Colossians Chapter 3
Very good verses to memorize at the start of this chapter. I wonder why it seems like those who "divided" the Bible into chapters so often divide them in the wrong place. Seems like they are forever separating the "therefore" from all that led up to it with a Chapter division! These verses:
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [Col 3:1-2 ESV]
There is no profit in focusing on "improving" our mortal bodies. The only real profit is in heaven.
2021 - "things that are on earth". Feminism, gender equality...? No...I don't think that's the kind of thing Paul means. I do think the point is that bringing advanced level logic into the church and trying to explain the supernatural with it is a bad idea, and doomed to fail. I think the point is that trying to bring rules that are no longer applicable into the church is a bad idea, and I think the point is that judging people based on whether they adhere to outside rules is a bad idea. And if we take that as a principle, then we do not let arguments that originate from the culture we came out of dictate required behavior inside the church. I think that is axiomatic.
(2020 - I got a late start today, and it seems like I'm never going to finish. So many distractions have come along - all worthwhile I believe - that staying on track is getting more and more difficult.)
(2021 - No distractions, but this is a LONG session. So much in Colossians that applies to this time also. We don't really have a problem with the idol worshipers and dervishes and tongue talkers trying to bring their stuff in, but we most definitely do have a problem with logic and science and social justice warriors trying to get it.)
2021-2, Vs 3 says it straight out: [Col 3:3 ESV] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Instead of focusing on what is done in the body - asceticism, dietary laws, and so on, remember that the body is just a dead shell anyway. It is not the focus of our lives, it isn't even an afterthought. What matters is what we think and what we do for others.
If we aren't to become good asceticists as a way of purifying ourselves, then what exactly is it we are supposed to do - because surely purification is our goal? Paul tells us in 5-11. We are to avoid sin itself Focus on the real problem, not on "physical deprivation" in the name of cleansing ourselves. The sin is in our body, therefore focus on the spirit. Don't "feed" the flesh, "feed" the spirit, and deny sin, but not what is needful? Have I got that right? Yeah...the right track anyway. We are not to put away sin by doing what is detrimental to our physical bodies. Jesus taught that sin in the mind was no different than sin in the body. So the mind can still sin no matter how much we deny our bodies. This is still a Gnostic principle in that if we make our body (which is evil) less, then we make our spirit (which is good) more. This is fundamentally wrong. Our body sins, but our body is dead. What we do to it - even to the point of something as extreme as making ourselves paraplegic - will not make us less likely to sin. A paraplegic can sin just as much every day as a professional athlete. Sin is not about the condition of our body! That's what I was looking for! Sin is about the mind. The spirit is different from mind and body, and struggles to be pure though locked into the imperfection of mind and body. I think....
Possible FB post with a bit of work...
2022 - More on vs 5:
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. [Col 3:5 ESV]. So if what we do to the flesh - to our bodies - is ineffective in making us more spiritual, then what is it that we ought to do? And here is Paul, with that answer ready at hand. Stop committing sins, stop indulging the desires of the body that are in fact sin. Who can argue with this list? We should avoid all these things, and we all know that. Passion is the Greek worth "pathos". As used here it means "inordinate affection" or "lust", putting it right in line with the two terms before it - immorality and impurity. The body is dead, so don't indulge it.
Possible follow up post on FB after Col. 3.3
2023 - Verse 5, above, is worth a closer look:
21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. [2Co 12:21 ESV]
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [Gal 5:19 ESV]
These two verses contain the word impurity, used in vs 5. In the BLB definition, impurity is like uncleanness. That is ceremonial uncleanness I think, though it can just mean dirty. In both these verses impurity is associated directly with sexual immorality, with the pursuit of whatever has a sexual connotation, instead of being pure and seeking what is above. This world throws sexual connotation, and the pursuit of sexual immorality at us constantly. Shorts on YouTube, Reels on Facebook, movies, books....when's the last time we were given as entertainment a story with a "pure" hero? Maybe "It's a Wonderful Life"? Of the five things in vs 5 that we are to put to death, the only one that is not about sexual matters is covetousness - and even that COULD be about obsession with the object of our desires. This is about the contrast of earthly vs spiritual. The implication is that there is no sex in heaven, nor even a desire for it. There will be no need for reproduction, the angels do not marry...Sex exists only here, and is a primary impediment to spiritual living. So much so that we almost have to wonder why God did things in such a way?
2022 - And yet another follow up:
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. [Col 3:7-8 ESV]. In addition to the list above, we ought to change these things also. A deeper dive into the sins that we must avoid if we want our spirits to "win". That first list was about how we deal with our own bodies, which was what Paul was talking about. But now he goes on and extends the list to our relationships with others, to how we treat others and whether we express respect or disrespect toward them.
Possible Second follow-up.
2024 - This verse: 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. [Col 3:11 ESV]. Conspicuous by its absence is male and female. I know there is another place, used by some to say that the roles of men and women are dissolved under the new covenant. Here are a couple more verses from the footnote to vs 11 in MSB:
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. [1Co 12:13 ESV].
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [Gal 3:28 ESV]. This is the one I was thinking about. Perhaps not a compelling argument that the male and female distinction continues, but still a log on the fire.
2024 - NASB translates the Colossians verse differently:
11 [a renewal] in which there is no [distinction between] Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. [Col 3:11 NASB95].
In the NASB, "a renewal" is implied. They are tying this back to vs 10 which spoke of the new self as being in a process of renewal, and where we are the recipients of that renewal, not the causer of the renewal. Note also that "distinction between" is also inserted in the NASB. It just says there is no Greek and Jew, no circumcised and uncircumcised, no barbarian, no Scythian, no slave and freeman. Not that there is no distinction between them, but that they are not even valid designations. NO DIFFERENCE, not even a former difference. In Christ, ALL are now the very same, indistinguishable and all undergoing the renewal that comes from the Spirit.
I would say that male and female are not specifically mentioned here because that distinction was not a "thing" in Paul's time. Or possibly it was not a thing in the church at Colossi, but perhaps was a big deal in the church at Galatia. Perhaps in Galatia, there was debate as to whether men in Christ under the New Covenant were "better" in God's eyes than "women" under the New Covenant. And perhaps that was carryover from the Old Covenant. Perhaps women in Galatia were being excluded from study or their input in church matters excluded....but no, that doesn't make sense. I think the first idea is more likely correct - that saved men were considered more important to God than saved women, as former Jews were considered more important to God than former Gentiles. A hierarchy within the church. Not necessarily to do with office or function but with perceived status. Yes, that seems pretty spot on. This is talking about getting rid of any attitude that said "I am better than you", getting rid of any arrogance or pride based on previous status, and realizing that in Christ, all are the same. We don't stand before God as "Gentiles in Christ" or "Men in Christ" or Scythians in Christ. We are ALL IN CHRIST and seen AS CHRIST to God. This point is well made in the Colossians verse without having to mention male and female to be clear on the point. (And see vs 18, right after this, where Paul says "Wives, be subject to your husbands..." right in the same passage. CLEARLY, UNARGUABLY, the whole "no difference idea is NOT about roles, but about standing before God. This OVERRIDES any argument based on the verse in Galatians!!! Furthermore, the whole passage, 18-24, is a summary of the passage in Ephesian 5, which goes into a lot more detail, and ought to be studied for deeper understanding of this passage in Colossians. Which one came first? Is Paul assuming the Colossians would have read his letter to the Ephesians, or did he expand to Ephesus one what he had already written to the Colossians? MSB puts the writing of Colossian to be AD 60-62 while Paul was in prison in Rome. Exactly the same note is in Ephesians. So we have no real way of knowing which came first. Too bad...but certainly Paul was thinking the same way each time.
Here is another interesting thing. Where it says circumcised and uncircumcised the gender of both nouns is female. Seems very odd, since females cannot be circumcised. Why would this noun be feminine??? Is it always so? (Yes. It is always feminine.)
2022 - Get rid of the bad things listed above, and instead, do these (a long list!, so there is enough to keep us busy). Stop perpetuating evil, and instead inject good into the world:
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. [Col 3:12-17 ESV]
Another FB post. What a sequence!
2021 - But...this means I might be reading too much into the previous verses about letting the culture into the church. Am I? The problem in Colossi that Paul is addressing was Gnosticism and asceticism. But...worldly logic was the means being used to promote these things. It was a worldly, pervasive, argument that the body was corrupt and the "cure" recommended by the false teachers was asceticism. These teamed up with the former Jews who insisted that the Mosaic Law must still be observed. And I turned that into "women teachers are bad". Hmm...Seems like quite a jump really. No it isn't!!!! Some of the false teachers were saying "Here is the philosophy of our time - dualism, with spirit good and flesh bad - and here is what that looks like when we bring it into the church - we must deny the body to a fault." And the Judaizers were saying that included not eating pork, or anything else that was unclean. Today that reads "Here is the philosophy of our time - men and women are equal in all respects and it is wrong to make distinctions in their roles or functions. Here is what that looks like when we bring it inside the church: Women can teach, preach, rule, govern, and administrate on equal footing with men, and in fact no distinction should be made at all." In both cases, the world's opinion is being brought into the church from outside, and accepted even in the face of scriptures that directly contradict it. (wow...as if on cue, there are verses 18, 19.)
Vss 12-17 are contrasted with vs 5-11. The first verses talk about characteristics of an unregenerate person, and the kinds of activities they gravitate toward. Vss 12-17 list characteristics of the regenerate person. The unregenerate are focused entirely on physical gratifications, on inward, selfish, self-serving activities. The regenerate person is always looking outward, away from themselves, toward doing good for others, and seeking to make their lives better instead of our own. The focus of our ambitions is the difference. From ourselves to others.
2021-2, Just look at this list of Greek words about what we are not to do:
porneia - immorality. We get the word pornography from this. Obsession with sexual gratification.
akatharsia - impurity. Catharsis comes from this word, meaning remove, to purge something "infecting" to us. The "a-" in front of it means opposite. So the opposite of pushing out impurity is to take it in. This is the noun.
pathos - passion. Pathological. pathetic come from this word.
epithymia - desire. Not sure about this one. Epithelial? The outer covering.
kakos - evil (about which we've made much before!)
pleonexit - greed. I cannot think of any English words derived form this, but surely there are some.
The idea behind all of these is that they are a state of mind, not an action. None are the verb form, all are nouns. He didn't say "don't fornicate", he said avoid immorality. There is a whole list of personal conduct that reflects what is above. The body only does what the mind embraces. He is saying make your mind pure, make your mind sinless, and stop worrying about that dead body you're dragging around.
Now here is something interesting. Beginning in vs 12, we have another list - of things that should be going on in our minds, and our hearts. Here are those words:
oiktirmos - compassion. We get our word compassion from the Latin word compassio.
chrēstotēs - kindness, from Old English and proto-German?
tapeinophrosynē - humility, from Latin humilitatum
prautēs - gentleness, from "Old French" and Latin
makrothymia - patience. from "Old French" and Latin
Why is it that I cannot think of a single English word that came from any of these Greek words? We just don't use the "good" words in our language at all. It just seems interesting to me that these English words used to translate these lists are exclusively Greek for what not to do, and exclusively NOT Greek for what we should do.
Then we move in a new direction. Paul addresses our conduct within our own households.
Wives submit, Husbands love, children obey.
Bondservants serve.
2021-2, This is like a very condensed restatement of the instructions in Ephesians 5.
These verses:
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. [Col 3:24 ESV]
For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. [Col 3:25 ESV]
First, our reward is "the inheritance". That is worth searching out, as it bears directly on the whole idea of a bema seat judgment.
The phrase "you will receive" is 2nd person plural. So Paul is talking to "everyone", not to an individual, as in "y'all all will receive in the future..." The word translated "inheritance" is only used 14 times in the mGNT. Here are some that I think are relevant:
Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. [Act 7:5 ESV]
And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. [Act 20:32 ESV]
For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. [Gal 3:18 ESV]
who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. [Eph 1:14 ESV]
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, [Eph 1:18 ESV]
For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. [Eph 5:5 ESV]
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. [Heb 9:15 ESV]
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, [1Pe 1:4 ESV]
Just looking at these makes it clear that this "inheritance" is a very important concept. It seems to have a specific meaning, not just a general one, and as such we ought to know to what it refers. What exactly do we inherit? In our day, the inheritance is that which the testator wants conveyed to us when the testator dies. It is generally something of value, sometimes of great value. It is something that belongs to the testator - that is, it is his to give. So what did Christ give us? Eternal life comes to mind first. Justification in him. Forgiveness of sins. Which one do we not yet have but expect and the unsaved do not have and will never have? Because on that difference it all hinges. I am moving all this to the "How Many Judgments" note and will dig more into it over there.
2021-2,
And this wrongdoer? Who does he have in mind? This almost implies that even Christians will be paid back for their sins. The verse might well be used to argue that there will be a judgment for sin for EVERYONE, without partiality. I took a look at the interlinear for this, and it is interesting that the word translated "wrongdoer" and the word translated "wrong" are the same root word, but used as different parts of speech.
"Wrongdoer", is nominative case, which means it is the subject of the sentence. But it is also sort of a verb, and is a present active participle. Here is what participle means:
Corresponds for the most part to the English participle, reflecting "-ing" or "-ed" being suffixed to the basic verb form. The participle can be used either like a verb or a noun, as in English, and thus is often termed a "verbal noun."
So translating it as the ESV does, "wrongdoer", keeps the sense that it is a verb while leaving no doubt that it is the subject. NASB translates it "he who does wrong", which seems to go beyond what is strictly necessary. Then in the second use of this word "adikeo", it is an aorist active indicative. In English, you can't really translate all that with just one word. So ESV turns it into "paid back for the wrong he has done", and NASB renders it "the consequences of the wrong he has done". The full ESV is above, here is the NASB95:
For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. [Col 3:25 NASB95]
So it is saying that a "wrongdoer" today will reap consequences at some time. The aorist doesn't allow us to pin down past present or future. So if you don't want the saved to be judged for their sins, you say that what is in view are consequences in this lifetime. As hangovers follow drunkenness, as divorce follows infidelity, as disgrace follows dishonesty. It does not help that the way Paul constructed this requires us to almost to translate the phrase, rather than the individual words.
(Running out of time. Reading on through 4, will focus on that next year.)
(2021-2, After very nearly 2 full hours on Col 3 alone, I'm moving on, though it feels unfinished. I still have two chapters of Isaiah to read, and Prov. 6!)
Colossians