As Paul draws his letter to the church at Colossae to a close, we see a fitting summary to his discussion on who Christ is, what He's done for us, and what this means for us. Paul revealed how, because Jesus Christ is our standard for righteousness, we are to make His resurrection our life in Colossians 2:16-3:17. Now, in Colossians 3:18-4:18, Paul summarizes how, with Christ as our life, we mutually submit to others, remain steadfast in prayer, and reflect Christ in all things.

As Paul writes to show who Jesus is and what that means for His followers, he established last week in Col. 1:24-2:15 that Jesus Christ is the knowledge of God's mystery; therefore, we are to establish our lives in pursuing Him. This week, we'll see from Col. 2:16-3:17 how Christ is the standard of righteousness for our lives; therefore, we make our life in Christ's resurrection.

The letter of Colossians was written by the apostle Paul as a defense of who Jesus was and what it meant for those who followed Him. Considered by some as the most Christological book in the Bible, it offers a great parallel to our study of Exodus. In Colossians 1:24-2:15 today, we'll see how Jesus Christ is the knowledge of God's mystery; therefore, we are to establish our lives in pursuing Him. 

We've been seeing glimpses of the Messiah in Moses in the Old Testament. Now, as we prepare our hearts for Easter, we're going to read through Colossians and see the fulfillment of these glimpses in Christ. Today, as we read through Colossians 1:1-23, the apostle Paul will show us how Christ is the one who has set us free: free from the power of sin & brokenness.

Exodus 18:1-19:20 gave us 5 pieces of the picture of what God’s Messiah does: how God sent His Messiah to 1) lead us to glorify Him; 2) to equip us as His image-bearers; 3) to establish His covenant with us; 4) to consecrate us; and 5) to draw us to Himself. In Exodus 19:21-20:26, God puts the pieces together in Moses, the one who fulfills the Messianic figure for Israel. In this, we see a clear picture of how God desires His people to respond to His Messiah: that God fulfills His delivering & redeeming work through His Messiah; we respond with righteous worship.

As we study Exodus 18:1-19:20, an image starts to form of the Messiah God would raise up for His people in the person of Moses. The first piece of the picture we’re given comes from Exodus 18:1-27: that God sent His Messiah to lead us to glorify Him and to reconcile us as His image-bearers. Now, in Exodus 19:1-20, we see another part of the Messiah’s work revealed in Moses: that God sent His Messiah to establish His covenant with us, consecrate us, and draw us to Himself.

As Exodus 15 –17 reveal how the people of Israel are learning to praise God and walk in His ways to bear His image, the narrative shifts a little to focus more on the development of a different character over Exodus 18:1-19:20: Moses. Being God’s anointed one to deliver and redeem His people, Moses gives us glimpses into why God sent His Son Jesus Christ. From Exodus 18:1-27, we see that God sent His Messiah to lead us to glorify Him and to reconcile us as His image-bearers.

As the Israelites struggled to adapt to their new life in the wilderness with God, we saw in Exodus 15:22-16:30 how God was at working to mold them as His people. He molded Israel through listening to them, providing for them, refining them, and renewing them; and He does the same works through us today. This molding work continues in Exodus 16:31-17:16, as we’ll see how God molds us as His people by growing our reliance on Him & our remembrance of Him.

In Exodus 15:1-21, we got a glimpse into the worship of Israel with their praise of God as He delivered and redeemed them from Egypt. Now, the Exodus narrative shifts to show how God began the long work of molding His people into His image. Exodus 15:22-17:16 reveal several cycles of God doing this work, and we’ll look at Exodus 15:22-16:30 today to see how God molds us as His people by listening to us, providing for us, refining us, and renewing us.

Over the past few chapters, we’ve seen God showing the people of Israel His work of deliverance and redemption (Ex. 12:29-13:16) and teaching His people to trust this work (Ex. 13:17-14:31). Now, as the people of Israel stand fully delivered and in the presence of God, we see them led by Moses to respond in the way that would give glory to God: by worshipping Him. Israel’s worship shows us how we ought to respond to God’s deliverance and redemption works: that we respond to God’s deliverance and redemption by praising who He is, what He’s done, and what He will do.