Tag: Letter to Colossians
Kingdom of darkness
What is the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13)?
In Colossians 1:13, the apostle Paul describes salvation as God’s work of rescuing believers “from the kingdom of darkness” and transferring them “into the Kingdom of his dear Son” (NLT). This imagery of rescue and deliverance as moving people out of darkness into light appears throughout the book of Isaiah, and Paul may have borrowed from it (see Isaiah 9:1–2; 42:6–7; 58:10; 60:1–3).
The “kingdom of darkness” in Colossians 1:13 is alternatively rendered “domain of darkness” (ESV) and “dominion of darkness” (NIV). Bible scholars interpret Paul’s meaning in a couple of ways. For some, the kingdom of darkness represents a spiritual realm, or domain, where Satan heads a hostile resistance force against the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ. In this dark sphere, Satan holds the position of power, authority and rule over human hearts and other spiritual beings. Such an invisible kingdom is depicted by Paul in Ephesians 6:12: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (NLT).
Others view the kingdom of darkness more as a darkened, unregenerated condition in which Satan dominates the hearts and minds of sinful humanity. Before salvation, people’s minds are “full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him” (Ephesians 4:18, NLT; see also Romans 1:21). Unbelievers live under the rule of darkness in contrast to Christians “who live in the light” (Colossians 1:12, NLT; see also Romans 13:12–13; 1 John 2:10). Paul explained, “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” (Ephesians 5:8, NLT).
At Paul’s conversion, Jesus said that He was sending Paul out as a servant to open people’s eyes “so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me” (Acts 26:18, NLT).
The kingdom of darkness is a realm controlled by sin and rebellion toward God (1 John 1:6; 2:11; John 3:19). But the kingdom of Christ is the new home of believers. God relocates us from our country of origin to become “citizens of heaven” (Philippians 3:20, NLT) and “members of God’s family” (Ephesians 2:19, NLT). We are rescued from the dangerous and deadly dominion of darkness and transferred into the glorious light and fellowship of God’s kingdom, where Jesus Christ rules and reigns (1 John 1:7).
The kingdom of darkness is a domain dominated by death. The author of Hebrews explains that Satan has “the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14). “But God is so rich in mercy,” writes Paul, “and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead” (Ephesians 2:4–5, NLT). God rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and the power of death through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Our Savior’s death takes away sin’s curse of death that was on us (Galatians 3:13).
Jesus is “the light of the world,” and those who follow Him “will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Christ gives His “light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79, NLT). If we receive God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ, we pass “from death to life” (John 5:24; see also 1 John 3:14; Romans 6:3–4, 13; Ephesians 2:6). In His mercy, love, and grace, God the Father through Jesus, His Son, gathers us out of bondage to sin and death in the kingdom of darkness and moves us into the eternal light and freedom of Christ’s kingdom.
Bond of perfection
What is the bond of perfection (Colossians 3:14)?
In Colossians 3:12–14, the apostle Paul presents a list of Christian virtues that demonstrate the gracious character of Jesus Christ. Believers are to put on “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” as if those virtues were articles of clothing (verse 12). Paul also urges, “Bear with each other and forgive one another . . . as the Lord forgave you” (verse 13). Finally, above all these things, Paul tells them to “put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (verse 14, NKJV). Other translations render the phrase as “perfect harmony” (ESV, NLT), “perfect unity” (NIV), and “perfect bond of unity” (NASB, CSB).
Love is the most essential garment for Christians to don because it acts as a binding agent, holding all the other virtues together in perfect harmony (1 Corinthians 13:1–13). In the original Greek, the term translated as “bond” in Colossians 3:14 means “that which fastens together separate items into a unity.” “Perfection” refers to a state of completeness or wholeness without defect or blemish. This bond of perfection is the beautiful harmony and cohesive union that believers experience when love rules in their hearts and they treat one another with Christlike graces born of spiritual maturity.
Jesus prayed for His disciples and all future believers to experience the bond of perfection: “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. . . . May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me” (John 17:20–23, NLT).
Most of us understand perfection as a state of complete, flawless, and faultless wholeness and purity. Only God can be described in such perfection of nature and character (Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Samuel 22:31; Matthew 5:48; Job 37:16). But the Greeks had a different understanding of perfection, framing it more in terms of being “mature and complete,” and this is the idea behind Paul’s use of “the bond of perfection.”
The Christian’s ultimate aspiration is to grow into full spiritual stature (Colossians 1:28; 4:12; Hebrews 6:1). Paul constantly pushed himself and others toward Christian maturity (Philippians 3:12–14). He earnestly appealed to his brothers and sisters in Christ “to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10, NLT). “Always be humble and gentle,” Paul pressed. “Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:2–3, NLT). Only as we develop Christlikeness can we experience peaceful, harmonious fellowship in the body of Christ. And then, as Jesus explained, our perfect unity becomes a testimony of God’s love for the world.
The apostle John taught, “As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world” (1 John 4:17, NLT). God is love (1 John 4:8). As our relationship with Him develops and deepens, we mature in our ability to understand and give love: “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (1 John 4:18, NLT). As we aim to strengthen the bond of perfection by loving one another, God Himself abides in us, “and his love is brought to full expression in us” (1 John 4:12, NLT).
Paul prayed for strength from the Holy Spirit and deep-rooted love for Christ to enable the believers in Ephesus to understand and experience the bond of perfection: “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:16–19, NLT).
We will never be perfectly faultless in this lifetime. But Scripture urges, “Let love be your highest goal!” (1 Corinthians 14:1, NLT). Love is the glue that holds us together in spiritual unity. As we allow the Holy Spirit to produce fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:8–10), we will grow more mature and complete in our love for God and our fellow believers in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:5; 2 Corinthians 6:6).
Word of Christ
What is the word of Christ in Colossians 3:16?
The apostle Paul repeatedly underscores the person and work of Jesus Christ in his letter to the Colossians. Concluding a section of teaching devoted to maintaining a holy lifestyle and keeping unity within the church (Colossians 3:12–17), Paul urges believers to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (verse 15, ESV) and “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (verse 16, ESV).
In this passage, Paul introduces the unique phrase word of Christ (it occurs only here) rather than his earlier usage of “word of God” (see Colossians 1:25). Bible scholars are split into three camps regarding the meaning of word of Christ in Colossians 3:16. Some, such as Warren Wiersbe, interpret the expression to mean the Word of God: “The Word will transform our lives if we will but permit it to ‘dwell’ in us richly. The word dwell means ‘to feel at home.’ If we have experienced the grace and the peace of Christ, then the Word of Christ will feel at home in our hearts. We will discover how rich the Word is with spiritual treasures that give value to our lives” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 2, Victor Books, 1996, p. 139–140).
Others believe the word of Christ refers to the actual words that Jesus Christ uttered—His teachings and messages that came directly from His mouth or were spoken by the Spirit of Christ. A third camp proposes that the word of Christ denotes the message about Jesus Christ—“the word of the truth, the gospel” (Colossians 1:5; Ephesians 1:13 ESV), “the message of the gospel” (Acts 15:7), or “the word of the Lord” (see 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Thessalonians 3:1; Acts 8:25, ESV).
None of these interpretations conflict with the others. The words that Jesus, God the Son, spoke were given to Him by God the Father. Jesus told His disciples, “And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me” (John 14:24, NLT). Jesus and the Father are one (John 10:30; 17:11); therefore, the word of Christ is the Word of God. Likewise, the message of the gospel is the Word of God (Mark 1:14; 1 Peter 1:25).
Earlier in his greeting, Paul testified that “the word of the truth” or “the gospel,” which the Colossians had received, was “bearing fruit and increasing” since the day they first heard and understood “the grace of God in truth” (Colossians 1:5–6, ESV). Holiness and unity, both individually and in the body of Christ, are cultivated when we let the word of Christ make its home in us—when we give the truth of God’s Word ample, comfortable space in our hearts and lives through teachings and Bible study, counseling one another with its wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16), and meditating on it day and night (Psalm 1:1–2).
Another way we might understand the word of Christ is as the sum of Christian doctrine, or the gospel in its broadest sense as presented by Jesus Christ and the Spirit of Christ. Paul clarified, “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin” (Galatians 1:11; see also Hebrews 2:3; 1 Corinthians 7:10). The gospel Paul preached was the word of Christ delivered by the Spirit of Christ.
God’s Word is meant to permeate our lives so profoundly that it takes up permanent residence. This abiding infilling is made possible through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who reminds us of everything Jesus said and did (John 14:26; 16:13). As we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly and are filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18–20), we become living representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ for God’s glory in whatever we say and do (see Colossians 3:17, 23; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 6:16). The life of a born-again believer, fully submitted to God and occupied by Christ, “will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God . . . and that word is the Good News that was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:23–25, NLT).
Epistle to the Colossians
Colossians
