As I think I've already said, we're studying Colossians at the moment in the central GBU group. Last week we arrived at chapter 3 which is one of my favourite parts of the Bible. This whole book in fact, I just love! We studied it in one to ones in first year and it really helped me to see where there was lots of legalism in my life, and studying it again now it's just amazing to see how time and time again, Paul says "Christ is everything, WHY are you chasing after other things?!"
We looked at the tenses in chapter three:
Past:
"You have been raised with Christ" (v1)
"You died" (v3)
"You used to walk in these ways" (v7)
"in the life you once lived"(v7)
"you have taken off your old self with it's practices" (v9)
"and have put on the new self" (v10)
Present:
"Your life is now hidden with Christ, in God" (v3)
"the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of it's creator" (v10)
Future:
"When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (v3)
So then the list of things "to do", really isn't another list of dos and donts, but is actually just a list of how we should be in acting, in view of the fact that our life is already in Christ! Why chase after the ugly ways of the old nature, when you are already in Christ?!
Basically, I found it super encouraging to see that it's not saying, come on you need to pull your socks up and do better! But is actually showing us who we already are in Christ, and how to live that out in the church.
:)
When Glory Becomes Visible
1 day ago
Amen, sister, amen. :) So be it, in Jesus name.
ReplyDeleteI've found myself hurt by legalistic Christian brethren, and so I tend to have defense mechanisms. What I don't realize sometimes is my reactions to legalism can make me legalistic too. :( We are imperfect, and learning to love the imperfect because we know imperfection. Thankfully we have a high Priest who knows our temptations and weaknesses--one who died while we were yet imperfect. Such good stuff.