With scant regard for the edification of its members, my church has asked me to preach. The passage is Colossians 2, beginning with that famous passage, “As then you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him…” – introducing the major applicatory point of the letter: Remain in Christ rather than trying to move on to find fulness elsewhere. But I have been wrestling with the question: What does it actually mean to ‘remain in Christ’? What does that actually involve?
As I’ve read and re-read and pondered Colossians, one interesting answer has suggested itself: We remain in Christ by continually revisiting our death and resurrection with him. Notice the number of times this comes up in this part of Colossians:
- 2:12a: Having been buried with him in baptism
- 2:12b: You were also raised with him through your faith
- 2:13a: When you were dead in your sins
- 2:13b: God made you alive with Christ
- 2:20: Since you died with Christ to the principles of the world…
- 3:1: Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above
- 3:5: Put to death therefore your earthly members
- 3:12: Clothe yourselves then…
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you have to hate when churches do things that are clearly not for their own good.
that said…
interesting conclusion… i’m curious to go look at it for myself.
i remember Hudson Taylor saying something along the lines of “If we are staying at a friends house and forget we’re staying there we’re still dwelling inside.”
He seemed to find something significant in remembering that he did indeed dwell within the Lord, but then made a point that you aren’t going to cease dwelling in him just because you forget about it… rather, you’ll just lose some of the benefit…
Yeah that’s a good point – in fact I think the Colossian situation fits Hudson Taylor’s picture nicely: It’s like they have been happily dwelling in the house, and someone has approached them saying “But are you REALLY in the house???”… This has thrown them, and Paul wants them to RECALL that they are staying in the house – which basically involves this conscious revisiting of death & resurrection with Christ.
I see salvation and sanctification as both positional: we’re saved in Christ, and we being transformed in Christ, as we await glorification because we are in Christ.
What does it actually mean to ‘remain in Christ’? What does that actually involve?
to be “in Christ” is not an easy term to understand but as I see it, it means we have our primary sense of identity in him – he is our source of life and living. He’s also our means of salvation and eternal life.
As to what is means to “remain in him” that has to do with sticking to our role in the relationship – staying close to the Lord through the disciplines and participation in the people of God (ie., go to church, fellowship with other believers, corporate worship, read/study the Bible together, etc.). At least, that is how I see it.
“With scant regard for the edification of its members”…
I betcha they’re are edified.