21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 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— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
This section applies the information in the Christ hymn to the particular situation of the Colossians. We leave the cosmic level to look at the microcosm, but they are not two separate things for the situation of the local is linked to that of the cosmos. Jesus was a particular man who lived at a particular time, but his life, death and resurrection had cosmic effects. As part of the body of Christ, we too are part of the cosmos. Margaret MacDonald explains: “The earthly and heavenly, the local and universal domains sometimes merge to such an extent that they become indistinguishable.”
In the first verse of this passage, the author tells his audience that they had once been alienated from God. They had not heard the gospel and had not known the Hebrew God. They had done evil things, but now they are reconciled with God. This may seem a bit extreme because most people do not do evil things, but in this letter there is no middle ground: you are either for God or for the forces of darkness.
They have been reconciled through Christ’s body, which clearly refers to Jesus’ actual body and not the cosmic body of Christ, the Church, mentioned in verse 18. This observation also echoes the idea in the last verse of the Christ hymn that Christ has made peace through the cross. Of course the writer may also want to draw a parallel between Christ’s two bodies (as it were): his physical body and his glorious cosmic body, the Church. Since both the macrocosm and the microcosm are in question here, the writer’s emphasis on Christ’s body can also serve as a warning against too great an emphasis on the spiritual. His suffering was real, and he bled real blood.
The second part of verse 22 explains why the reconciliation occurred: to make people holy and free of blemish. These are terms that echo the language of sacrifice. Note too that the present tense is used here and not the future: this is happening now. This language also resembles that of a law court. In a sense the Colossians are on trial here and have been shown as innocent but not because of their own actions: Christ’s sacrifice has made them that way. In verse 23, the author suggests that this reconciliation can only continue if they remain true to their faith. They can only do this if they follow the gospel they originally heard. It is that gospel that brings hope to humanity in general and to the Colossians in particular.
This passage concludes with a reference to the universal nature of the Church and its mission. With some exaggeration, the author writes that the gospel has been proclaimed to everyone. This is done deliberately because the verb tense is not clear here or even important. Everyone already has the gospel and has been raised with Christ (we’ll see this idea in more detail in chapter three). The past, the world before Christ’s sacrifice, is used as a foil for the glorious present rather than the glorious future. The author is concerned with the present and not the future. Whether Paul actually wrote this or not, he is identified here as the author. He is the servant of the gospel.
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