Church in the Peak

21/03/21 // God’s Entire Message // Neal Garratt

March 21, 2021 Church in the Peak
Church in the Peak
21/03/21 // God’s Entire Message // Neal Garratt
Show Notes

v25 – The entire message
Paul wants them to know the full message and not just part of it as it is this that will bring freedom and an end to all the false teaching that they were hearing.
Remember they were being told that Jesus Christ was not enough. You had to add extra spirituality to your life to please God. The message was Jesus plus other things and Paul has been trying to explain that it’s all about JESUS and he is enough. It’s JESUS plus nothing!
36 times in Colossians Paul mentions that we are in Christ/Of Christ/From Christ and with Christ. Jesus is central to the whole book just as he is central to the Christian Faith!
Also the local Jewish churches were advocating that the gentile churches were somehow second class churches because they did not have the rich tradition of the old testament and understand the law and the Jewish heritage. No longer is God a God who is found only in the temple but he has come to live in our hearts, Jew or Gentile!
We need to understand the place of the gentiles in Jewish history to fully understand why this was so important and one of the best ways to do this is by looking at the Temple arrangements.
Most Holy Place – Could only be entered once a year by the High Priest who would offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.
The Holy Place – Could only be entered into by The Priests.
Between these two rooms was the curtain which separated the two. This was more like a wall than a curtain and was 60’ high 30’ wide and between 4-6” thick. No light was allowed to penetrate the curtain and it had to completely cover the most Holy Place. When it was taken down to be replaced it took 300 people to change it over!
Outside these were the Courts of Israel then a wall, then the courts of women and another wall, then the gentiles were outside these courts, as far away from the Holy Place as you can imagine. That’s where you and I would be today if Jesus hadn’t come!
When Jesus comes and dies on the cross he fulfils the role of the High Priest once and for all time
Hebrews 10:11-12
The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and that is why it is so important that when Jesus died the curtain was torn from top to bottom – it was no longer needed!
Matthew 27:45-46
v50–52
The curtain came down because it hindered access to God’s presence. The whole point of Jesus coming was to restore our relationship to God. Access is no longer in a building made by hands, it’s by the Holy Spirit in your hearts. He now wants to come and tabernacle in your hearts. Christ in You, no matter who you are!
This is God’s promise and the secret that has been revealed by Christ coming!
Hebrews 10:16-23
This is great news but there is even more says Paul.
This is the mystery that has been revealed to the Colossian Church – Christ in You, the Hope of Glory. It’s the same mystery that has been revealed to us. The entire message from God – Jesus has fulfilled the law, fulfilled the role of the high priest and our sacrifice, once for all time. You now have access to the father every day, not through a building or a Holy Place, but through your heart. Christ lives in you! Sons and daughters of the King!
Matthew Henry
“This mystery, now made known is Christ in you, the hope of Glory. Christ is the hope of Glory. The grounding of our hope is Christ in the world. The evidence of our hope is Christ in our hearts”
Ephesians 2:19-22
Questions
1. Do we understand the role of the temple in Jewish History and why it was so important to the Jews?
2. Jesus dying and the veil being torn in two has huge significance for us as Christians. Have a look at what this means for us and the role of the old temple?
3. Christ In you, the Hope of glory. Let God speak to you about what this means for you as a Christian. What does this set us free from?
4. Should this knowledge change our thinking and how should it affect our daily Chris