Colossians 3:11 NRSV
In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
CONSIDER THIS
Gentile lives matter. Barbarian lives matter. Slave lives matter.
Of course they do, but not why we think. What’s interesting is, Paul doesn’t choose this approach in his correspondence. He begins where he always begins, with Jesus, the image of the invisible God.
He does not start with historical realities, sociological categories, economic disparities, political concerns, or justice issues. He starts with theology. He begins with the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of God there are many distinctions between people, but there is no difference. Why? Because all are created in the image of God. In fact, it takes all of us to reflect the image of God. Only the image of God reflects such diverse distinctiveness while unifying it all in the same essence.
My growing conviction is, if we do not start with Jesus in these matters of our distinctiveness, we will never get to Jesus. Instead, we will allow our distinctiveness to devolve into differences that divide us. This is not naive idealism. “All men are created equal,” is idealism. When Paul says, “there is no Gentile and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and is in all” (v. 11 NRSV), he is not espousing an ideal. He references the blood-bought redemption of a diabolically broken race, which can only be found in one place—Jesus Christ.
Because of the political currents, the zeitgeist of our age will not enter the conversation on these terms, so we wind up submitting to all things historical, sociological, economic, political, and justicial. We search for a creative ideal we will never find. All the while our Creator God offers the furthest thing from an ideal: the cross.
And what irony: the only one who would be all-inclusive—”but Christ is all, and is in all”—is excluded on the grounds of his alleged exclusivity.
Theology rules. That’s Domino #3/11.
THE PRAYER
Abba Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus, who is our only hope for unity in diversity and community in the midst of chaos. Forgive me for how I have sought to create difference from distinctiveness. Reorder my own thinking about who matters and why. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
THE QUESTIONS
- So, what if we began with Christ instead of all these other categories when it comes to all the ways we are divided in the present day?
- Why don’t the followers of Jesus want to begin with theological concerns rather than get drawn first into all of the other divisive and reactionary categories of our time?
- How does the cross challenge and defeat your idealism?
P.S. Summer Daily Text + New Course Offering on Holy Spirit
The FarmTeam is gearing up for a big celebration of the Holy Spirit this summer beginning on the Day of Pentecost. I will begin a Daily Text series focused on the Holy Spirit. Later in the summer Dan Wilt and I are working on our next course in the Awakening Essentials Series—a three week offering called How to Experience the Holy Spirit. I would love to know of your interest. Will help us pray and plan. Would you take one minute and answer these two questions? We will keep you updated as the time nears.
For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
3 Responses
J D, how ironic that this post would be the answer to my prayer this morning. Prior to reading this, I’d prayed that God would give me eyes to see individuals the way He sees them, through the mindset of Christ Jesus. The answer is right there, they must be seen as fellow image bearers of himself. The other part of my prayer is how to view other believers, as they are the blood- bought members of the body of Christ.
In answer to your second question, I believe that most of us are still warring against our sin nature which thrives on human pride. Self mortification at the cross is the only real solution.
Once dead to oneself, Jesus through his Spirit will transform us to reflect the image of himself. When “Christ is all, and is in all “, an Awakening will break out and no power on earth can prevent it. This is most certainly true.
In the current context of church revival, Mainliners matter.
1) Since I met Jesus, when I think about people I try to begin with Christ. He has led me to joyous interaction with people of many colors, nationalities, cultures, religions, politics, etc. I wrote a book about my experiences in Spirit-led diversity called: “Off the RACE Track. Here’s a link to it https://amzn.to/3Nbs3bU
2) We need to approach people with the Spirit and His wisdom, not with our emotions, opinions, and/or upbringing.
3) I seek to deal in realism by seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in my interactions with and opinions about other people and people groups. The Cross destroys the idealism that there is such a thing as “good people” and makes me realize that we all have sinned and desperately need God’s ongoing mercy.