For one of my classes last semester, I had to define what the local church is.  Fo the fun of it, I thought I would share with you what my definition came out to be.

This definition is heavily based on Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2009), 38. I took a considerable amount of time studying the different elements of their definition and added where I personally thought it might be lacking.  Since I am a member of Mars Hill Church, I wanted to stay as close to Mars Hill Church’s definition of a church and only tweak it a little bit.

The local church is a community of confessing and covenantal believers of Jesus Christ who are organized under Biblically qualified leadership. They regularly gather physically for preaching and worship, and scatter in the unity and power of the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission of God by evangelizing and caring for people everywhere. They observe the Biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, and are disciplined to maintain the purity of the church in order to live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission to the glory of God.

What do you think?  Would you change anything?  Do you have a working definition of the church?

There are several more themes about Jesus that Paul presents in his letter that we don’t have time to cover here. Paul presents Jesus as the mystery of the Father,[1] our proclamation,[2] the resurrection,[3] our mediator,[4] the fulfiller of Old Testament law,[5] and our sanctifier.[6] It is clear, though, that as you read the correspondence from Paul to the Colossians, you see that they were receiving a clear, concise, complete, and authoritative teaching on several themes that would help form their (and our) understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Paul writes the letter as an “apostle of Jesus Christ…to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae” (Col. 1:1). He gives thanks for their “faith in Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:4). Paul goes on to give them deep doctrinal truths about the person and work of Jesus.[7] He speaks of his own ministry for and in Jesus.[8] He helps the Colossians see the errors in the heresies about Jesus.[9] Lastly, he ends his letter by helping the Colossians see what a life lived in Christ looks like.[10] The letter to the Colossians was written by a minister of Jesus, to a people of Jesus, to give a better understanding of Jesus, so that the Colossians could learn to walk in Jesus. From start to finish, Paul’s letter to the Colossians is all about Jesus.

[2] Col. 1:28; 4:3

[3] Col. 2:12; 3:1

[4] Col. 3:17

[5] Col. 2:16-19

[6] Col. 1:28; 2:7; 3:16

[7] Col. 1:9-22

[8] Col. 1:23-19

[9] Col. 2:1-23

[10] Col. 3:1-4:18

Of all the ways that Paul presents Jesus’ atonement, he devotes most of his attention to Jesus being presented as the Colossians reconciliation. Colossians 1:19-22 states:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him….

Grudem defines reconciliation as “the removal of enmity and the restoration of fellowship between two parties.”[1] It is through Christ that the relationship that God once had with humanity in the Garden of Eden is restored.

Paul tells the Colossians that they were alienated. MacArthur explains that “Apallotrioo (alienated) means ‘estranged,’ ‘cut off,’ or ‘separated.’ Before their reconciliation, the Colossians were completely estranged from God.”[2] There was no relationship between them and God. As we’ve already seen, this wasn’t an estrangement in which God was simply ignoring them though. Instead, they were cut off from God and under His wrath.

This estrangement went two ways though. Paul continues to write that the Colossians were “hostile in mind” (Col 1:21). Stott says, “True, we were ‘God’s enemies,’ hostile to him in our hearts. But the ‘enmity’ was on both sides. The wall or barrier between God and us was constituted by our rebellion against him and by his wrath upon us on account of our rebellion.”[3] The Colossians’ estrangement from God was their choice as they were hostile towards God and chose to do “evil deeds” (Col. 1:21). God in his righteousness could not be in their presence because of their sin and had to separate himself from them.

Paul shows the Colossians are no longer estranged from God though. The relationship has been restored, and it is Jesus who reconciles them by “making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20).  Jesus “has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death” (Col. 1:21). Reconciliation happens by the blood of Jesus on the cross. Hendriksen explains what this reconciliation means:

Through the blood of the Son of God’s love peace had been made. He, meaning this Son of God’s love, in his body of flesh (that was the sphere of the reconciliation), and through his death (that was the instrument) had brought about a return to the proper relation between the Colossians and their God. A return, not as if there had been a time, many, many years ago, when these Colossians had been Christians, but rather in this sense, that the establishment of peace between the Father-heart of God and the soul of the sinner is for the latter a going back to the state of rectitude in which God originally created man.[4]

Jesus pays the penalty for their sin and cleanses them from it, allowing the Colossians to have the close, intimate relationship that man once had with God.

In this passage, Paul also speaks of Jesus’ reconciliation of all of creation. This isn’t reconciliation in the same sense that is spoken of for the Colossians. Paul isn’t presenting a doctrine of universalism. Instead, Paul is referencing back to the preeminence of Christ in creation that is stated in verse 16 as Paul says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” MacArthur clarifies that “there is a sense in which even fallen angels and unredeemed men will be reconciled to God for judgment – but only in the sense of submitting to Him for final sentencing. Their relationship to Him will change from that of enemies to that of the judged.”[5] Paul is speaking of a reconciliation that brings all things under the rule of Jesus Christ.

[2] MacArthur Jr., Colossians and Philemon, 60.

[3] Stott, The Cross of Christ, 197-198.

[4] Hendriksen, Phillippians / Colossians / Philemon, 83.

[5] MacArthur Jr., Colossians and Philemon, 59.

While Paul presents many different themes about the person and work of Jesus Christ in Colossians, none is more predominant than Jesus as the atonement for sin. It is in Christ that they have “the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14). Paul makes reference after reference to the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the Colossians.

Each one of these is a reference to Jesus as the atonement for sin in one way or another, but each reference has its own flavor as to how Jesus is our atonement. The fact is that books have been written on each one of these themes in and of themselves. Therefore over the next couple weeks, we will briefly look at each one on it’s own to gain an understanding of the fullness of the message of atonement in Jesus that Paul was trying to convey.

While Paul displays Jesus’ preeminence and authority over all of creation, he also takes the time to show Jesus in authority over the church. Right before Paul declares Jesus’ preeminence over everything in Col. 1:18, he states that Jesus “is the head of the body, the church.” Wright states:

It is to this Jesus Christ, none other, that the Colossians now belong in belonging to the church. This is the moment when…the thought moves from creation to new creation. Paul starts where the Colossians are, as members of the one world-wide people of God. If God’s people are the new humanity, the metaphor of a human body is utterly appropriate to express not only mutual interdependence (as in Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12ff.) but also, as here, an organic and dependent relation to Christ himself.[1]

Jesus isn’t just the ultimate authority in the church, but he intimately leads his church. As it is impossible for our bodies to survive and move without our head, so it is true of the church. Jesus is in a deep and intimate relationship as he leads his church. Jesus is the head and we are “his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24).

Jesus’ headship in the church is also reiterated in Paul’s references to his and Colossians place in the church under and for Jesus. From the very first sentence in his letter to the Colossians, Paul shows Jesus’ headship by saying that he is “an apostle of Christ Jesus” (Col. 1:1). Paul’s apostleship is only shown to be of value because of its relationship to Jesus. When Paul speaks of Epaphras, he says that Epaphras “is a faithful minister of Christ” (Col. 1:7). Being called to one body in Christ, the Colossians are called to “let the peace of Christ rule in [their] hearts” (Col. 3:15). As the body of Christ, they are called to “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17). Lastly, Paul gives them a clear perspective on their work, saying that “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23-24). As members of the body of Christ, the person the Colossians ultimately work for isn’t here on earth but the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus isn’t just the head of the church, but he is also displayed at the source of the church. Paul continues in verse 18 to say that Jesus “is the beginning.” MacArthur gives a better understanding of what Paul meant when he used the word beginning:

Arche (beginning) used here in the twofold sense of source and primacy. The church has its origins in Jesus. God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). It is He who gives life to His church. His sacrificial death and resurrection on our behalf provided our new life. As head of the Body, Jesus holds the chief position, or highest rank in the church. As the beginning, He is its originator.[2]

Because of the work of Jesus on the cross, the Colossians have been brought into the body of Christ. The source of the church is Jesus, as “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:19-20). The Colossians have been saved from their sin to Jesus and his body, the church.

[2] MacArthur Jr., Colossians and Philemon, 51.

Paul also displays Jesus as creator in Colossians. He states that “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities” (Col. 1:16). Paul wants to hammer home the point that everything was created by Jesus.  In fact, he goes on to restate his point. He says that Jesus was the agent and purpose of creation as “all things were created through him and for him” (Col. 1:16).   William Hendriksen explains:

All things – it makes no difference whether they be material or spiritual – were created in him, that is, with reference to the Son, the firstborn. As two walls and the bricks in these walls are arranged in relation to the cornerstone, from which they derive their angle of direction, so it was in relation to Christ that all things were originally created. He is their Point of Reference. Moreover, it is through him, as the Agent in creation, and with a view to him or for him as creation’s Goal that they owe their settled state.[1]

The Apostle Paul wanted to make sure there was no confusion about Jesus’ place in creation. He wanted to make it very clear to the Colossians that Jesus was creator and not creation.

Paul also goes on to emphasize Jesus’ intimate relationship with his creation. The next verse states that “in him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). Jesus didn’t simply create the heavens and the earth to only walk away. Instead, Jesus sustains creation. Wright comments on Col. 1:17 saying, “The world is now sustained and upheld by Christ…The verb, again, is in the perfect, indicating that ‘everything’ has held together in him and continues to do so. Through him the world is sustained, prevented from falling into chaos. No creature is autonomous. All are God’s servants (Ps. 119:91) and dependents (Ps. 104).”[2]

Jesus’ act of sustaining is also focused on the Christians in Colossae. Paul states that “when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4). It is only the life that is lived in Christ that ultimately leads to glory with him. Paul refers to Jesus’ sustaining power elsewhere in Colossians. Paul is “struggling with all his energy that [Jesus] powerfully works within me” (Col. 1:29). The Colossians are told that since they have received Jesus Christ, they are now to “walk in Him” (Col. 2:6). Jesus is their savior and sustainer.

[2] Wright, Colossians and Philemon, 73.

I’ve only been a dad for about a year-and-a-half, but I must say one of my favorite things to do is to pray for Asa before he goes to bed every night.  If you don’t pray for/with your kids every, I would highly recommend it. I thought I would take a moment and share with you what I pray for Asa every night before we put him in his crib.

Father,

I thank you so much for Asa and the blessing that he is in our lives.
I pray the you help him to fall asleep quickly and to sleep the whole night through so he can get the rest that he needs.
I pray that you keep him safe through the night and send your angels to protect him and keep him safe.
I pray against Satan, his demons, their works and effects, and in the name of Jesus I demand that any demons that are in the house or in this room leave immediately and go to  pit for which they destined for all eternity.  I pray this by power and authority of Jesus Christ.
I ask Father that you would send your Holy Spirit to enforce this.  I pray that you would fill our house and hearts with your Holy Spirit.  I ask that your Holy Spirit would work in Asa’s heart; regenerating it and drawing him to You.  Make him a child of yours.
I pray the same thing for his future wife, and that the two of them would stay pure til the day they are married.  I pray that they would become parents and grandparents and great-grandparents who raise their children to be lovers of Jesus.
I pray the same thing for me and Shannon.  Fill us with your Holy Spirit and give us wisdom and strength to raise Asa to be a lover of Jesus.
We pray this all in the name of Your Son Jesus.
Amen

Shannon and I have developed this prayer over the past year-and-a-half.  The words aren’t always the same, but the general concepts are.  We’re constantly adding and changing it.

Do you pray for your kids every night?  Do you have a regular prayer, or do you play it by ear?

What would it have been like to be one of the first recipients of a letter from the apostle Paul? To be a member of the small growing movement of Jesus followers? To receive some of the first teachings about Jesus and his church? Receiving from the apostles letters of encouragement as you struggled in your early faith? Would you know that what you were holding in your hands would later make up our modern-day Bible? Many of the churches that Paul wrote to were struggling and fighting with false teachers and false doctrine that was creeping into the body. The apostle would write to these churches to encourage and correct them in order to help them grow in Christ. This is the case with his letter to the Colossians.

The book of Colossians was written sometime around 62 A.D. by the Apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome.[1] [2] It is interesting that Paul wrote a letter to the church in Colossae. Colossae was a small, rural town in the valley of the Lycus that was hidden in the shadow of the greater cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis.[3] Furthermore, there is no record that he ever visited Colossae. He even states that they had never seen him “face to face” (Col. 2:1).[4] To top it off, “[h]e was not the founder of their church. That honor fell to Epaphras, who was a native of the area and had labored for its evangelization.”[5]

So why would Paul have taken the opportunity to write to the church in Colossae? It is clear from the letter that Epaphras traveled to Rome to visit with Paul, to seek his wisdom, and to encourage him with the growth of the church in the area. There is common understanding among scholars that there was a growing heresy in the church at Colossae. Therefore, it is thought that Paul wrote Colossians as a letter of encouragement to the church. Where exactly the heresy came from or what it was, no one really knows. According to N.T. Wright,

Scholars have long held that Colossians was written to combat a particular danger within the young church. False teachers were inculcating spurious doctrines and practices, demoting Christ from his position of unique pre-eminence, and encouraging various dubious mystical and ascetic religious practices. But there is no agreement on the identity of these teachers or the nature of their teaching.[6]

In general, Paul’s defense and doctrine in Colossians went against both common Judaic and Pagan distortions about the person and work of Jesus. Therefore, Paul’s writing in Colossians focuses heavily on Jesus. This focus gives Colossians a very heavy Christology (the study of the person and works of Jesus Christ).

Donald Guthrie makes this point very vividly in his book New Testament Introduction when he says the following:

The epistle contains a high Christology. Christ is pre-eminent over all other creatures and over creation itself. In fact, all things were not only created by him but for him. He is seen at the centre of the universe, sovereign over all principalities and powers, over all agencies, that is to say, which might challenge his authority. Not only so, he is the image of God and possessor of the fullness of God, and these statements could not fail to exalt him to an equality with God. He is further described as the Head of the church, which is conceived of as his body. The Christological passage (Col. 1:15-19) in which all these ideas are expressed is followed immediately by a statement regarding Christ’s redemptive work (1:20 ff.) and this work is supported by the further statement in 2:14 that in the cross Christ triumphed over all his enemies. Clearly Paul’s purpose is to demonstrate the immeasurable superiority of Christ, as contrasted with the inadequate presentation of him being advocated by the Colossian false teachers.[7]

The book of Colossians was written, by a man who served Jesus, to a church that wanted to follow Jesus so that they might know who Jesus truly is. This epistle, in the simplest and clearest way, is all about Jesus. So being a church in the first century that had never met or heard from Paul in person, what would they have learned from the Apostle Paul’s letter about the person and work of Jesus? In the coming weeks we will answer just that question on this blog. As you read the correspondence from Paul to the Colossians, you see they were receiving a clear, concise, complete, and authoritative teaching on several themes that would help form their (and our) understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Colossians and Philemon: New Testament Commentary

[2] David Lipscomb, A Commentary on the New Testament Epistles: Ephesians Philippians, and Colossians (Nashville, Tennessee: Gospel Advocate Company, 1939), 245.

[3] Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, Rev Upd Su. (InterVarsity Press, 1990), 564.

[4] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical quotations come from the English Standard Version.

[5] Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough, Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey (Baker Academic, 1998), 318.

[6] N. T. Wright, The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary (IVP Academic, 2008), 23.

[7] Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 571-572.

So where does our journey begin?  Jesus.  It all starts with Jesus.  He is the creator of all things.  He is ruler over everything.  He holds everything together by His power.  He came to earth; humbly born of a teenage virgin girl in a dirty barn in the Middle East over 2,000 years ago.  He lived a perfect life by the power of the Holy Spirit.   He was betrayed by one of His closest pupils.  He was beaten to a bloody pulp and died a brutal death on a wooden cross for our sins.

It is in the work of Jesus on the cross that our relationship with God the Father is reconciled. Because of the sin of our father Adam, we were separated from God.  In our sin, we ran as far away from God as possible.  Before Jesus, we were viewed as sick-wicked-evil-despicable-depraved-sinful people.  God the Father was ready to pour His wrath out on us.

But God, in His grace, came after us.  He pulled us out of our sin and placed us in Christ Jesus.  For those whom God has called to Himself we are now viewed “in Christ.”  We are now “holy and blameless and above reproach before him.”[i] God the Father no longer sees us.  Instead he sees his Son Jesus Christ.

This happens in what Martin Luther called the great exchange.  On the cross, Jesus took our sin upon himself, and in exchange he gave us his righteousness.  The Apostle Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”[ii] In Jesus, our sin has been exchanged for His righteousness.

But it’s not just about the removal of our sins; everything we do as Christians is “in Christ.”  We are sanctified in Christ.[iii] We serve in Christ.[iv] We are redeemed in Christ.[v] We are made alive in Christ.[vi] We are no longer condemned in Christ.[vii] We are one body of believers in Christ.[viii] We are a new creation in Christ.[ix] We are reconciled to God in Christ.[x] We have freedom in Christ.[xi] We are spiritually blessed in Christ.[xii] We are created for good works in Christ.[xiii] We are encouraged in Christ.[xiv] We become mature in Christ.[xv] We are strengthened by grace in Christ.[xvi] Even our physical death is in Christ[xvii] (and this is just the short list).

If you have put your faith in Him, you are now in Christ.  We no longer have our old sinful identity.  We have His!  We have received His righteousness as our own.   We now have a loving relationship with God the Father by the blood of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Spend this week focusing on your new identity in Christ Jesus.

[ii] (ESV)

[iii] 1 Corinthians 1:2

[iv] Romans 16:3, 9

[v] Romans 3:24

[vi] Romans 6:11, 1 Corinthians 15:22

[vii] Romans 8:11

[viii] Romans 12:5

[ix] 2 Corinthians 5:17

[x] 2 Corinthians 5:19

[xi] Galatians 2:4

[xii] Ephesians 1:3

[xiii] Ephesians 2:10

[xiv] Philippians 2:1

[xv] Colossians 1:28

[xvi] 2 Timothy 2:1

[xvii] 1 Corinthians 15:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:16

We ended yesterday with the following definition to answer the questions, “What is a Disciple of Jesus?”

A disciple is someone who is on the path to becoming like Jesus by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.  As the disciple becomes more like Jesus, they find their identity in Jesus and image Him by worshiping God with all their lives, living in gospel community with other disciples, and going on mission to make more disciples of Jesus.

Let me break down this definition a little bit more.  As the lead singer of Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, sings in his song Amazing, “Life’s a journey, not a destination.”[i] Being a disciple of Jesus has no ultimate connotation that you have arrived in any way.  You see in the Apostle John’s gospel that those who were called disciples were simply on the path to being made into the image of Jesus.  Some only took a few steps, whereas some followed Jesus to their death.  The reality is that being a disciple of Jesus means that you are on the path, following Jesus.

Now like most journeys, there are going to be points of interest along the way (salvation, joining a church, special callings in your life, etc.), but these aren’t the ultimate focus.  The ultimate focus of a disciple is Jesus himself.  A disciple isn’t marked by their experience, knowledge, actions, or expertise.  A disciple is marked by whom they are following.  For a Christian, that is Jesus himself.  Our ultimate goal is to be transformed into the image of Christ.

This isn’t by any merit of our own.  The fact that we are disciples of Jesus is strictly by the grace of God.  It is through the blood of Christ that we are called to be His disciples.  You see this over and over again in the gospels when Jesus called his disciples: they were not called base on merit.  There was simply Jesus’ call into their lives to “follow me.”[ii]

Our growth and progress as we follow Jesus is also nothing for us to boast in either. Sanctification doesn’t happen because of our own will, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Apostle Peter encourages some exiles of gospel in 1 Peter 1:1-2 by telling them:

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.[iii]

We are called by the grace of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit to become more and more like the Son of God…Jesus.  This is what it means to be a disciple.

My definition of a disciple ends with the sentence,  “As the disciple becomes more like Jesus, they find their identity in Jesus and image Him by worshiping God with all their lives, living in gospel community with other disciples, and going on mission to make more disciples of Jesus.” 

As a disciple is being transformed into the image of Christ, there are some clear areas in the life that will be transformed.  Disciples will begin to find their identity in Jesus, worship Jesus with all their life, live in community, and be on mission to make more disciples of Jesus.  That is the out powering from who the disciple is.  These are the actions of a disciple. Over the next few weeks we’ll focus on each one of these more.  Until then, I pray that you grow in your walk with Jesus.

[ii] Matthew 4:19, Matthew 8:22, Mark 1:17, Mark 2:14, Luke 1:3, Luke 5:27, John 1:43

[iii] (ESV)