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Colossians 1:20
20 And, [kai] having made peace [eirenopoieo] through [dia] the blood [haima] of his [autos] cross, [stauros] by [dia] him [autos] to reconcile [apokatallasso] all things [pas] unto [eis] himself; [autos] by [dia] him, [autos] I say, whether [eite] they be things in [epi] earth, [ge] or [eite] things in [en] heaven. [ouranos] KJV-Interlinear
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. NASB
Having made peace, means to have laid the foundation, the ground work, for the reconciliation of the relationship between heaven (the divine) and earth (humanity).
When man sinned, a barrier was erected between God and humanity. This barrier applied to humanity only. God is perfect and the principles of Gods essence dictate that He can only have a relationship with something that is also perfect, untainted, blameless, without flaws, without blemish, etc.
By mans own means, man cannot accomplish the reestablishment of a relationship. The penalty is too great, such that no person can carry the load for the justice demanded, for themselves, let alone the entire human race.
To look the other way, is to reduce Gods standards, and to reduce Gods standards, would mean that perfection in the universe and in heaven would be wiped out. God would no longer be God, but just another compromising creature where the compromises never end, but just keep on getting lower and lower until there are no standards left. The law of the jungle would rule, rather than truth.
But we are in luck. God will never reduce His standards, and He came up with a plan which can make each one of us perfect, and therefore restoring us back into a relationship with Him. That plan is often times called the Blood of Christ.
But this blood is not literal blood, but a reference to the very dramatic and extensive work which He accomplished while hanging on the Cross. Blood also has the connotation of life and death, and therefore, Christ gave His life into death, a very real death (spiritual death), such that the foundation could be laid for the reconciliation between man and God.
The work finished, leaves only the acceptance of that work by mankind.
Acceptance comes in the form of our belief in Christ. There is no work on mans part, only faith, which is a mere thought expression of faith, ‘Father, I believe in Jesus Christ.’ Now, it takes no effort whatsoever, to think those six little words. It does however, take a great deal of effort, to reject them for all of ones life.
Which choice should anyone take, for the most rational, logical, and sensible approach to life? And yet it is arrogance that raises the barrier preventing belief, or spiritual growth, whichever applies to your life.
What can anyone possibly gain, by rejecting Christ? There is absolutely no basis in fact or truth, for any other alternate philosophy, religion, cult, etc.
