Colossians 2:6-3:11

Read Colossians 2:6 - 3:11

Verses chosen for meditation: 

Colossians 2: 6-7, 8, 16, 18-19, 21-23; 3:3-4, 9-11 ESV

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

16 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 a Sabbath. 

18 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, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Reflection

How should Christ be positioned with respect to everything in this world?

As believers, how should we position ourselves with respect to Christ? 

What should we not let the world (anyone or anything) do to us?

Relate

Colossians is presumably one of the four prison epistles written by Paul in AD 60 - 62. Colossae was then one of the smaller cities in Asia Minor, known today as modern Turkey. As a result of its proximity to the trade route, the city was very exposed to external influences in addition to its own.

News of false teachings and the goings-on could have gotten to the ears of Paul through Ephaphras who was purportedly the founder of the church in Colossae. Although growing well, the church was constantly fending off false doctrines, philosophies and practices. Most of these had to do with the sidelining of Christ by blurring the supremacy and centrality of Christ. It seems that the thinking of the day, the practices of the day and the persuasions of the day were all colluding with one another to unseat Christ. They discounted, too, the fullness and dual nature of his being, of him being fully God and fully man at the same time. Pockets of such influences could be seen everywhere. Though not pervasive enough, they were not benign either. So, before they got out of hand, something had to be done to nip them in the bud. That's what Colossians seeks to do by addressing these insidious issues and reinforcing Christology by way of presenting it in the best light. It's true, therefore, to say that in the book of Colossians, we can find some of the finest lessons and truths on this very important subject.

Who then is Christ with respect to everything in this universe that we live in? Science, superstitions, including legalism, speculations, and even the understanding of success and suffering threaten the foundations of our knowledge and consequent regard of him every moment. It's so easy for our minds to be influenced by any of the above. Any small shift away from the centrality of Christ matters in discipleship. 

So, who really is Christ? Is he the all, and in all? No buts, it’s either a yes or no. If it's the latter, or anything in between, our understanding is in dire need of attention and correction (2 Timothy 3: 16).

As for our position in Christ, I like the hand sign that was taught to me forty years ago when I was with the Navigators as an undergraduate. Each time when I think of discipleship, missions or even the study of the Word, my memory flits back to those days. I thank Navigators for the good grounding it gave me in these areas. While it is not good enough to make me a theological student, it made a good student of the Word out of me.

The hand sign that I spoke of helps to convey the idea of what it means to be 'hidden in Christ’. This is how it is done: Hold out one hand and spread its five fingers. Now place the other hand against it, palm facing each other, and spread the fingers in like fashion, making sure that each finger aligns with the corresponding finger of the other hand. If done correctly, it shows that we're well hidden and aligned with Christ when viewed from the other side.

The position that we should rightfully adopt is hiddenness in Christ where others would see Christ, not us.

Let us then not minimise, but maximise Christ, by making him the centre and Lord of all so that others will see him in us and through us.

Rest

Lord, you are the all, and in all, the Lord of lords. You are the centre of this whole wide world. Let us be rooted in you and aligned with you then. Let us also stay hidden in you and behind you so that others may see you in us and through us.

Naville Chia