Colossians 3:11 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Colossians 3:11

Comments

Here are some of the distinctions. There is no superiority of one over the other; there is no specialness of one over the other. We are all the people of God. ‘Where there is neither Greek nor Jew.’ Now some think that this just distinguishes between Gentile and Jew but other exegetes – and I think they are right – think that Paul is saying something more specific here, that the Greek in this case is the upper class, the cultured, educated Greek person, educated in Greek philosophy and language and very proud of it. Then comes the Jew who has quite a different way of achieving the same thing. ‘Oh, I am a Jew by race, I belong to the favoured nation and I have been circumcised and therefore I have acceptance with God, and these other people are as bad as Barbarians.’ The Barbarians were the people who could not speak Greek. ‘Scythians’ – they were war-like nomads, the lowest of the low at one time. ‘Bond[slaves] nor free’ – there is no imperialism at all in the church of Christ. None of these things matter anymore, where you were born or anything of that kind, because you have got Christ and this towers over any kind of advantage that can be found in this life. There is only one distinction in this world once you have Christ: saved and unsaved. Those who are in Christ Jesus, they have been brought to see their worthlessness and their sinfulness, they have seen Calvary and Christ’s suffering and dying for sinners, and they have come to him. Do they feel superior to others? Oh, no, they have a deep debt to the lost, and they yearn for them and want to see them saved also, and the apostle Paul cannot help but say this, ‘But Christ is all, and in all.’ He is everything and he is everything in every conceivable way, that is what it means. He is all and in all.

Application

Now in the society at Colossae and in all society, there was a class structure of a kind, as there is in our present society in different ways. Human beings almost naturally divide from one another, and find some ground of pride to distinguish themselves from others. Those of us who are older remember how it was markedly so in terms of classes in society years ago. A lot of this has been washed away and other divisions have taken the place of class. Well, in Christ all that is done away with because this, the point that Paul is going to make, is not so much we are all one in Christ Jesus which is true, but that he has replaced anything that may foolishly have been of value to us before.

Questions

As you know, in the 19^th century a teaching arose in the churches of Christ which we call dispensationalism. And as part of this teaching is the idea that the Jews as a people will be plugged back in again as at special level into the blessings of God, and they will rule the world for the millennium through Jerusalem. Many good Christians and fine teachers believe in this, but we do not believe in this. This is a fairly modern thing, really popularised in the 19^th century. But constantly the Scripture says that in the church of Christ there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. The church of Jesus Christ is for all elect saved Jews and all elect saved Gentiles. It is God’s final thing, the church of Christ in this world until the end of time.

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Colossians 3:11 Commentary and Bible Study