To Present You
In Col 1:21-29 we see the word “present” twice in the passage.
In the first occurrence, Jesus reconciled you, his former enemy, “to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight”, v.22.
In the second occurrence, Paul preached, “warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus”, v.28.
From these two verses, we understand that Jesus didn’t die just to save us and Paul didn’t preach the gospel just so that people would be saved.
Jesus’s ultimate objective is to present you, who had been “alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works”, holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight. And Paul’s ultimate objective is to present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
There is much more written in scripture about how to live after you get saved than there is about how to get saved.
Jesus presents you. From the moment you are saved, Jesus begins working in you to change your life so that he can present you to himself holy and unblameable and unreproveable.
Holy. 1 Pet 1:15-16 says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy”.
When you look up “holy” in the Bible, you begin to understand what the word means.
- Ex 3:5 holy ground at the burning bush
- Ex 12:16 holy convocation the 1st and 7th day of the passover
- Ex 15:13 holy habitation, referring to the land of Canaan
- Ex 19:6 holy nation of Israel
- Ex 20:8 remember the sabbath day to keep it holy
- Ex 26:33 the holy place and the most holy in the tabernacle
- Ex 28:2 holy garments for Aaron
- Ex 29:37 the altar most holy
- Ex 30:25 holy anointing oil. The oil and perfume were holy
Holy is wholly God’s, set apart for him and consecrated. It is not unclean or defiled.
Unblameable. To blame is to find fault with. Jude 24 says of the Lord, “he is able to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy”. Eph 1:4 “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love”. 1 Thes 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
Unreproveable. The Holy Spirit reproves the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, Jn 16:8. And the scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for reproof, 2 Tim 3:16.
Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the word of God are working at this moment to to make you holy, unblameable, and unreproveable. They are continually working in you to change you.
Jesus gave himself for the church, “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish”, Eph 5:26-27.
Paul presents you. Paul preached with the same purpose in mind that Christ has, to present you perfect in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus preached he said, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect”, Matt 5:48. He gave examples like, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
We often stress that we aren’t going to be sinless till we have our glorified bodies. But this leaves us with the excuse to continue in things that we ought not to be doing anymore.
In 2 Cor 11:2 Paul wrote, “that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ”.
Paul did this:
By Preaching Christ. Jesus is in you to perfect you.
By Warning every man. See Acts 20:31 and 2 Tim 4:2.
By Teaching every man in all wisdom. Paul imparted to us the knowledge necessary to be perfect.
So, when you read and follow the scripture Paul wrote, God is perfecting you. When we preach and teach the scripture, as Paul did, then God is perfecting you. The objective is to present you perfect in Christ Jesus. You need regular, continual doses of preaching and teaching to get this. Like workouts in the gym.
You must present yourself. Col 1:23 “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard…”.
Rom 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”.
Jesus’s ability to present you holy to himself is conditioned upon you continuing in the faith grounded and settled. To be grounded is to be mentally and emotionally stable. To be settled is to have an ordered and stable life. “In the faith”, is the faith of the Son of God, Gal 2:20, and the faith of that comes from hearing the word, Rom 10:17.
“And being not moved away from the hope of the gospel”. The hope is laid up for you in heaven, v.5. And in v.27, “Christ in you the hope of glory”.
You must cooperate with Jesus working in you and the word working in you in order to present yourself holy and acceptable unto the Lord. It’s like having a trainer. He tells you what to do and how to do it, but you have to do the work. And when you do it, you can see and tell the change.
Conclusion: how are you coming on presenting yourself holy and acceptable to the Lord?