February 22
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HE WHO RECONCILES ALL THING TO HIMSELF
18 He is also the 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, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. – Colossians 1:18-20
________________________________________In verse 18, Paul continues to explain to the Colossians that Christ is the head of the church. He points out some truths about the relationship between the church and Christ. Jesus Christ is the head of the church. In other words, just like our head is the one that dictates the other parts of our body, the parts cannot function without the head. What the head says, the body follows. Jesus serves as the Master of the church. He heads it and has authority over it. Without Christ, the church is powerless. He is the Spirit that guides the church in order for it to live and function. Barclay comments that without Christ, the church cannot think the truth, cannot act correctly, cannot decide its direction. There are two things combined here. There is the idea of privilege. It is the privilege of the Church to be the instrument through which Christ works. There is the idea of warning. If a man neglects or abuses his body, he can make it unfit to be the servant of the great purposes of his mind; so, by undisciplined and careless living the Church can unfit herself to be the instrument of Christ, who is her head. Barclay comments further that Christ is the beginning of the Church. The world is the creation of Christ and the Church is the new creation of Christ. She is his new creation by water and the word. Jesus is also the beginning of resurrection and the first in everything. Barclay says that there are four great facts about Jesus Christ in his relationship to the Church, which now we can put in order. He is the living Lord; he is the source and origin of the Church; he is the constant director of the Church; and he is the Lord of all, by virtue of his victory over death.
Because of the sacrifice on the cross by Jesus, we are reconciled to God the Father and we are going to be able to have all that God promised those who abide in Christ and all those who are members of the body of Christ. What a great privilege it is and an honor to be a believer!
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REFLECTION
• Why is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross the only way to be reconcile to God?