Bible Commentaries
Colossians 3

Verses 1-17

15 Not only is the believer exempt from the authority of the apostles of the Circumcision, but, in spirit, he is beyond the reach of all human jurisdiction. Even before His resurrection our Lord reminded Pilate that he had no authority whatever in His case except what had been granted him from above ( Joh_19:10-11 ). By His rising He reversed the sentence of death pronounced against Him by the Sanhedrin and the Roman governor.

16 The prohibition of certain foods under the law, the observance of festivals and fasts and rest days, all foreshadowed the rest and joy and plenty of that future kingdom on the earth, in which the body of Christ has no part. The divine picture of our portion is the physical body of Christ, risen and ascended and seated at God's right hand in the celestial spheres. As the physical members are to this body, so we, His spiritual members, are to Him. We, too, are roused and seated there, and are the instruments through which He will effect His Father's will in the empyrean.

19 "Holding the Head" is a succinct expression of our duty as members of the body of Christ. A conscious connection and subjection to Him as our Head will sever us from the things of the world, whether it be its religion (however divine its origin) or its philosophy. Any attempt to improve our position before God by physical means, whether it be an appeal to the senses or a curbing of its normal needs, denies our completeness in Christ.

The secret of pleasing God is a conduct conformed to our spiritual position. The key to this position is the great truth that we have not only died and have been roused with Christ, but have ascended with Him into celestial spheres. Our interests, our expectations, are no longer on earth at all, but among the celestials. Let this great and glorious truth be behind our motives and guide us into the path that pleases Him.

5 We are exhorted to transform faith into fact. Are we dead to the world? Then let us live as those who are past the practices which pollute it. How can we keep on in the course which will draw down God's indignation not upon us-but upon those who do not trust Him?

9 The old humaniity, with its diversity and division, no longer reflects the Image of its Creator. In the new, or fresh, humanity, in which Christ displaces Adam, these divisions disappear. The religion of the Jew and the philosophy of the Greek, the privileges of the

Circumcision and the proscription of the Uncircumcision, the subjection of the slave and the superiority of the freeman-all these find no place in the young humanity of which Christ is the Head. We should so behave that it will be recognized as created in His image.

12 The greater our appreciation of our Lord's grace toward us, the greater grace will we show towards all who belong to Him. Without this compelling power we shall be able only to exercise our natural, ungracious dispositions.

14 Love, the greatest of the abiding trinity ( 1Co_13:13 ), is the tie which binds us to the Lord and should be the tie which unites us to our fellow saints. Before maturity, in the preparatory era preceding the present economy, the saints were united (or rather divided) by a common rite, as Circumcision, or a common ancestor, as Israel. Now that these are abolished there is a spiritual unity unmarred by any division ( Eph_4:3-6 ). Love is the tie that makes us one, peace is the tie that keeps us one.

15 All difficulties should be submitted to the arbitration of the peace of Christ.

16 The sincerest source of song is a heart full of grace. It should be the overflow of a heart surcharged with an appreciation of God's love. All other motives are a mockery, and discordant to His ears.

17 God is jealous that His Son be duly honored in all we do or say. Even our thanksgiving must be accompanied by the incense of His name.

Verses 18-25

17 We should always distinguish between our place "in Christ " and "in the Lord". "In Christ " physical distinctions vanish, even the distinction between the sexes is gone. There is neither male nor female ( Gal_3:28 ). But "in the Lord " these are all recognized and regulated. Let us never base conduct on our place in Christ , it is in the Lord . Service is to the Lord, not to Christ. In the Lord, woman is subject, in Christ, she is the equal of the man.

18 The ideal family is characterized by love on the part of the husband, which smoothes the way for subjection on the part of the wife and obedience on the part of the children. It is a sign of the last days that children no longer heed this injunction ( 2Ti_3:2 ).

22 As slavery is almost a thing of the past, these injunctions may well be the guide of those whose service is voluntary rather than compulsory. It is a marvelous help to look beyond all earthly masters and work for One above. Our employer may be hard to please, or unjust, or harsh, not giving proper compensation, but if we become the slave of Christ our work will be sincerely done and we will look to Him for appreciation and due deserts. On the other hand we will be restrained from injurious acts by the fear of Him in that day.

1 Masters, too, by remembering that they are His slaves, will deal justly with those who serve them.

2 The great burden on the apostle's heart at this time was the transcendent revelation of Christ and His secret glories, which had been committed to him. Why did he publish his message when he was a prisoner at the court of Rome? God's ways are not our ways. If the apostle had been free he would probably have proclaimed Christ's universal dignities by word of mouth. Being bound, he committed his message to writing, a method which has been immeasurably more effective.

7 Tychicus is well named, for who ever had a better "chance" than the bearer of this epistle as well as the letter to the Ephesians? ( Eph_6:21 ). The spiritual wealth with which he was entrusted passes our utmost comprehension.

10 The mention of Mark is another affectionate touch. Barnabas and Saul brought him from Jerusalem to Antioch ( Act_12:25 ) and took him with them on their first missionary journey, but he forsook them and returned to Jerusalem ( Act_13:13 ). For this Paul refused to take him the next time, causing the separation of Paul and Barnabas ( Act_15:37-40 ). But Mark has been drinking deeply of grace . He no longer is prejudiced against the uncircumcision. Paul tells Timothy "he is useful for the service" ( 2Ti_-4:11 ). Now he makes sure that his friends receive him. And this man, whose service was so unsatisfactory, is the one chosen by God to write the account of the perfect Servant!

10 Aristarchus, Mark and Justus were once members of the circumcision body who are now joined to the uncircumcision. They had proclaimed the kingdom. Here we have the point of contact between these two companies. The course of the Circumcision is traced in the epistle to the Hebrews.

12 Epaphras seems to have been the principal teacher in the Colossian ecclesia ( Col_1:7 ) through whom they learned the grace of God. How effectively that grace wrought in his own heart is evident by his prayers and anguish while absent from them. His great concern was that they should be mature and complete in all the will of God. How rare are such saints in these days!

16 It is likely that the Laodicean epistle here referred to is the same as that now called the epistle to the Ephesians. It has the character of a circular letter, copies of which were sent to various ecclesias.

18 The epistle was probably penned by a professional scribe, but the apostle appended the greeting with his own hand.