A few inquiries may be necessary, in order to clear the mind for so great a subject as this is, between the apostle and the Colossians. These come in before the questions which are so often put to us, in this our own day, as to “What the things are, which are above ?” or, “How are they connected with Christ as sitting at the right hand of God?” and again, “Where are the spheres for those things we are to seek;” and upon which to set our affections, and mind? Important matters surely!
One inquiry, and perhaps the chief, naturally arises from the study of the epistle itself, as to the spiritual state, and condition of the Colossians, and the various seductions of the enemy, which required such guards, and admonitions. This state was discovered by Paul, to lie in the fact (and a very serious one too) that they had lost the sense of “Christ, as the beginning, the first-born from the dead,” and then the power “of the things above, where Christ is.” Center of a new system!
Moreover, they were in danger of letting go “Christ Jesus, the Lord,” and of not being rooted, and built up in Him, as they had been taught. Besides these they were “not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body ministered to, and united together by the joints and bands, increaseth with the increase of God.” Another discovery necessarily followed, as the sad consequence of this moral and spiritual declension from “Christ, as their Lord, and Head,” viz., that they were exposed to the corruptions of philosophy, after the teaching of men, “according to the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Besides this rationalism of the Greeks, which was suited to captivate the natural mind, there lay around them “the handwriting of Jewish ordinances,” which, having once had the authority of Jehovah, and being religious in their character, were more suited to detain the heart and conscience in outward ordinances; and an endless observance of meats and drinks, or else of new moons and Sabbaths, “which were only a shadow of things to come.” It may be profitable for us to trace these snares, which were so early introduced into the church, yet further in their history, and for present application to Christians, who are entangled in them, as a solemn warning. They had got up the wrong man, in the wrong world, and what were they to do with him?
Each of these systems from its very nature, with all their attendant attractions, only carried back and left the mind, and heart, and conscience, in the ignorance, and darkness, and natural distance of the flesh, and of “man in the flesh,” as to the true revelation and knowledge of God; whether in the holiness of His nature, or the light in which He dwells. The comment, and summary of the Holy Ghost, touching the rationalism, or the ritualism of that day; and much more if applied to these times, is conclusive, and fatal, viz., “which things have indeed an appearance of wisdom, in voluntary worship, and humility, and harsh treatment of the body, not in any certain honor for the satisfaction of the flesh.” Judaism as an outward system, even when standing in the midst of its brightest and most attractive forms, under the authority and blessing of Jehovah; and culminating as it did, in such a head of wisdom and glory as Solomon, whether for worship in the temple, or for dominion and rule over the world, was then in its greatest danger. The hour of its ripening prosperity, and favor, was the moment of its decline and fall. Its height was its certain overthrow, because the man who had reached this summit, and who was invested with this dignity, only sat upon the throne of Israel in delegated power, and reigned in the city of Jerusalem, as its responsible head to “the Great King.” His incompetency was, alas, but too soon proved. It is however, a necessary and useful lesson, though melancholy and distressing in the extreme, to learn in history (and especially in the Chronicles which God has kept of His ways with individuals, and with mankind) that the cradle and birthplace of the most illustrious in this world, became in due time, their burying-place and sepulcher!
The earliest, and most flourishing enclosure of Eden, when first planted by the hand of the Creator, with an Adam in it, had alas, how soon, the cherubim “with the flaming sword at its gate, to bar the way back to the tree of life.” If we quit the garden of the Lord, to view the nation of Israel in later times, it will only be to learn a second lesson, rife with the same facts; and may be, set for us on broader lines, and in deeper cuttings by Jerusalem that now is.
Called out, as this favored nation was, from the rest of the world, and established under a theocracy, by which they could boast that no people had God so near them as they had; yet, “they rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit, so, that he was turned against them, and became their enemy.” Enriched too with an economy, under the remarkable ministry of Moses, as their mediator with God, and Aaron for their high priest, to make atonement for sin; the world quailed (under its own astonishment) as its inhabitants witnessed the beauty, and glory, of this daily administration. What more could have been done?
The royal city came forth in its opening grandeur, and stood out resplendent as “the footstool of the Jehovah,” of Israel, and “His presence filled the temple;” but even she has become a devastation and a ruin, yea, “not one stone left upon another, that has not been thrown down.” Illustrious too as Jerusalem was, and famous for her long line of wise men, and prophets, and kings; yet, as Jesus said to her of Himself; “It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem!”
Terrible as this denunciation of her Messiah was, yet how merited and true was it, “That upon you may come, all the righteous blood shed upon the earth; verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.”
But the incompetency of Moses, and Aaron, and a Solomon, as individuals, and of the nation collectively, was not the only lesson taught us by this breakdown; there was yet another, for these and other records prove, that even a theocracy itself, which was the greatest and grandest system that Jehovah established upon this earth for its government and order was insufficient. Politically, by statutes and judgments between man and his fellow, or religiously, between the people and God, a theocracy was incapable of maintaining the nation of Israel in their original relations with Him, who had brought them to Himself. “Middle walls of partition there were, on the one side” and “handwriting of ordinances,” on the other; with every encouragement that promise could supply to the obedient and godly ones. Yet the requirements, yea, the exactions due to Jehovah in the height of His holiness, were so unyielding (if the people failed in their responsibility, and were disobedient) by the claim He made on them for sacrifices, that at last it became “a yoke, which neither they, nor their fathers (as was afterward said by Peter) were able to bear:” The entire economy broke down by the weight of its own magnificence, and in what it demanded, and deserved of the men, whom it designed to favor and establish in manifest blessing, upon the earth. The whole system collapsed under these righteous claims of God, and by the weakness and incapability of the creature, who had “bound himself by covenant to do all that was enjoined.” A mighty gap was obvious, as the only product of these two extremes; but “the unprofitableness thereof” could give birth to, and did bring to light an immense reality, a great fact, a grand truth, viz., “by the law was the knowledge of sin,” and that “the commas went which was ordained to life, was found to be unto death.” These weighty discoveries between God and men, as to the insufficiency of the creature, threw the whole subject back again, upon the resources of God; and yet it was into this decayed system of Judaism, that these Colossians were being beguiled by the craft of the enemy. Would that it had stopped at Colosse, and with those early Christians! The curses of the law were the outcome.
We have thus seen how impossible it was either by a theocracy, or an economy composed of ordinances, to unite this chosen nation permanently with God, on account of what they were, as men “in the flesh,” or to maintain these relations, even by law and government, in which “as Jehovah,” he ostensibly stood with that people, in covenanted blessing. Why should the Colossians be attracted by it (much less any now) as a way of approach to God, when the twelve tribes had broken down under its demands, and had been driven out of Canaan, “yea made a hissing, and a bye-word, and a reproach amongst all the nations?”. Besides all this, we may remark that as regards Christianity, “The handwriting of ordinances” upon the observance of which all that economy stood, had been graciously “taken out of the way, and nailed to the cross.” How could Christ and these ordinances go on together? He had superseded them; and would they take them down again to put themselves “into bondage” under them? Would they in this form, re-enter upon a covenant of works, “as being alive in the flesh?” To do thus, would be a two-fold denial of Christ. The weakness, and unprofitableness of these ordinances and observances, as well as of the entire system, between God and men had been wrought out by Israel after the flesh, and manifested still further by the blind enmity of their priests and rulers, who condemned and crucified the very Messiah, to whom their types and shadows all pointed!
As regards the Sanhedrim, and the Jews, together with the philosophical Greeks and Romans, the cross was the one great standing proof, that “The world by wisdom knew not God” any more than by religious ordinances, or they would not have put “the Lord of glory” upon it in derision! What then had these Christians to gain, either from the philosophy of the ancients, and rudiments of the world, any more than by the traditions of the fathers? A new revelation respecting “the Son of God” was introduced, and preached to every creature under heaven.
Christ had come into the world—had glorified God upon the earth—had finished the work that was given Him to do, and had gone back to the right hand of the Majesty on high. Did these grand acts leave God and mankind where they were? Those who were Christ’s at Colosse, and elsewhere, were “to set their mind on things above, not upon things on the earth.” Henceforth, “as risen with Christ” they were not to look upon things seen and temporal, but on things not seen and eternal. “The Son of Man” in the glory of God!
As regards the world, men had united themselves together in guilt before God; for the second man “the Lord from heaven” had been crucified by those who did not believe on Him, whether. Jews or Gentiles; but to all who had “faith” in this new manifestation of the lace of God to the world, in the person of “the Word made flesh,” Christ was the—wisdom of God, and the power of God to salvation. The cross is either made to be this “to faith,” by the grace of God; or else that same cross becomes “the judgment of the world,” for this is what “the lifting up of the Son of Man” really is; and as Jesus spoke (when in the world) concerning His death, in John 7. The cross is now the one great issue, between heaven and earth, and hell—between God, and mankind, and the devil—between light, and darkness—between Christ, and Belial, and eternal life, or everlasting fire. It is of great importance to see in this epistle, and indeed through all of them, that the cross is brought forward as the wind-up of all that was previously put upon probation, in the government of God; whether by “the schoolmaster Moses,” or by “the tutors and appointed governors,” till the time determined of the Father. The Galatians needed to be instructed as to “the truth of the cross,” in its separating power, just as the Colossians required “to learn the cross,” as the turning point from what is old, and the door for faith and hope, into all that is new. The cross breaks our links with the world, the flesh, and the devil, and connects us with Christianity and Christ, and “The things which are above, where He is sitting.”
The worst thing that men high and low of degree could do, had been perpetrated at the cross, and man cannot repeat himself there, either by act, or deed. They had “denied the Holy One, and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead.” The rejection and crucifixion of the Son of God, is an awful fact in the history of man, and keeps the dark shade of the cross upon the world for condemnation, and leaves the sin of blood-guiltiness upon mankind, whether Jews or Gentiles—yea, shuts them up (if impenitent) unto the coming judgment, at the great day of God Almighty. On the other hand, the resurrection of Christ “by the glory of the Father,” reveals the ascended One “to faith,” in the light of a new and heavenly standing, in relation to God above, as the head and beginning of another creation.
It is by being “dead and risen with Christ,” that we pass out of one, into the other and these are some of the lessons which our epistle sets before these. Colossians, as necessary for “their continuance in the faith, grounded and settled,” and that they should not be moved away from “the hope which was laid up for them in heaven.” They were encouraged anew, to “seek the things which are above” by being risen with Christ, on the other side of the cross, and not to set their affection on things upon the earth, for they were dead; moreover their life was “hid with Christ in God.” What are these two sides “of the doctrine of Christ,” but the practical power of the cross for death below; and for life, and living affections, that find their objects above, and which carry us away after Christ? These realities of “our faith and hope” were of great moment then, as now, and hold a large place in this epistle. It was, and alas is, a common need amongst Christians of the nineteenth century, or so much would not have been said there, and in this paper, upon the cross, and the resurrection, and another creation.
It is time, however, to turn to the questions which were named at the outset, viz., “What, and where are the things above, which we are to seek, and upon which we are to let our mind be?” In reply, the heavens and the earth in their new relation to God., and to Christ, and in their yet future state of order Wand reconciliation, with all that they contain, be they “principalities or powers, thrones, or dominions,” become the spheres, and supply the suited and proper objects for our consideration and research. It is upon these, and with Christ as their center, we should have “our minds fixed,” because they are dear to the Father, and the Son, in the everlasting counsels. Accomplished redemption by the blood of the Lamb, is the ground-work for this “reconciliation of the heavens and the earth,” as well as for our own, “who were once enemies in mind, by wicked works,” and these take a prominent place in “the records by the Holy Ghost,” when putting all things under “the preeminence” of Christ. That He should have the first place in all things, as well as supremacy over all, was a part of the grand purpose of God, and is dear to our Lord., as the Son of Man, for the manifestation of His glory, as “set over all the works of His hands, in the World to come,” and are precious to Christ as “the fruit of the travail of His soul.” He gives us in love, part with Himself, in these spheres of His joy.
If He finds His own satisfaction and delight in “the redemption of a fallen creation,” and in “the reconciliation of the heavens and the earth,” for the coming-day of His glory, “when He presents us holy, unblameable, and irreproachable before God;” shall not that day, and the manifestation of blessing, yea, and blessedness too, in those vast spheres, and all that dwell in them, be the proper objects on which to set our minds in communion with Him we love?
Let us turn back to the gospel of Matthew, and ask ourselves, Did He not once see the treasure kid in a field, and for joy thereof, go and sell all that He had, to buy that field? (See Exodus 19:4,5,64Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 5Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 19:4‑6).)
Was He once (when speaking to us by parables) “seeking goodly pearls,” and did. He when He had found “one pearl of great price, sell all that He had: and buy it?” If by similitudes like these, we are let into the secrets and hidden thoughts of our Lord, and what was dear to Him before He came into this world of sin; how much deeper and sweeter must “this joy” be to Him, now that these mysteries have passed out of parables and similitudes, into realities? By His effectual work in death and resurrection, He has purchased the entire possession, and not only this, but like a true Boaz, “and kinsman-redeemer,” He will have Ruth too, and in the future day of His marriage, lead his bride through the length and breadth of all his dominions, as the partner of His glory!
“The treasure, and the pearl” may well be to us in the divine light of the Colossian epistle, “the reconciled heavens and the earth,” together with “the mystery” which had been hid from ages and generations; and these may well call out our thoughts very definitely and distinctly towards “the things above,” which are headed up for a while in Christ, and “where He sits at the right hand of God.” The Holy Ghost by one apostle and another, has written to the saints in the meantime, “what these things are,” having made known “what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.” He is in His own personal glories, before God the Father, and is the commanding object of our own hearts’ affections; besides this, He is there in names which endear Him to us, who know Him as our Redeemer, and the Possessor of all thing that the Father hath, and Reconciler of the heavens and the earth, which in His Godhead power He first created. It is in Christ that all things will be gathered “for the administration of the fullness of times,” (Eph. 1:10,10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:10)) and He is thus to the horizon of our faith, the sun of a never-ending day. We are now in spirit and affection with Him, “where He sits above,” and He is with us where we are, yea, “in our hearts, the hope” of all we wait, and long for with Himself, in the day of His espousals, when His bride hath made herself ready. In the face of such hopes, and such associations with Christ, what had these Colossians to do any further with the original Adam, even at his best and brightest? If this had been possible it would have been derogatory. How much less, with any of His posterity, as fallen creatures, in their modern rationalistic speculations, or their ritualistic drudgery, by which they are vainly trying to recover a lost position, or else grope their way back to the God they had forsaken. This is to build what has been destroyed.
Moreover, Satan, “the prince of this world,” was the energetic center of this false movement, working against the new revelation of the Father, and the Son, by the Holy Ghost, and setting up the by-gone economy of law and works, which recognized man, “as alive in the flesh,” and required his slavery, and bondage! Would they be fools in this delusion?
Instead of this old-covenant of works, “the great mystery of godliness” had come into the world, and been declared to flow through another channel. “God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory,” opened out the ascending and descending steps, between the heavens and this earth, which secured another “life and godliness” between God and men. The law could not produce either. Moreover, the Son of Man had been refused, and cast out when presented in the rights and titles which attached to Him, and to which prophecy and promise had so plainly pointed henceforward to believe on Christ was salvation, but to draw back was perdition. The world lay in bankruptcy.
Thus the death of Christ on the one hand, and the resurrection of Christ on the other, are brought into the foreground in this epistle, not as primarily showing our pardon, or forgiveness, or our justification by the substitution of Christ for us; but to identify us as believers with Him, “where He is sitting on the right hand of God,” by the fact of our own death and resurrection with Him. Another thing is also brought out here, viz., that death and life, as they are known now, (no longer in Adam as responsible) but as they are fixed before God in Christ, are become the two centers of divine operation, in grace and calling, as well as of our faith’s reckoning. In consistency with this rule, our new and heavenly doctrine addresses us, as, “Ye are dead,” and, “If ye then be risen,” and these facts were the ground of the apostle’s mission and exhortation, and a Christian’s starting-point.
By His resurrection and departure into heaven as “the appointed Heir of all things,” our affections follow Him, and this circle of blessing opens “the inheritance” to our hearts, (Eph. 1:1010That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (Ephesians 1:10)), and as being “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.” When He appears, we shall appear with Him in glory. In the meanwhile, “the rejection of Christ” by the world, becomes an immensely practical test for loyalty of heart to Christ, and for a walk corresponding to our new place above, as one with the heavenly Man.
How can any be “alive in the world,” which would not have Him, (or take part with it in its principles, objects, and hourly pursuits,) and valued Him at thirty pieces of silver? Mere loyalty to Christ, and our affections set upon Himself and His rights, would lead all who are His, to take part with God, who has received Him, and “exalted Him above all principalities, and powers, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come”? Christ in life and glory, is the turning-point in heaven, for drawing our mind and heart above, “where He sits”—just as truly, as Christ on the cross in death, is the turning-point for separation from, the world below. Paul boldly stated this, as his rule of life and death to the Galatians,— “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world.” There was nothing in common between them, and when Christ became the only standard and test for Christian consistency, Paul accepted this two-fold crucifixion at once, as his new order and style.