Podcast
Deuteronomy is the book of God’s law, written for the benefit of His people–both the ancient Hebrews and the Christian disciples of today. More than a mere legal code, it is God’s continuing marriage covenant.
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In chapter 3 Paul tells Christian what they are to put off. “Members of the Earth” refers to all of our worldly passions and appetites, in particular sexual sin, idolatry, greed and malice. Paul tells us to decisively put to death what is Earthbound in us.
The practical exhortations of this chapter of Paul’s letter contains many guidelines for the Christian life. We are enjoined to live in peace with one another, approaching our interactions with fellow Christians with a sense of empathy and kindness.
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The third chapter of Colossians invites us to consider the practical applications of Paul’s spiritual message. Paul pulls things together, the various elements of this letter, in the third chapter. There is a certain logic to Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, wherein each chapter builds on the previous chapter and drawing on several key themes. The first of these is reorienting ourselves to our true life in Christ.
Following this section are two parallel sections. The first has to do with putting off the old man, putting off the old nature and all that inhibits us from growing closer to God. This is where many Christians falter today.
The next section deals with what we are to put on. We are to put on our life together, our common life with other Christians. We are not meant to merely associate with one another or sit next to each other in the pews. Paul speaks to our corporate Christian life which contains a light that is to be manifest to the world.
Finally, Paul tells of the mundane, everyday tasks that involve us living out our life in Christ.
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The great theme of the second chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Colossians is the sufficiency of Christ. Paul urges Christians to do more than accept the Gospel message on an intellectual level, but to also live it out. In doing so Christians will be filled with a joyful spirit of thanksgiving. Would that our parishes today be filled with such a spirit.
Paul also warns against deceptive philosophy and spiritual forces that run counter to the Gospel. This anticipates the early Church’s battle with Gnosticism and other philosophies that opposed orthodox Christian belief.
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Toward the end of the first chapter of Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, Paul spoke of the Colossians’ “love in the spirit”. This expression points to a supernatural love beyond mere human affection. He will go on to speak about how the Christian community is to be built up in such a love.
All is centered on Christ. This is a key theme of the letter. Paul praises Christ as the key to everything, the “first born” of Creation, above all other powers and authorities. Christians then, as now, need to open themselves to a greater experience of Grace.
In this section, Paul speaks of his trials and danger he has experienced at sea, on land, and at the hands of false bretheren. And yet his message is hopeful – drawing our attention to the redemptive power of suffering and our ability to cooperate in Christ’s suffering.
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“Who is this Christ?” is the fundamental question whose answer is cast in one of the great Christological hymns of the Bible. It is far more than great poetry. Paul expands the terms of the Old Testament to speak of Christ as the head of both creation and redemtpion, as well as a new order of creation on a different level of life. Christ is above all authorities, a truth which the Colossians had effectively forgotten.
This dense and theologically rich section of Paul’s letter is often forgotten by Christians today. We would do well to read and reread these passages in order to be reminded of the uniqueness of Christ and to enter into both the understanding and living of this message.
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The mystery of Christ, the key to the Christian life, is unpacked in four brief chapters in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians. There are many parallels between Ephesians and Colossians, which suggests they may have been written close to the same time. Paul was writing for a particular reason – he had received word that they were threatened by certain heretical ideas. Though he had no founded the church himself, he had close ties to Epaphras and was concerned with the wellbeing of the church there and its members.
We will be taking on the first 23 verses of the first chapter, and consider this section in five basic parts. The initial salutation, the thanksgiving section, an apostolic prayer, and a great poetic hymn about the person of Jesus Christ. Finally, Paul concludes with a statement on our peace and reconciliation with God through Christ.
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In Isaiah we read of the Servant songs, a collection of poems or songs speaking of the servant of God. There are ancient Rabbinic sources that see Isaiah 53 as referring explicitly to a suffering Messiah. The Babylonian Talmud, the midrash on Ruth, the Aramaic Targum, the writings of Moses Maimonides, and the mystical texts of the Zohar all contain exegesis to this effect.
We have two strains of thought in these servant songs – the suffering Messiah and the reigning Messiah. Christians have interpreted these texts as referring to the First and Second Comings of Christ. At the critical turning point of the Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples “Who do people say I am?” It is here that Peter gives his confession and Jesus the prediction of his crucifiction. He then goes on to talk about discipleship and his Second Coming. In Mathew 16:27 we read a prediction about the Son of Man at the End of Time.
Christ came 2000 years ago to show us the way, but he showed more. He, of his own will, voluntarily died for our sins and was raised again triumphantly. This triumphance was not seen by everyone and he did not remain on Earth to reign. There is a great deal yet to be established. Our Earth is not yet the Messianic Kingdom; there is more yet to be accomplished in this great drama. A great drama that includes each of us.
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The Second Coming of Christ is a key doctrine in our Creed. And yet, it often does not receive a great deal of attention. It necessarily completes and complements the First Coming. Without a lively anticipation of Our Lord’s return, our faith is left a great deal diminished.
The Psalms speak to the Messianic Hope and the glory of God in the First and Second Comings. In the beginning of Hebrews, the author quotes from Psalm 102 and produces one of the clearest attributions of divinity to Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
We read about King Ahaz in 2 Kings, during a time when God was with the people of Israel though the king acted wickedly and not in accordance with God’s commands. In contrast to the starkness of King Ahaz’ reign, Isaiah speaks of a child being given, and of a peace which will have no end.
In Isaiah’s prophecies of Christ we see predictions of a final victory. There is nothing ambivalent in the predictions – the Messiah is to usher in a type of fabled age pictured as a time when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb. This is a glorious picture, a child possessing not only heroic but divine qualities. One of his titles is listed as “Mighty God”.
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Prophecy plays a key role in the Old Testament understanding of hope, particularly that great Messianic hope. Prophecy should be understood as speaking with Divine Authority to convey the message that God wills for a particular audience. We see from the Bible that becoming a prophet was nothing that anyone took upon themselves. It is all Grace, a gift given not for maturity’s sake or for exceptional sanctity. The prophet’s role is that of a speaker, a mouthpiece for God. We see this in Chapter 18 of Deuteronomy where God says “I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deuteronomy 18:18).
It is also clear from the Old Testament texts that false prophecy is a grave matter, and some rules are given to the Jewish people to discern true and false prophets. In the Old Testament tradition, a true prophet cannot contradict the Torah, preach immorally, or make false predictions.
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