We had to, in less than 300 words, give our best answer to the question, “What is Paul’s connection between the sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus in in Col. chapter 2?

Here was my stab, along with my incredibly messy worksheet.

Within the introductory greeting (1:1-12), Paul gives the reader a hint of the letter’s theme, that they “may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (1:9). Before he plainly tells the Colossian church of the true nature of God’s wisdom (2:2), Paul first unpacks the divine nature of Jesus (1:14-20). He begins by stating the results of the supremacy of Christ, that Jesus has already rescued the believers from the power of darkness, they now safely reside in Jesus kingdom (1:13). Paul then seems to back up, demonstrating the expansive dominion reign of the resurrected Christ, including a hymn rich with comparisons and contrasts to drive home the point (1:14-18).

Paul moves from a theological tone and elaborates on his own biographical participation as an Apostle, a suffering distributor of this most glorious mystery (1:14-2:3). He then returns to the theme of Christ’s supremacy, expanding on the means of His efficacy (2:9-15), giving evidence through the nature of circumcision (2:11), baptism (2:12) and commandments (2:14).

Based on the reality of Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency, Paul instructs the believers against the temptations that seek to undermine their prize (2:16-23).

Paul is affirming the supremacy of Christ before the Colossian church in order to remind them of the Gospel they had already heard (2:6). Jesus wasn’t just a wise teacher, or prophet, He was God incarnate, the fount of wisdom itself. The death that Christ died, and the subsequent resurrected life of Jesus is therefor sufficient to “make us alive together with Him” (2:13), the one who rules over reality (2:15). Human ritual, possession of knowledge, and other elemental rules may appear useful, but add nothing to the gift of sharing in His sufficient Life.

This week I have learned to appreciate the Apostle’s multi-dimensional capacity to build an apologetic defense using logic, hymn/poetry, and other literary tools. Because I don’t speak or understand the Greek language, I’m intrigued at the amount of literary resourcefulness Paul employs without even knowing it as an English reader. In any case, I’m learning to appreciate how the Spirit touched the early disciples, encouraging them to fight the good fight, write these letters in the first place, then preserve them for us in the canon of scripture. As letters, I have a much deeper appreciation for not quite knowing what Paul was actually addressing, in terms of previous letters, issues, and relationships already in place. Paul felt strongly, obviously, that Christ needed to be set forth in unquestionable superiority over all that is seen and unseen.

My heart is full, and mind is overflowing with learning this past season. I haven’t time to post. I’m in my final stretch with Fuller. I’m currently in a New Testament class and Vocational Formation course. The reading has been by far the most intense of my journey. Reading through the NT in 10 weeks along with dense, thick books, videos, online interaction with classmates tackling chapters, ideas, contexts. It’s wonderful learning, and unlearning, but a bit like standing in a dust-storm at the moment!

For posterity, I do want to share a few personal notes, as I’ve invested +13 yrs into this blog! Gracious, what will I think looking back, if I get a chance to read it over again. I think I will see mercy, God’s deep patience and love over our family as we journey in this thing called calling, vocation, the narrowing focused life towards a race run. Imperfect, forming, and at times pretty fun! I’m reading this book now on vocation through history , through the lens of the first 4 centuries, the middle ages, reformation, and to present. Each context had widely different views on what a calling was, what it looked like, and how we navigate hearing the voice of God and living out our faith in context. History is so wonderful, it truly grids us.

So its snowy, winter decided to slam us here in February with several weeks of white beauty. We weren’t sure if we would get winter this year. Our skate rink has sat without ice for two years now – it’s hard to judge if making it is worth it when its only now in Feb that we have decent ice making weather. Will it warm up next week and all our work is for naught? I think so, therefor we’ll wait for next year. We need at least a solid month of sub zero to make the work worth it – plus I’m getting old!

Our cafe is open, but business is slow. Quarantine measures are still sort of in play, but not really. Sometimes I stop in and the cafe is full of life, so it’s a joy to keep it warm just in case folks do venture out into the slippery roads. Vanya, our staff-orphan grad is doing well, he’s learning english now and paying for lessons himself. Anya is managing the cafe more, we’re down to just two full time staff and Natasha oversees them and the logistics. We have more folks using the studio, Dima is actually making some money now each month providing extra lessons, and also some folks coming from outside Rz (and within) to record. He wants to expand this, we’re thinking the basement of the mission building could have better space for recording and generally making a lot of noise!

We are expecting our first grandbaby next month, or April, I don’t know the dates exactly. It’s a boy, Broderic and Kristin are pretty nervous, excited and all those things that come with having your first child! Deb will be planning to go, I am planning to stay and watch the kids. It’s hard to think I won’t get to hold him, but I don’t really feel great about leaving our little girls here without a parent just yet. Perhaps if the weather was all nice – we still have the house electricity go out sometimes, and our gas as well, I want to keep them all cozy and fed.

Bron is in a new college course for design. She is doing some really amazing illustrations and 3D prep work for folks. Brent is now trying to figure out what his next steps are in Florida. He wants college, but also needs to pay the bills. Real life yeah? Proud of them all. Tucker is researching Art courses as well, he’s very good with logo/art stuff, and doing a lot for me personally and for our ministries (razomGo at the moment).

Battery dying, thanks for checking in. Whomever that may be:)

There are three primary views.

1. Israel’s Relationship With Torah: Paul takes on a first person Jewish Torah observer. He does this to reveal the true nature of the Law as a sin revealing and guilt producing instrument.

My primary reason for holding this view is related to the overarching flow of Romans, “since understanding any part of it depends on understanding its entire sweep” (Achtemeier et al. 2001, 325). In 1:2-5 and 1:16-17, Paul’s focus is upon the unifying, universal nature of the Gospel, “understood in terms of its history in God’s activity with the Jews” (308). Topics of circumcision, the Prophets, Abraham, David and Mosaic commandments show us Paul’s trajectory as a representative Jewish believer in relationship with the Torah (2:11-16, 2:17, 3:21, 4:1, 7:7-9) a privilege given to Jews only (3:1), and the works of the Law (3:28-29) as Israel’s failed attempts at observing them before a watching Gentile world (2:24). Torah-works (4:4) becomes a complimentary theme in building Paul’s argument of Abraham’s single family promise through faith in Genesis 15 (Wright 2013, 209). This promise is fulfilled only as believers, including the Jewish community, trust inwardly in God’s righteousness and see the Torah through the proper lens as an instrument of justice rendering guilt (6:12, 20).

By taking on the “I” of a representative Israelite, Paul reveals exactly how the Law works to imprison and kill rather than liberate (7:23). Righteousness is not a primarily a personal theme for Paul but related to re-interpreting of Jewish relationship to Torah, which is a lynch pin for mending a Jewish-Gentile division. Who are God’s people? “Being counted right with God was a communal problem” (Thiselton 2010, 97).  This view best holds the original argument of Paul, that Jewish believers need no longer require Gentiles to observe the law to be in fellowship with them, which we know was causing division in the church at Rome. At the same time, as the Jewish community questions the faithfulness of God as the Gospel now grows freely among the Gentiles, Paul is able to move from Chapters 7 into 9-11 and expound on the mysterious, and glorious way in which God has in Christ revealed mercy to the non-Jewish world, albeit through their hardness and rejection of God’s mercy, bringing an end to the Law and uniting all parties in Christ (10:4). Now grafted in to the olive tree, the Gentile believers should not boast, but recognize the roots of God’s covenant with Abraham (11:17-20), participating in the blessing of God’s righteousness not by merit, but implicit trust as Abraham did when he looked to the stars and believed God would make him the father of many nations.

It’s that trust, now in Jesus resurrection that secures our place as God’s united covenant people – first to the Jew, then the Gentile.

Lastly, Chapters 14-15, in keeping with Hellenistic letter writing convention affirm Paul’s original focus on unity in Christ among Jewish and Gentile believers (Achtemeier et al. 2001, 276). With Torah rightly understood, “Jews and Gentiles can now belong to another, namely Christ, instead to sin” (317). 

2. Autobiographical: Paul is expressing the inner turmoil of his own Jewish experience as someone who failed to keep the Torah inwardly. “The first person style strongly implies some degree of autobiographical reference also” (Moo 1986, 122). 

3. Universal Humanity: Paul is representing the plight of the human race under the principles of Adam’s sin (Rom 5:12-18).

References: 

Achtemeier, P., J. Green, and M. Meye Thompson. 2001. Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology. Eerdmans: Grand Rapids. 

Moo, Douglas J., 1986. New Testament Studies: Israel and Paul in Romans 7:7-12. Article: p. 122-135. Issued: 1/13/2019. URL: http://journals.cambridge.org.fuller.idm.oclc.org/action/displayBackIssues?jid=NTS (Links to an external site.)

Thiselton, Anthony C. 2010. The Living Paul : An Introduction to the Apostle’s Life and Thought, InterVarsity Press. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/fuller/detail.action?docID=2030875 (Links to an external site.) 

Wright, N.T., 2013. Paul and the Patriarch: The Role of Abraham in Romans 4. Journal for the Study of the New Testament. Sage Publications. URL: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav 

The poor in Luke’s gospel represents individuals caught in social power structures which impedes mobility and intrinsic value one has in community. This, obviously includes people without economic means, but Luke portrays a greater motif than monetary lack.

To be poor, is to be powerless (Acs, et al. 2018). For Luke, the poor are synonymous with the blind, oppressed, lame, hungry, mournful and persecuted (4:18, 6:20-24, 7:22). Even the sinner, according to Luke, is castigated by the exclusionary religious social structures of Judaism in Jesus day and could be considered as poor (Green, 70). The rich are identified as those wielding or desiring coercive and worldly power such as the Pharisees, Scribes, and at times, even Jesus disciples themselves (9:48, 11:37-53, 16:19-31, 20:46-47).

For Luke, the gospel is very good news for the poor, and judgement for the rich. He recounts Mary’s Magnificat at the start of the gospel. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble” (Luke 1:52). It’s against this backdrop of the marginalized, and disadvantaged, that Jesus comes as the Messianic emancipator in a ministry of Jubilee’s release (4:18-19). Jesus’ ministry to the poor includes many signs and wonders, healing, exorcisms, forgiveness of sins, and even raising from the dead to illustrate for us the nature of His sent mission to liberate all who are hungry for mercy. Those whom society had rendered valueless, Jesus has affirmed worthy. Throughout Jesus ministry, Luke portrays the prophetic Magnificat in motion as the self exalted are exposed by the teaching of Jesus and mercy, and the humble are in word and deed lifted up through healing, inclusion, and love (18:14). All who are willing to receive Jesus, to identity and obey Him, are lifted out of their bondage of this present age, and become children of the Most High (6:47, 8:15, 8:21). It’s no longer about your social status or lineage.

Luke is careful to include Jesus earthly origins as well, his humble beginnings as one not born into earthly power. Jesus comes to the poor, among the poor (2:7, 2:24). The Father has always been toward the disenfranchised, even the gentiles (4:26-27). He chooses disciples from among many classes, from sinful fisherman (5:8), to tax collectors (5:22). 

After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Luke concludes that his followers, “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”(24:52). The ministry of release is complete! In Jesus, regardless of race, gender, or present infirmity, we are all equally rich, free, healed, and welcomed participants around the table of God (14:23). 

References:

Acs, Maitreyi, Conner, Markus, Patel, Lyons-Padilla, and Eberhardt. 2018. Measuring Mobility from Poverty. US Partnership on Mobility From Poverty. Accessed April 8, 2020. URL: https://fuller.instructure.com/courses/5010/files/677569/download?wrap=1