Colossians

Friday, 5 May 2017

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

“For you died” is correct. Some older versions say, “For you are dead.” Without an accompanying explanation, that makes no sense. A dead person cannot read or respond to a letter. But for someone who has died, there can be the possibility of something new involved in that dying. The verb is in the aorist tense, and it denotes “death accomplished.” This is what Paul is now conveying. It builds upon what he said in Colossians 2:20 –

“Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world,” 

There was a death “to the basic principles of the world which now results in something new. Paul explains that with the words, “and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jesus literally died. As the fulfillment of the law, the law died with Him. It was nailed to the cross (verse 2:14). But we also died with Him to the law. In His resurrection (a literal, bodily resurrection), our lives are now hidden with Him in God. The word “hid” is in the perfect tense. It is hidden once and forever. Thus the “life” is a continuous fact. In essence, “Your life was hidden, it is hidden, and it will remain hidden forever.” There is assurance in the salvation of Jesus Christ, not doubt.

As Jesus said in Matthew 22:32, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” As we spiritually died to the basic principles of the world, the world has no dominion over us. But as we are alive to Christ, we are hidden with Christ in God. In other words, we are spiritually alive, and we are kept safe in Christ – who can never die again – and therefore, we are eternally alive with Him in this mystical union which is “in God.” As Christ is eternally in the Father, and as we are eternally in Christ, we are thus eternally in God. The fellowship is complete, and it is eternal.

Life application: Words have meaning. Paul writes in specific tenses in order to fully explain what has occurred for the believer in Christ. There is to be no doubt concerning our continued salvation. When we err, let us speak to the Lord about it and move on. He has saved us, and we are saved. Hallelujah to Christ Jesus who has delivered us from the body of death, which is the law!

Heavenly Father, Your word shows that one who is saved can never lose that gift. We have died to the basic principles of the world, and our lives are hidden with Christ in You. As Christ is in You forever, and as we are hidden in Him forever, then we can be certain that we are forever reconciled to You. The pressure is off! The burden is lifted! We have peace and reconciliation once again! Thank You, O heavenly Father, for Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Thursday, 4 May 2017

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2

Paul now builds upon the words of the previous verse. He just said, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” Because of this, he implores those in Colossae (and thus us!) to “set your mind on things above.”

The Greek word translated as “set your mind” is an interesting one. It is phronéō. This in turn comes from phrḗn, which is the midriff or diaphram; the parts around the heart. Thus it carries the idea of regulating from within, as in an inner perspective which then is displayed in an outward behavior. This may seem difficult to grasp because it combines the visceral organs with cognitive aspects of thinking, but we do this with other body parts quite often. If we say, “my heart will be with you,” we are simply using the heart instead of these other organs to show where our affections are.

Paul is exhorting his readers to have their thoughts directed to heavenly things instead of those “things on the earth.” We have died to the things of the world, and so our hearts should be oriented to where we have been raised to instead. As the scholar Lightfoot says, “You must not only seek heaven; you must think heaven.”

Life application: Do not let the world drag you out of your heavenly home. If you have been raised with Christ, then live for Christ.

Lord God, You precious word tells us that we have been crucified with Christ. We have been buried with Him in baptism, and we have been raised with Him, being seated in the heavenly places in Christ. As this is so, why should we allow this fallen, dirty world to drag us out of our heavenly home? Grant us the wisdom to understand that there is nothing here but loss, and to set our affections on the things which are above. Help us to anticipate the day when Christ comes to take us home, and to live now with that hope in mind. Amen.

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

Starting in verse 2:11, Paul began his explanation of what it means to have died with Christ. He explained what that means in relation to the law, what that means for us in our daily lives, and how to avoid being trapped by those who look at Christ’s death as being insufficient for their passage to heaven. He carefully explained that it is all-sufficient, and that we are freed from the basic principles of the world.

Now, at the beginning of chapter 3, he moves from what the death of Christ means to us, and he focuses on what it means to be raised with Him. He begins with, “If then you were raised with Christ…” In verse 2:12, Paul said that we were “buried with Him in baptism,” and he then said that we “were raised with Him through faith.” The explanation of what being buried with Him means is done, and now he explains what being raised with Him means.

The word “if” is not one of doubt, but one of certainty. Just as a believer in Christ is united with Him in His death where they became dead to sin, and also dead to the basic principles of the world, then being raised with Him should bring the believer to a new state. Christ wasn’t just raised to eternal life to live out an earthly life. Instead, He was resurrected to eternal life as the Lord of heaven and earth. In this state, He ascended to the Father with all authority and power in His possession. As He is now in heaven, then we who have been raised with Him are to “seek those things which are above.”

This statement is well-explained by Paul in Philippians 3:12-21. We are to forget that which is behind (our earthly existence which died with Christ), and instead reach forward to those things which are ahead (our anticipated heavenly existence where Christ now is). This is what it means to seek those things which are above. It is to look to our heavenly home “where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.”

Of what value is it to fix our eyes, our hopes, and our attentions on what we have died to? It makes as much sense as watering flowers in a rain storm to go back to observing the law, feasts, dietary restrictions, and etc. Instead, we are to fix our eyes on Jesus who has overcome all of these things. Our hopes and hearts should be directed to spiritual growth and maturity in preparation for an eternity of dwelling with Him.

Life application: We are dead to the basic principles of the world. We are not bound to laws which bring only a reminder of sin, but instead we are alive in Christ. He has freed us from this body of death, and He has raised us to sit with Him in the heavenly places. As this is so, then why would we look back to the earthly, carnal life we once lived? We came to Christ to get away from that, not continue wallowing in it.

Heavenly Father, it is with great hopes that we await the coming of Christ to take us home. Until that day arrives, grant us the wisdom to seek those things which are above. Help us to look to our heavenly dwelling where Christ rules in righteousness, and to hunger after this at all times. May we never look back to the life which we died to, but instead be attentive to that life we have been raised to; a life where all power, honor, and glory radiate from You through our Lord Jesus! Amen.

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Colossians 2:23

“These things” refers to what Paul has been speaking of in the previous verses – things like circumcision verses uncircumcision, partaking or not partaking in certain foods, participating in certain religious festivals, worshipping angels, and so on. He lumps them into this one thought and says, “These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion.”

People who participate in dietary restrictions, for example, seem to be more pious than others. Ascetics look at their self-denial as leading them to a state of holiness. The observance of religious festivals certainly attracts attention. Those who participate in them appear to be observing them in order to be more holy. And so forth. But is a person more holy by not eating pork or by observing a Passover Seder? No! Christ fulfilled these things. By placing one’s faith in Christ, they skip over the shadow and obtain the substance of what the shadow only pointed to.

Why put a beanie cap on your head when praying if you were never a Jew in the first place? Such is “false humility.” In the end, it doesn’t add to personal holiness at all. The “neglect of the body” is specifically speaking of ascetic practices that he had just referred to – “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.” But again, such things are, as he says, “of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”

In the end, these things which are seemingly pious are actually prideful. They are “works to impress” God, but God does not need to be impressed. He came out of His eternal realm, donned garments of flesh, and fulfilled everything necessary to reconcile fallen man back to Himself. What God looks for is faith in that, not in self. An attitude of self-righteousness is completely opposed to trusting in Christ for imputed righteousness.

Paul’s words are clear and direct, and they ask us to put away externals as a means of seeking God’s favor. We are to be purified in our hearts, filled with faith in His provision, and trusting in His ability to complete our salvation to lead us back to Himself.

Life-application: As always, the Bible shows us that faith in what God has done, is doing, and will do is that which is pleasing to Him. When we put aside faith, and begin trusting in our own actions to merit His favor, or to increase our standing before Him, we are saying that we don’t need Him. “It’s OK God, I can handle it from this point on.” This is why, even after salvation, we are to continue to trust Him for our walk towards holiness. As Paul says in Galatians 3:2-4 – “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? ⁴ Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?” Hold fast to Christ, and Christ alone!

O God! It is such a relief to know that our salvation is a gift which cannot be earned, and that our continued walk with You is also something we can leave in Your capable hands. We don’t need to observe Old Testament feasts, cling to its dietary restrictions, or trust in other observances of the law in order to please You. Instead, those things were only shadows of the reality found in Christ. Faith in Him is what brings us to the sweet spot. And how sweet it is! Thank You for this wonderful means of complete reconciliation with You! Amen.

Monday, 1 May 2017

…which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? Colossians 2:22

“Which” is referring to the words, “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” of the previous verse. The error of those who attempt to reinsert the prescriptions of the Law of Moses, or some other group who would mandate their own traditions or customs which are contrary to the finished work of Christ, is that they fail to see that these “concern things which perish with the using.”

The words “with the using” come from the Greek words, té apochrésis. This word, apochrésis, found only here in the Bible, gives the idea of “using up,” and thus being consumed. Combined with the word “perish,” which gives the idea of corruption through decomposition, we are given the correct idea of what Paul is speaking of. When someone eats something, regardless of what it is, it breaks down into something else. The very eating of the thing destroys it. In other words, it is what Jesus was speaking of in Mark 7:18-23 –

So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”²⁰ And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, ²² thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

Life application: The food regulations which are fulfilled in Christ, along with all of the law, are nullified. Any such teaching now is no longer of God, but is “according to the commandments and doctrines of men.” The New Covenant is now in place, and thus the Old is set aside. And so if anyone says to you concerning that tasty pork chop, “Don’t touch, don’t taste, don’t handle!” You can tell them, “Take a turn off the heresy highway, and onto the road of righteousness. I am purified not by my own deeds, but by the work of Christ.” And then go enjoy your dinner.

Heavenly Father, what a beautiful world You have given us. What wonderful tastes, smells, and sensations surround us! From moment to moment, if we will just look, we will always see some wonderful hint that You are there and tending to us. Help us not to be so consumed with the busyness of life that we miss the precious displays of Your care for us, and which tell us You really are concerned about us. Praises to You, our great Creator! Amen.