"And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be in earth, or things in heaven."
Colossians 1:20
Part 1
Why do human beings need peace with God, their Creator? Why is there a great rift between them? It all started with our great, great grandfather Adam. When God created the man, before He placed him in the garden, He gave Adam his instructions on how life would be in his new home. The man was given the job of “dressing and keeping” the garden. While there, Adam and Eve could eat from all the trees in the garden, with one exception. The “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” was restricted from them.
In time, Eve was seduced by the serpent and ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. She gave the fruit to Adam, and he knew what he was doing when he ate it with her. They had failed their Creator’s simple obedience test. At that moment, they died spiritually, making them God’s enemies. They also changed physically, and their bodies began the slow life-death process (Genesis 2:17). Not only did Adam and Eve change, but also their environment changed, and by their action, the whole universe was altered and began to wear down.[1]
At this point, God announced to man His war with Satan and evil (Genesis 3:15). He promised Adam and Eve that a Savior will come and destroy Satan and sin. They would learn that forgiveness for their sin is available through the “shedding of blood.” Adam began to wait for the Savior, he looked forward to His coming. It is, in fact, this coming Redeemer who will reconcile sinful man with the Holy God, so that they are no longer enemies!
“And, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
Jesus Christ did come to earth, just as the Creator promised. Jesus, the God-man, lived a perfect life and became the sacrifice for our sin. His blood was shed on the cross, and now we can have peace with God and forgiveness of sin.
No individual could make or somehow earn “peace with God,” but Jesus provided peace through His atoning death in our place.
“Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
By His death, we can have peace! We are no longer enemies, but a part of His family! What did Jesus do to reconcile us to God? Come back tomorrow, and we will talk more!
Quote: “God can work peace through us only if He has worked peace in us… Those who are in the best of circumstances but without God can never find peace, but those in the worst of circumstances but with God need never lack peace”[2] (MacArthur).
[1] Entropy, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.
[2] MacArthur quote, Downloaded: Monday, June 29, 2020.
From: https://www.allchristianquotes.org/quotes/John_F_MacArthur/2122/. Emphasis his.