Afterwords -- week 15
"...that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ..." (Colossians 2:2 ESV)
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April 2, 2022
Dear friends,
Here's a couple of word studies from my recent study of Colossians...
PAUL'S MYSTERY (Col 2:2). By "mystery" (Gr. μυστήριον) the Apostle Paul does not mean something mysterious or spooky. He means something that was revealed earlier in biblical revelation which had more meaning than was understood at the time. For example, Paul speaks of the institution of marriage, given in Genesis 2, as being a mystery, or a foreshadowing, of Christ's relationship with the church (Eph 5:32). In other words, there's more intended by marriage than merely the joining of a man and a woman. In his letter to the Colossians Paul speaks of making the word of God fully known, specifically that God planned that Gentile believers would be included with equal standing in Christ alongside Jewish believers (1:26-27; cf Rom 11:25; Eph 3:6). This was something not seen clearly in the OT. Christ himself is referred to as God's mystery (2:2; 4:3; 1 Tim 3:16), that is, he is the somewhat-hidden, often-unrecognized center of gravity of OT biblical revelation. This is why Jesus, after his resurrection, walking with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, explains to them all the ways in which the OT was pointing to himself (Luke 24:25-27, 44-45). So, the gospel reveals this mystery of God's plan for salvation through Christ (Eph 3:9; 6:19). In using this word, mystery -- much like we would speak of a mystery novel today -- Paul is asserting the unity of, and unfolding progress of, God's revelation, both in history and in the Bible. There's one Author behind the forty human authors of Scripture, who is revealing his Story in his own way and time. And when we understand this unfolding plan -- centered upon Christ and including our own salvation -- then we can be greatly encouraged and filled with assurance and understanding (Col 2:2), knowing we too are part of a grand and glorious Story.
"SEASONED WITH SALT" (Col 4:6). Paul says to the Colossian believers, "Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of the time" (Col 4:5). Then, he writes, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person" (verse 6). What does he mean by "seasoned with salt"? In the ancient world salt was a valuable commodity, used as flavoring, in purification, in sacrifices, and in making covenants (Lev 2:13; Num 18:19; 2 Chron 13:5; Ezek 43:24). To "have salt in yourselves" (Mark 9:50) means to have proper self-judgment and purity in our dealings with others. To season our speech with salt -- not just toward fellow believers but toward outsiders and opponents -- means to represent truth in a gracious and pure manner (cf Eph 4:29; Jas 3:15-18). It's not only a matter of what we say, but how we say it. The Apostle Peter writes that we should be prepared "to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience..." (1 Pet 3:15-16). It is a common sight in news and social media today for people to speak harshly to those outside their own tribe. It is permissible to interrupt, misrepresent, and show disdain and disrespect, all while trying to "own" their opponent. Christians should not act that way. That's not how we season the gospel for others, whether they be friends or enemies.
ARE WE MAKING PROGRESS? In 1958, C. S. Lewis responded to a question about the progress of humanity, as addressed in an article in The Observer -- "Is man progressing today? Is progress even possible?" Lewis opens with the preliminary questions of "what is meant by progress?" and "progress as viewed toward what end?" Then he writes of the dangers of a growing welfare state and the rise of scientific authority (government rule by specialists). Here are a few excerpts...
Again, the new oligarchy must more and more base its claim to plan us on its claim to knowledge. If we are to be mothered, mother must know best. This means they must increasingly rely on the advice of scientists, till in the end the politicians proper become merely the scientists’ puppets. Technocracy is the form to which a planned society must tend. Now I dread specialists in power because they are specialists speaking outside their special subjects. Let scientists tell us about sciences. But government involves questions about the good for man, and justice, and what things are worth having at what price; and on these a scientific training gives a man’s opinion no added value...
On just the same ground I dread government in the name of science. That is how tyrannies come in. In every age the men who want us under their thumb, if they have any sense, will put forward the particular pretension which the hopes and fears of that age render most potent. They ‘cash in’. It has been magic, it has been Christianity. Now it will certainly be science. Perhaps the real scientists may not think much of the tyrants’ ‘science’– they didn’t think much of Hitler’s racial theories or Stalin’s biology. But they can be muzzled...
The question about progress has become the question whether we can discover any way of submitting to the worldwide paternalism of a technocracy without losing all personal privacy and independence. Is there any possibility of getting the super Welfare State’s honey and avoiding the sting?
Even though written over 60 years ago, this essay is very relevant for our thinking today. The complete essay can be found in God in the Dock (Eerdmans, 1970) or you can download the PDF from here.
THIS WEEK'S QUOTE. "Revelation is a divinely initiated activity, God's free communication by which he alone turns his personal privacy into a deliberate disclosure of his reality." (Carl F. H. Henry, from God, Revelation, and Authority)
Well, that's it for week 15!
Sandy
Photo above is of a section of rail track in Christiansburg.