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Colossians
BC Weekly Digest Monday, February 9 1998 In this issue: Colossians 3:15 Colossians 3:16 Colossians 3:17 Colossians 3:18 Colossians 3:19 Colossians 3:15 Colossians 3:15 (OPV) 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule in your hearts, and be thankful. === 3:15 "The peace of Christ" The peace of Christ is an inner spiritual peace that comes from being reconciled to God. One of Paul's beautiful benedictions is: "Grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 1:2; Titus 1:4). Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful" (John 14:27 ASV). The peace of Christ is different than any peace the world can give. Actually, in a worldly sense, Christ does NOT bring peace: "Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: and a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household" (Matt 10:34-36 ASV). The peace of Christ comes from knowing that whatever happens, God will take care of our souls: "In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:6,7 ASV). 3:15 "To which you were also called in one body" Both Jews and non-Jews have been reconciled to God in one body (Eph 2:16). That one body is the church, with Christ as Head (Eph 1:22,23; Col 1:18). How can there be anything but peace in one body ruled by Christ? Sectarians, who prefer to serve God in some 'kind' of church (denomination) have persuaded themselves that the one church of Christ is 'invisible' and can only exist in various denominational forms. But that one church was very visible in the first century, and just as it was one united whole then, it is also one united whole now consisting of all the saved who assemble to worship and serve God simply as one of His congregations. "For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office: so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and severally members one of another" (Rom 12:4,5 ASV). We all partake of one loaf: "we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor 10:17 ASV). "For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit" (1 Cor 12:13 ASV). God has tempered the body together "that there should be no schism in the body" (1 Cor 12:25 ASV) 3:15 "Rule in your hearts" If you do not have the peace of Christ, if you are not experiencing unity with God and with His church, maybe you are allowing something else to rule in your heart. 3:15 "Be thankful" How thankful we can be that we have peace with God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Roy Davison ------------------------------ Colossians 3:16 Colossians 3:16 (OPV) 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God. === 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" Jesus said: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt 24:35 //Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33 ASV). Even an unbeliever would have to admit that the words of Christ continue to exercise a greater influence on earth than the words of any other man who has ever lived. Jesus also promised: "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7 ASV). Our faith is built on the word of Christ: "So belief [cometh] of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17 ASV). Robert Ingersol, the great orator, read from the Bible for a half an hour each day because he found the language so beautiful. But the word of Christ did not abide in him. He was an atheist. When he and Lewis Wallace were riding in a train one day, Wallace, who was also an atheist, commented: "Someone should write a book about the 'real' Jesus." Ingersol suggested that no one could do so better than he. So he began research for his book, and from reading the New Testament, he came to believe. And the book he wrote? In a very old copy I have, the title is "Ben-Hur, A Tale of the Christ." A quotation is printed on the title page: "Learn of the philosophers always to look for natural causes in all extraordinary events; and when such natural causes are wanting, recur to God" (Count De Gabalis). Not only is the word of Christ to abide in us, it is to abide in us richly. This reminds us of Apollos. "Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John: and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more accurately. And when he was minded to pass over into Achaia, the brethren encouraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive him: and when he was come, he helped them much that had believed through grace; for he powerfully confuted the Jews, [and that] publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ" (Acts 18:24-28). Notice that although the information Apollos had was not complete, it was still ACCURATE, because he was "strong in the Scriptures." 3:16 "With all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another" Because Apollos was "mighty in the Scriptures" he was able to be of much help to his fellow believers. Notice that Paul's admonition is not limited to leaders in the church. All believers are to have the word of Christ dwelling richly in them, and all believers are to teach and admonish each other with wisdom. I recently read a book by Marge Roberts about the life of one of my high school teachers, "Lillian Torkelson: A Prairie Dreamer." Few women (or men) in our generation have done more to "teach and admonish" others "with wisdom." Hundreds of her former students are serving the Lord in all parts of the world. It was interesting to me to note that when she was twelve she determined to read from the Bible each day until she was twenty. Do you suppose that had any influence on the amount of help she was able to give others during the years that followed? I am thankful that the elders of the congregation I attended when I was twelve strongly encouraged us to read from the Scriptures each day. All during my early teens I read five chapters from the Bible each day. This not only helped me to avoid many of the pitfalls of youth, it also enabled me to help others. It makes a difference, if the word of Christ dwells within us richly. 3:16 "In psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God" Christians teach and admonish one another as they sing to God. It is because of this emphasis that Christian music is entirely vocal. A mechanical instrument can neither teach, nor can it sing to God with grace in its heart. Some have made the ridiculous claim that this passage does not refer to the assembly of the church. How can we teach and admonish "one another" unless we are together? It is of course not limited to the regular assembly. In the middle of the night, in a pitch-black prison cell, with their feet in stocks, "Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25). Can you imagine what an impression that must have made on the other prisoners, even BEFORE the earthquake! Do not underestimate the power of singing. But please do not pollute it with "noisy gongs or clanging cymbals" (1 Cor 13:1) which may tickle the ears of the unspiritual, but only serve to detract attention from the melody in the heart. Once again we find a parallel in Ephesians: "And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18,19 ASV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ Colossians 3:17 Colossians 3:17 (OPV) 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. == 3:17 "Whatever you do" Deeds are important in Christianity. The wise man is the one who not only hears the words of Christ but also does them (Matt 7:24). Christianity does not consist of certain things one does, it is a way of doing everything. "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31 ASV). And in verse 23 of this same chapter Paul says: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men" (OPV). 3:17 "In word or in deed" Jesus said: "And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matt 12:36,37 ASV). "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works" (Rev 20:12,13 ASV). When this life is over, we will give account before God for all of our words and actions. This is a sobering thought. 3:17 "[Do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus" This command involves much more than might be realized at first glance. It is not enough that we avoid doing things that are generally classified as 'wrong' or 'immoral'. All of our words and actions are to be done "in the name of the Lord." What does this mean? The expression can have slightly different meanings depending on the context. Sometimes it means "by the authority of." In this passage it means that all that one does is to be done as a follower of Christ who wants what he says and does to be in complete agreement with His teachings. That is quite a challenge! And when we see our face in the mirror (see James 1:23-25) we must all admit that we often fall short of this great calling. Since this applies to everyday matters and common speech, how much more, when we are engaged in matters directly related to the organization, work and worship of the church! If any man speaks, he is to speak as the oracles of God (1 Peter 4:11). This means he is to keep quiet otherwise! So much division is caused, and so many people will be lost, because religious leaders did not obey this command of God. They stand in pulpits around the world and proclaim their own ideas or the traditions of men, rather than the word of God. Although a Bible may be lying on the stand, the words proclaimed are too often words of human origin. "He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully" (Jer 23:28). Paul admonished Timothy: "I charge [thee] in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables" (2 Tim 4:1-4). Not only the words, also the deeds in the churches must all be done in the name of the Lord. Baptism, the Lord's supper, songs, prayers, leadership in the local congregation, should all be solidly based on the word of God, rather than on the traditions of men. 3:17 "Giving thanks to God the Father through Him" Our prayers to God are to be in the name of Christ: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, that will I do" (John 14:13 ASV). There is no way to approach God other than through Jesus Christ: "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, [himself] man, Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5 ASV). Roy Davison ------------------------------ Colossians 3:18 Colossians 3:18 (OPV) 18 Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. === 3:18 "Wives, be in subjection to your husbands" God has willed and commanded that the man is to be the head in the home. But it is the woman who actualizes his position as such by her submission. The man is never commanded to dominate his wife or to force her into submission. If she disobeys God and refuses to submit to her husband's leadership, there really is not much that he can do about it. Once again there is a parallel passage in Ephesians: "Wives, [be in subjection] unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, [being] himself the saviour of the body" (Eph 5:22 ASV). Older women are to teach the younger women to be in subjection to their husbands. Part of 'sound doctrine' (Titus 2:1) is "that aged women likewise be reverent in demeanor, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good; that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, [to be] sober-minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed" (Titus 2:3-5 ASV). "In like manner, ye wives, [be] in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives; beholding your chaste behavior [coupled] with fear" (1 Peter 3:1,2 ASV). 3:18 "As is fitting in the Lord" Paul mentions indecency and foolish jesting as things that are not fitting (Eph 5:4). And he prefers not to command Philemon to do what is "fitting" with regard to his run-away slave, Onesimus, but rather to make an appeal on the basis of love (Philemon 8). These are the three places in the New Testament where this word appears. Roy Davison ------------------------------ Colossians 3:19 Colossians 3:19 (OPV) 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter against them. === 3:19 "Husbands, love your wives" This is the Greek word for the highest form of love, altruistic love, which seeks the highest good of another in deference to ones own wishes or ease. Notice that it is a command. Many people think love is something beyond their control, a feeling one either has or does not have. The love commanded here, however, results from a decision, from a choice. One can choose to love or one can choose not to love. Again, there is a parallel passage in Ephesians: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself a glorious [church], not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself: for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church; because we are members of his body. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church. Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and [let] the wife [see] that she fear her husband" (Eph 5:25-33 ASV). 3:17 "Do not be bitter against them" Many people also think bitterness is beyond their control. In certain circumstances it can require effort, not to become bitter. But bitterness is a sin that usually results from self-pity. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31 ASV). "Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord: looking carefully lest [there be] any man that falleth short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby the many be defiled" (Heb 12:14,15). Roy Davison