These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however is found in Christ. Colossians 2:17

God’s intention from the beginning has been that one day all things would be summed up in Christ. All of the Father’s eternal purposes are found in His Son. Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. What this means is hard for us to comprehend with our finite minds and perspectives. But it is clear that in Jesus Christ, all that God has intended for mankind regarding life both here and now and into eternity is provided in Christ Jesus.

The Old Covenant dealt in types and shadows. Types that were an incomplete and insufficient picture of the fullness that Jesus would bring, and shadows that were at best only veiled glimpses into the glory of the Son of God. Paul writes to the Colossians that the reality is found in Christ. The blood of bulls and heifers could never cleanse the conscious of man, and their atonement was short-lived. They could only foreshadow the reality that the cross and its atonement would provide. The holiest of all feasts such as Passover were only a limited and preliminary foretelling of the power of the deliverance that would come from the blood of Christ. Even the Sabbath and its deep imprint on the hearts and lives of Israel was a mere hint at the complete and abiding rest that God would provide in His Son.

This is the danger of religious tradition. It quickly usurps the place that is reserved in man’s heart that the Father intended for His Son alone. The fall resulted in man needing to see what he worshipped. Today unfortunately, that remains true even in His church. We must never allow ourselves to make idols of shadows and incomplete reflections of the true glory, a glory that comes from the Son alone.

Jesus is the Reality of God. “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ,” John wrote. Truth, reality, substance, fullness, completeness, the beginning and the end describe this total work of God in and through His Son. We have everything we need for life and godliness in the Son of God. He truly is the “Yes” and “Amen” of God

R, Martinez