When you look at all that is happening in the world, peace doesn’t seem obtainable between those who declare themselves enemies of one another. However, you may not think about the fact that people are also at war with God. But peace with God is possible for anyone through Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross on their behalf. Peace with God is obtainable for you through faith in Jesus, not your own effort or good works, or even religion.
Jesus makes Peace Obtainable
While imprisoned in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote using the analogy of war between enemies to describe how followers of Jesus in Colossae could war against false teaching and ultimately be at peace with God through faith in Jesus.
Paul’s friend, Epaphras was the pastor of the church in Colossae and when Epaphras traveled to see Paul in prison, they discussed the false teachers who were causing confusion in the faith community at Colossae. Paul responded by writing a letter to them, which is the New Testament letter to the Colossians, so that these followers of Jesus could combat the false teachings against the truth about Jesus.
The false teachers were trying to convince the church in Colossae to renounce or deny the deity of Jesus. Epaphras knew the truth of the gospel about Jesus and was trying to faithfully teach the people, but false teachers were undermining their understanding and belief in the gospel. They taught that reconciliation with God was achieved through a combination of human effort (or good works) and faith in Jesus. Both teachings, the denial of Jesus’ deity and reconciliation with God through good works, are against the gospel. The good news is that Jesus is the Son of God and faith in Jesus alone provides reconciliation and peace with God. Therefore, Paul wrote:
For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. Colossians 1:19-23b
Paul argues Jesus is God
Paul constructs his argument for the deity of Jesus and how reconciliation and peace with God are possible in Colossians 1:1-23. The entire chapter builds Paul’s conclusions about Jesus.
- Jesus is God. Colossians 1:15, 19
- Jesus came to earth to rescue you from being at war with God because of your sinfulness. Colossians 1:13
- Jesus provides the way to be reconciled with God through Jesus’ redemptive work on your behalf. Colossians 1:14, 21
- Jesus is the image of God, the Father. Colossians 1:15
- Jesus existed before the creation of the world. Colossians 1:17
- Jesus created all things. Colossians 1:16
- Jesus established the Church (i.e., those reconciled with God through faith in Jesus) and Jesus is the head of the Church. Colossians 1:18
- Jesus made reconciliation and peace with God possible for all people through His shed blood on the cross. Colossians 1:20
Peace with God is not Universal
In this letter to the followers of Jesus in Colossae, Paul was not teaching universalism. Universalism is the belief that all people regardless of if they believe in Jesus as God or if they believe Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, are reconciled to God and made at peace with God. However, Paul does teach that reconciliation and peace with God are available to all, but not all put their faith in Jesus.
Benefits of Peace with God
According to Colossians 1:22, Paul taught that those who believe in Jesus, Jesus will present them to God as holy (i.e., set apart for God’s purposes), blameless (i.e., not guilty before God of their sins), and above reproach or without fault. Paul used the word blameless to indicate a positional quality or status that a person cannot earn but is given by God through faith in Jesus.
When you are at war with an enemy you need to be rescued and transported to safety which is what Paul says Jesus offers – forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. Jesus is God and the only person with authority and rulership of all creation to make peace with God obtainable through His death on the cross.
You most likely live in and see lots of evidence in the world that people are at war with one another, but people are also at war with God.
Colossians 1:21 as well as Romans 5:8-10 and Romans 8:7-10 present the truth that people are at war with God. Many people war against the truth about Jesus and seek to deny God’s true desires to reconcile with them. Thus, they live as enemies of God and at war with God.
However, God does not want the war to continue between the people He created and Himself. God loves people so much that He wants to be in a relationship (reconciled) with them. God wants to be at peace with people, but God will not force people to be peace with Him. People must choose to believe Jesus alone reconciles people to God.
In Colossians 1, the apostle Paul describes how reconciliation and peace with God are possible. God makes a way for people to have peace with Him and it’s not through their own human effort, good works, or religion. Jesus made reconciliation and peace with God possible for all people through His shed blood on the cross (reference Colossians 1:20).
Maybe if people stop being at war with God by placing their faith in Jesus, they could experience peace with God and help lessen their war with one another.
