From Hostility To Peace

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. 24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Colossians 1:15-28.

My least favorite word in the English language might actually be “actually.” The primary reason is that it often comes from the tongue of someone that is going to obnoxiously attempt to tell you that you are gravely mistaken in your understanding of some subject. Much of the discourse that is even remotely civil in the world today is full of these “actually statements” that try to get the better of an opponent or demonstrate that their knowledge base is better. Unfortunately, the church and many Christians fall into the trap of the “actually” and try to demonstrate that they have a moral or ethical authority because they follow Christ. To follow Christ requires humility and sincerity in our care for others, therefore there is no room for moral or authoritarian elitism when encountering the world. As stated in Colossians, the authority and moral high ground belongs to Christ alone, and we are to remember that it is Jesus that brought us from a hostile position with God into an everlasting peace.

Since Jesus created the Earth and everything in it, it would be meaningless for anyone to even begin to attempt to claim any sort of supremacy that would equal or even begin to rival His authority. Since Jesus spoke with humility, it would be ridiculous for any of us to try and speak to anyone with any sort of hubris or pride. Christ’s power extends beyond the known and seen, therefore there is a foreknowledge that exceeds even the most intelligent that have ever lived. Since Jesus existed before the beginning of the world, we owe everything to Him, and thus we must humbly submit to the absolute supremacy of Christ in our lives and in the world. While there may be some things that we might believe ourselves to be experts in, we must be humble even in that because Jesus knew before we even existed. Without the loving action and mind of Christ, we would be prone to chaotic thinking and living, because when we act out of pride, we are hostile to the mind of Christ. However, the great love of Christ transforms the hostility to peace through the power of the cross.

Christ fought to bring all humans to be reconciled back to God, and thus desires for the Church to remain unified unto itself. Therefore, it is antithetical for any member of the Church to demean or “other” any other member of the Church. For the Church is not only called to peace with God, but also peace with each other. Sin works its way among members of the Church through divisiveness and pride. When one part of the Church feels more important or full of a more desired position among the other parts of the Church it misses that without Christ the Church would still be in a hostile relationship with God. On the cross, Jesus humbly carries out His mission to unite the Church unto God, and no longer allows sin to separate us and divide us, but we must humbly follow and not be led astray. The Church’s mission in the world is to reflect the reconciliation offered by Christ among its different members and as such by its faith it will reflect the hope offered to the world through the Gospel. Through unity, the Church represents the ministry of Christ in the world.

The Gospel given to us was preached to every creature under heaven, signifying its universal appeal and divine origin, contrasting with the exclusiveness of the heretical teachings. Thus, there is no one that is not available to receive God’s Good News therefore we must share with the whole world. The calling upon all followers is to make all the mysteries of God known to the world, which would mean that we must also grow in our faith that we might familiarize ourselves with all of those mysteries. Thus, we must ensure that we work repeatedly to grow in knowledge of the scriptures, not to build our pride but to share it with everyone. Just as we were once hostile to God in sin, Jesus redeemed us, and called us to show those around us God’s peace that they might be pulled toward hope in the Gospel. Since God makes His glory known to us through Christ Jesus, it is our mission and responsibility to share that glory with the world. This ministry requires humility and for us to put on the mind of Christ to see how the world hurts, and work to bring reconciliation to the whole world, which leads to peace.

Peace comes at the cross, nothing we have done has led to God’s gracious act, therefore none of us have any reason to brag or “actually” anyone. Therefore it is important to remember that Christ leads with humility, that even though He was around at creation and all things were created by Him, through Him, and for Him, He still humbled Himself on the cross to bring us peace. All God’s blessings were presented to us even when we were openly hostile to God in our life of sin. Therefore, our need at this time is to work to stop being hostile to others, but rather present the Gospel through our living, working to be at peace with all people, especially those we have conflict with both inside and outside the Church. For this is what God sought to give us through Christ. Our world is a challenging place, there is temptation and chaos all around us, and most of us just want to be kind, or at the very least just live in peace. To follow Christ is more than just living in our peace bubble isolated, because just as Christ entered into the world to directly deal with our hostility, we too must engage and enter the world and face hostility to show peace as found in the Gospel, which means we must walk with people, and listen and show peace, which isn’t a confrontation, but “actually” a caring embrace.