Christ is All
Christ is All
Our first lesson in Colossians and the “Christ is All” series begins with the full pleasure of God. As Christians, we are expected to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to fully please him" (Col 1:10).
The concern in Paul's letter to the Colossians is about the all-sufficiency of Christ and his knowledge and commandments. Yet a quarter of what Paul says to the Colossians is about their conduct or “walk” —the way they live, talk, act, and think. It must be "unto all pleasing" in the Lord's eyes (Col 1:10).
Paul encourages the Colossians to be dead to the old way of life because Christ died for them and they were "raised with Christ" (Col 3:1). Paul gives them these guiding principles:
"Let no one judge you..." (Col 2:16).
People love to add bits of other religions to Christianity. They make rules that Christ did not make. They don't leave you to apply Christ's teaching to your own life. They want to impose on you "the commandments and doctrines of men" (Col 2:22).
Paul says, "Christ is our life" (Col 3:4) and he alone commands us. We are to please him and it is his approval we seek.
Paul congratulates the Colossians in their "good order" (Col 2:5) and he makes the point that they maintained this in his absence without him having to be there to order them around. So he encourages them, "As you therefore have received Christ, so walk in him" (Col 2:5-7).
Notice that this "good order" was received from Christ, not from people preaching and binding things that did not come from Christ.
In chapter 3, Paul certainly throws a lot of commandments at the Colossians. (We will look at them more closely in part 2 of this lesson). However Paul adds no rules of his own, but gives them only those things which Christ commands for an orderly and pleasing life.
Paul reminds the Colossians that, in their baptism, the old person died and was buried. Now a new person lives whose "life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col 2:12, 3:3).
Manifestly Christ does not anymore judge someone he has killed. So as long as we keep that old person dead, that dead person will not be subject to the judgment of Christ. Christ will judge the living person, the person he has brought to life. He will judge this renewed person favorably, because he has added that person to his elect or chosen people (Col 3:10-12).
We avoid "the wrath of God" (Col 3:6-7) when we "put on the new person who is renewed into a deep knowledge conforming to the image of him who created [the reborn]" (Col 3:10)
Series outline