«　WEEK 3　DAY 3　»

　　Col. 3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.

　　1:18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things.

　　In Colossians 1:9—3:11 we see seven major aspects of Christ: that Christ is the portion of the saints (1:9-14), that He is the first both in creation and in resurrection (1:15-23), that He is the mystery of God’s economy (1:24-29), that He is the mystery of God (2:1-7), that He is the body of all the shadows (2:8-23), that He is the life of the saints (3:1-4), and that He is the constituent of the new man (3:5-11). These aspects of Christ are presented in a marvelous sequence. First we see that Christ is the portion of the saints and last that He is the constituent of the new man. This indicates that the ultimate issue of enjoying Christ as our portion is that we experience Him as the content and constituent of the new man…. To say that the enjoyment of Christ as the portion of the saints results in the experience of Christ as the constituent of the new man indicates that the enjoyment of Christ results in the church life…. Christ is the all-inclusive portion of the saints, typified by the good land. If we enjoy Christ as such a portion, the result will be the new man with Christ as the content…. In this new man Christ is all and in all. Hence, it is crucial for us to learn to live Christ as the constituent of the new man. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 263-264)

　　In the geographical region between Rome and Colossae were many different kinds of people. However, in this region near the Mediterranean, the new man had come into being and was living in a practical way. Although travel was not convenient, there was considerable traffic among the churches. There is a lesson for us here. Although we enjoy all the modern conveniences and means of transportation, there may not be as much traffic among the churches today as there was at the time of Paul…. I have never composed a letter containing as many personal greetings as there are in the book of Colossians. Think of how many names are mentioned in 4:7-17…. Paul also refers to the brothers in Laodicea, the church in the house of Nymphas, and the church of the Laodiceans…. All these names indicate that with Paul there was a sense, a consciousness, of the new man.

　　This new man who was living on earth in a practical way was constituted of those who according to culture and social status were Greeks, Jews, circumcision, uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slaves, and free men. However, …the actual constituent of the new man is Christ and Christ alone. Because Christ is the unique constituent of the new man, there should be no differences among the believers who are part of this new man. Furthermore, there should be no differences among the churches, for example, no difference between the church in Laodicea and the church in Colossae. This is proved by Paul’s word regarding the reading of letters [in 4:16]…. What Paul wrote to the Colossians was also for the Laodiceans, and what he wrote to the Laodiceans was for the Colossians. What fellowship, oneness, harmony, and intimate contact this implies!

　　In 4:7 Paul says, “All the things concerning me, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow slave in the Lord, will make known to you.” Paul had charged Tychicus to make known to the Colossians all that concerned him. If Paul did not have the consciousness of the new man, he would not have regarded it necessary to give Tychicus such a charge. Rather, he may have thought to himself, “Why should I tell those in Colossae the things that concern me? They are in Asia Minor, and I am here in Rome, far away from them.” Paul, however, had the sense of the new man. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 258-260)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msg. 31