Seven Basic and Brief Pointers for Writers

This is a post from Doug Wilson's site:

1. Know something about the world, and by this I mean the world outside of books. This might require joining the Marines, or working on an oil rig, or as a hashslinger at a truck stop in Kentucky. Know what things smell like out there.

2. Read. Read constantly. Read the kind of stuff you wish you could write. Read until your brain creaks. Tolkien said that his ideas sprang up from the leaf mold of his mind. These are the trees where the leaves come from.

3. Read mechanical helps. By this I mean dictionaries, etymological histories, books of anecdotes, dictionaries of foreign phrases, books of quotations, books on how to write dialog, and so on. The plot will usually fail to grip, so just read a page a day. If you think it makes you out to be too much of a word-dork, then don't tell anybody about it.

4. Stretch before your routines. If you want to write short stories, try to write Italian sonnets. If you want to write a novel, write a few essays. If you want to write opinion pieces for the Washington Post, then limber up with haiku.

5. Be at peace with being lousy for a while. Chesterton once said that anything worth doing was worth doing badly. He was right. Only an insufferable egoist expects to be brilliant first time out.

6. Learn other languages, preferably languages that are upstream from ours. This would include Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon. The brain is not a shoebox that "gets full," but is rather a muscle that expands its capacity with increased use. The more you know the more you can know. The more you can do with words, the more you can do. As it turns out.

7. Keep a commonplace book. Write down any notable phrases that occur to you, or that you have come across. If it is one that you have found in another writer, and it is striking, then quote it, as the fellow said, or modify it to make it yours. If Chandler said that a guy had a cleft chin you could hide a marble in, that should come in useful sometime. If Wodehouse said somebody had an accent you could turn handsprings on, then he might have been talking about Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. Tinker with stuff. Get your fingerprints on it.

Know when to stop.

Don't forsake the Word of God

In the history of redemption, we see one common theme. It began in the garden. The serpent approached Adam and Eve and began to question the Word of God. One by one, the serpent peeled back their fingers from that sacred, benevolent command. He took it from them, telling them that it was not necessary for life, faith and happiness. He convinced them that they could determine what was right and necessary. At this moment an heinous practice was instituted. Men began their attempt to “make a name for themselves” instead of calling upon the name of the Lord.

Where am I getting this? Here are a few references: 1) Adam and Eve in the garden (Gen 3); 2) man making a name for himself (Gen 4:17, 6:4, 11:4, 1Sam 8:11 – “running before his chariots” is idiomatic for this idea); and 3) man doing what is right in his own eyes (Gen 3:6, Jud 17:6, Prov 12:15, etc.). Again, these are just a few references – the theme is prominent throughout Scripture. As you read, look for it.

The progression is clear. Man is given the Word of God and is commissioned to keep it. Man then, b/c of sin and the seed of the serpent, forsakes that Word, opting for his own. Corruption, relativism and syncretism seep into humanity. The Word of God is soon nowhere to be found. The modus operandi of the seed of the serpent is to get man to forsake the Word of God. Man will then forsake his Lord and become his own. Soon, one will not be able to distinguish between the people of God and the people of the serpent.

Until a deliverer is given. Then the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15) brings the Word back to the fore (Deut 7, Joshua 1, Ps 1). We then are called to cling to the Word of God. This is no impersonal action. The Word of God is Christ Himself – a person. He has the ability, not only to reveal God the Father through words, but also His Spirit – His life. We have a living hope (1Pet 1:3)! He is intimately involved and actively communicating. Therefore, we must never be convinced to forsake the Word of God. It is sufficient for us.

We must also be aware of the constant temptation to make a name for ourselves rather than calling upon the name of the Lord. If we leave the Word, then we begin to do what is right in our own eyes. We become the chief authority. Man was never made for such a magisterial position. Authority is a dangerous thing when placed in the hands of sinful men. Only God is strong enough to carry it. Only He is strong enough to apply it benevolently. Why? B/c He is authority. It is His nature to be authoritative. When He exercises His authority He is God. When man makes such an attempt he is criminal, rebel, and sinner.

I thank God that salvation is His work. After the fall, His redemption takes His word out of our hands and places it in our hearts. Here Satan cannot pry it way. Here even we ourselves fail to have it out. This sovereign redemptive work ensures that His people will call upon His Name – they will bring Him glory (Ezek 36; Jer 31, 33). I am thankful that my heart is so resolved – by the grace of God – to have the beat taken from it than the Word of my Lord. I trust that He will preserve me. I trust that He will preserve us. And the gates of Hell will not ultimately prevail.

Enjoy

Many of you know my love for this new wave of Christian rap. After listening to these artists, most of them from the reformed camp, I simply cannot bring myself to listen to almost any CCM. Between hymns and Christian rap, I can both worship and learn, with my mind and emotions engaged - something that I cannot say about most CCM today. These guys (and gals), are more dedicated, as were those who wrote hymns, to declaring the whole counsel of God, than cutting a track that appeals to modern day Christian radio. The songs written by Lecrae, Flame, Trip L and Timothy Brindle are sermonic in nature, and have the ability to bring me to confession, adoration, tears and praise. I thank God for their work and sacrifice. Enjoy.

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).

Black Friday

One of my favorite Christian artists (rap), Timothy Brindle wrote one of the best lines contextualizing the Cross of Christ that I have heard. He said, "Forever will I tell, in three hours Christ suffered more than any sinner ever will in hell."

The blows from human hands, the insults and rants from human lips, the desertion of human hearts, and the worst judicial punishment known, pails in comparison to the agony Christ endured when He absorbed the wrath of God for His people. The eternity of hell that was due all of the sins of all of His people was satisfied in a matter of minutes. What kind of Savior are we dealing with?

He was guiltless - we were the guilty ones. He deserved life - we were the ones deserving of death. And yet He willingly, obediently, mightily and lovingly went - that Friday - to His sacrificial moment. It was a moment sanctioned before time, one necessitated in Gen 3:6, one eagerly awaited in Lev 16, and one culminated in Jn 19.

Let us slow down and remember the Lamb of God.

On Faith and Mystery

Here are some thoughts after reading "What is Faith?" by Machen. I have also been thinking a lot about the nature of faith and how it can be easily defined and explained.

Faith has been described or defined as a belief or truth that is beyond the ability of reason to prove. I gained this definition from Oliphant. I believe what he means by this is that it is beyond the ability of the reason (either by empiricism, experientialism, or rationalism) to attain the knowledge of faith. It can be foundationally and further understood by what the Apostle Paul calls “mystery”. Ladd says, “Mystery designates the secret thoughts, plans and dispensations of God which are hidden from the human reason, as well as from all other comprehensions below the divine level, and hence must be revealed to those for whom they are intended.”

This understanding is crucial to a proper placement for certain disciplines – esp., apologetics. We give the gospel and a defense for the hope that is in us (1Pet 3:15). God, however, is the one who gives faith. One cannot reason his way to faith. It is foundationally implanted or laid (1Cor 3). It is the fundamental and foundational presupposition upon which our life and our reason rests. It is without flaw or fracture – able to withstand the greatest of storms. Its builder is God and not the human reason.

A person may know that the chair will hold him when he sits. A person may trust that the sun and the moon will rise and fall with consistency. But, when asked to give an account for why he can have such faith and trust, he is silent and without an apologetic…unless it is revealed to him. That is the mystery that we are speaking about. That only the Christ of the universe can make sense out of all diverse things trusted and assumed; things that are left finally without the unity which makes sense out of them all. The lens of the word of God is that which brings all things into focus – not the reason, not logic, not the intellect. The Word of God, in Christ, is revealed from heaven to give men something now to reason about! A blind man may feel the heat from the sky, but until the sun is revealed to him, he will not understand – he will not know.

Do we really think that, with his reason, he can think of a large star in the universe, thousands of miles away, which is almost self-sustaining by nuclear fission (I think that’s right) which gives not only light but also heat to the entire galaxy? How could he possibly reason himself to this conclusion? What if, however, he was morally obligated to do so? Let’s say that the sun would destroy him if he did not reach such a conclusion? Now the blind man is in desperate need of something wholly other than himself to break into his darkness and give him an account for the heat that he feels. He needs revelation of that which has been a mystery to him for so long. He needs the gospel. And when he receives the revelation that says to him truthfully what the sun is, he embraces such by faith. He can now see. He is no longer blind and thus “accepting” something that is void of information and knowledge. His mental faculties have now been given that superior and authoritative word that will make sense out of everything that he was once so confused about.

There is one thing that I forgot to mention in the above analogy. The blind man, though wholly unable to conjure up the source and make sense of the heat that he feels – he ought to. This is an ethical “ought.” And though he was born blind, say, b/c his parents were, he is no less guilty for his “blindness.” And that is our case. Though we “ought” to give God glory for simply being (“that he is” – Heb 11) and that he is the source of all good things (“that he rewards…”), we cannot. We were born with a deadness that prohibits our reason and faculties from getting to that place where we “ought” to be. We must be illuminated. It must be revealed to us. And we must be given the faith to receive and accept what we have been given. Make no mistake, it is no blind faith. Why? Because we can now see clearly.

But to bring the analogy closer to the human situation that we are in presently – the question is not for a blind man to understand where the heat is coming from; but for an incomplete, or rather, dead man, to understand where he is to get life and satisfaction. The question is not “what is this heat?” But where may I finally be satisfied? Where will this longing in my heart be finally soothed! How and when will I finally rest? In his efforts to find and worship what he “ought”, he has adopted, by using his faulty and dead reason (and trusting in such), “cisterns that could hold no water.” What he needs is Christ illumined and revealed to his conscience to purge it from its deadness. He, however, cannot reason himself to such an understanding. Christ is the mystery of faith – which means He cannot be reasoned…though he is infinitely reasonable. He must be accepted and received by faith and repentance, but after He has been effectually revealed.

Now we see the necessity of the relationship between faith and mystery. Mystery however, is often thought of or subjectively defined as something that is not and cannot be known. But mystery in the New Testament is something wholly different. It is something that must be and has been revealed. It is not some random, indifferent, fact; but a person – indeed, THE Person who created the universe. It is He who is the sound, firm, pillar of our faith – yes, the ROCK of our faith. It is no wonder that those who have no idea of Him and who thus morally reject Him, call faith some blind leap and trust in something that might come through. It is no wonder that those who love Christ have a totally different definition of the term than those who do not. There are only two options. Belief in the one who founded the universe – the One who is infinite, eternal, unchangeable; in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth; or, believe in that which is otherwise. The “otherwise” being created, fickle, contingent, and fading; and that which could never be worthy of trust. No wonder why those who have experienced this “faith”, whose object is other than Christ, define the term with such ambiguity and uncertainty. How could they define it otherwise? It is all they know. Why? It is mystery to them. Unrevealed until the mercy of God alone proves and sees fit to have it otherwise.

If faith, as Machen says, “is based on knowledge,” then it would seem that the mystery revealing is the knowledge being given. Faith embraces such knowledge with complete devotion and adoration.

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.”