Colossians 3:1-11 (NRSV)
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1-11 (verses 1-4, Year A Easter; Year C July 31-August 6) emphasizes the baptismal unity of the believer with the death and resurrection of Christ and the transformation that is to occur in the life of the believer. Paul appeals to all those who have been “raised with Christ,” that is, born again through baptism. But having experienced this new birth, there are now certain responsibilities that believers must begin to shoulder. He implores this church to “seek the things that are above,” a place where Christ “is seated at the right hand of God.” Christians are simply a shadow of their future self.
In verses 1-4, Paul moves from the negative notion of separation that Paul discussed since 2:16 to a presentation of the positive notion of baptism and union with Christ. The flow of thought from 2:16 continues here, only now from the positive side. Once separated from the ascetic practices and from the cosmic powers, one needs to unite to Christ. Paul makes a stark contrast between the former life of faithlessness and the present life of faith. The former is "earthly" and the latter is from "above." The mystery religions might promise the knowledge of heaven but, to Paul, it was a false experience and hence no genuine experience at all. The pastoral strategy is clear. Paul does not disparage their concern for the heavenly realm. Instead, he attempts to redirect it. He sees an antithesis and confrontation. As will be clear in the next section, to seek what is above is not to be other-worldly, for this “seeking” will influence how one lives.[1] They will have a lifestyle and faith expression that will separate them from the syncretistic milieu of the surrounding culture. They have already experienced Christ’s resurrected presence breaking into the here and now of their lives in the event of their baptisms.
Verses 2-4 link the imperative to “set your minds on things that are above” to the declaration that “your life is hidden with Christ.” The author is combining the temporal “life hidden” with the spatial “things above.” If he believes that true life is hidden above with the heavenly Christ, then Christians must channel their mental and physical energies into seeking this hidden life above. To understand the shorthand being employed with the juxtaposition of these two images, we must remember the eschatological mindset permeating the faith of the early Christian community. Thus, the preference to “things above” and encountering the Christ seated at God’s right hand are eschatological images.
A careful reader properly gets the impression that the Christians were struggling to differentiate themselves. On the one side, Hellenistic Jews stressed circumcision and "legal demands" (2:14). On the other side, the Greco-Roman philosophical family of mystery religions or pseudo-Christian sectarian groups worshiped angels, dwelt in visions and who were "puffed up" with a pseudo-spirituality that, to Paul, did not effect a transformation of one's being toward the likeness of Jesus Christ (2:18).
Biblical scholar Peter T. O’Brien has noted that such a present experience of these “things above” means that “the Colossians Christians have already participated in the world to come, the powers of the new age have broken in upon them [and] they already participate in the resurrection life of Christ. Thus, their aims, ambitions, indeed their whole orientation is to be directed to this sphere.”[2] “Things above” is not therefore simply a spatial reference but becomes a qualitative characteristic.
If “things that are above” is a new Christlike quality of life, it still has a more specific expression — one that makes clear the “hidden” nature of this yet unrealized new life. The author of the 2 Apocalypse of Baruch, a Syriac text of one of the Jewish pseudepigraphal writings that shares much imagery in common with Colossians, suggests that the cultural milieu of Colossae would enable these Colossians to know exactly what was meant by the “life hidden above.” That which is now hidden but will be eschatologically revealed in all its splendor is the angelic host of heaven and paradise itself. Colossians 1:1-4 employs images that allude to the eschatological encounter with these heavenly beings, the angelic host, the risen Christ seated at the right hand of God’s throne, and all paradise itself.[3]
By locating all these things as those to be revealed after the eschaton, Paul further undermines the claims of the Colossian errorists already derided in 2:16-18. These church members were performing secret acts and rituals as part of their alleged worship encounters with members of the angelic host. Not only were they claiming special visions of these heavenly beings, but they were denigrating those Christians who did not experience these visions. This was evidently the cause of significant tension within the Colossian church. In chapter 3, when Paul locates the angelic host firmly in the eschatological future and makes it a vision accessible to all Christians, he takes the wind out of the sails of the theologically errant angel-worshipers who have their minds set “on things that are of earth.”
Behind the formula “if you have died” (v. 20) and “if you have been raised” in verse 1 is the baptismal of dying and rising with Christ, thereby stressing the union of the believer with the death and resurrection with Christ. Stressing this baptismal connection, Paul will urge his readers to remember their baptism and put on the new self (v. 10). He acknowledges that they are seeing things above, but in all the wrong places, for their genuine spirituality will focus on the exalted Christ. The Gnostic form of asceticism Paul is opposing are of the earth, but he wants their new way of thinking and orientation of their lives toward what is above. He reminds them that becoming a Christian is death-to-life event, with death occurring in baptism. Yet, this is only the beginning, for, as we bury the dead under the ground where we can no longer see them, their lives are hidden from the sight of the world. This new life is hides behind the fleshly visage and the day-to-day responsibilities, but it was real and effective. In 2:12-13, only by union with the Messiah Jesus as this takes place in baptism gives individuals a part in this glory, which we also see in verse 4. Paul developed the notion of the Already and the Not Yet of salvation. In 2:12, Paul is bold enough to describe the resurrection of the baptized as a reality that is present already. Yet, the tension with the future of salvation is still present when verses 3-4 says that that the new life of believers still has a hidden quality, with Christ in God, to whom God has exalted Christ. However, this hiddenness does not define the future, for when Christ, who defines your life now in a hidden way, is revealed to the world to be who he is, then they will be revealed in glory. Christian hope is not just individual hope in God but hope for the world, for the rule of God, and only in this context hope for one’s own salvation. In 1:13-14, God’s saving plan, the divine mystery now revealed, consists of the fact that “Christ is in you, the hope of glory.” The Messiah of the people of God is also the Savior of the world of nations. Therefore, Christ is not only the hope for this or that individual, but also the riches of the glory of the divine plan of salvation among the peoples. The resurrection of the believer occurs at death. The biblical basis involves the promise to the thief on the cross. The existence with Christ inaugurated by faith is the start of resurrected life and therefore outlasts death. In this passage, we find biblical support for this notion. God has already raised the baptized with Christ. Naturally, we must add that this life will appear only with the return of Christ as said in verse 4. The thesis of a resurrection in death, which according to verse 1 occurs even at baptism, does not express the totality of the New Testament witness to the resurrection of the dead.[4] The revelation would show the believer to be one with Christ. The end is not death, darkness, or nothingness. The end is beautiful because life with Jesus defines our end. We are to live our lives today from the perspective of that end. If we do, our today is always full. It will never be empty. It will have a direction and a goal. Jesus, to Paul, is more than an example whom the believer chooses to follow; rather, for Paul, baptism is a transformation event changing the person from the inside out. Conversion is not a change in the flesh (circumcision), or a change of mind (philosophy); instead, Christ brings mind and body together, for Christ "is all and in all" (v. 11). To live with Christ means to seek our life above, where it is real. We seek here and now, not in this here and now and not on this earth. Think of the true life of the Christian as this exalted life. Our lives are with Christ, and never apart from Him, never at all independently of Him, never at all in and for itself. Humanity never exists in oneself. The Christian is the very last to cling to existing in oneself. Humanity exists in Jesus Christ and in Christ alone. Humanity also finds God in Christ and in Christ alone. We are concealed in Christ, but our lives remain our own, renewed in the reconciliation accomplished in Christ. This passage stresses the security of the believer in Christ. If our lives hide in Christ, we are not hiding in our sin.[5]
Verses 5-11 is a series of ethical exhortations, putting to death that which is of earth. Paul uses a typical Near Eastern literary device, a list of five vices (twice) followed by five virtues (also twice). We should not read these lists looking for a one-to-one correspondence between bodily members and particular vices — even though rabbinic tradition holds that there are as many commandments and prohibitions in the law as the body has members. The vices or negatives sketch out to the reader what a Christian is not. Ethical behavior is part of eschatological existence. While the “life hidden with Christ” may be referring to the revealed angelic host, it is only by “putting to death” the earthly vices that Christians can hope to be welcomed into this eschatological scene. If they have failed to live their individual or communal lives in an ethical manner, they will not encounter the vision of Christ at God’s right hand but will be confronted by God’s wrath.
What the Gnostics sought in checking sensual indulgence the gospel will gain, not through ordinances, but through Christ. You need to die, before new life can begin. We come into this life as broken human beings. Our finitude will keep us guessing as to the right course of action. In fact, our situation is worse, for even if we are confident in the right course, we will choose what is wrong. Thus, we live our lives by mending the unique way in which we experience our brokenness. Paul is going to direct us to the transforming grace of God that hold the pieces together.[6]
The paraenesis includes a collection of sententiae, or ethical sentences, common among Hellenistic philosophers. The rabbis and Greek philosophers of his time would have agreed with Paul. Respect for our bodies and respect for other people would seem to be the decent thing to do. They gave rules of conduct for daily life. In 3:5, 8, 12, the list of vices and virtues come from the same sources, as do the household rules in 3:18-4:1. Paul lists five vices to which we need to die.
First, fornication (πορνείαν), or sexual immorality is part of the list of vices in which Paul says is incompatible with the kingdom of God. He uses it eight times, often with the next word in this list. It seemed to refer to prostitution in its early history, but came to mean, by the time of the New Testament, any sexual experiences outside of marriage, and in particular adultery. He uses the word in I Thess 4:3, Gal 5:19, several times in I Corinthians (5:1, 6:13, 6:18, 7:2), II Cor 12:21, and Eph 5:3.
Second, impurity (ἀκαθαρσίαν) or uncleanness originally referred to the form of impurity that would not allow one to offer sacrifices or enter the temple. However, by the time of the New Testament, it referred to moral impurity that excludes people from fellowship with God. Paul adopts it as a general description of alienation from God in which heathenism finds itself. Sexual immorality is an expression of the nature of the unregenerate person whose action arises out of natural desires.[7] He also uses it in I Thess 2:3, 4:7, Rom 1:24, 6:19, II Cor 12:21, Gal 5:19, Eph 4:19, 5:3.
Third, passion (πάθος), lust, inordinate desire, was a word the Greeks could use in either a good or a bad sense, as in Aristotle, Ethics, 2, 416. However, in Paul, I Thess 4:5 and Rom 1:26, the use is negative and related to sexuality. In Romans, it refers to the scandalous vices of homosexuality. When used with “impurity” as the more general term, this word is for the depiction of sexual perversion, denoting erotic passion, especially given this context.[8]
Fourth, evil desire (ἐπιθυμίαν κακήν) occurs also in I Thess 2:17, 4:5, Gal 5:16, 5:24, Rom 1:24, 6:12, 7:7, 7:8, 13:14, Phil 1:23, Eph 2:3, 4:22, and the Pastoral Epistles (I Tim 6:9, II Tim 2:22, 3:6, 4:3, Titus 2:12, 3:3). Desire itself can be either neutral or good, but it often has the connotation of evil.
Fifth, greed (πλεονεξίαν) (which is idolatry). Covetousness occurs in I Thess 2:5, Rom 1:29, II Cor 9:5, Eph 4:19, 5:3. It refers to a greedy desire to have more, such as in avarice. The fact that Paul emphasizes that coveting is idolatry may show the depth of the battle with possessions.[9] For others, the word does not modify "greed" specifically, but Paul adds it at the end of the sentence to sum up the whole list. For me, this does not seem the natural reading of the text. Anything that is not about worshiping God, the Father of Jesus, and grounding life in the present but hidden spirit of the risen Lord, is idolatry and is worthy of God's wrath. As we find in Matt 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Paul gives a call to determination to have done with former ways of behaving, based on baptism.
Paul describes in formulaic terms the characteristics of the former faithless life and exhorts the believer not to act like that. In Paul's letters the list of depravities as descriptive of the life before faith is a common addition. It would be a bit much to assume that every person who was not a Christian practiced these five vices. That is hardly the point. Of course, there were righteous Jews and monogamous Greeks. However, sweeping with a broad brush does have its rhetorical effect. It is probable that in Paul's day, as in ours, sex saturated the culture. Sins of the body do not change in the passage of centuries. More specifically, some mystery religions swept the participant up in passions of sexual frenzy. These would have no place in Christian worship, and therefore Paul specifies the sexual excesses.[10]
Such human behavior, in which they participated, leads to the coming wrath of God. Paul offers a formulaic rhetorical list that contrasts the inner motivation of the old life with the inner power of the new life.Paul then adds a second list of five vices focusing on language and behavior that disrupts human fellowship, vices which they must rid themselves of and which are like the previous list.
Sixth, anger (ὀργήν), here and in Eph 4:31 referring to the anger of people, often expressed as vengeance.
Seventh, wrath (θυμόν) refers to the emotion that wells up within, often expressing itself as anger. We find it in Gal 5:20, Rom 2:8, II Cor 12:20, and Eph 4:31.
Eighth, malice (κακίαν) occurring as well in I Cor 5:8, 14:20, Rom 1:29, Eph 4:31, and Titus 3:3. It suggests ill will or desire to injure. It disrupts human fellowship, and therefore entering the Christian community means throwing off this behavior.[11]
Ninth, slander (βλασφημίαν) or blasphemy occurs in Eph 4:31 and I Tim 6:4. It refers to speech that injures the reputation of another person.
Tenth, abusive language (αἰσχρολογίαν) from your mouth, a word that occurs only here in Paul, suggests filthy and obscene talk.
Paul wishes the community of Christians to be gentle and truthful with each other. The errors of the past suggest the obligations of the present, the typical Pauline way of contrasting "then" and "now." Paul urges them not to lie (ψεύδεσθε) to each other. In other uses by Paul, he tells the recipients of his letters that he is not lying to them. He is not deceiving them. This was a practice of the old self which he contrasts with now. Paul uses the imagery of putting on the new life as if a set of new clothes. This is a common theme in Paulinewritings. Thus, he can urge his readers to put away their former lives and clothe themselves with the new self (Eph 4:24). No doubt in Paul's age, as in ours, distinctive dress codes differentiated one group from another, and so stripping down and wearing something new was a powerful metaphor of the effective change of faith. Paul is urging them to act upon their baptismal confession. "Old nature" and "new nature" are collective terms. There is an old order of existence with its own habits, inclination, goals, but he calls them to a new humanity that is alive to God. Paul may base this new teaching upon early instruction or catechisms. Having stripped off the old self, they clothe themselves with the regenerate, using the language of Gen 1:26, renewed in knowledge as the person formed in the image of the creator. Eph 4:24 expresses a similar view, where the new self arises according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. With Christ, transformation of mind and body, inner motivation and outer expression, is the objective, a transformation that includes renewal in the likeness and image of God that derives from the image and language of the creationstory in Genesis. Hence, in Christ, we become the people God intended us to be. Irenaeus, basing his argument on 3:9-10, distinguished between Christ as original and Adam as copy, while also interpreting likeness as linking the copy to the original. As Adam the copy was related to the original, the divine likeness acquired the meaning of a destiny, or goal, which one achieve by way of assimilation to the original in the process of moral striving.[12] The image of the second Adam that all are meant to bear is that of the creator in the sense of Gen 1:26, after which we are now to be renewed or refashioned. This includes righteousness, the basis for which is the manifestation of new and incorruptible life in the resurrection of Jesus. The point is that our acceptance into the filial relation of Jesus to the Father fulfills the purpose of God for humanity at creation.[13] However, only the ecstatic structure of faith enables Paul to suggest the renewal after the pattern of Christ in which our destiny to be the image of God becomes clear, as we find here.[14]
In the renewal of the image of the creator in which we participate, similar to Gal 3:27-28, there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, who is culturally inferior to the Roman and Hellenistic world, Scythian, the lowest type of savage, a nomadic people who roamed southeastern Europe and Asia, and neither slave nor free. The renewed person in Christ does not recognize such distinctions, the new life in Christ breaking down all cultural and social barriers. He rejects barriers and division into groups. The outsider becomes part of the new community, for Christ assumes priority over all distinctions and separations. The challenge for the reader today is to consider whom Paul might add to this list. For all those who succeed in establishing their “new self” after being raised in Christ, the promise of the eschatological vision of paradise remains — whether Greek or Jew, Scythian or slave. Secret rites, prematurely transporting only a privileged few believers to this scene of glory, are categorically denied. By dying in Christ and then living for Christ, all believers will be welcomed. Christ truly “is all and in all.”
Rejecting such social divisions as having ultimate significance makes an important philosophical statement as well. I want to invite you to consider an analogy. Our experience of the beautiful transcends social groupings. Regardless of the color of skin, religious group, economic class, or gender, we have an eye for beauty. In fact, we have an eye for beauty in the formation of rocks, trees, animals, or the beach. Our experience of the good, moral, or ethical transcends our social divisions. This means that evil does not reside in a race, a religion, or an economic class. We cannot deal with evil by projecting the actuality of evil upon a group different from our group. We can only deal with evil when we realize how close it is to us. It resides in our hearts. This means that the true does not reside in any social, religious, or economic group. In fact, truth may appear in surprising ways and places. Of course, for the Christian, Christ is the truth (John 14:6). A proper reading of scripture, in line with the tradition of the church, will bring us to an encounter with truth. Some religions at historical moments will have a clearer grasp of truth than does the church in the same historical moment. In fact, secularity will have a grasp of some portions of truth in ways the church will need to learn. If Christ is all and in all, then this means Christ transcends arbitrary human divisions. Such openness to beauty, goodness, and truth takes us beyond cultural and economic division. It takes us beyond political ideology. The way many people approach the tribe of their political ideology embeds them firmly in a closed circle of “us” and casts evil and the lie upon “them.” Paul is inviting us to consider a grand vision that takes us beyond the simple us vs. them and participate in the universal human concern for beauty, goodness, and truth.
[1] Andrew Lincoln
[2] (Colossians, Philemon [Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982], 161).
[3] (John R. Levison, “2 Apoc. Bar. 48:42-52:7 and the Apocalyptic Dimension of Colossians 3:1-6,” Journal of Biblical Literature 108 [1989], 99).
[4]
[5]
[6] Eugene O'Neill, quoted by
[7] (Hauck, TDNT, Volume III, 429)
[8] (Michaelis, TDNT, 928)
[9] (Delling, TDNT, Volume III, 291)
[10]
[11] (Grundmann, Volume III, 271)
[12] (Adv. Haer. 5.12.14)
[13]
[14]
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