Day 347

Christ Alone

Read: Colossians

In Colossians, Paul is combating a heresy which threatens the church, the idea that Christ was just one of a series of mediators between God and man. Paul’s response is that Christ is all-sufficient.

Christ must be given the one central place in the plan of salvation because of who he is, God in human flesh, “for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (1:19). He must be given the central place because of what he has done: he created all things, the earth as well as the angelic beings in whom the heretics were putting their trust. Besides, Christ is the head of the church and the first to rise from the dead “that in everything he might be preeminent” (1:18 ESV).

Because salvation is in Christ alone, our lives must be “rooted and built up in him” (2:7 RSV). Again, what we believe ought to transform how we live. Because “Christ . . . is our life” (3:4), “put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity,” and the like (3:5). But the emphasis is on the positive, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness . . . forgiving each other . . . and above all put on love” (3:12-14). First of all, you need a strong relationship to Christ by trusting his promises and feeding on his Word, and then you need to develop qualities like his. The family resemblance to Jesus will become apparent as these changes occur in your character and conduct over time. Again, this will affect your family relationships and your business practices.

PRAYER
Father, give us grace that all of life may center around your Son Jesus Christ. In his name. Amen.