Worship Weblog
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Colossians 1 reflection from Interpretation
Between Text & Sermon: Colossians 1:15-28
by Richard L. Christensen
Interpretation v. 61 no3 (July 2007) p. 318-20The Christian community at Colossae faced a surrounding society filled with Greek cults that appealed to people. These mystery cults reserved the secrets of salvation only for initiates. But the mystery of Christ is available to all (Col. 1:27). And it is a very different notion of salvation. In contrast to the teachings of some Gnostic groups, which sought deliverance from the world of nature and history, Christian faith teaches that Christ does not deliver people from the created order but from the powers that enslave human beings. The powers that Christ overcomes are those that lead people away from the worship of the one true God. When he makes peace “by the blood of his cross,” Jesus Christ forgives our sins, delivers people from the darkness called “death,” and restores a right relationship, not only to God, but also to the whole creation. The purpose of God’s salvation is not to escape the world, but to re-create it. This God does through the cross and the resurrection. This mystery (1:26) is not a carefully guarded secret, but it has been revealed for all to see, not simply a chosen few. The reconciliation accomplished through the cross includes not just human beings, but “all things” (1:20). In Christ, God’s purpose is the healing and wholeness of the entire world. ...
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