Christ is incomparable, Paul said. He is in a class apart. Who is Christ? He is the mystery of God. He is the embodiment of all the fullness of the Godhead. Who or what can be ranked with Him? This peerless One is our life. He is within us a mystery, the hope of glory. He is the component of the new man, the church. In the church there is no room for anyone but Him. In this new creation all others are excluded, both “Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman” (Col. 3:11). In this new man Christ is all and in all; that is, He is every member and He is in every member. Can anything or anyone be compared with such a Christ?
To value any other thing above Him is to be buried in a seven-layered tomb! These seven layers are implied in the religion, law, tradition, and philosophy which Paul condemns so strongly. The fall, the natural life, culture, religion, ethics, morality, virtues, and spiritual seeking-we need to be snatched out of all of these. They are burying us, even those of us who are Christians. We must be freed from these layers in which we are wrapped.
From Galatians we know that to live Christ has nothing to do with religion. From Colossians we know that to live Christ is entirely apart from philosophy. These two matters, religion and philosophy, are highly esteemed in society and are closely related to each other. Both are enemies of Christ. Both are frustrations to our experiencing Christ.
Do you realize that you must be out of religion, out of philosophy, and out of culture? This is not a doctrine for you to understand, but a reality for you to experience. If you still consider yourself as an American, you are still in your culture. The Bible says there is no room in the new man for any nationality, whether American, Chinese, or German. All the national and cultural distinctions have been buried. Now your status is Christ! He is all.
I trust that we have all gotten the message of these two books. We, as those who are living Christ, have nothing to do with religion, the law, its traditions, and regulations; nor have we anything to do with philosophy and culture.
Philippians again brings up the matter of religion. Paul describes himself as “circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” (Phil. 3:5-6). The word translated persecute here is the same as the word pursue. Before Paul was snatched out of religion, he was pursuing Christ in a negative way. After he got saved, his pursuit of Christ was positive.
Because Paul, in his pursuit of Christ, rejected religion, this book tells of sufferings, afflictions, and trials that came to him (1:12-13). Are troubles desirable? In nature they are not, but in function they are. The difficulties became golden opportunities for Paul not only to live Christ, but also to magnify Him. Whether he lived or died mattered little. What concerned this follower of Christ was to live Him and to magnify Him in his body. He wanted Christ to be expressed through him.
In speaking of his suffering, Paul says, “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (1:19, Gk.). The all-inclusive Spirit renders us the bountiful supply, while the suffering turns out to be a salvation for us. By this bountiful supply, Paul magnified Christ and lived Him out (1:20-21).
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