“…whether things on earth or things in heaven”
by Sandy Simpson, 6/2/15
Col. 1:19-20 For God was pleased
to have all his fullness dwell in him, and
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
I ran across this verse again the other day and it made me stop and think. Why would Jesus Christ have to reconcile things in heaven? I understand fully why He had to do that on earth where sin took control, as well as the physical universe which was also affected by sin, but in the third heaven? In looking at the various commentaries on this subject it is apparent that people have different ideas about what this means.
Whether
they be things in earth, or things in heaven. That is, to
produce harmony between the things in heaven and in earth; so that all things
shall be reconciled to him, or so that there shall be harmony between heaven
and earth. The meaning is not that "the things in heaven" were alienated from God, but that there was
alienation in the universe which affected
heaven, and the object was to produce again universal
concord and love. (Barnes New Testament Notes)
Made peace; opened the way for peace. Things in
earth—things in heaven; that the opposition between heaven and earth, which sin
has occasioned, may be removed, and all things in heaven and earth may be
united under Christ as their head in one harmonious body. (Family New Testament
Notes)
… by him, [I say], whether [they be] things in earth, or things in
heaven: by which are intended not the whole universe and fabric of the world,
all creatures and things, animate and inanimate, rational and irrational, which
have been cursed for the sin of man, and have proved unfriendly to him, but, in
consequence of redemption and reconciliation by Christ, will, as some think, in
the time of the restitution of all things, be restored to their former state,
and to their friendly use to mankind; nor elect men and elect angels, and their
reconciliation together, for the apostle is not speaking of the reconciling of
these things together, but of the reconciling of them to God, which though it
is true of elect men, is not of elect angels, who never fell, and though they
have confirming grace, yet not reconciling grace from Christ, which they never
needed; nor Jews and Gentiles, for though it is true that God was in Christ
reconciling the world of the Gentiles, as well as of the Jews to himself, and
the chosen of God among both are actually reconciled to God by the death of
Christ, yet the one are never called things in heaven, or the other things on
earth, in distinction from, and opposition to each other; but rather all the
elect of God are here meant, the family of God in heaven and in earth; all the
saints that were then in heaven, when actual reconciliation was made by the
blood of Christ, and who went thither upon the foot of peace, reconciliation,
and redemption, to be made by his sacrifice and death; and all the chosen ones
that were or should be on the face of the earth, until the end of time; all
these were reconciled to God by Christ: and then the apostle proceeds
particularly to mention the Colossians, as also being instances of this grace,
good will, and pleasure of God by Christ. (John Gills Expositor)
… things in earth . . . in heaven—Good
angels, in one sense, do not need reconciliation to God; fallen angels are
excluded from it (#Jude 1:6). But probably redemption has effects on the world
of spirits unknown to us. Of course, His reconciling us, and His reconciling them, must be by a different process, as He took not
on Him the nature of angels, so as to offer a propitiation for them. But the effect of redemption on them, as
He is their Head as well as ours, is that they are thereby brought nearer God, and so gain an increase of blessedness
[ALFORD], and larger views of the love
and wisdom of God (#Eph 3:10). All creation subsists in Christ, all
creation is therefore affected by His propitiation: sinful creation is strictly
"reconciled" from its enmity; sinless creation, comparatively distant
from His unapproachable purity (#Job 4:18 15:15 25:5), is lifted into nearer
participation of Him, and in this wider sense is reconciled. (J.F.B.
Commentary)
This mode of redeeming mankind by the death of Christ was most
suitable. Here is presented to our view the method of being reconciled. And that, notwithstanding the hatred of sin on God’s part, it
pleased God to reconcile fallen man to himself. If convinced that we
were enemies in our minds by wicked works, and that we are now reconciled to
God by the sacrifice and death of Christ in our nature, we shall not attempt to
explain away, nor yet think fully to comprehend these mysteries; but we shall
see the glory of this plan of redemption, and rejoice in the hope set before
us. If this be so, that God’s love is so great to us, what shall we do now for
God? Be frequent in prayer, and abound in holy duties; and live no more to
yourselves, but to Christ. Christ died for us. But wherefore?
That we should still live in sin? No; but that we should die to sin, and live
henceforth not to ourselves, but to Him. (Matthew Henry Concise Commentary)
Things in heaven. Chrysostom explains: Christ not only reconciles man on the earth, but
raises him, who had been an enemy to God, to heaven and gives him a place there
at peace with God, so that in the heavens the fruits of reconciliation are seen
forever. (People’s New Testament Notes)
Finally, Paul's
idiom is inclusive: all things
are reconciled to God through Christ. In a passage that explores the importance
of Christ in terms of God's creation, I am led to understand God's
reconciliation of all things as
encompassing the nonhuman and inanimate worlds, so that "even the stones
will cry out" in praise of God (Lk 19:40; see
also Rev 21:19-21). While I think it unwise to speculate how God might restore
each part of the natural world or whether there are animals in heaven, I also
think it unwise to limit God's reconciliation to the human order of creation,
for that denies grace its unconditional and universal character. (IVP New
Testament Commentary)
Col 1:20 The high
point of the hymn. Humankind’s fall into sin brought with it the corruption of
all creation, seen and unseen (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12; 8:20; Eph. 2:2; 6:12).
Through Christ’s incarnation and atoning death, God’s righteousness is
satisfied (Rom. 3:21–26), peace between God and humankind is restored (2 Cor.
5:17–21), the eventual glorification of the created order is assured (Rom.
8:18–21), and the rebellious spirit beings have their powers limited (2:15
note). (Reformation Study Bible)
There are some good truths in
the commentaries above, one of which is that Jesus Christ has and will continue
to have supremacy in all things, in heaven and on earth.
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the
body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so
that in everything he might have the supremacy.
This is contextual. But they did not specifically address the issue
of the Son “reconciling to himself
all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven“. We bears consideration and
explanation because we do not consider things in the third heaven in need of
reconciliation. Since the fallen angels
will not be reconciled, and the angels need no reconciliation because they did
not sin, then what is this addressing?
We need to “reconcile” this statement to be able to understand in what
sense there is anything in heaven that needed reconciliation; otherwise this
statement makes no sense.
You will remember, when Jesus
died to provide salvation and eternal life to those who would believe, He
descended into Hades to tell the Old Testament saints what He had done. Why did He do that? Because they needed to understand that what
they were looking forward to that would provide final salvation and reward was
fulfilled in Him. They ultimately needed
the perfect Sacrifice for sin.
Hebrews 11:10 For he (Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose
architect and builder is God.
We
who come after Christ, Jew and Gentile, are looking forward to heaven just as
our forefathers in the Faith were.
2 Peter 3:13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven
and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
Now this does not mean that
people post-Christ can be saved by general revelation. The patriarchs of the Faith were saved by
faith, not by works of the Law since some of them preceded the Law such as
Abel, Enoch, Noah and others. All those
mentioned in Hebrews were in the line of Adam to Noah and then Noah through
Shem to Abraham, and consequently Israel.
God set a line of people who “knew God” and would eventually become the lineage
of Jesus and Israel, God’s chosen people.
Those patriarchs were then God’s chosen also through faith. In the end it will be seen that all who are
saved are saved by Faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Therefore it is proven that “Salvation is by
grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone” for all eternity.
So Jesus, before His
resurrection, went to Hades to take those in the bosom of Abraham, those in the
Faith, to heaven (Eph. 4:8). Therefore
those Old Testament saints are justified by Christ fully in the afterlife so
that they no longer need to wait in Hades but could be taken to heaven by Christ.
I need to reiterate, at this
juncture, that Jesus did not descend into “hell”, the lake of fire, but into “Hades”,
the holding place of souls, the “lower, earthly regions” into the bosom of
Abraham. The unbeliever’s section of
Hades also heard the same announcement.
Eph. 4:9-10 (What does "he
ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the
heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
It is important that we understand what Eph. 4:9-10 is talking
about. Jesus descended into the lower earthly regions upon his death,
Hades or sheol. He did
not descend into hell. Hell is the lake of fire, gehenna. No one is in hell until the Antichrist
and False Prophet are thrown there first (Rev. 20:10),
then Satan, the demons and unbelievers on judgment day (Rev. 21:8). Jesus
descended into Hades. The Bible indicates he went to Hades, to the bosom
of Abraham (Luke 16:19-31) where the Old Testament saints where waiting for
Him. In Luke it is sometimes translated as “hell” but the actually Greek
word is “Hades”, the holding place. Jesus then told the saints in Hades
with Abraham of His death and resurrection plan (1 Pet. 4:6). He then
took the Old Testament saints to heaven with him (Eph. 4:8). The Bible
also states that the others, those who were in the other part of Hades (Luke
16:19-31) held till judgment day, also heard the Gospel (1 Peter 3:19) so that
they would have no excuse on judgment day but would stand condemned. It
was too late for them because they had no faith in God while they were alive
like the Old Testament saints did. (Ephesians Study
by Sandy Simpson)
I believe that Col. 1:20 is
referencing the Old Testament saints, now in heaven, who were looking forward
to the Messiah and had Faith in the Messiah to come, as it states in
Hebrews. Those are the “things”
reconciled in heaven.
Heb. 11:1-2 Now faith is confidence in what
we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews lists many of those
who had faith and therefore assurance of salvation because they were looking
forward to a Messiah they had not yet seen.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign: The virgin will
conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Genesis
12:1-3 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house. To the
land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will
bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will
bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth
shall be blessed"
For a good reference on the anticipation of the Messiah throughout the Old
Testament read this article: The
Anticipation of Israel's Messiah by Bob Deffinbaugh
They were foreknown and
predestined to salvation because of their forward looking faith but Jesus was
tasked with descending to Hades to let them know that He accomplished their
salvation and eternal life through His death and, soon to happen,
resurrection. When you understand what
Col. 1:20 is referencing then it is easy to understand. Here are a few commentaries I think got it
right (there may be others). This is a
case in point for studying the Bible by comparing translations, researching the
original languages, and seeing what various commentaries state since many times
they are different on the difficult verses.
Now he teaches how Christ executed
that office which his Father gave and commanded to him, that is, by suffering
the death of the cross (which was joined with the curse of God) according to
his decree, that by this sacrifice he
might reconcile to his Father all men, both those who believed in the Christ to
come, and were already under this hope gathered into heaven, as well as
those who should upon the earth believe in him afterwards. And in this way justification is described by
the apostle, which is one and the chiefest
part of the benefit of Christ. (n) The whole Church. (1599 Geneva Bible
Footnotes)
If
the phrase be not a kind of collective phrase to signify all the world, or all
mankind, as Dr. Hammond supposed the
things in heaven may refer, according to some, to those persons who died under
the Old Testament dispensation, and who could not have a title to glory but
through the sacrificial death of Christ: and the apostle may have intended
these merely to show that without this sacrifice no human beings could be
saved, not only those who were then on the earth, and to whom in their
successive generations the Gospel should be preached, but even those who had
died before the incarnation; and, as those of them that were faithful were now
in a state of blessedness, they could not have arrived there but through the
blood of the cross, for the blood of calves and goats could not take away sin.
(Adam Clarke Commentary)
Through the blood of the cross - The blood shed
thereon. Whether things on earth - Here the enmity began: therefore this is
mentioned first. Or things in heaven - Those
who are now in paradise; the saints who died before Christ came. (Wesley’s Explanatory
Notes)