“In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:”

Colossians 1:22

Meditation on Verse 10-11a (I have considered this within the flow of thought, since this phrase is in the middle of Paul’s prayer.)

“[You He has now reconciled] In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight: if ye continue in the faith…”

We are reconciled. But it came at a cross to the Lord Jesus Christ: death in His body on the cross. Paul is reminding us that grace is not cheap. Forgiveness is costly. But reconciliation was His desire.

The purpose:
To present us to the Father as
Holy.
Unblamable.
Unreprovable.

Do I really know who I am as a child of God?
Holy [awe-filled, pure, sacred, morally blameless, consecrated, a saint]
Unblamable [unblemished, without blame or fault or spot, faultless, unblamable]
Unreprovable [unaccused, irreproachable, blameless]

In those words I hear:  fully forgiven and fully redeemed. In those words I see a new identity and honor. In those words I can know complete peace with God. (See also Romans 5:1.) Hallelujah!

In His sight.

Do I realize this is who I am in the sight of God? In the sight of Him whose judgment or assessment matters most? Or do I tend to see myself through the eyes of others or even my own self-perception? To walk worthy of the Lord, I must continually renew my mind about my identity, position, worth, and authority in Christ. I am dead to sin and hidden with Christ in God! I am set apart, consecrated, and holy  because of Christ. I am unblamable and unreprovable for the sin that Jesus has paid for with his blood. If I receive God’s full forgiveness by faith, God will not hold that sin against me. This is what it means to be “justified.”

Being justified does not mean I am now sinless or that I am above responsibility, reproof, or chastisement. It means that I now have access to the forgiveness of God as I walk through life. It means that, as His child, I will receive God’s chastisement when I stray. (See Hebrews 12:5-11.) It means that I am not under the eternal, damning wrath of God, but under His grace. (See Ephesians 2:1-10.) It means I am covered by this grace through my lifetime as I undergo sanctification—a big theological word that means ongoing transformation to be conformed to Christ (Romans 8:26-30).

John addresses the sin of believers in 1 John 2:1-6, especially verses 1-2. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” John also told the believers, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and Just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8-9).

God is the only One in the universe who can enable us to walk blameless before Him because He purchased us with His blood and continues to forgive us of our sin—it was paid for and we received His payment. (See Hebrews 9:13-15, 22.)

Ephesians 1:3-4 affirms the same message as we read in Colossians 1:22.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”

Let’s live gratefully, humbly, confidently, and submissively to Christ because we are holy, unblamable, and unreprovable in His sight.

-Christy L

*Greek words defined by Strong’s Concordance