Day 61. Colossians 1 - 2. Short, Cosmic Epistle, part 1
This is another one of those short letters that some people think Paul might not have authored (but some people think he did). Some scholars date this letter slightly later because of some of the concerns named: false teachers and doctrines, particularly preaching harsh ascetic practices. Paul writes in part in order to counter these claims and re-assert the claims of the gospel.
Again, I'm struck by Paul's expansive gospel and Jesus: "All things were created by him, both in the heavens and the earth." This is a view of Christ that goes beyond the man Jesus who walked on this earth. Jesus is God-incarnate, and he was around from the beginning of creation. The gospel is God's secret plan from the beginning of time, now made manifest in the crucified and Risen Christ. It was a secret, but it is a secret no longer, not since Jesus rose from the dead.
It's possible that Paul speaks this way because he is countering the claims of another religious group that they have a secret access, or secret knowledge of the gospel not known by others. Sometimes these religious groups were known as "gnostics", from the word for knowledge in Greek. (an "agnostic" doesn't KNOW whether there is a god or not.) Paul says yes, there is a secret, but it has been revealed now, and it's not just available to a few spiritual giants, but to everyone. What's the secret? "Christ living in you, the hope of glory." And that means all of you, not just a few "special" people.
Paul warns against special observances which separate against other Christians, and make us feel better than them. He also warns that the most important thing is to remain connected to the head (who is Christ.) But for me, the highlight of these two chapters comes in these verses in chapter 2,
"When you were dead because of the things you had done wrong and because your body wasn't circumcised, God made you alive with Christ and forgave all the things you had done wrong. He destroyed there record of the debt we owed, with its requirements that worked against us. He CANCELED it by nailing it to the cross." (vss. 13-14.) Salvation is death and resurrection, nailing EVERYTHING to the cross of Christ. It is not business as usual.
Wow.
Again, I'm struck by Paul's expansive gospel and Jesus: "All things were created by him, both in the heavens and the earth." This is a view of Christ that goes beyond the man Jesus who walked on this earth. Jesus is God-incarnate, and he was around from the beginning of creation. The gospel is God's secret plan from the beginning of time, now made manifest in the crucified and Risen Christ. It was a secret, but it is a secret no longer, not since Jesus rose from the dead.
It's possible that Paul speaks this way because he is countering the claims of another religious group that they have a secret access, or secret knowledge of the gospel not known by others. Sometimes these religious groups were known as "gnostics", from the word for knowledge in Greek. (an "agnostic" doesn't KNOW whether there is a god or not.) Paul says yes, there is a secret, but it has been revealed now, and it's not just available to a few spiritual giants, but to everyone. What's the secret? "Christ living in you, the hope of glory." And that means all of you, not just a few "special" people.
Paul warns against special observances which separate against other Christians, and make us feel better than them. He also warns that the most important thing is to remain connected to the head (who is Christ.) But for me, the highlight of these two chapters comes in these verses in chapter 2,
"When you were dead because of the things you had done wrong and because your body wasn't circumcised, God made you alive with Christ and forgave all the things you had done wrong. He destroyed there record of the debt we owed, with its requirements that worked against us. He CANCELED it by nailing it to the cross." (vss. 13-14.) Salvation is death and resurrection, nailing EVERYTHING to the cross of Christ. It is not business as usual.
Wow.
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