COLOSSIANS 1
The apostle does not unfold here the gain the body derives from having such a Head: he does that later in chapter 2: 19, “the head, from whom all the body, ministered to and united together by the joints and bands, increases with the increase of God”. In chapter 1 the prominent thought is the greatness of Christ, that He stands in relation to the body as Head. The greatness of the Head is set before us so that we might be affected by it.
It is of great importance to recognise that there is such a thing as the body, a living organism on this earth. We have to apprehend the thought that there is something on earth which is the product of divine working, it is here, whether we see it or not. No doubt the body was intended to be visible so that Christ should be seen in His body. That was the divine thought, though we cannot say much about that now. But the body still exists, it is a definite subsisting thing, the product of divine work, and there never was, nor ever will be, any dead material in it. Christ has pre-eminence in the body, and the dignity and glory of the assembly is that it has such a Head. It is the only company on earth where Christ is pre-eminent. It seems to imply that Christ derives some greatness in being Head to that which is the greatest thing on earth. The body is the only thing purely of God in this world. It is the most wonderful company ever seen, and it is part of the greatness of Christ that He is the Head of that body, the assembly. The body is the only thing on earth capable of appreciating Christ. It is a wonderful thing that there should be a company on earth capable of appreciating Christ; it is the greatest assembly on [p. 273] earth. If we could get all the greatest potentates on earth together they would not be equal to the body, the assembly; there never will be anything so great morally. Every constituent part of it has ability and spiritual intelligence to appreciate Christ; that is the moral greatness of the body. We have to recognise that there is such a company on earth at the present moment; it has not disappeared. If we get a true thought of the body, we could not think of such a thing as sectarianism. One could not think of belonging to a sect when the body is here. It is the only thing on earth in concert with heaven. If we went to heaven we should find Christ the distinguished Person there, on the most distinguished seat. He sits at God’s right hand; He is pre-eminent there. And there is a company on earth with the mind of heaven; everyone in that company holds Christ as having the distinguished place; there is no dead material in the body. The connecting link between the Head and the body in a practical sense lies in affection.
Ques Are not the majority of saints in heaven?
CAC Yes, but in the Colossian sense the saints in heaven are not in the body. The truth of the body in Colossians refers to the company on earth — that wonderful assembly, the product of divine working, of which Christ is the Head, and in which He has the chief place.
It is a great thing to entertain the thought of it. You may say, I do not see christians entering into that; but the question is, Do I enter into it? The assembly is the body of persons who gladly and affectionately give Christ the first place, the pre-eminence.
Ques Is that by the Spirit?
CAC It is in virtue of what the Spirit forms. It is in virtue of all those spiritual affections which are the result of the Spirit’s work. One would like to cultivate the affections proper to a company that has such a Head; they should be found with us; a company that makes much of Christ is morally the assembly. “The body” speaks of the saints in this vital unity, and “the assembly” speaks of them in their spiritual intelligence. One is delighted to find a trace of the Father’s work in souls, a response to Christ: every part of the body is responsive to Christ. There is a company of persons on earth who form “the body, the assembly” and of whom Christ is Head. He has the first — the pre-eminent — place in regard of that company. “The body” is a company of persons in [p. 274] divine vitality, and thus capable of appreciating Christ in His immeasurable greatness, and as “the assembly” they have capacity for spiritual intelligence.
We were speaking in the early part of this chapter of our being brought into the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love: as our hearts are affected and brought under the dominating influence of that kingdom, our affections are liberated so that they are free for Christ. A great many christians are not free for Christ. If I am not free of questions about myself, I am not in the good of the kingdom, nor am I free for Christ, or free for the assembly.
Ques Is it like drinking into one Spirit?
CAC In the cup we drink into the love of God, and as we do it sets us free. Nothing sets free like love. In the presence of divine love we are free for Christ, and free to take in the wonderful thoughts which are presented in such a scripture as this. The body, the assembly, is the whole liberated company. Practically many saints are not brought into it, but in the divine mind the assembly is a company of persons in the good and liberty of the kingdom, perfectly free for Christ; that is the body, the assembly. A christian may say, I do not know anything about it, I am not free. Well, it is all there for you.
The Spirit does not appear in this epistle, and we never lose anything by keeping to the line of divine teaching. The babes have the Spirit, and if a person is no further on than just having the Spirit he is a babe. But these Colossians were not babes, they were grown up; there was something there that the Spirit had formed, divine formation.
One feature of Christ’s glory is that He is Head of that wonderful company which is the product of divine working, and which has divine vitality and intelligence.
Then we get another thing, He “is the beginning, first-born from among the dead”: He is the starting-point of everything. If we get the apprehension of Christ as the Beginning, it puts us outside the world. We were saying in connection with the previous verses, that we were brought into the region of the Father’s actings, and when we touch that circle we are outside the world, we are in a new system of things, and in that new system Christ is the Beginning, the starting-point of everything. Anything that does not begin with Christ has no part in that new order of things.
[p. 275] Ques Is the Beginning one thing and the First-born another?
CAC They are closely linked together. The One who is the Beginning is also the First-born from among the dead. He is the Beginning — the starting-point of all God’s thoughts and ways in the new universe which God is going to bring in. But He must needs be the First-born from the dead, for the new universe will stand on a resurrection footing. Saints on earth in the millennium will not be risen with Christ, but they will know Him as risen. I doubt whether any saints other than the assembly will ever be risen with Christ. But the fact that He is risen will prove that death is swallowed up in victory. Millennial saints will be relieved of the presence of death through His resurrection. Hezekiah is a figure of this.
In the first creation Christ was the starting-point; we see it in Proverbs 8. The creation of the heavens and earth was in the divine mind to form a theatre for the display of Christ. “In the beginning was the Word”, John 1. He was the beginning, not Adam. Whatever you think of, Christ was before it. The whole order of the universe subsists together by Christ. It is perfectly marvellous to think of His greatness; even in the domain of death He has the first place: He was First-born from among the dead; He has the first place in relation to that. Wherever you look at Him He has the first place.
This wonderful Person has come into death, but He came there in order to acquire a new glory, He has now the glory of being First-born from among the dead. Instead of death being able to rob Him of glory, it has added a glory to Him which He did not possess before. Death robs every other man of every bit of His glory, no matter how great he is. But here we see a Man who goes into death, and instead of being robbed of His glory, He actually acquires a new glory — He never was before First-born from the dead. It has given Him the first place in relation to resurrection; it has brought out His glory, and given Him an added glory. To reach an order of things that begins with a risen Man puts us completely outside this world. Fancy a risen Man coming back into Teignmouth! No-one would know what to do with Him! If we came under the influence of all this we should be completely spoiled for man’s world; we should not be of it in spirit any more than He is. We are linked up with this Person in the purpose of God, and in faith and affection as having the Spirit.
[p. 276] What a relief it is to come among the saints! Many have to spend much of their time in contact with the world in shops or offices, etc. There may be nice people there, but in people of the world there is no appreciation of Christ. But when you come amongst the saints, even the most illiterate and the least spiritual, you come to a most blessed company, because they appreciate Christ. They speak well of Christ, they sing of Him, they praise God for Him. That is what makes them glorious in the eyes of a spiritual person.
We reach a climax when we read, “In him all the fulness ... was pleased to dwell”. The fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell in Him. When the Lord was here, the Father was here, and the Spirit was here. The fulness of the Godhead was pleased to be here; everything belonging to the Godhead was here. No one could have said it was only the Son who was here. The Father was there dwelling in Him: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father”. And the Spirit was there; everything He did was done under the power of the anointing. All the fulness of the Godhead was expressed; there was nothing of the Godhead that could be known that was not expressed in Him. All dwelt in Him as Man.
I think the Father dwelling in Him and the Spirit resting on Him were in view of His service. It is never wise for us to speculate outside Scripture; we are sure to get into error if we do. I am thankful for the divine wisdom which has presented things to us in the way we can apprehend them. They were presented by the Lord to His disciples in a way they could apprehend them; and they are very simple. “He that has seen me has seen the Father”. “The Father who abides in me, he does the works”. If we see the Lord healing a person, raising the dead, we know there was all the grace of the Father expressed in it.
He was never less than what He was; He was the Son come into manhood. When He was about to be made manifest to Israel, He was anointed, the Spirit of Jehovah rested upon Him; in coming out into public service He took it up in the power of the Spirit. Not only was the Son there, but as Man He was anointed with the Spirit, and the Father dwelt in Him. The fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell in Him, and all was in view of reconciliation being effected.