July 24, 2014 Colossians Chapter 3

Colossians Chapter 3

Originally posted Monday September 8, 2008

Colossians Chapter 3:1-18 The New Life in Christ

Paul's exposition on the supremacy of Christ over all things in heaven and on earth was followed by a second on the fullness of life in Christ. His claim for the Christian is that a life in Christ does not need attachments or enhancements drawn from human traditions, be they Greek cosmology, Hellenistic Judaism or visionary scenes from the end times. Christ is superlatively more than enough. Anything else is not of God and cannot be discerned from the indwelling Spirit of Christ. In this passage Paul moves on to things that matter in the believer's life in Christ. Of first importance is to set one's mind on heavenly things, not earthly, for that is where Christ is. The believer understands that their old self died and was buried with Christ in baptism and so, is "hidden with Christ in God" (the assurance of understanding in 2:2). To be "hidden with Christ" is to be kept spiritually (not physically) safe until the time arrives when Christ is revealed (on the last day) and the believer is "revealed with him in glory" (in heaven). Paul may be thinking in terms of those who have already died as well as those who are still living. As we will see elsewhere Paul understands the "revealing" of the living and dead to be the outcome of a general resurrection on the last day.

Not only is this New Life concerned with the believer's attention to heavenly things, but with personal behavior in the present as well. The "ways" they once followed "when...living among such people" (pagans) - specifically noted as involving sexual immorality, lead to condemnation (God's wrath). These "ways" are to be "put to death" along with the more inter-relational evils (anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language and lying to name a few). The believer who has put off the old self and donned the new has nothing to do with these old ways of behaving. This is Paul's image of the new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) which is always being renewed and moving closer in character to that of God where all the differences that separate people disappear in the all encompassing Christ.

Instead of the old ways which have been put aside, the believer is now elevated in Christ to the status of the chosen, holy and beloved of God. Paul urges them to be clothed with attributes reflecting such a status - compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, forgiveness, patience and "love which binds everything together in perfect harmony." All of these qualities are known in Christ and their practice leads to "the peace of Christ" which rules in the believer's heart.

Paul has given a strong case for what lies at the heart of his understanding of the new creation in Christ. It is nothing less than transformation (2 Cor. 3:18), being of the same mind that was in Christ (Phil. 2:5). Yet, as we read in this text, transformation is not instantaneous. As he writes in3:10 there is a process of renewal  in which the believer is "[in the process of] being renewed in knowledge" according to the image in which all humanity was created, the very image of God where image is character and vocation (Gen 1:27-28). This renewal is not a maintaining of the status quo before God as a servant-disciple. It is a renewal that acquires understanding which leads to spiritual growth. As John Wesley put it, this is the product of God's sanctifying grace whereby we aspire to and move toward holiness and its perfection. Is this idealism? Certainly, but it is not a path we need to follow by ourselves. Paul understands transformation as the work of the person in community, the Church. This is not a self-help trip. There are fellow travelers as much in need as we are of nourishing the God-shaped space in our souls. No matter where we are along the path there will be those who will offer us grace and those to whom we will offer grace. The Church needs such travelers. The world needs such travelers.

Colossians Chapter 3:18-4:1 Rules for Christian Households

This household code is briefer but in content is essentially the same as the one in Ephesians5:21-6:9 with much of the wording copied verbatim. The code covers husband/wife, child/parent and master/slave relationships and the lines of authority. As with Ephesians it is based on a tiered patriarchal system in which one's ultimate duty in obedience is owed to Christ as Lord over all. Whatever our unease over such an archaic system the Christian code is a cut above others in which women and children were close to being regarded as property or, in the case of wives, matters of social convenience. In the Church there was the underlying demand that relationships were to be rooted in Christ, meaning the love of Christ for the Church which leads to mutual - and not one sided, self-sacrifice and respect. Paul's church relationships with women are particularly interesting in that there is an understanding of equality in all levels of the work of the church, business ownership and acceptance as teachers. As he wrote in Galatians, in Christ there is no male or female, a truth lost on many religious communities.