Just as there is a heart in our physical body, so there is a heart in the Bible also. The heart of the Bible is not the book of Genesis or the book of Revelation, nor even the Gospels. It is a cluster of four books: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. These books were, of course, written according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, their sequence in the arrangement of the New Testament books is most significant. If you read the New Testament carefully, you will realize that these four books stand out. Before Galatians is the book of 2 Corinthians. There seems to be no connection between 2 Corinthians and Galatians. However, as we read through the New Testament, we sense that Galatians is the beginning of something new and that this book is connected to Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. In particular, Ephesians and Colossians are sister books. When we turn from Colossians to 1 Thessalonians, we also sense that there is no connection between these books. Hence, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians are a cluster of books that make up the very heart of the Bible.
The essential subject of these four books is Christ and the church. We have seen that the church is composed of human beings who live in society. As such an entity, it is difficult for the church to stay away from the influence of culture. For this reason, in these books concerning Christ and the church, two of them, Galatians and Colossians, show the damage caused by the law, Jewish religion, and other substitutes for Christ such as asceticism, mysticism, and Gnosticism.
According to Galatians, the Jewish religion, the typical religion, was formed according to God’s oracle. But this fundamental religion with its law became a replacement for Christ. Hence, in Galatians there is a strong emphasis upon the danger of the law replacing Christ. In Galatians 1 Paul testifies that he was once a leading religionist among the Jews. He was zealous for God and blameless according to the law. But one day it pleased God to reveal His Son, Christ, in Paul. As a result, Paul came to realize that Judaism is contrary to Christ and that Christ is versus religion with its law. Paul could then declare that he was dead to the law and had nothing to do with it. He had been crucified with Christ, and Christ now lived within him (2:20). Furthermore, in chapter six he said that he suffered persecution simply because he did not teach circumcision. Then he went on to say that the world, meaning specifically the religious world, was dead to him and that he was dead to the world. Between Paul and the Jewish religion there was the dividing line of the cross. As far as Paul was concerned, the entire religious world was on the cross. Moreover, to the Jews, Paul also was on the cross. As a man in Christ, he bore upon him the mark of Christ’s death. No longer was he in the Jewish religion, but was absolutely in Christ and for Christ. Hence, Galatians reveals that Christ is versus religion, the law, and circumcision.
We have pointed out that in Colossians Christ is revealed to the uttermost, much more than in Galatians. In Galatians Paul speaks of Christ being revealed in us, of Christ living in us, and of Christ being formed in us. But in Colossians he uses a number of special terms for Christ: the portion of the saints, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. In this short book, one aspect of Christ after another is unfolded. Therefore, Colossians reveals that Christ is profound and all-inclusive. The all-inclusive Christ transcends our understanding. Our need is to be infused, saturated, and permeated with Him until in our experience Christ is everything to us: our food, our drink, our feasts, our holy days, our Sabbath, our new moon, our everything. We must not allow anything to replace Christ or to be a substitute for Him. This is the central point of Colossians. Whereas Galatians reveals that Christ is versus religion and the law, Colossians reveals that Christ is versus everything because He Himself is the reality of every positive thing.
The book of Philippians emphasizes the matter of living Christ. In Philippians 1:21 Paul declares, “To me to live is Christ.” For Paul, to live was not human virtues such as meekness or humility; to live was Christ.
Ephesians deals specifically with the church. The issue, the result, of our living Christ is that the church is produced and built up in a practical way.
We all need to spend more time on the four books that compose the heart of the Bible. Viewing these books as a cluster, we see that we should care only for Christ, not for religion or culture. For us to live is not religion, philosophy, or any ism. In our living, Christ must be all and in all. The result of such a living is the church. Therefore, the heart of the Bible, as seen in this cluster of books, is Christ and the church.