Eph 2: 15 Abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two [Jews and Gentiles] in Himself into one new man, so making peace, Col 3: 10 And have put on the new man… 11 Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all. 14 And over all these things put on love, which is the uniting bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, to which also you were called in one Body; and be thankful.
[Part 3 of 3] Believers with different cultural backgrounds and nationalities have been created into one new man. The oneness of the new man produces genuine peace. Apart from Christ and the church, those of different races and nationalities cannot be truly one. We in the Lord's recovery are one because we are in Christ and in the church. We are in the new man, where there is no Greek, Jew, circumcision, or uncircumcision. In the new man there are no different races, classes, or nationalities. Rather, there is oneness because Christ is all and in all. This oneness is our peace. The peace of Christ in Colossians 3:15 is simply the peaceful oneness in the new man. We need to understand this matter of the peace of Christ in relation to the background of the Epistle to the Colossians. Various aspects of culture had come into the church life. Certain Jewish believers were in favor of observing the Sabbath day. They also advocated regulations concerning eating. No doubt the believers with a Greek background did not appreciate these things. However, they in turn brought in the kind of philosophy they favored. To be sure, the Jewish believers did not receive this. As a result, there was a loss of the peace of Christ in their experience. Instead of the peace of Christ prevailing, the Greek philosophical concepts and the Judaistic practices were prevailing among the believers. Hence, in Colosse there were at least two parties: the philosophical party and the Judaistic party. Therefore, an arbitrator was necessary. This arbitrator was not any brother in the church, it was the very peace of Christ, which is the oneness of the new man, the Body. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 244. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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