The Christ of Colossians chapters 2&3

 

I thought it would be cool to go through Colossians and point out what Paul says about the Lord Jesus Christ. Or, as I call it, The Christ of Colossians. Since this is a blog and not a book, I cannot provide a detailed study, instead I will highlight and briefly explain the passages which speak of Christ. 

The Christ of Colossians chapters 2&3

2:2  to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

We see two truths here:

(1) A reminder that the Father and the Son are two separate persons. This is part of what we call the trinity, the tri-une nature of God.

(2) The mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ – there is something about God and Christ that was not fully understood by the saints in the Old Testament, which the Gospel reveals and Paul sets forth in this epistle.¹ I believe in v 3-9 he reveals this mystery:

2:3  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

“All the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ! This is a powerful statement! The Greek word for Godhead is "θεότητος (theotetos), deity, that is, the state of being God" (Thayer's Greek Lexicon). Who is Christ? Emmanuel, God with us. Paul adds in the very next verse, 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power; “because only Christ, being God and man, is most perfect, and passes far above all things, so that whoever has him, requires nothing more.” (Geneva Study Bible)

This is what he was saying in 1:15-20! This is the mystery of God and of Christ, that Christ is the very Son of God, the image of the invisible God; all fullness of the Godhead dwells in him; he is the Creator himself; the firstborn, the preeminent One; and this is the One who through the blood of his cross reconciled us to Himself! They knew Christ was coming but they didn’t know or understand all this about him. O that our hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of Christ.”²

 

3:4  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Hallelujah! Christ himself is our life. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:11-12)

3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 

3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

What is he talking about, old man and new man? This is a powerful teaching. Paul is not talking about “old nature…new nature” “old self…new self”. The word is man. So, who is the old and new man?

Paul talks about this in Romans, 1& 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, and here in Colossians. He is teaching a revolutionary truth – there are two races of men in the earth. Those who are born into Adam and those who are born (again) into Christ. As he said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, If any man be in Christ he is a new creation.

Adam is the head of a family. This is the old man, all who are in Adam. This is laid out in Romans 5:12-21. In Adam we inherit sin, death, and condemnation. Christ is the head of the new race or family. In Christ we inherit forgiveness, justification, and we reign in life by Christ. Paul says we have put off the old and put on the new. How do we put off the old man and put on the new?

Romans 6:6-10

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him…

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 

10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Christ bore our sins on the cross, that we might be forgiven. Not only that, when he was crucified, the old man was crucified with him; when he rose again he created a new man. This is what baptism is all about: Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)

Now, to get back to Colossians, in this new creation, Christ is all, and in all. Amen, and Amen, and Amen again!

 

All in all forever, Jesus will I sing

Everything in Jesus, and Jesus everything³

  

¹ “Simply put, a mystery is a truth previously hidden which is now fully revealed.”

This is from the introduction of my 2023 series, Mystery in the New Testament, which you can find here

² This is from my blog post in 2023, Mystery in Paul’s Epistle to Colossians, which you can read here

³ Himself, A.B. Simpson (1891); founder of the Christian & Missionary Alliance