Reconciling All Things

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. - Colossians 1:19-20

Paul makes the bold claim that God’s purpose in Christ is to reconcile together all things. Many Christians believe that includes people of other religions. Since Paul pairs '“reconciling all things” with the work of the cross, Christian universalists see the purpose of the cross as providing forgiveness for everyone, not just Christians.

Paul paints a similar picture in Ephesians where he casts another broad, inclusive picture of the future. God, he says, in the grandest sense is working “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Ephesians 1:10). It’s the same image as in Colossians, with strong implications that those of other religions will be united in Christ at the end of time along with Christians.

There are other passages in Paul that seem to point towards a different perspective. He’s not afraid to talk about divine judgment and even what seems like eternal divine judgment. As is so often the case with the Bible, the question is Which text do we use to interpret the other? Which is the governing text, and which is used for a particular sub-purpose but is not the clearest picture of God’s overall heart and plan?

Talk with Jesus about what these ideas bring up for you today.