Galatians shows that Christ is versus religion. The religion referred to in Galatians is Judaism. Before the apostle Paul was saved, when he was Saul of Tarsus, he was at the top level in the Jewish religion (1:13-14). He thought that what he was doing was right. He was zealous for God, yet he was altogether in darkness and did not see Christ. One day while Saul was on the way to Damascus to arrest the believers in Christ, the Lord appeared from the heavens, and Saul was caught by the Lord (Acts 9:1-9). He was caught not by an outward power but by an inward revelation, for Paul said that it pleased God to reveal His Son in him (Gal. 1:15-16). From that day Paul realized that he was crucified with Christ. He said, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (2:20). Paul went on to say that he travailed so that Christ would be formed in the believers (4:19). Thus, Galatians reveals three major points concerning our experience of Christ. First, Christ is revealed in us, second, Christ lives in us, and third, Christ is formed in us. Although these words may be familiar to us, the reality may still be unfamiliar. The reality is not the words or the doctrine but the genuine experience. It is difficult to say what it means for Christ to live in us and be formed in us experientially. A doctrine is easy to learn, but the experience does not come as easily.
Colossians reveals that the Christ who has been revealed in us, who is now living in us, and who is being formed in us is the all-inclusive Christ. According to Colossians 1:12, this Christ is our portion. The King James Version renders the word portion in this verse as “inheritance.” However, Christ is not merely something that we will inherit in the future. He is our present portion; we are participating in Him day by day. This portion is the image of the invisible God (v. 15). He is the portion to us, yet He is the image of the invisible God, and He is the embodiment of God (v. 19). Colossians 2:9 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Christ is also the mystery of God (v. 2b). God is a mystery, and this mystery is Christ Himself.
Colossians also reveals that Christ is the body of all the shadows, the reality of every positive thing in the universe (vv. 16-17). All the positive things in the universe are merely shadows of Christ. The light we see with our eyes is not the real light; it is a shadow of Christ as our real light (John 8:12). The food we eat every day is not the real food; it is merely a shadow. The real food is Christ (6:35). The air we breathe every minute is not the real air; it is a shadow of Christ (20:22). When we see someone’s shadow, we know that the shadow is not the real person. The real person is the reality of the shadow. Every positive thing is a shadow of Christ. The real feast, or holiday, is Christ. If we do not have Christ, we have a weeping, miserable day, not a happy day. The Sabbath also is a shadow. The real Sabbath, the real rest, is Christ. The real day also is Christ. Christ is the reality of every positive thing in the universe.
The Christ who is every positive thing is all and in all in the church. Colossians 3:10-11 says, “Put on the new man... where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.” The all-inclusive Christ, who is God, man, the Creator (1:16), a creature (v. 15b), the Firstborn in resurrection (v. 18b), the Head of the Body, the beginning (v. 18a), and every positive thing, is now our life (3:4). If we weep, it does not mean that we have less life, and if we laugh, it does not mean that we have more life. Life is not a certain situation or condition; life is a person. This person, who is the all-inclusive Christ, is great, infinite, and all-inclusive, yet He is real, living, and present within us as our life. Christ is our life today, and He will be our glory in the future. Thus, He is our hope of glory (1:27).