Scripture Reading: Col. 2:2-4, 6-8, 2:6-7; 1:27; 3:3-4a; 1 Cor. 1:5, 7a, 1 Cor. 1:9, 22-24; 2:2; Gal. 1:14-16a; Gal. 2:20a; Gal. 4:19; 5:2, 4
In the book of Colossians Paul sets forth not only the revelation of the all-inclusive Christ, but also the experience of Christ. As we consider this book, we need to see both the revelation and the experience. In this message we shall see that in the experience of Christians, Christ has been replaced in every way.
The revelation concerning Christ in Colossians is both all-inclusive and extensive. Colossians reveals that Christ is everything. Christ is the Firstborn both of the old creation, the universe, and of the new creation, the church (1:15, 18). The new creation is not as extensive as the old creation, the universe. The church is all-inclusive, but it is not extensive. For Christ to be the Firstborn of both the original creation and the new creation means that He is both extensive and all-inclusive. In the new man there is room only for Christ; Christ is all and in all (3:11). This shows His all-inclusiveness. However, the fact that He is the Firstborn of all creation indicates His extensiveness. In the words of Ephesians 3, Christ is the breadth, length, height, and depth.
The revelation of the all-inclusive and extensive Christ is found adequately, fully, definitely, and clearly in the Epistles of Paul, in particular in the book of Colossians. In 1:25 Paul says that he became a minister according to the stewardship of God to complete the word of God. Colossians was written to complete the word of God, to complete the divine revelation in the Scriptures. Without Colossians, the divine revelation in the Scriptures would not be complete.
The completion of the Word of God found in Colossians is the mystery of God’s economy — Christ in us, the hope of glory (1:27). This means that without Christ in us as the hope of glory, God’s revelation would have no completion. We thank the Lord that His revelation is completed, recorded, and presented to us.
For centuries, Christians have had this revelation in their hands. However, it has been neglected. Although Christ has been revealed adequately, definitely, emphatically, and fully, in the experience of Christians He has been replaced by many other things. Although there are millions of Christians in this country, not many have paid adequate attention to Christ in us, the hope of glory. This has been true even among us. In particular, culture has replaced Christ. In 1961 I wrote the hymn, “Not the law of letters, but the Christ of life” (Hymns, #541). But in this hymn I did not say anything about culture. When I wrote it, I did not see that culture was the strongest and most subtle replacement of Christ in our experience. Nevertheless, more than forty-five years ago, I saw that God does not want anything other than Christ. Although this vision is very clear, I must confess that I still do not live Christ adequately. From time to time, I have been distracted from Christ to other things.
Have you ever asked yourself how much you live Christ day by day? For the most part, we live Christ only when we are praying in the spirit. By this we see how little we actually live Christ. In our daily living Christ is replaced by other things. In particular, things that are good in our eyes become replacements for Christ. For example, Christ may be replaced by your humility. Spontaneously and unconsciously, you live your natural humility instead of Christ. Inwardly, a naturally humble person may be proud of his humility, especially when he compares himself with others. But this humility of which he boasts is a replacement of Christ. Actually, such humility is not a virtue in the eyes of God. Because it replaces Christ, it is something very unpleasant. Day by day, Christ is replaced by many things. He may be replaced by our diligence, frankness, and honesty. Instead of living Christ, we may live these natural attributes or characteristics.
In the New Testament three books portray the replacements of Christ: 1 Corinthians, Galatians, and Colossians. First Corinthians deals with gifts and knowledge. In 1 Corinthians 1:7 Paul said that the Corinthians came behind in no gift. Furthermore, they had much knowledge, including spiritual knowledge. Nevertheless, they were carnal. Their knowledge did not help them adequately, and their gifts did not build them up. Paul told them that when he first came to them, he determined not to know anything among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). Paul realized that the Corinthians were occupied with knowledge and gifts. For this reason, he emphasized the crucified Christ. This indicates that the Corinthian believers needed to live a crucified life, a life of the cross.
In 1 Corinthians 1:22 Paul said, “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.” To the Jews, the crucified Christ was a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, He was foolishness. Neither the Jews nor the Greeks cared for such a Christ. They preferred a Christ of splendor to a Christ crucified. However, Paul told them that he did not want to know anything among them except Christ and Him crucified.
In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul eventually indicated that to have the church life we need the experience of Christ crucified. The church life must be a crucified life. What the Corinthian believers needed was to live a crucified Christ and not pay their attention to knowledge and spiritual gifts.
In Corinth Christ was replaced by knowledge and gifts. In the charismatic movement today, Christ is also replaced by the gifts. Where in charismatic meetings is Christ emphasized and realized properly? Today Christ is still being replaced by knowledge and gifts. Of course, He is also replaced by the various forms, rituals, and ordinances of religion.
In the book of Galatians we see that Christ was replaced by Judaism. Judaism was a religion in which people worshipped the true God according to His holy Word. This religion included the law, which had been given by God through Moses, and also circumcision, the ordinances, and the traditions. Paul advanced in this religion and surpassed his contemporaries. But one day, when he was on the way to Damascus, the Lord Jesus appeared to him. At that time, God revealed the living Christ into Paul (Gal. 1:16a). Thus, in the book of Galatians we have a clear record of how Christ was replaced by the Jewish religion with the law, circumcision, and the traditions.
When the book of Galatians was written, not only had the Jews replaced Christ with such a religion, but even many saints had been influenced to turn from Christ to the law and circumcision. According to Galatians 5:2, if we are circumcised, Christ will not profit us at all. Those who seek to be justified by the law are actually “brought to nought from Christ” (v. 4). This means that if we try to be righteous by keeping the law, we shall be severed from Christ, and He will be of no effect to us. This indicates clearly that the law can replace Christ and keep God’s people from Christ. Furthermore, circumcision annuls the grace of God.
The law had been given by God, and circumcision and many rituals had been ordained by God. The Jews used all these things apparently for God. However, the law, circumcision, and the ordinances, the components of the Jewish religion, replaced Christ and were used to distract the believers from Christ. The saints in Galatia were distracted from Christ to certain God-given and God-ordained things. In their case, Christ was replaced by religion.
According to the book of Colossians, Christ is replaced by culture. Any culture is a composition of a number of items. Western culture, for example, is a composition of Hebrew religion, Greek philosophy, and Roman politics. When the book of Colossians was written, the culture in the region of Colosse included Hebrew religion, Greek philosophy, asceticism, mysticism, and Gnosticism. Although the word culture is not used in this book, culture is nonetheless strongly indicated or implied. In 3:11 Paul says that in the new man there is no Greek or Jew, no circumcision or uncircumcision, no barbarian or Scythian. These terms indicate both religious and cultural distinctions. Circumcision and uncircumcision refer to religion, whereas barbarian and Scythian refer to culture. Thus, the book of Colossians indicates that the ultimate replacement for Christ is our culture.
As we consider the three books of 1 Corinthians, Galatians, and Colossians, we see many replacements for Christ. Christ is replaced by knowledge and gifts, by religion with its law and ordinances, and by culture. Among the Corinthians, Christ was replaced by knowledge and spiritual gifts. The same is true among Christians today. Some people think that charismatic meetings are quite living. But are these meetings living because of Christ or because of something else? If we are not careful, various things may come in to replace Christ in our experience. If Christ is not replaced by knowledge or gifts, He may be replaced by religion or culture. We may use some man-made law or ordinance to replace Him. Certain isms may come in to be a substitute for Him. Our self-made and self-imposed culture may also replace Christ in our daily living. Because there are so many different substitutes for Christ, we can say that in the experience of Christians throughout the centuries, Christ has been replaced in every way.
In our daily living Christ is often replaced by our natural characteristics. Suppose a certain brother is quick, and another is slow. The quick brother automatically lives according to his natural quickness, and the slow one, according to his natural slowness. The quick one will often make mistakes, but the slow one will often cause delays. In one case Christ is replaced by quickness; in the other, He is replaced by slowness. Whether you prefer the quick one or the slow one, it is a fact that Christ is replaced by both our natural quickness and our natural slowness.
Recently in a meeting a brother stood up to declare that he intended to drop his culture. Later I pointed out that the attempt to drop our culture will only produce another type of culture — a culture-dropping culture. There is no need for us to drop our culture. What we need to see is that culture is a replacement for Christ and that we should live Christ. The more we live Christ, the more our culture will be replaced by Christ. Formerly our culture was a replacement for Christ. But now as we live Christ, Christ replaces our culture with Himself.
There can be no doubt that Christ is fully revealed in the Bible. But who among the Lord’s people truly lives Christ? We need to ask ourselves how much we live Christ. Sometimes the saints talk about the best way to have the church meetings. However, our concern should not be with the way of meeting; it should be with the living of Christ. Do we care to live Christ in a genuine way, or do we just want to have a certain kind of meeting? The meetings of the church should not be a performance, but should be an exhibition of our daily living.
We thank the Lord for all He has shown us concerning the revelation of Christ in Colossians. Now we must go on to experience Christ and to live Him. What we need is not more doctrine, but more experience of Christ. Again and again, we need to be encouraged to live Christ day by day. Wherever we are, at home, at school, or at work, we need to live Christ. Paul could say, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). How many of us can give such a testimony? When we are tested by the Lord concerning this, we need to humble ourselves and confess that we do not live very much by Christ. How we need to receive grace to live Christ day by day! If we live Him consistently and adequately, all the replacements for Christ will be gone.
If we have light concerning how Christ is replaced in our daily living, we shall confess to the Lord that instead of living Him we live so many other things. We may say to Him, “Lord, I confess that I have not lived very much by You. I live a clean life, even a pure life, but I do not live Christ. Although I have been careful not to sin and not to be wrong with others, I have not lived You.” Years ago, I spent much time to confess my failures and wrongdoings; however, at that time I did not confess my lack in living Christ. But recently most of my confession has concerned one thing — my shortage in living Christ. We all need to make such a confession to the Lord.
In the New Testament there is a unique commandment to unbelievers: Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus. Those who perish will perish because they do not believe in the Lord. Just as there is a unique commandment for unbelievers, so there is a unique commandment for believers: To live Christ. If you are not a believer, you need to repent and believe in Christ. But if you are a believer in Christ, you now need to live Christ. Unbelievers do many different things in place of believing in Christ. Likewise, believers may do many things instead of living Christ. The unique sin of unbelievers is their unbelief, their not believing in Christ. But the unique sin of believers is their failure to live Christ. We need to confess this sin and condemn it. We may be humble, honest, sincere, faithful, diligent, and, in many respects, very scriptural. However, if we do not live Christ, we are still under God’s condemnation. God does not want honest, sincere people — He wants us to be Christ-people, those who live Christ. A genuine Christian should be a Christ-man, not merely a virtuous man.
It is crucial for us to see that in our living there should be no replacements for Christ. In particular, we see from Colossians that Christ should not be replaced by any kind of culture. We all have a strong culture, both the culture we have inherited and the culture we have made and imposed on ourselves. To live by this culture is to live by something other than Christ Himself. When we live by our culture, we may not do anything sinful. On the contrary, our living may be very good, but it is not Christ. We must condemn the practice of living by such things as humility, love, and diligence instead of Christ. God’s desire is that we live Christ.
The book of Colossians presents both the objective aspect of Christ and the subjective aspect. On the one hand, this book reveals the extensive, all-inclusive Christ objectively. On the other hand, there is the definite indication that this Christ dwells in us subjectively. We have already referred to 1:27, where Paul says that Christ in us is the hope of glory. The extensive, all-inclusive Christ is actually dwelling within us. How subjective this is! According to Paul, the Christ who is the mystery of God’s economy is not merely the Christ at the right hand of God in the heavens, but also the Christ who is within us. According to God’s economy, Christ must be dispensed into us for our subjective experience. If He were only on the throne in the heavens, we could not experience Him. We could look to Him, trust in Him, pray to Him, and rely on Him, but we could not experience Him. Praise the Lord that the extensive Christ lives in us to be our hope of glory! This is the focal point of God’s economy, the center of God’s dispensation.
Some Christians do not believe that Christ is in us. They claim that He is on the throne and is represented in us by the Holy Spirit. This is a twisting of God’s holy Word, which clearly says that Christ is in us. What right does anyone have to say that Christ is only in the heavens and not also in the believers? What ground does anyone have to twist God’s Word to mean that Christ is merely represented in us by the Spirit? Those who deny that Christ actually dwells in us oppose us for teaching that Christ today is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17). The Bible clearly and definitely says that Christ is in us. If Christ were not the life-giving Spirit, how could He indwell us to be our life?
In 3:3 and 4 Paul says, “For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ our life is manifested, then you also shall be manifested with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:3 says that our life is hidden with Christ in God. To be with Christ in God means that we are one with Christ. In the words of 1 Corinthians 6:17, he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. We are with Christ in God because we and Christ are subjectively one.
Colossians 3:3 is a deep, mysterious verse. With Christ we are hidden in God. Is it not a mystery that we are with Christ and that we are hidden in God? This is not something merely objective; it is also very subjective.
In 3:4 Paul goes on to say that Christ is our life. Nothing is more subjective to us than our life. Our life is actually we ourselves. How can you separate a person from the life of that person? It is impossible! A person’s life is the person himself. Thus, to say that Christ is our life means that Christ becomes us. This is subjective to the uttermost.
In 2:6 and 7 Paul says, “As therefore you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, having been rooted and being built up in Him.” After we receive Christ, we should walk in Him. This is to live, act, behave, and have our being in Him. This also is subjective. If Christ were only on the throne, how could we walk in Him on earth? We can walk in Christ only if He is subjective to us in our experience.
Colossians 2:7 speaks of having been rooted in Christ and of being built up in Him. These expressions are related to our walking in Christ. We walk in Him, having been rooted in Him and being built up in Him. This implies that we are plants rooted in Christ. We need to see more of what it means to be rooted in Christ and to be built up in Him in order to walk in Him.
Our burden in this message has been to point out that Paul’s intention in Colossians is to help the saints realize that there should not be any replacements for Christ. Rather, everything else must be replaced by Christ. Christ is in us as our life, and we need to walk in Him. If we have been rooted in Christ, and if we are being built up in Him, we shall walk in Him. We shall live, behave, and have our being in Him. This is to live Christ.
