The Christian Life According to Colossians -- By: H. Wayne House

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 151:604 (Oct 1994)
Article: The Christian Life According to Colossians
Author: H. Wayne House


The Christian Life According to Colossians

H. Wayne House

[H. Wayne House is Professor-at-large, Simon Greenleaf University, School of Law, Anaheim, California.]

[This is article four in a four-part series, “Doctrinal Issues in Colossians.” Parts one and two were published in the Bibliotheca Sacra January 1992 and April 1992 issues, and part three was published in July-September 1994.]

A muscle will not function properly if the bone to which it is attached is broken or is in a state of degeneration. The same is true of the Christian life. Orthodoxy serves as the skeletal framework for the saint of God. If that framework is faulty and does not affirm truth, the result will be a defective lifestyle.

In the Epistle to the Colossians Paul demonstrated this point. The Colossian congregation was under attack by syncretistic Jewish mysticism, which promoted “legal ordinances, circumcision, food regulations, the Sabbath, new moon, and other prescriptions of the Jewish calendar.”1 In response to this heterodoxy, the Apostle Paul sought to make clear how the infection of false doctrine would affect their Christian living. This article examines the union between doctrine and practice by noting four themes in the Book of Colossians: walking in divine wisdom, living in Christ, putting off sinful works, and putting on Christ.

Walking in Divine Wisdom (2:6-10)

In Colossians 2:6 Paul affirmed the association between correct theology and correct living. The Colossians, or at least some of them, were abandoning the doctrines espoused by Paul and were pursuing theological opinion in addition to deprecating the superiority and efficacy of Christ. Paul reminded them to live according to the truth they had been taught them.

Holding to Truth, not Opinions (2:6-7)

Paul was concerned that the Colossians might succumb to a philosophy completely estranged from his apostolic message. In 2:1 he said he wanted his readers to know of his willingness to suffer for the saints. He did this so the Colossians would come to experience “all the wealth that comes from the full asurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself” (v. 3). He wanted to prevent their being led astray by malignant “persuasive” speech (πιθανολογία, v. 4, a word that means persuasive speech that is plausible yet false

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