Continuing My Walk Through Colossians (3:1-4)

This is a verse-by-verse walkthrough with some notes and observations of mine:

v1

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."

v1 comments

The first observation I'd like to make is concerning the word in the Greek that is translated here as "you have been raised."  The word used here, suneigertheite, has a few implications worth noting.  The first is that the word is a compound verb.  In other words, it takes a preposition, in this case the preposition "with," and slaps it onto the beginning of the verb "to raise."  So we end up with something like, "you were co-raised along with Christ."  The passive voice is used here, also, which tells us that we, along with Christ, are the direct objects or recipients of the action of raising.  This is important because it implies that Christ did not raise himself.  He did not use any powers that he possessed in order to bring himself back to life.  He was dead in all senses of the word.  God the Father is the implied actor here.  He is the one doing the raising.  Christ was then glorified to the right hand of God.  Paul is commanding the Colossians to seek out the things above since they have been raised along with Christ.  Their minds should be focused on him now.  The NIV translates the word zeite-oh as "set your hearts on."  I think they may have taken some extra liberties there.  The word for heart is not used anywhere in this verse.  This Greek word is actually translated as "to seek."  The Third Edition BDAG, basically a giant Lexicon that substitutes for exercise weights with its 1000+ pages, translates the word here in this verse as meaning, "to devote serious effort to realize one's desire or objective, to strive for, to aim at, try to obtain, desire or wish for."  Essentially, Paul is telling the Colossians, and us, to commit ourselves without reserve to figuring out how things operate in heaven where Christ now sits.

v2

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

v2 comments

Paul is stressing this dichotomy between the created order and the kingdom of God above.  He's using repetition to show how important it is that we change our paradigm of thinking so that our thoughts come from a mind that is focused heavenward rather than a mind focused on here o this earth.

v3

"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God."

v3 comments

In the context of middle class Christian America, it's really hard to see the teleological implications embedded in this statement.  The primitive church was highly focused on the second coming of Christ.  They were in eager anticipation for his return.  They referred to this second coming as a time when Christ will be revealed in all his glory.  With this in mind, we can see why Paul didn't use a word like "re-located" or "transferred" to describe what happened to our life now that we've died.  Our lives are now lived out of this new paradigm.  We are living lives that have their source in heaven.  This is actually something that John Wesley loved to preach.  He preached about the life that we can live here and now according to the way things will be later.  Dr. Clarence Bence (more commonly referred to as "Bud") wrote his dissertation on this very topic.  It was entitled "John Wesley's Teleological Hermeneutic."  Basically, Wesley had the end goals in mind when he lived his life here daily.

v4

"When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

v4 comments

Since our life now resides with Christ in heaven, when he comes back we will experience glorification.  The subjunctive mood is used here with the word phanerothei.  This word means "to be manifested or made known."  In Greek, literally the verse reads, "Whenever Christ returns (not that he may or may not return, but that he will return but we have no idea when that will be), we will be manifested with him in glory."

Closing Comments

Paul, in this passage, is very goal-oriented.  He is thinking about the end and its implications for our lives now.  This is also what Wesley was highly focused on.  The holiness doctrine that stems from Wesley's pietist ideas is rooted in Wesley's teleology.  It makes me want to shift my mind so that my thoughts stem from heart that has its home in heaven.

On The Exclusivity of Christ

I briefly mentioned in my last post that Christ is the only means by which one can attain salvation and holy living.  One might argue, "Surely all the other religions of the world are not wrong.  They are simply different perspectives of the same spiritual realm with the same end while pursuing different means to that same end."  While I can respect the argument presented, I can't convince myself of its truth.

There are two possible routes one can take concerning scripture.  The canon is either authoritative or it isn't.  The Bible cannot be valid in some areas and false in others.  It is either all truth or just another guide to a good life.  Now, I understand that there are scriptural references that can be proven inaccurate or false.  By "all truth" I mean inspired by the Holy Ghost in such a way that it cannot steer a person wrong if the Holy Spirit is granting the reader the grace to understand.

That being said, scripture seems to stress the exclusivity of the Christian way.  If YHVH was the God of other religions as well, and if He were the same end with different means, why then would He advocate the destruction of other gods and idols?  Why, then, would He choose one nation?  The New Testament clearly states that one cannot gain access to the Father apart from recognizing Christ as the only means to that end.

So either Christianity stands alone as a false religion while the others that don't stress exclusivity are means to the same salvation, or Christ is truly the only way.  Although I am an optimist.  Scripture can be interpreted in such a way that Christ will come back after all peoples believe in Him.  I don't believe in this view, but I certainly hope with all my heart that this is the case.  I don't believe that God will withhold judgment from those who pursue other religions, but I certainly hope He does.  I hope that His love will be so unrelenting that it will pursue all souls in life and in death to the point of their salvation.  I have friends who actively pursue religions other than Christianity, and I love them.  I believe they are great people with good hearts.  Don't get me wrong.

But I cannot deny the apparent exclusivity of Christ.  And I'm putting all my eggs in this basket.

Shadows and Realities

Im in my third year of Greek classes right now, and currently we're translating our way through Colossians.  Our passage from today was Colossians 2:14-19.  In verse 15, Paul talks about these "powers and authorities."  Dr. Breuhler explained that in the ancient world, it was commonly thought that there are levels of heaven and that different spiritual beings rule over various domains.  It is these authorities and rulers that Christ "disarms" (apekdusamenos).  We don't know if that means that these authorities do exist, but we no longer have to worry about them or if that means that Christ dispelled the myth of their existence.  Either way, it's the same result.  They're no longer a factor.  Paul goes on to say that Christ made a public spectacle of them (deigmatidzo), and that because of this, the Colossians should let no one judge them on account of what they eat or drink or which festivals they celebrate (such as the New Moon Festival which has nothing to do with vampires and Twilight).

Now we get to the interesting part, or at least I find it interesting.  Paul then says in verse 17 that those things, festivals and foods and drinks, are simply "shadows of things coming but [literally in the Greek] the body is of Christ."  The word for body/flesh in the Greek is sowma.  I have an 1100 page Greek Lexicon.  Exactly one line of text is dedicated to an obscure use/meaning of the word sowma.  This line gives the meaning, "the thing itself, the reality."  What follows is one and only one verse where this meaning is used.  You guessed it, Colossians 2:17.

So what is interesting about this?  Well, think about that meaning of the word in the context of the verse in which it is used.  We have this contrast between a shadow (skia) and a reality (sowma).  The shadow is the silhouette or outline of something that is real.  You can't see the details of that which is casting the shadow just by looking at the shadow.  You get a skewed reality that is highly unreliable.  But, Paul says, Christ is the reality.  There are no powers, no authorities, that are separate from him.  There is no condemnation for simple things.  There is no bypassing judgment based on what I eat or drink.  Christ is the only way now.  That shadow that was skewed has come to earth and made itself manifest.  Jesus is the real deal.

I remember a friend telling me that he believes that most religions are ways to the same God.  That Christians have it right, but that all the other religions are acceptable in God's eyes.  He believed that God (YHVH) is the God of all the other religions.  This friend of mine is a religion student preparing for ministry here at IWU.  This concerns me.  I mean, what do you do with "I am the way, the truth and the light.  No one [NO ONE] comes to the Father except through me?"  Besides that, we have Colossians 2:17.  There are skewed realities and other religions that aren't spot on.  This causes people to do different things in order be pious or to be saved.  But the shadow isn't good enough.  Christ came in the flesh to demonstrate the reality.  He shed light on the shadow.  We now know the source, and nothing other than passage through life with the reality, with Christ, nothing else will suffice.

Ash Wednesday Service

Dr. Bud Bence spoke in the student chapel today, and his message was powerful and effective.  He spoke on the season of Lent and the different kinds of sacrifices people can make and for what reasons.  He broke the types of fasting into categories.  One was giving up things that are sinful during the Lent season.  This is when you sacrifice a habitual sin for the sake of showing God your level of commitment to Him.  Another category was giving up things that are addictions that aren't necessarily unhealthy.  This includes things like Facebook, video games, and things of the sort.  These are areas that are simply pleasures for some people, but for others these are areas that dominate a majority of their time.  These are the things that you automatically think of when you're lying in bed, sitting in class, or just spacing out.  The next category was the things that are pleasures to us.  They are things we really like to have, eat, or do.  I really like watching NCIS, Bones, and Psych on television.  It would  be the equivalent of me sacrificing those shows.  The final category was giving up those things that are precious to us.  Dr. Bence warned us against this unless we feel convicted.  He said that these are the things that people will describe as being "over the top."  They are "reckless" and "foolhardy."  I fell into the category of sacrificing an addiction of sorts that isn't unhealthy, but too much of it can be a little ridiculous and sacrifices time that I can use to do homework or be in the Word.  So I would appreciate prayers for strength to stay away from this and to use my time wisely during this Lent season.

A Posture of Receptivity

I'm always amazed at the results of simply approaching a situation with a posture of receptivity.  In other words, I feel as though God has a knack for making grace available to those who enter into situations and events and treat them as a means of grace.  This, I feel, is on the opposite end of the spectrum as cynicism.

What I have in mind right now is the required student chapel here at Indiana Wesleyan University.  It's a frequent topic of discussion for students.  "What do you think of required chapel?"  People often enter into a chapel service with cynicism and a closed mind.  These tend to be the students who are closed off to chapel and disengaged.  I know it's required, but God has never ceased to make grace available to me when I enter into a chapel service as though it is a means of grace.  He is faithful.