Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I will be speaking to you today
from the book of Colossians chapter 1. If you would like to read
along with me, Colossians chapter 1, while you're turning there,
I'll tell you that the book of Colossians is all about the Lord
Jesus Christ. The entire book of Colossians
is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. Actually, the entire New Testament
is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the subject matter of
the entire New Testament. And to get to the heart of the
matter, the entire Old Testament is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. The entire Old Testament. Every word in the Bible, every
word in the Bible, is concerning. It is all about the Lord Jesus
Christ. The whole book is about the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's not about this person, that
person, me, you. It's all about Christ. It all speaks of Christ. And
what I would like for us to see in the three verses that are
going to be our text is number one, what the Lord Jesus Christ
did. Number two, who the Lord Jesus
Christ did it for. And number three, why the Lord
Jesus Christ did it. What he did, who he did it for,
and why he did it. All right, let's read three verses
here in Colossians chapter one, beginning in verse 20. It says,
and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him
to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven, and you that were
sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through
death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight." What an announcement. What an announcement, especially
considering who the Lord Jesus Christ is. What an announcement
concerning what he has done, who he has done it for, and why
he has done it, especially considering who he is. Who is he? Who is he? Well, here in Colossians
1 verse 15 says, he is the image of the invisible God. He's the
express image of the invisible God. Verse 16 says, he is the
one who created everything that's in heaven and everything that's
in earth, whether it's visible or invisible, everything was
created by him and for him. Verse 17 says, he is before all
things, and by him all things consist. Verse 18 says, he is
the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Verse 19 says, he's the one that it pleased the father to put
all fullness in. It pleased the father that in
him should all fullness dwell. So considering the glory of who
he is, the absolute glory of who this is, it's an amazing
announcement and it's an amazing declaration to hear for us. This is amazing to hear of what
he was pleased to do, who he was pleased to do it for, and
why he was pleased to do it. Now let's look at these three
things. What was he pleased to do? Colossians 1 verse 20 says,
and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him
to reconcile all things unto himself. By him, I say, whether
they be things in earth or things in heaven. He made peace. Think about that. What did he
do? What was he pleased to do? He
was pleased to make peace. How did he do that? Through the
blood of his cross. That's what he was pleased to
do and how he was pleased to do it. He made peace through
the blood, the death, the suffering of his own cross. He reconciled. We know what the
word reconciled means. If two are at odds, And then
they come back together in unity and fellowship and love and friendship. They're reconciled. He reconciled
all things unto himself. That's what he did. That's amazing. That's amazing. He said to the
very first man that was ever placed on this earth, this is
what he told Adam. Cursed is the ground because
of you. because of what you have done,
what you were pleased to do. It pleased man to sin against
him and rebel against him and be an enmity against him. That means the enemy of. And
because of that sin, God said to Adam, cursed is the ground
because of you. And every man and woman that
has come since come from Adam, and come from Eve is under that
curse. All mankind has suffered that
curse. And that curse brought war. That curse brought wrath. That curse brought judgment and
punishment and death. Christ brought peace. That's
amazing. All that man brought to the table, all that man has ever brought
to the table is war, rebellion, enmity, judgment, wrath. You know what Christ brought
to the table? Peace. He brought peace. That is precious. That's just so precious. Over
in Romans chapter five, Romans 5 verse 1 it says, Therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what Christ came to accomplish. He came to accomplish peace. There was no peace. Man was down
here crying peace, peace, but there was no peace. And he had
a chosen people that he said his affection on and his love
on. And the only way that peace could
come to them and be made for them was if he came and made
it for them. And that's what he came to do.
He came to accomplish peace. Because of that curse that came,
upon man and woman, this is what God said to him. As soon as that
curse came, God said, cast them out. Adam and Eve, he said, cast
them out. He said, cast them out of my
garden, cast them out of my presence. When they were cast out, they
were cast out of the presence of God. They were cast out of
the fellowship and union that they once had with God. God walked
with them, talked with them. came to them, communed with them. As soon as they sinned, he said,
get out, cast them out. And from that moment, every man
and woman since has been separated from God, estranged from God. But Christ came and He reconciled
every single one of His people. And I want to emphasize that.
He reconciled every single one of His people back to Himself. That's what He did. That's what
He did. How did He do that? Well, we
read a moment ago In our text it said having made peace through
the blood of his cross. Through the blood of his cross
there was only one way to end the war. He came to end the war. The war between his people and
himself. God's people and God he came
to end it and there was only one way to end it. Only one way
for God's chosen, separated, cast out people to be reconciled
back to God, reunited back to God. This was the only way. Christ had to offer himself. He had to offer himself as a
bloody sacrifice to God. He had to offer himself to himself. Christ is God. He's the Son of
God. And he had to offer himself as
an appeasement, as a payment, as a sin offering to God on behalf of his people,
he had to make a payment for them. The wages of sin is death,
his people had to die. And there's only one thing that
will make the payment for sin, and it's blood. That's what the
word of God says. It's blood that makes atonement
for the soul. So Christ had to come and offer
his own blood to God on behalf of all of his people. That price
of reconciliation was so high. It was so high, no man or woman
could pay it. My blood is filled with sin and
so is yours. Your blood is filled with sin.
And we cannot make a sin offering to God with sinful blood, sin-filled
blood. It must be spotless. It must
be pure. It must be holy blood. And only
Christ could do it. So Christ came and he paid it
for all of his people through the blood of his own cross. Now
I told you a moment ago that the whole Old Testament And the
whole New Testament is all about Christ. It's telling us the truth
of who he is, what he did, who he did it for, why he did it.
It's all about Christ. Let me show you that in a few
places. If you look with me at Isaiah 63, Isaiah 63, verse one,
it says, who is this that cometh from Edom? Now Edom is the people
of Esau, the descendants of Esau, but the word Edom means in the
Bible dictionary, it means red. That's what it means. Red, that's
the color of blood, red. Verse one says, who is this that
cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Basra? The name Basra, when
you look it up in the dictionary, it means The sheepfold. Who is this that cometh with
red garments from the sheepfold? We know who it is, don't we?
That's Jesus Christ, the Lamb, God's Lamb. That's Jesus Christ,
God's sacrifice, the peacemaker, the reconciler, the Lord. Verse
one says, who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments
from Basra, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in
the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness,
mighty to save, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine
apparel and thine garments like him that treadeth in the wine
fat? The question is asked to him,
why do your garments look like they've been covered and stained
in the blood of red grapes? Verse three, he said, I have
trodden the wine press alone and of the people there was none
with me. He said, I did this by myself.
For I will tread them in my anger and trample them in my fury and
their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments. Their blood
is gonna be all over me. And I will stain all my raiment. I'll cover myself in their blood. For the day of vengeance is in
my heart and the year of my redeemed has come. And I looked and there
was none to help. And I wondered that there was
none to uphold. Therefore, mine own arm brought
salvation unto me." My own arm accomplished this. And my fury,
it upheld me. And I will tread down the people
in mine anger and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring
down their strength to the earth. I will mention the loving kindness
of the Lord and the praises of the Lord according to all that
the Lord hath bestowed on us and the great goodness toward
the house of Israel which he hath bestowed on them according
to his mercies and according to the multitude of his loving
kindnesses. For he said, surely they are
my people, children that will not lie. So he was their Savior. In all their affliction, he was
afflicted. And the angel of his presence
saved them. In his love and in his pity,
he redeemed them. And he bare them and carried
them all the days of old. That's the Savior. That's the
Savior. That's what he did. That's how
he made peace. That's how he reconciled. He
tread the winepress of God's wrath alone. The fury, the judgment,
the punishment, the suffering that God demanded for our sin. He said, cover me in their sin
and then pour out your wrath on me. He said there was none
to help my right arm accomplish this. I did this alone and I
did it for them to be their Savior. Now listen to how it says the
same thing in the New Testament that it says in the Old Testament.
In Revelation 19, Verse 15 says, and out of his mouth goeth a
sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Who's that talking about? who
tread the winepress and the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God?
Verse 16 says, He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name
written, this is who it is, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That's who tread the winepress.
Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords. And that amazing fact is emphasized
in our text. All right. If you look with me
back at Colossians one, Colossians one, verse 20, it says, and having
made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile
all things unto himself by him, I say he did it. whether they be things in earth
or things in heaven. He is the one who reconciled. He did it. 2 Corinthians 5 says,
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. He did it unto himself. He did it. He did it. God was the one who was offended.
Think about this. God was the one who was offended. God was the one that we went
to war with, went to war against. But God was the one who made
peace for us. God was the one who reconciled
us to himself. And that shows us that he's such
a merciful and gracious God. This God that we bow before,
he is full of tender mercy. loving kindness, grace, favor,
peace. He's the God of all grace. He's
the God of all peace. We see that not just in the fact
that he was willing to make peace, but we see it so clearly in who
he was willing to make the peace for. And let me repeat that.
Not only do we see his kindness and mercy and compassion and
pity and love, Not only do we see that in the fact that he
was willing to make peace at all, but oh, do we see it in
the fact of who he was willing to make peace for, who he reconciled. Who did he reconcile? Well, verse
21 right here says, you. You. if this indeed describes you
if this verse of scripture describes you all right see if it does
verse 21 he said and you that were sometime alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works yet now hath he reconciled does
that describe you is that you i tell you this it's me That's
me, that describes me. He reconciled sinners. Are you a sinner? That's a pretty
simple yes or no question, it's not well, yeah, it's either yes
or no. I'm a sinner, I'm a sinner in
my flesh against God. If you're a sinner then he came
to reconcile you. He came to reconcile sinners
like me and sinners like you. Look with me one more time at
Romans 5. In Romans 5 verse 1, it says, therefore being justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not
only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulations
worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope maketh not ashamed,
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost, which is given to us. Listen to verse six. For when
we where yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. Ungodly. Ungodly. That's who Christ died for. The
ungodly. Christ only made peace for those
who are ungodly in themselves. That's the only ones he made
peace for. The only people that Christ reconciled are those who
see themselves to be completely ungodly in the flesh. Those who realize the only godliness
that I have, the only holiness that I have is Christ my Lord
and Savior. He's my holiness. If you see
that about yourself, if God has revealed that to you, then this
word says, and you, And you, if God has revealed that to me,
if God has revealed to me what I truly am by nature, then according
to the commandment of the Word of God, I can say, and me, and
me. Verse six says, for when we were
yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commended
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more then, being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if
when we were enemies, We were reconciled to God by the death
of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. What did he do? He made peace
by the blood of his cross. He reconciled every sinful child
of the father back to himself. Who did he do it for? He did
it for ungodly, alienated, Wicked sinners like you and me. Why did he do it? Last question.
Why did he do it? Well, back in Colossians chapter
one, verse 21, it says, and you that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death He did it to present you
holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. He made peace for
and he reconciled his sinful wicked people so that he could
present them back to his father spotless. holy, unblameable,
and unreprovable in his sight. Holy means pure. It means a saint. That's what it means, sacred.
He did it to make sinners to be saints. Unblameable means
faultless, unblemished, without blame. Therefore, unreprovable
means cannot charge, cannot accuse. Christ did all this so no accusations
could ever be brought up against his people ever again. Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. That's what he did. That's who
he did it for. That's why he did it. Now, what's
our response? Thank God. Thank God. That's all we can say. Thank
God for who Christ is, WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE AND THE REASON CHRIST
DID IT. TILL NEXT WEEK, MAY THE LORD
BLESS HIS WORD TO OUR HEARTS. YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO A
MESSAGE BY GABE STONIKER, PASTOR OF KINGSPORT SOVEREIGN GRACE
CHURCH IN KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY OF THIS
MESSAGE OR TO HEAR OTHER MESSAGES OF SOVEREIGN GRACE, LOG ON TO
OUR WEBSITE AT KSGCTN.ORG. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 1045 a.m., and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 730 p.m. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.