Ep. 331. Colossians 3-4 | Put On The New Self

EPISODE 331

PUT ON THE NEW SELF: COLOSSIANS 3-4

I've said it for over a decade now: if we are going to read Colossians 3, we really have to start, at the minimum, in Chapter 2, Verse 20. You will note how Chapter Three begins with, "If then you have been raised with Christ," but of course, that only makes sense in light of the earlier verse, "If with Christ you died." The prerequisite for every resurrection is death.

When we track the thought process of Chapter 3, we see that it begins with the false gospel that has permeated the early church: that one is saved by faith AND works (usually circumcision and occasionally the observation of various holy days or feast days). Paul reminds the reader, "These are only a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." (The author of Hebrews uses the same language in 8:5 and 10:1)

So, since you have died with Christ to the Law (think Romans 7) and have been raised with Christ to walk in new life (think Romans 6), then you should now walk in a manner consistent with being people of God, no longer deceiving yourselves or those around you by walking in the things of the world as well as the things of God (think Galatians 5). It should become apparent to us, having already read and studied these other chapters along with Acts 15, that the gospel of faith-based righteousness was in direct opposition to the "gospel" of faith and circumcision or of faith and Sabbath. It is good for us to be reminded once again that these letters of Paul should be taken as whole units rather than fortune cookie quips. When these letters are compared to other letters by Paul, we see the themes are regularly repeated to all the churches, signifying that the difficulties faced in one community of believers were almost certainly being faced in all the rest. I don't imagine it is any less true today.

ADDITIONAL READING: Ephesians 4:22-24; Galatians 3:28-29; 1 Corinthians 10:31