Freedom to Stay.

What is Christian freedom?  This is a question that has been on my mind for some time.  I even wrote my first exegesis paper on the topic from Galatians 5.  For me, the "problem of freedom" is not merely intellectual, but very much experiential.  I wrote the paper, but it never gripped my  heart.  I admit that I was and am very much on the struggling journey from my head to my heart.  I am on a mission to feel what I know.

Recently, however, I have seen a great light.  The light encourages me that seminary did not prove to be a cemetery for me.  The gospel, as presented through the book of Colossians, has opened the doors to some dark closets in my life.  I didn't even know they existed.  It's a bit scary to have the light of the gospel open the door to some of the darkest places in our lives.    It is comforting to know (and this is the nature of the gospel) that when Christ opens the doors, He does so with redemptive goals.  He comes to expose and dethrone the idols, and to rescue us.  He comes to bring freedom.  

I am free.  Words on this computer screen do no justice to the gratitude that is flowing now from my heart.  In the past freedom invaded my intellect.  Now it is invading my heart.  

I am writing with a motive.  I want to share this freedom with you.   

When we hear people say "freedom" in our day, it is important to understand that they are not usually talking about the freedom that Christ alone can give.  I believe they mean freedom or liberty to do what they want, when they want; without interruption or interference due to economic, societal, or relational conflict.  They proclaim that people should be free to desire and obtain what they want with no interference.  And when interference comes about, one is free to do with it what they will, as long as the end desired is achieved.  Bondage is defined in terms of the end.  Bondage is not being free to have what a person wants.

So the important question to us all is..."What do we want?"  If we have it, we are free (at least for a time, depending on what it is).  If we do not have it, we are not free.  I hope you see where I am going.

For so long I wanted other things.  I did not ultimately want Christ.  Christ did become convenient as a means to gain what I ultimately wanted.  What was that?  My own glory - I want(ed) my own way.  I wanted to be God.  I wanted to be right, accepted, and filled by people and things.  

I did not understand that the hole in my life that I was trying to fill could only be filled by Christ.  Therefore, I lived in a constant state of lack.  When I felt my depravity, I tried desperately to fill myself with any earthly thing I could find.  These are called idols.  They were things from which (or whom) I tried to derive my ultimate acceptance and satisfaction.

Sex was on the throne of my life for so long.  And when it didn't ultimately fill me, I resorted to distorting it through pornography and fornication.  Sure, marriage helped dethrone it for a time; but marriage is not Christ.  Marriage will not ultimately fill either.  Neither marriage or sex freed me from my depravity - from my bondage to emptiness.

This is why so many people don't stay in marriage or relationships.  The essential need in our life has everything to do with intimacy - with relationship.  But when we try to fill ourselves with earthly relationships (which are good, but not ultimate), we soon find that the craving still exists.  The tension still exists in the core of our being.  The hole of bondage is still there.

So what do we do?  We try and stretch the relationship to fill the hole.  This is called abuse - placing others under bondage to our desires.    And when that doesn't work (and it won't!), we leave.  We abandon the relationship in search for something that will finally and ultimately fill us.  This is called abandonment and neglect.  When earthly relationships become an impediment to obtaining what we really want - we simply get rid of them...all in the name of freedom.  We believe we are free to leave.

And this is where I found myself.  I have never wanted to leave my marriage; but I confess that I have distorted it and neglected it.  But God, in His rich mercy and grace, brought light (again) to my darkness. This is the grace of sanctification.  Understanding the gospel has brought such freedom to my life.  Knowing and understanding that I am both accepted (justified) and filled in Christ is the greatest news I have ever heard (this is Colossians 2:9-15).  In Christ, I am filled with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1).  No more lack.  No more fear of loosing my Ultimate, being safely hidden.  God is my Ultimate forever.  

My sins no longer keep me from Him (3:3).  My life is no longer characterized by lack - but fullness.  And when I crave physically, I understand that as an occasion to look heavenward, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God!  Physical things will not ultimately fill me.  My appetites for food, drink, sex, or whatever are a simple reminder that I am a spiritual being in an earthly wilderness.  Sure these things are good...and I praise God for them (James 1:17).  I love good food and I love my wife.  But they are not my Ultimate.

This is true freedom.  It is freedom to love my wife like Christ loves the Church.  It is freedom to love others in a selfless way.  Christ is the only Ultimate that commands my love for others.  And by His Spirit, He provides the ability to do just that.  I am free to loose my earthly life for the sake of Christ - for the sake of others.  This is the life of one who is finally filled.  When relationships get difficult, the gospel assures me that they will not interfere with my Treasure.  But when I bear with others, I find my Treasure (in heaven) increases!  I am free to stay - in marriage, in my job, in my role as father, son, brother, and friend.  All praise is due my Lord who has set me free.

Colossians 2:7

Colossians 2:7

“firmly rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

If the first verse [v.6] answers the question, “What must we do now that we are Christians?”, this next verse answers the question, “How are we to accomplish such a life?” I suppose another question could follow on the heals of this one – “Why must we live this way?” The answer to the “how” is answered explicitly, while the answer to the “why” is answered implicitly. Paul answers the question with four adverbial participles (all of which correspond with the four participles in 1:10-12 – relating to horticulture and ending with thanksgiving and which serve to modify the main verb – Moo and Harris). This fact shows us at least two things: 1) that Paul understands God’s sovereign work in building his church; and 2) that these things, for which he asks and now exhorts, are the apostle’s central concern for the church at Colossae as they continue in the faith.

[Remaining] firmly rooted (perfect, middle, participle, nmp) How are we to “continually live in Christ?” First, the Christian is to remain firmly rooted. In agreement with Moo, I use the term “remain” to properly communicate the meaning of the perfect tense of the participle. If one has been firmly rooted (perfect – past event), then, in “continuing,” he must “remain” so rooted (perfect - with future implications). This verb may indicate a particular nature of faith. As we have seen, faith receives. But this verb may tell us “how” it receives. There is an intensity that comes with it. The faith that receives Christ so tightly clings to its object that it is likened to a tree whose roots are, not loose in the ground (like a weed), but “firm” in the ground (like an oak). Historically, the verb has not been used only in an horticultural way. Lucas points out that “the word ‘rooted’ was also used in his [Paul’s] day for sinking the foundations of buildings…” For me, this does not change the meaning of the verb, but rather serves to shed more light upon it. Whether it be a tree or a building, the importance of having both firm roots and a firm foundation cannot be overemphasized.

and [continuing] to be built up (present, middle, participle, nmp). This verb is naturally related to the previous one. If a tree has its roots firm in the ground, then we expect a decent amount of growth. A farmer hardly takes so much care in planting his seed in the best soil for the sake of having it die their. No. He wants to see it grow and bear fruit (1:6, 10). Similarly a builder hardly goes through the pains of laying a solid foundation only to have it sit there with nothing built upon it. Christians are to be firmly rooted in Christ in order that they might continue (present participle) to be build up in him. The verb expresses something being built (oikodomevw) upon (e∆p-) something else. It would therefore not be wrong to say that the Colossian church was to continue to live in Christ Jesus the Lord, by remaining firmly rooted [by faith] in Him, and by continuing to be built up upon Him [upon the foundation that was laid by the apostles and Epaphras’ teaching] – that is, upon Christ as he was presented in the gospel.

In Him. This prepositional phrase is governed by the previous two participles (Moo, 180). It also serves to show the relation of the two participles with the previous verb (to walk) which is also modified by the phrase. One walks out the Christian life “in Him” by remaining rooted and continuing to be built up “in Him.” All of the Christian life, from start to finish is in Him.

And Being established (present, middle, participle nmp). “And” is epexegetical – that is, it expands on the meaning of the previous words (O’Brien). The word “establish” is to be preferred over “strengthen” b/c it brings out the basic meaning of the word group: “firm” or “solidly grounded” (Moo, 181). This participle along with the prepositional phrase (th≥: pi√stei- “in the faith”) that follows, summarizes what Paul expects to happen as a result of the first two participles. By sticking to their roots and being built up, the readers will be established in faith (O’Brien). Because the main verb “to receive,” has the person of Christ as its object, we remember that there is a more technical sense in which the verb is here being used. It is receiving Christ as he comes in the tradition or “in the faith.” I prefer this rendering as it works well with the both the preceding context (as just shown) and also with what follows – “just as you were taught.” The Colossians received Christ in the “word of truth – the gospel” (1:5), which they learned from Epaphras (1:7); who had himself learned from Paul the apostle. This connotates a “tradition” that has been passed down.

In the faith. The people are to be established in the faith. It is of the greatest importance to understand what is being said here. The expression has an immediate cross-reference that gives us some insight. Some have made much of being established in the instrument itself and not its object. This verse serves to correct the common error. O’Brien comments (and I wholeheartedly agree), “it is better to understand “faith” as that which is the object of belief, the content of the teaching which Epaphras had faithfully passed on to them.” It would go against the meaning of this passage therefore to be established in faith/belief itself. Simply put, we are not to have faith in faith, but faith in Christ.

As you were taught (aorist, passive, indicative, 2pl). This is a parenthetical interruption, that serves to qualify the previous phrase th≥: pi√stei. It is the tradition that they had received [by learning] from Epaphras. We can draw a few conclusions here: 1) that Paul affirms that which Epaphras taught them; this being a further witness to his faithfulness as a minister of the gospel (1:7); 2) the passive verb sheds more light upon the nature of saving faith. We cannot reason ourselves to this mystery (1:27), we can only receive it as a revelatory gift from God; and 3) if the gospel had proved fruitful to the Colossian church; and if the apostle sees fit to spend so much of his life in caring for them, let us be faithful in our proclamation of the same gospel.

When faith is absent (that is, saving belief in Christ, which is beyond the ability of reason to prove) all things seem, to the eye and understanding, to be separate, dependant, and without purpose or meaning. All of life is blurry until the spectacles of the gospel are applied. Then, b/c of Christ and his work on the Cross, all things are seen with proper vision and in the proper context. All things begin to make sense. The diversity of life is now connected to some Unity. Suffering makes sense. Life makes sense and has an eternal purpose. As the Christian continues to walk about the earth with these spectacles on, resolved to never see and make decisions without them, then he is prone to a life of constant reason to “abound with thanksgiving.”

I do not think that “the faith” that they “were taught” was simply the gospel verbally communicated through tradition. If we were to leave it here, I think we would be missing the whole of the passage up to this point. Paul has gone through great lengths to call Epaphras “faithful” (1:7) and to tell them of his own faithful ministry in Christ, through struggling and striving. Paul himself, and Epaphras, have not only communicated the “teaching” of the gospel, but also the “living” of the gospel as well. This is exactly what Paul wants the Colossians to resemble.

Abounding in thanksgiving (present, active, participle, nmp). Thanksgiving is referred to no fewer than six times in the letter (O’Brien). Clearly then Paul is desirous to see the life of faith which abounds with thanksgiving. In 1:12 practice is given in the context of patient endurance, and as the letter as a whole will indicate, it proves a significant offensive measure against the attack of false teaching. As noted in the above paragraph, the life of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ sees all things in relation to him and under his final authoritative control. This alone provides humanity with certainty (firmness in faith); a certainty needed to live this life without wavering and one that is beneficial to the world at large. Imagine living a life with no authority – no standard to ultimately trust but your own. Might soon makes right. If you are not mighty, you life may soon end. Imagine a life where everything is independently random and without purpose or order. This is called chaos – and leads to a life with no hope. And imagine a life where you are responsible for changing yourself. You dedicate yourself to one thing only to find that you do not change. So you devote to another – and another. No change. Same desperation. Now imagine a Life outside of you that has ultimate authority. All things must ultimately submit to and obey him. Imagine this Life has ultimate control, power and a single purpose for all things (even you). And Imagine that this Life has the power and desire to change you and make you his, in love. He can change you from within, by giving you a new heart. And he has the ability to keep you captivated forever. Receive the gospel! He is the Christ Jesus the Lord, who died to pay the penalty for sins committed against God; who now lives and is seated at the seat of ultimate authority; and who now LIVES to make intercession for you and live with you by His Spirit! By faith receive Him and abound with thanksgiving! Embrace this mystery and find yourself no longer subject to uncertainty and doubt – and find common and ample opportunity to overflow with gratitude to God for doing this work in you!

Only those who remain and continue in their work make any difference in the world whatsoever. But those who simply begin and soon forfeit, only to move onto the next “thing” make no difference. How often are we frustrated by starting and not finishing! How often is the Christian church ridiculed for claiming Christ but not living accordingly. This is that with which Paul is concerned. Only those who remain, continue and finish will be saved (1:22-23).

Colossians 2:6 Insights

Colossians 2:6

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him…

O’Brien’s Introduction: As he [Paul] begins his interaction with the “philosophy” of the false teachers, the apostle admonishes the addressees to continue in the teaching they had received and to remain immovable in their faith. These two verses summarize much of what has preceded and lay the foundation for the attack on the Colossian heresy that follows.

· Therefore…The “therefore” though pointing immediately to the previous verse, does, in a very significant way, point to and summarize the entire letter up to this point. Paul has previously prayed, with thanksgiving (vv.3-8) and supplications (vv.9-12). He gives thanks for the work of gospel among them (producing fruit and growing). He then asks for God to grant that they would walk in a way that is indicative of the gospel’s work – that is that they would “walk” (2:6) in a way that shows they have faith in Christ. Up to this point the general outline is – Paul’s prayer (1:3-9), Paul’s Christology (1:13-23), and Paul’s ministry/example (1:24-2:5).

· The Colossians received Christ by faith, as he was presented to them in the gospel (1:3-8); this corresponds with 2:6a – “just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord.” Paul prayed that they would walk in a certain way (1:9-12); this corresponds with 2:6b – “continue to live in Him.” Paul’s Christology (1:13-24, 26-27, 2:2-3) is nicely summarized in the expression “Christ Jesus the Lord.” Paul points to his own example of standing firm, struggling and striving – all in subjection to Christ and for the proclamation of his Gospel. By doing so, he is showing that even he is “rooted” and being built up in Christ; and that he is established in the faith (that Christ taught him) and abounding in thanksgiving (2:7). Now with this in view, we can see how and why many commentators see this passage as the hinge of the book as a whole. It summarizes what has previously been communicated and gives the proper foundation for what follows.

· As you have received (aorist, active, indicative, 2pl). Paul is giving instruction for the practical lives of the believers in Colossae. In order to face the enmity of the seed of the serpent (Gen 3:15), an enmity with which Paul was all too familiar (Acts 9), the Christian must continually walk in the Christ he receives. It is important to note, however, that the focus of the instruction lies in the past. The believers must understand what happened in history to understand how they ought to live in the present. The conjunction draws the eye to the past tense (aorist) verb. “As, you received…”

a. Harris notes that the verb “to receive” is not simply the passive receipt of Christian tradition, but active acceptance of the person who was the essence of that tradition.

b. O’Brien comments in the same line with Harris: Receiving Christ Jesus as their Lord is not simply a personal commitment to Christ (though this is no doubt included), but the use of the semi technical term specifically employed denotes the receiving of something delivered by tradition (p.105). Paul’s teaching does not come from the tradition passed down from man to man, but from the Lord himself (1Cor 11:23).

c. Moo. To “receive Christ” – in this verse at least- is not only a matter of believing “in” his person; it also involve a commitment to the apostolic teaching about Christ and his significance. This tradition, which the Colossians have heard from the faithful Epaphras, stands in contrast to the “human tradition” of the false teachers (v.8).

· The receiving instrument in the individual is none other than faith. It is an instrument that, before the work of the Holy Spirit in a person, is non-existent. It is a gift (Eph 2:8-9). And salvation comes not by the greatness of the gift, but by the greatness of the object that the instrumental gift receives. Knox Chamblin has often said, “that it is not faith’s size that is of greatest importance, but its object.” The size of faith can be as small as a mustard seed. But the object of faith must be able to move mountains (Matt 17:20). Faith, as Machen has put it, does not consist in doing something, but in receiving something. It is not merely possessed by someone, but places its confidence in someone. This is important for us to know.

· Christ Jesus the Lord. Cf. 2Cor 4:5. The accusative case identifies Christ Jesus as the direct object who receives the action of the verb. He is the object of faith; or, the one that, by faith, believers “receive.” Placed in the context of the whole of the letter up to this point, we must understand that Christ is not empty of meaning and substance. Machen, speaks of the “profound fact about faith, a fact without which everything else…would be valueless…that it is not as a quality of the soul that faith saves a man, but only as the establishment of contact with a real object of the faith…[In our day] faith is being considered merely as a beneficent quality of the soul without respect to the reality or unreality of its object; and the moment faith comes to be considered in that way, in that moment it is destroyed.”

· Much work has been done on the part of the apostle to inform the people of the particulars concerning Jesus. He is the redeemer (1:14), the divine God incarnate (v.15), the head of all creation (vv.16-17), the head of the church (vv.18-19). He alone is where the fullness of salvation (v.19), wisdom and knowledge (2:3) is to be found. He is the one, in whom reconciliation takes place (1:20-22). He is the mystery of God revealed (1:27), who is both in us and who is our eschatological hope (1:27). He is the sole subject of the church’s proclamation (1:28) and the object of her faith (1:4). He is the spring from which the church receives power and energy while struggling, striving and toiling through this life (1:29). He is the one who will finally present us before God (1:22). He alone is the King (1:13). He alone is the Lord (2:6) – Yahweh incarnate.

a. O’Brien notes. This is an early creedal confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” The one whom the Colossians received as their tradition is the center of God’s mystery (1:27; 2:2), and the Lord of both creation and reconciliation (1:15-20). He is Lord absolutely (1 Cor 8:5, 6), not just one among many.

b. Moo. Nowhere else in Paul do we find the exact same sequence of names and articles that we find here; indeed, this combination is found nowhere else in the NT. The article before the word “kurios” or “Lord” sets it apart and that it is this title that receives the emphasis in the verse. Furthermore, coming after a transitive verb such as “receive” the title may function predicatively; hence TNIV’s “Christ Jesus as Lord.” Paul is probably intentionally echoing, then, what was arguably the early Christian confession: that “Jesus is Lord.” And Christ is added to the formula in two texts that may (despite different syntax) be cited as close parallels of what Paul probably intends here: “For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2Cor 4:5, cf. Phil 2:11).

· Saying that Jesus Christ is the Lord is a succinct way of saying that he is: The image of the invisible God; The firstborn of all creation (1:15); the head of the body, the church (1:18); The Mystery of God (2:2; 1:27); and the repository of all wisdom and knowledge (2:3). Moo summarizes the implications for the expression, “it is this central confession, with all it’s varied and far-reaching implications, to which the Colossians need to return in order to ward off the threat of the false teaching.”

· Question. How did they receive Christ?

a. Not wages – Receiving Christ is not like receiving a paycheck. We did not work to earn him.

b. Not a Christmas present - Receiving Christ is not even like receiving a Christmas gift. Be careful!

c. But a gift freely offered in the gospel and received by faith [and repentance]. This makes him the Lord whereas the others identify the receiver as Lord – the one who has the final say.

· In Him, walk [or, “continue to live”] (present, active, imperative, 2pl). As is common in Paul, the indicative comes before the imperative. The history is the basis for the present [and the present lived for the future]. The same way the church in Colossae received Christ, that is the way they ought to walk. This verb characterizes the Christian’s life and behavior. He has already prayed for them to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” (1:10). Now he exhorts them to that end. The exhortations in Paul (or, the imperatives) are not calls to independent living. On the contrary, Paul trusts that God will work in them what he exhorts them to do (1:10 à 2:6). We walk understanding that our walking is dependent walking.

a. Harris notes that the formula “in Him” is less likely to be that of instrumentation (“by Him”), but more likely to be that of location; either “in union with Him” or “as incorporated in Him.” This indicates that Christ is the sphere circumscribing the entire life of the believer.

b. O’Brien, to walk is to “continue to live”.

c. Moo states that this expression in the present tense is an exhortation for the Colossians to “stay where they are!” Let Christ [and not the world] establish your values, guide your thinking, and direct your conduct.

· It is not uncommon for people to have misconceptions about the Christian life. Receiving Jesus Christ as Lord is not merely a check on a list before one dies; but a call to lose one’s life for His sake. It is a full and final submission. There is, for the Christian, no other authority to which he can now submit after receiving Christ without being is cognitive rebellion.

· One thing could be mentioned here. Christ is not the Lord because people receive him as such. If all were to rebel against him, this would not lessen his lordship. All men will one day bow (Rom 14:11). We must not play his patience and longsuffering against him. His waiting to impose himself on all finally does not diminish his strength, but rather heightens it! We have all sinned and denied His lordship. That is why the flip-side of the coin of faith is repentance. Once embracing His lordship we are never again to reject it! We do not go back to our former lives – having received him we are to “continue to live in Him.” We all formerly submitted to other authorities. We obeyed them; and found ourselves in quite a predicament in doing so! We all, at one time, trusted in some other controlling “power” or “authority” in the universe. For some of us, we were that providential governor – and others look(ed) to fate, the stars, mother nature, or other random powers. Trusting in them often caused much stress and anxiety and thus called for abandonment in preference to another. And we all, at one time, were motivated by individualistic, near-sighted, self-love. We desired no help, lived for no one, and loved no other. Talk about disaster! The Lordship of Christ brings redemption to all of these casualties! Because he is authoritative and in control of all things, we can now “trust and obey” for there is no better way. This should be comforting. And because he is Immanuel (God with us – by His Holy Spirit), we have the renewing power and presence to bring forth peace, love, patience, joy and the like (Gal 5).

· Christ is not needed as a one-time remedy; but as a life long from which we must continually draw. He alone is sufficient for this. He alone is the living water – a source that is never dried up. It is contrary to the nature of all living things to be once made alive and then be completely self-sustaining. All life is ultimately dependent on THE life-giver. When we take a moment to reflect on our utter dependence on others, and ultimately on God, we stand confounded and amazed that all of the resources needed to sustain our lives are readily available to us.

· “IN HIM” is a loaded phrase and very much related to what has been said before. Though he is over all (1:15-20), we are in Him. Our new union with Christ, which is our life in Him, demands that we see all of life through the lens of his Lordship. There is now, for the believer, no random particle, action, or thought in the entire universe that is independent Jesus Christ. As Lord over all creation – and over the entire Church – Christ, sits (at the right hand of God) in control, with ultimate authority; all the while, by His Spirit, he is intimately “with us.”