Col 1: portions of 13-23 (NIV) For he has rescued us from ... darkness … brought us into the kingdom … 15 He is the image of the invisible God,… by him all things were created … 17 He is before all things ... in him all things hold together ... he is the head of the body ... he is the beginning … God was pleased ... through him to reconcile … all things … by ... the cross. 21 Once you were ... enemies … But now he has reconciled you by Christ's ... death to present you holy in his sight ... This is the gospel ... which I ... have become a servant.
NOTE: It is a long section and is so rich. This is the essence of the gospel which Paul preached. I have shortened it down to emphasize the main points, but every point could be elaborated in much greater depth. And to paraphrase the message even more, I would say: Jesus, the image and fullness of God, the creator and sustainer of all things, has reconciled us, formerly enemies, to God through his death on the cross by making us holy in God's sight. A complex and yet incredibly simple message. He died to restore me, his enemy. I think the biggest problem that most people have is not recognizing themselves as enemies of God. They don't see their sin as such a bad thing. They compare it to others and believe they come off pretty well. But they don't compare their sin to God and if they really did, they would see how short they fall and how unbelievable that God would even bother to save them. No, most of us never truly grasp our lost-ness, and so salvation is never valued as it should be. Lord, thank you for your salvation. I understand what you did, and yet I cannot even grasp the depth of your love for me. May I never take it for granted.
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