Christocentric: Christ in Colossians | Shadows of Religion

In Colossians 2:16-17, the apostle Paul tried to explain that—because of Jesus’ preeminent reality—the types and shadows of the old covenant are no longer necessary for Christian practice and exhortation. “Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or Sabbath. These are the shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Jesus is the substance of all the Old Testament types and shadows. The types and shadows are now fulfilled in Jesus Christ, leaving no need for their implementation in practice in the new covenant era.

In Colossians 2:18-19, the apostle Paul warns against human religion having any place in Christianity. “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth that is from God.” The preeminent Christ is mandatory in spiritual life. Jesus is unswervingly the substance of the faith. In Colossians 2:20-23, Paul points out that being in union with the person who is the substance of the faith, Jesus Christ, there is no need to submit to man-made religious regulation. “Growth in the Christian life comes by walking him, not by following some ascetic regiment where certain foods are forbidden and special festival days are observed. These things are ‘shadows’ and the substance is Christ.”[1] Paul encourages a Colossian Church not to be distracted from its Christocentric focus. False teachers were leading them to other foci aside from Christ. Keeping Christ central is the only way to maintain health in the church.

When Paul addressed the church of Galatia, he had a similar admonition. The Galatians, like the Colossians, were swayed and enticed by religious practice. To them, he says: "...if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:18-20) The reality of religion is that it kills. Only Jesus can give us life. The law was meant to be a tutor lead us to Christ (Galatians 2:24), but was never designed to be his replacement. If the value of any practice or discipline begins to exceed the value of Christ himself, we are being deceived. Are you judging your Christian life based on your ability to perform? That is sin. Are you getting your worth from your ability to obey? Guess what: even our ability to obey is a gift, and you didn't earn it. We must fight to remember what we are so prone to forget: Christ in us is our hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), not our law-keeping or law-breaking. Have you been crucified with Christ? Stop clinging to the shadows of religion and walk in the light.

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[1] Schreiner, Paul apostle of God's glory in Christ p. 27

Christocentric: Christ in Colossians | Humanity

Colossians 2:9 tells us that the fullness of God dwells in an actual human body and, in other words, Jesus Christ was and is truly human. Jesus was not just the shell of a human with God inside or, perhaps worse, a ghost of some kind; Jesus was actually human. “The Christian doctrine of the incarnation claims that the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, became fully man, Jesus of Nazareth; they been doing so he did not for a moment ceased to be fully God; and that he did this ‘for us and for our salvation.’”[1]

Jesus' humanity enabled him to be our atoning sacrifice; without the shedding of blood, there would be no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). Obviously, he needed to have a human body in order to shed his blood. His deity ensured that his blood, in its perfection, would be able to satisfy the wrath of God (1 Peter 1:18-19). We cannot rely on any righteousness other than the perfect record of Christ. Jesus' humanity assures us that he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses as our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). And his deity reminds us that his compassions for us never fail (Lamentations 3:22-23). In his humanity, Jesus showed us dependent obedience to the Father by doing nothing on his own initiative (John 8:28, 42). In his deity, no mere man could forcefully take Jesus' life; he laid down his life on his own initiative (John 10:18). Jesus' humanity tells us that we must die (Matthew 10:38, John 12:24). His deity tells us that we will live (John 6:54).

It is incredibly important to keep Jesus' humanity and deity in view. To ignore either is a grave error.

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[1] Garrett J. Deweese edited by Fred Sanders and Klaus Issler One person, Two natures in Jesus and Trinitarian Perspective (B&H publishing, Nashville Tennessee, 2007) p. 115

Christocentric: Christ in Colossians | Trinity

In the process of greeting the Colossians, Paul writes, “we always thank God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you” (1:3). Jesus is referred to as the Son of God the Father, thus putting his person and the context of the Trinity. With the high Christology that we find in the book of Colossians, we must keep in perspective that Jesus Christ, God the Son, is one of the members of the triune God. This explains several of the other references to Christ such as Colossians 1:19: “In [Jesus] the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” In Jesus Christ, the Triune God is seen. Jesus not only shows us who he is as God the Son, but also who the Father and Holy Spirit are. Colossians 2:9 also shows Jesus in Trinitarian perspective when Paul tells us that “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” All of the fullness of God is found in Christ. All the Father's nature is in him (what Paul calls the pleroma of Godhead, Col. 2:9). Consequently, he is equal with God; which is why, in turn, he is a unique revelation of God, unlike any other. We, as humans, may bear the image of God, but our portrayal is nothing in comparison to the complete picture that Jesus' person and work paint for us. [1]

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[1] Donald MacLeod the person of Christ (Intervarsity Press, 1998) p.74

Christocentric: Christ in Colossians | Eternal

The book of Colossians also makes it clear that Jesus Christ is eternal. He has no beginning or end. Jesus Christ is before all things, therefore, he is eternal, “And he is before all things” (Colossians 1:17). There is nothing that is here or that was here before Jesus Christ. He was here among the other two members of the Trinity from all eternity. Peter T. O'Brien comments,

“The first affirmation, ‘he is before all things’ declares his temporal priority to the universe. Therefore one could not rightly say as Arius that: ‘there was once when he was not.’ At the same time this statement implies his primacy over the cosmos.”[1]

Paul goes on to say in the next verse that Jesus is “the beginning” (1:18). In other words, he is the origin and source of all things because he is the eternal God. In order to be the origin of something, one must exist outside of that something—in this passage, he is the beginning of “all things,” therefore he is eternal.

The fact that he is eternal has a lot of implications. First, because he is eternal, the entirety of his person and work is also eternal. His righteousness is eternal. His atonement is eternal. His love, his justice, his mercy are eternal. And although we don't deserve it, all of this is given to us. Second, the fact that he is eternal doesn't just mean that his quantity of life is unending... it means that his quality of life is unending. His eternal life isn't just about boundless, endless time or even being outside of time. It's about the fact that he is the only life, the best life, and everything about who he is and what he does is completely satisfying. The fact that these things are true not only leads us to worship him, but it leads us to the responsibility to live in light of this truth right now, where we are and where we stand. How often do we remember that Jesus is the eternal fullness of deity (Col. 1:19) and he lives in us by the Holy Spirit? Remembering this can change everything. How will it change your life today?

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[1] O'Brien p. 47

Christocentric: Christ in Colossians | Creator

Colossians is very clear that Jesus Christ is Creator God. You can understand why Paul would be so insistent on letting the Colossians know this fact since they were being drawn toward believing that Jesus wasn't sovereign over all things. Knowing that Jesus is the Creator puts him on a different plane than mere man. Knowing that Jesus is our Creator-God not only affirms his deity, but also insists that he is worthy of our submission.

In Colossians 1:15 we read that Jesus is the “firstborn of all creation.” At first glance, this verse seems to undermine everything we just talked about. We might as well pack up and go home, if that were the case. But the idea of firstborn here cannot possibly be that Christ is the first created thing because, as verse 17 says, he is ‘before all things.” Paul is not constructing faulty logic. He is listing Jesus' credentials and this, too, is one of them. John Piper states:

“the reason Paul called Christ the firstborn ‘of all creation’ is ‘because in him all things were created.’ The reason is not that he was the first and greatest created thing. The reason is that every created thing was created by him. This does not incline us to think then that ‘firstborn of all creation’ means ‘firstborn among all created things,’ but rather “firstborn over all created things.’”[1]

In relation to the Father, Jesus is as a firstborn son, privy to all the rights, powers and attributes of the King. So Jesus is not firstborn in the sense of creative order, but firstborn in the sense of authority. If the Father says, "let there be light," you'd better believe that Jesus can make it happen (and -- spoiler alert -- he did).

Colossians 1:16 goes on to assert the Doctrine of Christ as Creator: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things were created through him and for him.” This passage tells us that Jesus Christ is the Creator God of Genesis 1. The things that are in heaven and the things that are in earth, the things that are visible and the things that are invisible, all things are created by Jesus. Peter T. O'Brien, commenting on this passage, says: “’Heaven’ and ‘invisible’ correspond as do ‘curse’ and ‘visible.’ The expression in parallel lines embrace everything, for they are no exceptions… all things have been brought into existence by the creative act of God in Christ.”[2]

Jesus Christ is not only the Creator God, he is the God who sustains all things. Colossians 1:17 puts it this way: “And in him all things hold together.” Millard Erickson writes about this passage, “After a statement about the role of Christ in creation, Paul links him to the continuation of the creation as well.”[3] In Jesus Christ, all things continue to exist. At every moment, Jesus Christ is holding all creation and sustains it by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus Christ not only brings things into existence as Creator, but he also keeps things existing as sustainer. Can you believe that? Every particle of your body is being held together by Jesus. You are reading this (and not falling asleep while reading it) because Jesus made your eyes, nerves and brain, made the light by which you see, made your mind capable of cognition and critical thought... and he lets you continue to enjoy those privileges.

Take a minute to think about all the ways that Jesus is your creator and sustainer. You'll be thinking for a while, I assure you. May your heart be moved to worship as you consider these things.

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[1] John Piper The Pleasures of God (Multnomah, 1991) p. 39

[2] Peter T. Obrien Colossians, Philemon; Word Biblical Commentary (Thomas Nelson Publishers,1982) p.46

[3] Millard J. Erickson Christian Theology (Baker Books) p. 414