John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
What is peace? How does the coming of Christ bring peace?
Biblical peace is first and foremost peace with God. This peace is only found in the good news that Jesus came to reconcile us to God while we were yet His enemies. The peace we must grasp today is the richness of a totally restored relationship with God through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:15-23
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: 16 forby Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 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.
21 And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Main Point: Jesus Himself is our peace.
Jesus is our peace because…
1. He is God (v15 & 19)
2. He is our Creator (v16)
3. He holds all things together (17)
4. He is the firstborn from the dead (v18)
5. He is our Reconciler (v20-23)
Jesus is our peace because…
1. He is God (v15 & 19)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:
Now, when v15 says Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” what does it mean?
The original Greek word for “image” here is eikon from which the English word “icon” comes.
John 14:8-9
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Here in John 14, Jesus is claiming to be God in the flesh.
This truth combats the Colossian heresy, and it combats the lies of our culture that try to relegate Jesus to the back seat as just another good teacher or wise sage. Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
Verse 15 also declares Jesus is “the firstborn of all creation”
Jesus being “the firstborn of all creation” does not imply that Jesus is a created being. That would be heretical and false teaching (a false teaching endorsed by the cultic religion of Jehovah’s Witness).
“Firstborn of all creation” does not mean Jesus was born first or that He is a created being for a couple of reasons (from John MacArthur):
“Thus Jesus is the firstborn in the sense that He has the preeminence (v. 18) and possesses the right of inheritance over “all creation.” He existed before the creation and is exalted in rank above it.”
-John MacArthur
And if there’s any lingering doubt about Jesus being fully God, Paul drives this point home in v19 of our text:
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,
That is to say that all the fullness of deity (or God’s nature) fully dwells in Jesus.
All of God the Father’s power and His divine attributes dwell in Jesus (i.e. omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence).
This combats the Colossian heresy that taught that Jesus was merely one of a series of emanations from God.
Jesus is our peace because He is fully God.
Jesus is also our peace because…
2. He is our Creator (v16)
16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Jesus is our Creator. There’s no disputing Paul’s meaning here. Jesus is co-eternal with God the Father, and Jesus was the causal Agent of the created universe. Jesus is the divine Designer, Architect, Engineer, and Creator of everything you see and everything you cannot see. Jesus has total authority because He is the Creator of everything visible and invisible.
Now, when v16 speaks of thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities these refer to various rankings or categories of angels. Jesus created the angels and therefore He has all authority over the angels (both fallen and unfallen angels).
Why bring up angelic ranks or categories in v16? Paul was combating the Colossian heresy that taught people to worship angels. In effect, Paul is urging the Colossians here: “Don’t worship angels. Worship Jesus the Creator of the angels!”
Furthermore, v16 also declares that “all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
What does this mean?
This means Jesus is both the Source and the Goal of all creation.
All things have been created through Jesus and for Jesus.
Application: what are the implications of this? If Jesus is the source of all things that means we should give thanks to Him for all creation. If Jesus is the goal of all creation that means that everything we think, say, and do needs to be repurposed and reoriented to bring Jesus all the glory and to bring us closer to Him. If you have not yet come to Jesus for salvation, then you have not found the true purpose for your life. Because all things, including you, were created through Jesus and for Jesus.
Now, not only is Jesus our peace because He is fully God and our Creator, but He’s also our peace because He holds all things together.
3. He holds all things together (17)
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
V17 affirms that Jesus is eternal when it declares that He is before all things (see John 1:1). Jesus is co-eternal with God the Father.
V17 also states that in Jesus all things hold together.
The Greek word for “hold together” means to “unite parts into one whole”. At a subatomic level, Jesus is the One who holds everything in the universe together so it doesn’t fall apart and degenerate into chaos.
Jesus is “the Preserver of the universe.” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
Hebrews 1:3
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Jesus upholds all things by the word of His power.
Jesus Himself is our peace because He sustains and holds all things together
From the cellular level to the interstellar level Jesus holds all of creation together.
Jesus is holding you and me together right now as I speak.
Now, not only is Jesus our peace because He is God, our Creator, and the One who holds all things together, but He is also our peace because He is the firstborn from the dead. Look at Colossians 1:18 with me now.
4. He is the firstborn from the dead (v18)
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.
What does it mean for Jesus to be the head of the church?
This means Jesus has all authority and leadership of the church.
We are members of His body, and He is the head of the body. We are inseparably connected to Jesus, and this is true peace! If we are connected to Him, then we follow wherever He goes.
V18 also states that Jesus is the “beginning.”
This means Jesus is the source and foremost of the church because He was the first to be resurrected.
The next phrase of v18 declares Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead.”
The word “firstborn” is prototokos: prōtótokos ("firstly") specifically refers to Christ as the first to experience glorification, i.e. at His resurrection (see Heb 12:23; Rev 1:5). For this (and countless other reasons) Jesus is "preeminent" (4416 /prōtótokos) – the unequivocal Sovereign over all creation (Col 1:16).
Because Jesus is firstborn from the dead, we can have peace with God…a restored relationship with God. If Jesus was raised from the dead, we also will be raised from the dead so we can be united to Him forever.
The remainder of v18 asserts: Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything”
This means Jesus is preeminent. He has first place in everything! Jesus is supreme over all creation and He is the head of the church, His body.
Application: does Jesus have first place in every part of your life? Think about the different parts of your life. Does Jesus have first place in your thought life? Does He have first place in your relationships? Does He have first place in regards to your sexuality? Does He have first place in your singleness? Does He have first place in your marriage and family? Does He have first place at your job? Does He have first place in your use of social media? Does He have first place in your spending and management of money?
Jesus is preeminent. He holds first place!
We’ve seen that Jesus is our peace because He is God, our Creator, our Sustainer, and the firstborn from the dead. Now let’s put everything together by looking at this final point. Because without the truth of this final point, it is impossible to have peace with God.
5. He is our Reconciler (v20-23)
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 1:20 states that Jesus is our reconciler. God the Father reconciles all things to Himself through Jesus His Son. Now the phrase “reconcile all things to Himself” does not mean universal salvation for all people, but this phrase does mean all things will ultimately bow to His authority (Ph 2:10-11).
And how does Jesus reconcile us to His Father? How does He make peace for us? Look at end of v20: “through the blood of His cross.”
God is 100% holy, righteous, and just. And so, all sin against Him must be atoned for or paid for by blood if reconciliation with God is to occur. The wages of sin is death and so blood had to be shed. Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. The OT foreshadows this reality by the animal sacrificial system. In John 1:29 John the Baptist sees Jesus and declares, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Without the blood of Jesus shed on the cross we cannot have peace with God. He made peace through the blood of His cross.
The word “peace” in v20 means to “establish harmony”
The implication is that apart from Christ’s work of reconciliation (or His peacemaking) at the cross, we were previously enemies of God because of our sin against Him. And that’s exactly what our next verse (v21) spells out so clearly.
21 And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds,
Apart from Christ we were enemies of God. In v21, Paul describes three facets of our opposition against God. 1) We were alienated from God, 2) hostile in attitude, and 3) engaged in evil deeds. In other words, we were spiritually, mentally, and volitionally opposed to God. Let’s take each of these in turn.
“Alienated”: refers to being separated from God. This is what sin does. Think of Genesis 3:23-24:
23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
“Alienated” denotes a broken relationship between us and God and between God and us.
In the original Greek this word “apallotrioó” means to alienate, to estrange; to be shut out from one's fellowship and intimacy":
Secondly, v21 says we were “hostile in attitude.” What does this mean?
The Greek word for “hostile” is helpful here because it shows how deep our depravity goes: exthrós – properly, an enemy; someone openly hostile (at enmity), animated by deep-seated hatred. 2190/exthros ("enemy"), implies irreconcilable hostility, proceeding out of a "personal" hatred bent on inflicting harm (DNTT).
This means that apart from the reconciling work of Christ we have a deep-seated hatred towards God. We have a personal hatred for Him bent on inflicting Him harm
V21 specifies that this hostility is at the level of our attitude…or the level of our mind
The word for attitude used here in Colossians 1:21 means “critical thinking”:
Apart from Christ, our Reconciler, we use the power of our intellect to be hostile toward God. Apart from Christ, we used to critically think and thoroughly reason how to rebel against God. Apart from Christ, our mind/attitude could have been the instrument of our self-destruction because we were openly hostile toward the One who gave us life in the first place.
Not only were we alienated and hostile in mind against God, but we were also engaged in evil deeds (actions).
Alienated, hostile in attitude, and engaged in evil deeds
This is who we were apart from the peacemaking work of Christ on the cross
But now we have peace with God through our reconciler, Jesus Christ. Look at the beauty of the gospel in our next verse (Colossians 1:22).
22 yet He has now reconciled you in His body of flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—
We were previously alienated from God, hostile in attitude, and engaged in evil deeds...that was v21…but v22 declares that Jesus has now reconciled us to God in His body through death.
The word “reconciled” here is absolutely critical. We must grasp the richness embedded in the truth behind this word. Listen to what Strong’s Lexicon has to say about this word: “The verb ἀποκαταλλάσσω [reconcile] is used in the New Testament to describe the complete and thorough reconciliation between God and humanity through Jesus Christ. It emphasizes the total restoration of a relationship that was once broken due to sin. This term is stronger than the simple form [of the verb], indicating a full and complete reconciliation.”
Total restoration of a relationship with God that was once broken due to sin is the biblical reality of peace. Jesus Himself is our peace. Jesus is our Reconciler.
Relational Implications: If Jesus has so reconciled us to God the Father, what kind of peacemakers should we be in our relationships here on earth? Do you have bitterness against someone? Are you harboring resentment against another person? Repent and believe the gospel. If you are in Christ, your relationship with God is totally restored and reconciled through Jesus. Now go and make it right with that person you feel bitter toward and restore your relationship in Jesus’ name.
Now, why did Jesus reconcile us through His death? In order to do what?
V22 gloriously tells us that our Reconciler, our peacemaker, did all that He did on that gruesome cross to present us before God the Father “holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”
Do you see yourself as holy? If you are in Christ, He has made you holy. Do you see yourself as blameless? If you are in Christ, He has made you blameless. Do you see yourself as beyond reproach (“not convictable when a person is properly scrutinized”)? If you are in Christ, He has made you beyond reproach. Praise Jesus!
Now how else do we apply all of the glorious truth we have covered?
I’m so glad you asked. Our final verse gives us the application for today:
23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Applications:
1. Continue in the faith firmly established (in the foundational doctrines of Scripture) & remain steadfast
a. How do we do that? The ordinary means of grace (prayer, Scripture reading/Bible study/& meditation, fellowship with other believers, confession of sin/accountability, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs etc.)
2. Do not shift from the hope of the gospel you have heard—this combats the Colossian heresy about needing more than the gospel of Jesus to be saved
a. Preach the gospel to yourself daily—remember the truth of Colossians 1:22: total restoration of your relationship with God through Jesus Christ
b. Remain grounded in solid biblical community around you
c. This Christmas season do not look for peace in a warm & fuzzy Christmas feeling. Do not shift from the hope of the gospel which is the peace we have with God through the blood of Jesus. True peace is only found in a totally reconciled relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
3. Join in the proclamation of the gospel (we are all ministers of the gospel)
Conclusion:
Main Point: Jesus Himself is our peace.
Jesus is our peace because…
1. He is God (v15 & 19)
2. He is our Creator (v16)
3. He holds all things together (17)
4. He is the firstborn from the dead (v18)
5. He is our Reconciler (v20-23)