In Him All Fullness Dwells; Reconciliation by the Blood of His Cross (Colossians 1:19–23)

Col. 1:20. And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross, through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

“‘and through him to reconcile to himself all things’—this is the main thing which God was pleased should be accomplished through His incarnate Son. ‘Reconciliation’ suggests enmity (Saint Chrysostom), and as it seems, between God and creation: for he says: ‘reconcile to himself all things,’—that is, God was pleased to reconcile all things with Himself through His incarnate Son. What is this enmity? God does not contend, for He is impassible; and creation would not dare to think of waging war against its Creator and God. What then is this enmity, cut off by reconciliation? It is a departure from the law of God’s will. Saint Paul, writing (to the Romans) about the mind of the flesh, said that it is ‘hostility to God”; and immediately added an explanation why he called it so: “for it does not submit to God’s law’ (Rom 8:7). Thus according to him, hostility to God is disobedience to the law of God’s will. He who has departed from the law of God’s will and remains in his disobedience to it, he wages war against God. Such is fallen man. The Son of God was incarnate to reconcile him with God, that is, to bring him into the order of life according to God’s will.”

But this would be reconciliation of man only, while the Apostle says: “reconcile all things,”—by which he understands all—both earthly and heavenly. How does the word “reconcile” apply here? In the same way as in relation to man. When man departed from God’s will, all went not as God had willed from the beginning—not according to God’s will: for all came into discord. The heavenly powers could not be at peace with man because of his disobedience to God (Blessed Theodoret), and all creation rose up against man. For it remained in God’s will, as having no free will, while he departed from this will, yet being essentially connected with creation. And it opposes him as one going against the God-appointed order. By God’s intention all was to remain in harmonious accord. The Son of God came and was incarnate to abolish this discord of all things. Therefore the Apostle, having said: “reconcile all things,”—added: “by making peace” both earthly and heavenly. “One here indicates enmity, namely: ‘reconcile,’—while another indicates war and discord, namely: ‘by making peace’” (Saint Chrysostom). But this peace is also made by the same path, that is, by bringing man into the order of life according to God’s will. For if discord comes through departure from this will, then the cessation of discord comes through entering into it and remaining in it.

How then was this accomplished? “by his blood, shed on the cross.” By it reconciliation with God, by it peace of all things, by it restoration of what has fallen. All the work of the incarnate economy is thus: the Son of God, incarnate, underwent crucifixion and thereby removed from man the guilt of sin; then, having risen and ascended to heaven, opened to the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life, the way to descend into humanity. And He, having descended upon the Apostles and through them established the holy Church, remains in it, through the holy mysteries rebirthing all, giving life, and holding in the will of God by His guidance and gracious power every one who with faith clings to the Lord Saviour. Thus each one is brought into the order of life according to God’s will; consequently, thus is he reconciled and thus is he brought to peace. Since the Holy Spirit would not have come down if the guilt had not been removed from man by the death of the Son of God on the cross, and without the grace of the Holy Spirit man would not have entered into the order of life according to God’s will and consequently would be neither reconciled nor at peace; therefore the Apostle refers all this good to the blood of the cross as the sole source. This blood both washes and by the grace of the Holy Spirit quickens for life according to God.

The Apostle writes: “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things,”—as of a work completely accomplished. And such it is by its power and before the all-seeing eye of God. In reality, by the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, His death on the cross, His resurrection, ascension, and the descent of the Holy Spirit, only a beginning has been established, living and rich in action. From the moment of the descent of the Holy Spirit, the reconciling and peace-making power of the incarnate economy has begun to work, continues to work, and will work until the end of the age, through the bringing of believers into the orders of life according to God by the quickening of the Holy Spirit. But this is visible only to the eyes of faith. At the present time, all who are counted worthy of this blessing are gathered round the risen Christ, sitting at the right hand of God. If our eyes were opened and we saw this, then in deed we would understand what is the reconciliation of all things with God and the making peace of the earthly and heavenly. At the end of ages, when there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, all this will be manifestly seen and understood by all.

It is possible, or rather should be supposed, that the power of reconciliation and peace-making through the incarnate economy began to work immediately after the fall. And it would have been proper for the heavenly powers and all creation to rise up against man as soon as he departed from God’s will. If creation after sin did not subdue him, if the heavenly powers did not rise up against him as soon as he sinned, if the anger of God did not strike him in the very act of sin, all this is because reconciliation was already predetermined—there was already the Reconciler, who undertook the work of reconciliation, which began to work immediately as soon as there was need.

We cannot know how the Angels would have regarded us had there been no reconciliation; but we can guess from the Angel who stood with a sword at the entrance to paradise, and from the instances when they later struck sinners. We cannot know either how the rest of creation would have treated us had there been no reconciliation; but we can guess from the Flood, the burning of Sodom, the engulfing in the sea of the Egyptians, and similar events. But since reconciliation was predetermined, the Angels and creation began from the very beginning to serve this work—the former helping more inwardly, the latter admonishing more outwardly: for through it was imposed penance upon those who sinned. Therefore we see Angels singing joy at the birth of the incarnate God the Son, the Saviour, proclaiming His glorious resurrection, accompanying Him with exclamations to heaven and there worshipping Him and glorifying Him. Why? Certainly also because they perceived in Him their reconciliation with their brethren in spirit, bearing flesh, which is destined at its appointed time to be revealed in power. We also see that at the hour of the shedding of blood on the cross, creation gave up certain dead raised to life, was not this perhaps because she received the expectation of the revelation in glory of the sons of God, when she too will appear in the glory of her reconciliation with her Head, for whose sake she was subjected against her will to futility and decay.

Thus God was pleased to reconcile all things to Himself through His incarnate Son, making peace by His blood shed on the cross, both earthly and heavenly. Let us quote what has been said about this by our commentators. Saint Chrysostom says: “It is a great thing to reconcile, and that it was through the Son is yet greater, and that this was greater still, by His blood, and not only by His blood but, what is yet greater, by the cross; so that here are five things worthy of wonder: He reconciled—with God—by Himself—by death—by the cross. How wisely Saint Paul combined all this in a few words! He wished to show especially that the Son of God accomplished the work of reconciliation not by a word spoken (as in creation: ‘He said and it was so’ (Ps 32:9)), but through the surrender of Himself (as a sacrifice of reconciliation).”

Blessed Theodoret writes: “He accomplished our reconciliation by enduring saving suffering, by shedding His blood, by offering Himself as a sacrifice for us; and He united heavenly and earthly.” We read also in Ambrosiaster: “in order to restore what was created by the Son through the Son as well, God the Father, when disorder had entered the midst of creatures through sin and they came into discord not only with each other but with their Creator, was pleased for His Son to be humbled through the incarnation, so that, becoming man, He might show and teach how what exists in the heavens and on earth can be reconciled with its Creator. And the Son of God, to bring this to completion, endured a bloody death on the cross for men.”

Thus are explained the words: “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Concerning the words: “whether things on earth or things in heaven”—we read in Saint Chrysostom: “What does it mean: ‘(by making peace with) things in heaven’? As for ‘things on earth,’ this is understandable, because here everything was filled with enmity, each one of us was in discord with himself and with many others. But how did He make peace with ‘things in heaven’? Was there discord and disagreement there? No; but earth was cut off from heaven, and the Angels rose up against men, seeing their Lord insulted by them. And this enmity the Lord cut short. How? By transferring man to heaven. He not only made peace on earth, but raised man to the Angels, raised to heaven he whom they did not love. Behold this—a deep peace! The Angels began again to appear on earth, because man appeared in heaven. God brought them down to men, and raised men up to them. First He brought the Angels down to us, and then raised man to the Angels; the earth became heaven, because heaven was to receive what from earth. Now heaven is no longer barred from us by an impassable barrier; and every believer has his Angel. Where is this evident? Hear the words of Christ: ‘See that you do not despise one of these little ones… for their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven’ (Mt 18:10).”

Having shown both the height of the economy and the manner of its accomplishment, Saint Paul finally reminds the Colossians that: α) they themselves have been counted worthy of this great gift (Col 1:21, 22); and encourages them that it will remain their eternal possession if: β) they keep the necessary conditions—firm faith and unshakeable hope (Col 1:23).

Col. 1:21, 22. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—

This is either an application of what has been said, or an example explaining it. Behold, God has reconciled you to Himself, has not denied you this great gift. Or thus: so that it might be clearer to you what reconciliation is and in what it consists, look upon yourselves, what you were and what you have become by the economy of salvation in Christ the Lord. Blessed Theodoret makes such a paraphrase of this passage: “Learn from yourselves and judge all by it. For you, living in wickedness and impiety and being entirely deprived of the light of knowledge of God, became close to God, because the Master Christ paid your debt, giving His body to death, so that you, having received the calling, became holy and free from all defect.”

“Once you were alienated from God”—alienated from God and from the life of God. It is not explained how this came about, because it was known to them: through the fall they departed from God, alienated themselves from Him, and remained in this alienation; they came to love life outside God and chose it as a permanent way of life, in which they remained until then. Saint Chrysostom understands the words “you were alienated” as: you were alienating yourselves. “So that,” he says, “you might not imagine some kind of necessity (in such alienation), the Apostle says: ‘and you—alienating yourselves.’ It is not the same thing to deliver from evil a man who has necessarily suffered evil, and a man who has voluntarily subjected himself to it: the first is deserving of pity, while the second of aversion. Yet God, despite this, reconciled you to Himself, you who were departing from Him not by force, not by compulsion, but voluntarily. And long have both Angels and God desired your reconciliation; only you did not wish it.” In the word “alienating yourselves” there is also the thought: you not only did not expect, not only did not desire it, you even did not think of it—you deliberately turned away from God and fled from Him.

“and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” Enmity in relation to God, as was explained before, is a departure from God’s will and remaining obstinately in it, against God. “Alienation” suggests only inattention and coldness; but “enmity” forces one to suppose a certain hostility and irritated resistance, perhaps not directly to God, but to life according to God, and through that to God. He who has loved sin finds all that is of God displeasing, and if he stands in the ways of sin, it irritates and provokes hostility. When one turns to God, such dispositions are transformed; hostility is turned against sin, while toward God and things of God warmth begins to grow and good disposition. “in your minds,” τη διανοια,—by which is meant the whole internal order: both thoughts, feelings, dispositions, plans, sympathies, the whole person with consciousness and freedom—by all this, he says, you were given over to evil deeds, to wicked and lawless acts, and you walked in them, not even in thought departing from their circle. Since such an order of life is opposed to God’s will, by your whole essence you were permeated with opposition to God or enmity toward God. Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle writes: ‘and were enemies in your minds in your evil behavior,’—showing thereby that their alienation was not only in intention, but what? ‘in your evil behavior,’ that is, you were enemies and acted as enemies.” What is within, appears without: from the abundance of the heart not only the mouth speaks, but also the feet walk and the hands act.

Such then is what you were once, that is, before your belief and clinging to Christ the Lord. Yet, notwithstanding such your alienation from God and enmity toward Him, He now reconciled you to Himself. He has given you the same good He established for all mankind. How did He reconcile you? In the same way He determined to reconcile all: “by Christ’s physical body through death.” God was pleased for His only-begotten Son, having come down to earth, to take upon Himself a physical body, visible and tangible, and in it dying by crucifixion, to remove from men the guilt of sin and to open for them the path to new life in grace. All who cling to Him by faith receive, for the sake of His death, forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, and a new, holy life. How and to whom to run to Christ the Lord, God Himself arranges all; and if anyone, being called, believes and is established in faith, He reconciles him to Himself and counts him worthy of all the blessings of reconciliation. Behold, He has counted you worthy of all this. The gospel reached you without your seeking. This God brought to you; and your calling to faith seemed to come from His mouth. When you inclined toward faith, He strengthened you in this faith, and in the water of baptism, making you partakers of the cross-death of His Son, He removed your sins, was reconciled with you, and gave you a new life. Thus did God the Father reconcile you, who were alienated from Him and showed yourselves to Him as enemies disposed toward the sinful life displeasing to Him, through the death of His incarnate Son.

But He reconciled you, alienated and enemies, not leaving you as enemies and in alienation from Himself; but He reconciled you in this: He transformed you from enemies into friends and from strangers into His own sons and daughters to Himself. This is expressed by the words: “to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” “To present”—to show and to make: for one usually presents something already made. “in his sight”—before His all-seeing eye. What kind of holiness should it be? Such that not even a speck of uncleanness remains in them. God Himself presents you before Himself holy. If, in presenting work to others, one strives for it to have a perfect appearance; is not this all the more so when one makes something for oneself? If God, desiring to present you before Himself holy, Himself makes you such, and He knows and can do this in the most perfect manner; then who can measure your holiness, and not only find something imperfect in it? The words “holy, without blemish and free from accusation”—signify in total the fullest holiness, comprehensive and complete. If one distinguishes them, it may be thus: free from accusation—one from whom guilt has been removed; without blemish—one who is in himself pure; holy—one who besides this is enriched with all kinds of good and pleasing-to-God works. Saint Chrysostom, interpreting this passage, explains the bright state in grace of the Colossians as their appropriation of what was done for all by the Lord Saviour. “The Lord Saviour not only freed us from sins (justified, removed guilt), but also placed us in the number of the deserving and beloved. He endured so much not merely for our freedom from evil, but also to raise us to the original state, as if someone, freeing a condemned man from punishment, also raised him to a state of honor. He placed us in the number of those who have not sinned in anything, or rather, not only in the number of those who have not sinned, but even in the number of those who have accomplished the greatest feats.” This, done for all, God the Father assigned and gave to you, Colossians, said the Apostle.

“To present” shows the goal. God became reconciled with you, enemies and estranged ones, in order to present you, or make you so perfect. But how is not stated. He became reconciled through the death of His Son; but in this only the possibility, beginning and starting point for presenting you holy. But how does this sanctification actually come to its end? Thus: the believer sets intention and resolution to live the rest holily and blamelessly. God’s grace in holy baptism strengthens this resolution and makes it powerful, “so as from now on not to serve sin.” Coming forth from the font prepared for every good work and then begins to grow rich in all good works, struggling with sin both within and without. This struggle continues unceasing, and holiness ripens. Finally all both within and without is filled with holiness; and the believer can be honored standing before God in perfection, holy, not as having made himself such by himself, but as made such by God the Father Himself, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, in virtue of the cross death of His Son, by the good pleasure of the Father, in the sanctity of the Spirit, through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:2). But although perfect holiness is only in the goal, nevertheless, because of zeal for it in deed, God holds those who so strive to be perfectly holy: for He sees the end of each one’s path.

Thus presentation as holy is for each one still in the goal, requires struggle and time. Therefore the word: “to present”—cannot be considered foreign to the thought that this will finally be revealed at the last judgment. Ambrosiaster points to this among other things.

It is evident from this that presentation as holy, and likewise reconciliation is not unconditional. As before alienation and sin were not against the will; so now reconciliation and holiness are not without will. What then is required?

Col. 1:23. If indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, proclaimed to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

“If you abide.” If we set this speech in connection with the preceding, we get: God became reconciled with you that He might present or make you holy. He will indeed present or make you so, if you remain firm in faith and unmoved from hope. This is what is required, if with the word: “to present”—we hold in mind how this will be accomplished at the end of all things. Something similar to this writes the blessed Theodoret: “And you will be holy, blameless and without reproach, if you hold fast to what you were taught at the beginning, and keep firm the teaching delivered to you.” But if with this we hold in mind how holiness ripens in reality under God’s action, then it will be: He presents or makes you holy, if you remain firm in faith and unmoved from hope,—makes you so, though you do not notice it. Your faith and hope give Him space to act in you with all the power of His grace. And He acts, and speedily leads you to the predestined perfection in holiness. Whether one or the other is taken, it is evident that holy Paul “with these words, as holy Chrysostom says,—protects them from carelessness.”

Holy Paul mentions only faith and hope as conditions of progress in holiness. But where is love? How is it separated from its inseparable companions? Love is already indicated as working in the striving toward holiness under the action of grace. Zealousness for progress in works of goodness that build holiness is love in action. But faith and hope are to him what air, moisture and warmth are to a developing seed. Both the one and the other bring forth from themselves a multitude of good thoughts, which by their influence are powerful to keep zeal in constant tension; and as long as faith and hope themselves remain in strength, so long zeal for holiness, or active love, cannot grow weak. Here then is the reason why the Apostle mentioned them only as conditions of working out holiness, clearly expressing that they must be kept in strength. He expressed the strength of faith in the words: “founded and firm,”—and the strength of hope in the word: “unmoved.” All these expressions mean one thing—unshakability. Holy Chrysostom says: “and he did not simply say: ‘you abide,’—because there is abiding that is unsteady and wavering and there is standing and abiding that is firm. But he says: ‘if you abide founded, firm, unmoved,’—that is, not only not wavering, but immovable”.

Faith teaches: we are perishing; but the Lord came and saved us. Believe in Him and you—and you will be saved. Whoever holds this in his heart with such conviction as he is certain that he exists, in him faith is firm, has deeply put down roots into the heart and stands like a tree firmly rooted. Hope is inseparable from faith. Faith reveals that our Saviour is God, Who is true, wise, good and all-powerful. And these are the foundations of hope. The believer necessarily and already hopes. The first movement of hope is hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, assuring that apart from Him there is no salvation and that He will not abandon the believer by His help and guidance, will keep on the path of salvation, will assuredly save and grant eternal life. Hope overshadows the present life and extends to the future, all under the influence of faith. “The Apostle speaks as if: if you remain in faith, then the hope of receiving future blessings is certain” (holy Chrysostom). Therefore He combined hope with the gospel. The gospel preaches faith. But to awaken faith, it gives promises. Assurance in the promises completes the formation of faith, and faith strengthens hope. Whoever is firm in the faith of the gospel, he is unmoved also from the hope given by the gospel. Speaking thus, the Apostle impressed that on nothing else should they base the hope of salvation, but on that on which the gospel bases it, that is on the Lord Jesus Christ, and mix nothing with this one foundation. Holy Chrysostom says: “Who is the hope of the gospel, if not Christ? ‘He is our peace’” (Eph. 2:14). Therefore, whoever on another or something else bases his hope, he is shifted from the true foundation of it; and destroys all, because he does not stand on Christ (paraphrase from holy Chrysostom). Ambrosiaster writes something similar: “for this reason holy Paul showed above how great and boundless is the might of Christ the Lord, to teach that in Him alone must one place hope. For all is His, and nothing can live without Him, neither in heaven nor on earth. ‘And He is before all things, and all things in Him hold together.’ He holds the first place in everything: so that, if anyone thinks that he ought to show reverence (divine) before any elements or Angels, let him know that he is mistaken. For He alone is the Son of God, Head of all principality and power, the gospel concerning Whom has gone throughout all the world. Therefore, He alone ought to be heard and honored, and alongside Him no one ought to be placed. For as the head is, so the whole body is held; and he who is separated from the head, by whom the whole body is held together in life, is a corpse”.

Since both faith and hope as are born, so are nourished by the gospel; therefore holy Paul displays special price and high significance of it, stopping the minds of the Colossians on its universality, as he does also at the beginning. This gospel, he says, not you alone heard, but all creation under heaven heard and accepted it,—understanding by this creation rational creation, that is people. Having read this, everyone could not help making such an inference: if, as I heard and believed, and everywhere thus is preached and believed, and this by God’s command and arrangement; then there will be no sense, if I allow myself in any way to deviate from the promptings of received faith or be shifted from the foundations of hope on which I stand. Holy Chrysostom says: “holy Paul brings them themselves as witnesses again, and then the whole universe. He does not say: the gospel being preached, but preached and believed. He did this also at the beginning, wishing to confirm them by the testimony of many”.

“To which I Paul became a servant.”

“I became”—was not, but became, was made, was appointed. Holy Paul was appointed to serve the gospel among the Gentiles, who filled all the universe. Therefore, having said that the gospel was preached and believed throughout the universe, he mentioned also himself, using such a turn as a transition to the exposition of what he needed to say about his service. Holy Chrysostom says: “and this he does for assurance; for it had great weight, as he was celebrated everywhere and was the teacher of the universe.” And the blessed Theodoret makes such an inference here: holy Paul would not have said this if he had never seen them. They would have noticed to him: if you are appointed preacher to the Gentiles, why did you neglect us and not impart to us the teaching of the gospel?