Christianity is about the total and complete transformation of every part of your being. As Paul writes in Col 3:9-10, the old self is put off, just like you put off an old set of dirty filthy clothes, and the new self is put on. This new self is day by day being improved and upgraded until one day the believer will come to the full knowledge of God and fully reflect him, being made complete in Christ (Col 1:28; cf Eph 4:22-24, Rom 6:6, Gal 3:27).
Paul gives one list of practices associated with the old self that the believer can and should put off in Col 3:5, and a second list in Col 3:8-9. This second list largely deals with practices that relate to the kinds of attitudes and ultimately words that can do the most damage to relationships and community.
Words, of course, are immensely powerful. They can instantly change the dynamic of relationships. They can bring great good or lasting harm. For the person who's been raised with Christ, any type of attitudes and words that are abusive, resentful, or harshly critical belong to the old self that must be put away. They are in effect old clothes that should be gathered together and burned to ashes.
We must regularly and consistently affirm the depth of and the reality of God's transformation of the believer. Indeed, the transformation that God brings within each believer's life intrinsically means transformed relationships, which means a transformed community. This community is one defined by and united in Christ (Col 3:11).
We often don't appreciate just how racially and culturally and socially divided the ancient world was. Prejudice was the norm. There was a natural distrust of people who didn't speak like you did or live as you did. You only formed significant relationships with people who were in a similar racial, cultural and social class as you.
So, Col 3:11 represents a seismic shift in typical human relationships. The new self you gain in Christ is such a complete and thorough transformation, it wipes out all previous allegiances. Our primary identity is first and foremost in Christ. This is not to suggest that all cultural and ethnic categories disappear. It is to say however that Christ is the "main course," and everything else about us are simply side dishes and flavors that should further amplify Christ in us. "Christ is all" - he is all that matters, and Christ "is in all" - he is found within every believer, without distinction, within the Christian community.
Seeing ourselves in this way will of course affect how we relate to one another. Such things as anger, malice, slander, and lying can never exist in a community of people where "Christ is all and in all." Instead, people in a community like this wear a "new self" that is characterized by humility, self-denial, service, and unity. In putting on Christ, all "we" versus "them" type thinking is shattered. As the Christian rapper Flame puts it in his song, Racial Diversity, we can't call this "black church" or "white church" for in the Scriptures all there really is is just "Christ church."
What comes to mind as you reflect on that phrase "Christ is all, and in all"? What are the implications of this truth for our relationships and for our church community? How does the practice of putting off the old self and putting on the new self, described in Col 3:9-10, help produce what's described in Col 3:11?
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