The preceding section in Colossians 1 describes the glory of the Son, through whom God created everything. He is the Firstborn of both the old and the new creation. God has the entire creation in view and, through Him, brings all His creatures where He wants them: reconciled and at peace with Himself. However, that is not yet the current reality; for now, only a few have been reconciled.
Colossians 1
20 Even you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind, by your wicked works, He is now (completely) reconciling.
Paul is addressing believers here: they are already reconciled. Again, it becomes clear what reconciliation means. We were alienated and enemies, but God has reversed that situation. Now we are reconciled and have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). Enmity and alienation are not obstacles to reconciliation. On the contrary, reconciliation presupposes enmity and alienation. One must first be an enemy and an alien before one can be reconciled.
22 In the body of his flesh, through his death, to present you holy and unblemished and blameless in his sight.
We have been reconciled through his death. It is important to understand this correctly. The world demonstrated its enmity by crucifying and killing the Son of God. But God reconciles the world through the death of his Son. He went to death, but God raised him three days later: he came out of death once for all (Rom. 6:9). This is how God demonstrates his love: he does not count the transgressions of a hostile world against them (2 Cor. 5:19), but gives life and immortality.
The power of the gospel
God does not destroy his enemies, but transforms them—that is reconciliation. Those who were once alienated and hostile are now presented as “holy, blameless, and unassailable in His sight.” That is the life-changing power of the gospel.
23 If you remain secure in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard and which is proclaimed throughout all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a servant.
Many translations render this verse conditionally: ‘if you remain’. But the phrase ‘ei ge’, which the Greek renders here, is translated elsewhere as ‘for you have’ (Eph. 3:2 NBG) and ‘you do have’ (Eph. 4:21 NBG) and should also be rendered here as: for you do remain in the faith. This is an assumption that the author accepts as true, not doubt. The meaning is not “if it is so,” but Paul assumes that the Colossians remain in the faith.
Reconciliation is God’s work. Whoever believes, He presents in His sight as holy, blameless, and unaccused. Our calling is to remain steadfast in this: expecting everything from Him and nothing from ourselves.
The hope of the gospel
It is God who reconciles the universe to Himself (1:20). Paul returns to this message here and calls it the hope of the gospel. Gospel means good news—and no better news is conceivable than this: that the expectation of reconciliation with God is fixed for all creation. Therefore, Paul emphasizes that we must not be moved from this hope. This was the good news entrusted to him and which he was authorized to proclaim worldwide