Word being "made flesh" (John 1:14), and Jesus laying down His life and taking it up again (John 10:17-18) – to have small consequences. This has nothing to do with mediocrity, lukewarmness, slothfulness, unfaithfulness, or indolence.
Something requiring the exaltation of Jesus above all things, and the subordination of everything in heaven and earth, can be neither small nor simplistic. Whatever requires the continual involvement of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy angels, must be exceedingly large. And that is precisely the kind of salvation that we are granted in Christ Jesus!
What shall we say, then, of the miserable conditions that exist within and around so many who wear the name of Jesus? What of the anemic gospels that are being declared to men, and the simplistic drivel to which multitudes are being exposed in the name of the Lord? Are such things really associated with a great God, a ruling Christ, a liberating Gospel, and the Kingdom of God? Indeed, they are not, and he is a fool who imagines that they are!
BY HIM
" . . . by Him . . . " Other versions read "through Him" (NASB/NIV). The "Him" of reference is "the Man Christ Jesus," whom God has "glorified" (Acts 3:13) and "exalted" (Phil 2:9). This is the one who "came down from heaven" (John 6:38). It is He who "went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil" (Acts 10:38). This is the One who "took away the sins of the world" (John 1:29), bruising the head of the serpent in the process (Gen 3:15). He is the One God has exalted "higher than the heavens" (Heb 7:26). He is the One to whom "all power in heaven and earth" has been given (Matt 18:18). Angels, and authorities, and powers have all been made subject to Him (1 Pet 3:22). He is the One who, because He "every liveth to make intercession for them," is able to "save to the uttermost" those who come to God through Him (Heb 7:25).
Whatever God is going to do, it will be done through Christ Jesus, and Him alone. The purpose that He has determined before the world was made will be brought to fruition in Christ Jesus, His only begotten Son.
Where, therefore, there is no vital, or living, association with Christ Jesus, there can be no participation in the benefits He brings. All of God's blessings are only as close as Jesus is to the individual – not one millimeter closer! If you are in Him, you have access to all that He brings from God. If you are not in Him, you have access to nothing from God – absolutely nothing!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the glorious magnitude of Your great salvation.