The Story of Redemption – Colossians 1:13-23
The story of Redemption is written across human history and culminates in the resurrection of Jesus that first Easter; this is the story Paul tells in a short piece of poetry written to the Colossian church.
WE’VE LOST A SENSE OF SHARED STORIES.
“We are no longer in the era of broadcast, we are in the era of narrowcast, where different genres are made for different people. Nothing caters to everyone,” – Gamal Guemeih, The age of Narrowcast is Upon Us
“The collapse of trust, the rise of animosity — these are emotional, not intellectual problems. The real problem is in our system of producing shared stories. If a country can’t tell narratives in which everybody finds an honorable place, then righteous rage will drive people toward tribal narratives that tear it apart.” —David Brooks, “How to Destroy Truth”
We find ourselves in a moment in which our stories are fracturing, diverging, and competing.
The Apostle Paul uses a piece of poetry to tell us the Story of Redemption in Christ, in four scenes.
Creation
Rebellion
Redemption
New Creation
SCENE 1: CREATION AND THE IMAGE OF GOD
“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. – Colossians 1:15-16 (ESV)
The whole character and purpose of God are revealed in the person of Jesus:
”...Christ, who is the image of God.” – 2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)
“...Christ Jesus, 6 who, [shared in the nature of God]…” – Philippians 2:5–7
“... [Christ] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” – Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)
“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was at the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” –John 1:1–5 (ESV)
“God is like Jesus.
God has always been like Jesus.
There has never been a time when God was not like Jesus.
We have not always known what God is like—But now we do.”
–Brian Zahnd
SCENE 2: REBELLION AND THE NATURE OF EVIL
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:1–5.
Humanity’s decisions (and continued decisions) fracture relationships
The fracturing of our relationship with God (Genesis 3)
The contamination of the Earth (Genesis 3)
Violence enters human relationships. (Gen 4)
Sin corrupts our institutions (Genesis 11)
Death reigns supreme (Genesis 3)
“for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust, you shall return.”
– Genesis 3:19
“[we have] all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
The God of scripture is not aloof, distant, or callous to our suffering– in Jesus we see a God who suffers with us.
SCENE 3: REDEMPTION BY THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”– 1 Corinthians 15:55
Verse 18 of our poem is Paul’s anchor for everything he has claimed.
18b. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. – Colossians 1:18-20
Evidence for a bodily resurrection
For more on the Resurrection, check out NT Wright’s work Suprised by Hope.
The tombs of martyrs were quickly enshrined, and there is no evidence of Jesus’ tomb being memorialized.
There is a lack of Old Testament references in the resurrection accounts, in part because no one anticipated the resurrection.
The disciples' radical change in sabbath day observance, transitioning from Saturday to Sunday, is not illogical without a exceptional happening to inspire the change.
The disciple’s willingness to be martyred in increasingly horrific ways continues to suggest they witnessed something they were willing to die for.
“And when it comes to the church, [Jesus] organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end.” – Colossians 1:18-19, The Message.
SCENE 4: NEW CREATION IS A PROTOTYPE FOR THE NEW PEOPLE OF GOD.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” – Colossians 1:20-23
To be numbered amongst the Jesus people is to play a part in the renewal of all things:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” – Revelation 21:1-5 (ESV)
“It’s common, even in Christian circles, to think of the afterlife as a disembodied bliss in a paradise filled with naked baby angels tickling the strings of harps as our souls bounce from cloud to cloud. But Christianity has never taught a disembodied future in heaven. Our beliefs are more radical.
We believe that one day the entire created world will be transformed to become what God always intended it to be: free of pain, death and sorrow. It will be an earth that still contains some of the things of this life: food, art, mountains, lakes, beaches and culture. There will be hip-hop, spirituals, soul music and grits (with cheese, salt and pepper — not sugar) in the renewed creation. Christians believe that our bodies will be resurrected from the dead to live in this transformed earth. Like the earth itself, these bodies will be transfigured or perfected, but they will still be our bodies.” – Esau Mcaully, What Good Friday and Easter Mean for Black Americans
SPIRITUAL PRACTICE: TO LIVE OUT THE STORY.
For those, a part of the new people of God, may Easter be a reminder of your scene in the story of Jesus.
For those who have not joined the People of God, the invitation to that story is always available.
