Paul writes this letter to the church at Colossae, a church which started off of the ministry of Epaphras and a church that he had never personally visited. Nevertheless, Paul had a great love for Colossian church. He was also very concerned about this church because some people within the church were being drawn away into a "new" teaching. This teaching seems to have been a blend of local folk beliefs and Jewish practices. We could describe this teaching as "Jesus plus." Sure, the Colossian Christians had Jesus, but what this new teaching suggested was that they needed to do a little bit extra, in the form of following special religious rules or appeasing certain supernatural spirits, if they really wanted to have a "full" life.
It's not entirely surprising that this kind of teaching was attractive. All of us battle fear, anxiety, and insecurity. We search for meaning in the face of great, merciless forces - things like unexpected illness, loss of a job, or outright evil powers. We cope and try to find control over all these things in lot of different ways. Some do it through filling their life with lots of religion. Others do it by trying to strip their life of any religion. Many do it through the pursuit of money, or through sex, or through drugs or alcohol.
So what's the answer to all this? It comes through affirming one indisuputable face - that Jesus Christ rules. This fact is at the heart of this letter to the Colossian church. At various point in this letter Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the creator of all things, the head of the church, the firstborn from the dead, the reconciler of all the things, the Savior through his death on the cross, the source of all wisdom and knowledge, the conqueror of sin and Satan. In short, Christ rules! And because he rules, everything is under his power and control.
This has significant implications for us. It means that the person who is under the rule of Christ doesn't need to fear anything. Every evil and demonic spirit has fallen falt on their faces before King Jesus. The Christian believer then has real power over every demonic enemy they face.
In adddition, the person who is under the rule of Jesus has everything they need in order to live a true, authentic, full life. For in Christ, the believer possess the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9-10). This means then that we don't have to be ruled by so many useless, frustrating, dehumanizing "earthly" things. We don't have to be ruled by sex, by evil desires, by anger, by that addiction, by that chronic illness, by that relationship, by that bank account, by those legalistic religion rules. Instead, we can be ruled by things like compassion, kindness, humility, love, and peace(Colossians 3:12-15).
All of this is possible because through the death and resurrection of Jesus God put the sleeper hold on every sin and every evil and dark power in our world. He pinned them down and has forced them to submit to him in total defeat, so that now, in Christ, we also can claim victory over all sin and evil (Colossians 2:13-15).
Christ rules, and this has direct practical relevance for every Christian life. The rule of Christ is the answer to every basic spiritual need or want. It's the ultimate answer to every social ill and problem. It's the rallying cry that conquers every demon that torments the human soul.
So, what does the rule of Christ mean to you? What are things that you've seen rule people's lives, or may even rule your life, and how might the rule of Christ help free you from these things?
1 comment:
I have, of course, seen all the things you mention rule peoples' lives. Also, things like extreme neediness. If Christ truly rules in our lives, all of our contentment is in Him. Often, especially for us guys, it's the need to have our egos stroked. Also, the need to be "right".
I find that it is very helpful for me to spend time reflecting not only on my behavior and attitudes, but also on my motivations. Even when I do good, it is often not for the right reasons. So, I ask myself, was there a mixture of selfishness, desire for attention, acceptance or approval of others in the things I did. It is seldom the only motive, but it is often mixed in with the good motives. As we sort these things out in our lives, it is not to put ourselves under condemnation (Romans 8:1). It is rather to seek to be fully abiding in Him so we are genuinely bearing fruit (John 15:5).
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