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Colossians, part 12, Christian Living

Instead of seeking materialistic philosophies and fleshly attempts at gaining spirituality, Colossians 3:1-3 says,

¹ Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. ³ For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

True believers are those who have “died” (legally speaking) by identifying with the death of Christ. They have also been “raised up with Christ” to resurrection life. The old man has died according to the curse of Adam’s sin. The new man, being under grace, ought then to live by the principles of “the things above,” rather than man-made traditions “that are on earth.”

Manifestation

Colossians 3:4 continues,

⁴ When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

The word “revealed” is from the Greek word phaneroo, “to manifest, make visible, make known.” This manifestation, Paul says, is not yet visible, for it is a future event, Our own manifestation is timed to occur when Christ Himself is manifested at His second appearance. In other words, when the glorified Christ becomes visible in the earth, then we too, who have identified with Him in His death and resurrection, will also be manifested with Him.

Another word that Paul uses to describe this event is apokalupsis, “unveiling, revealing, manifestation.” (See Romans 8:19.) At the present time, the glory of God resides in us as His temples, but it is hidden from human eyes by a veil of flesh (2 Corinthians 4:6, 7). The unveiling will reveal this hidden glory to the world through the fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles. The prime example of this is in Christ’s transfiguration on the Mount (Matthew 17:2), when “the veil which is His flesh” (Hebrews 10:20) was removed for a moment.

Paul’s main point in Colossians 3 is that this manifestation is already assured and needs no further religious rituals or asceticism to secure the promise to the sons of God.

Judgment Upon the Sons of Disobedience

Colossians 3:5-7 concludes,

⁵ Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. ⁶ For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, ⁷ and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.

If, then, the old man of flesh has been crucified, and if the new man of the spirit is indeed the real YOU, then there will be immediate evidence in one’s personal way of life. One does not have to wait for the great unveiling to take place in the future. The life of Christ ought to be visible in a veiled way for others to see Christ in you.

Whereas “the sons of disobedience” (apeithēs, “unpersuadable, non-compliant, disobedient”) will be summoned and prosecuted at the great White Throne, those who have already experienced the second death during their life on earth will be exempt from judgment. Because Revelation 20:14 speaks of “the second death,” it is obvious that there is also a first death.

These are two kinds of death. The first death is mortality, which was incurred through Adam’s sin. Jesus came as “the last Adam” to reverse this death completely. The second death is incurred as a penalty for sins done personally. Hence, John saw that “they were judged, every one of them according to THEIR deeds” (Revelation 20:13).

Of course, God’s law puts limits on all debt (liability for sin), so the second death will not be unending. The Greek word often translated “eternal” is aionian, “pertaining to an eon (age).” The Hebrew equivalent is olam, which is usually mistranslated as “everlasting,” but which literally means “hidden,” from alam, “to hide.” Either way it is a hidden, unknown, indefinite period of time. It is best described as AN AGE. In this case it is an age of judgment ending with the proclamation of the Jubilee, when all debt is canceled and all men return to their lost inheritance.

Our New Way of Life

Paul continues in Colossians 3:8-10,

⁸ But now you also, put them [works of the flesh] all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. ⁹ Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, ¹⁰ and put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

Whereas the NASB (above) calls it “the new self” and “the old self,” the KJV renders it “the new man” and “the old man.” Either way, it means the same. We have a new identity that is no longer identified with Adam (or fleshly Israel) but with God as our Father.

Adopting this new way of life is not achieved suddenly. We are “being renewed.” It is a process that takes time. Romans 12:2 confirms this:

² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

This “renewal” in the way we think and act is required equally of all people. Colossians 3:11 says,

¹¹ a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

A common tradition in Judaism is that the law of God is for Jews alone and that non-Jews are only given the bare-minimum “Noahide laws” in Genesis 9:1-7. No doubt Paul, in his early life as Saul, was well aware of this, having studied under Gamaliel. So verse 11 sets forth an entirely different world view, based on the laws of equal justice in Scripture. Leviticus 24:22 says,

²² There shall be one standard for you: it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.

This is repeated in Numbers 15:15, 16,

¹⁵ … as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord. ¹⁶ There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.

This view again is expressed in Galatians 3:28,

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

In the Kingdom of God, there are no second-class citizens, nor is there one set of laws for Jews or Israelites and another for non-Jews or non-Israelites. The full law applies to all equally, and all are equally responsible to submit to the authority of God. This is an important--but often ignored--part of the new way of life of the new creation man. To make one ethnic group “chosen” and exclude those of other ethnicities is a violation of God’s law.

Paul continues in Colossians 3:12, 13,

¹² So, as those who have been chosen [eklektos, “chosen, elect”] of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

All believers in Christ are “chosen,” regardless of their ethnicity. Paul words it in a different way in Romans 11:1-7, where only 7,000 men in the days of Elijah were actually “chosen” (vs. 7) and the rest of the ethnic Israelites were blinded. To be one of God’s chosen people, one must have genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul continues in Colossians 3:14-17,

¹⁴ Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

There is little need to explain the plain meaning of Paul’s admonition regarding this new way of life, unless we point to the more detailed description in the Love Chapter (1 Corinthians 13). Yet it should be said that it is not only about love, but also about understanding “the word of Christ.” It was the pre-existent Christ who appeared to Abraham, gave the law to Moses, inspired David to write many psalms, and who inspired the prophets. Hence, the word of Christ is not merely the words recorded in the Gospels; it includes all Scripture.