Of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament four may be considered as its heart. The heart is crucial. You may lose a finger or even your nose and still survive. But without your heart you are finished. What books in the New Testament would you say are the most vital? Over these many years I have worn out several Bibles through using them so much. Even so, the pages of many of the books were not worn out. But the pages of four books in those Bibles soon showed signs of wear. Even the Bible I am using now has these same pages well worn. If you check the Bibles of seeking Christians, I believe you will find these very pages also worn.
These books are Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. They are really the heart of the whole Bible, not just of the New Testament. Their theme is Christ and the church.
Galatians reveals that Christ stands in opposition to religion, even the Jewish religion, which was set up according to the commandments and ordinances given by God. Christ is on one side, and the Jewish religion and its law are on the other. Surely the Jewish religion was the highest; no heathen religion could compare with it. Yet Christ stands against it.
Christ versus Greek philosophy is the message of Colossians. When Colossians was written, the Mediterranean world was ruled by Rome. Roman politics and law prevailed. What attracted people of that day were the Jewish religion and Greek philosophy. Even in today’s modern Western culture, these three components prevail: Roman politics and government, the Hebrew religion, and Greek philosophy. The philosophy dealt with in Colossians was Gnosticism, which included, besides Greek philosophy, elements of Egyptian, Babylonian, and Persian philosophies.
Religion and philosophy are culture’s highest inventions. Without them mankind would be wild, barbaric. They would be like the Scythians (Col. 3:11), who were considered the most barbaric of people, lacking any semblance of religion or philosophy. Human culture rests largely on these two things. Because of them the fallen race is kept under constraint and has a good appearance. But these two books make clear that Christ stands against both religion and philosophy. However good these are, they are no match for Christ. He is far above them.
The message of Philippians is “to me to live is Christ” (1:21). This Christ, who stands in opposition to the highest human attainments, is our life. We are not religious people nor philosophical people; we are Christians, “Christ people.” A Christian has Christ within and lives Him out.
The result of this Christ living in us, opposed to religion and philosophy, is the church, the theme of Ephesians. The church is Christ, opposing religion and philosophy, and living out of His people. This Christ within and among His people is God revealed, the heart of the divine revelation.
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