COLOSSIANS 2
CAC It is important to see that God has dealt with all the things which might have hindered His saints from being in spiritual liberty as quickened together with Christ. Faith occupies itself with the actings of God. I am referring to the close of the paragraph preceding that just read; offences forgiven, handwriting in ordinances effaced, principalities spoiled. God has dealt with these things; they do not remain to be dealt with. Faith recognises what God has done. These are great divine facts as to the saints: all offences are forgiven, every obligation of the law met, and all evil powers have been dealt with. Otherwise the saints would not be able to enjoy their place of association with Christ as quickened with Him.
Ques Is being dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world previous to being raised with Christ?
CAC I think “If ye have died with Christ from the elements of the world” refers to a position which the saints have taken up: it answers to the stones being put in Jordan.
Ques Would the principalities and authorities be the powers of darkness?
CAC Yes, I think it refers to evil powers that have had to say to man. No evil power has any claim or standing now; on the contrary those powers have been fully exposed, and God’s complete triumph has been made manifest.
Ques Does it embrace the whole power of Satan?
CAC Yes, all the powers of the invisible world which have become active in hostility to God and to His pleasure. The reason why the Spirit of God dwelt on this was that the Colossians were evidently in danger of being occupied with the powers of the invisible world; worshipping of angels and intruding into things which they had not seen; some men were occupied with imaginations as to the invisible world. To meet [p. 304] that the apostle shows that, as to principalities and authorities in their right place, Christ is “head of all principality and authority”, and as to evil powers all have been fully exposed in the cross, and God’s triumph secured. Therefore nothing can be gained by being occupied with the powers of the invisible world; it is only a diversion from Christ.
The cross was the place where every evil power came into manifestation through man. The wicked principalities and powers did not appear on the scene, but they were moving behind the scenes and using man as their instrument, and they made manifest their hostility to God. There was something more in connection with the cross, something far greater at work than the wickedness of man. It was an unheard-of thing that an innocent Man should be condemned by universal voice — a Man who had been doing good to man in every step of His pathway, and whose life was beautiful to God — such a Man to be rejected, cast away and crucified by the very creature He came to bless! There was something more there than the wickedness of man. Man was the dupe and tool and expression of it, but tremendous powers were working there — all the evil powers of the invisible world — and they were exposed, their true character came to light. They were opposed to everything that was good and blessed for man; their character was manifested morally so as to deliver men from them. In Psalm 2 we see that the kings of the earth and the princes set themselves against Jehovah’s anointed to cast off the authority of God. But man is not really an independent actor; he is the agent and tool of tremendous powers of evil which were exposed and shown in their true character at the cross, as opposed to all that is good and righteous and holy. God in a marvellous way has got the victory over them, and Christ is Head of all good principalities and powers. The Spirit of God is to show that Christ is supreme over all the powers of good and evil, so it is worthless for man to worship angels, and to be occupied with the mysterious powers in the invisible world. Christ has had to say to all these powers: He had to say to the evil powers at the cross and triumphed over them, and as to the good powers He is Head of them all. So if we have Christ before us, we have the supreme One; we do not need to be occupied with what is adverse or what is subordinate.
Ques What is the handwriting of ordinances?
CAC The handwriting of ordinances was a serious matter [p. 305] against man. It condemned him and brought him in as subject to the judgment of God, but it has been nailed to the cross, the extreme penalty has been suffered, the condemnation borne by Christ. So the handwriting no longer stands against the saints; it has been removed out of the way. He has been made a curse for us, and thus the condemnation which attached to those under the law has been nailed to the cross. Christ has come in grace under the penalty of a broken law; its full condemnation has been borne; it is removed out of the way. God has dealt with everything: He has forgiven offences, taken away the handwriting of ordinances, and spoiled principalities and powers, so that nothing might hinder the saints from being raised with Christ by faith, and quickened with Christ by the power of God. God has Himself cleared the ground, and it is our privilege to be occupied with the actings of God.
Ques Are there not powers that are ordained of God?
CAC Yes, that refers to a different sort of power. There are powers which are ordained of God in connection with the government of this world. We must be subject to them, acknowledging them as ordained of God. We are very dependent on these powers, and own God’s goodness in them — that is why we pray for them every day!
This epistle is not so much occupied with what is done for us as with what is done for the pleasure of God. The point is that all these things have been dealt with so that the saints might be free to live in their affections in association with Christ according to the pleasure of God. The ground has been cleared that Christ may fill it.
Ques What does verse 17 mean, “the body is of Christ”?
CAC I think there is intentionally a twofold meaning or bearing. There is the thought that these things are a shadow, and the substance is Christ; and there is also the thought in it, which is alluded to more than once in this epistle, that the body is of Christ. There is such a thing now in existence as the body — that living organism in which the pleasure of God is found — and it is of Christ. Both these thoughts are wrapped up in that sentence. The spiritual import of the Jewish things mentioned is to be considered — meat, drink, feasts, new moon, sabbaths — all prefigured Christ, He was the substance of all. These things will all have their place in a coming day in relation to Christ; they will be taken up in the millennium,
[p. 306] but they will be discerned by faith as standing in relation to Christ. We discern them now as shadows of Christ: but if people tell us we must observe this day, or that, we refuse, because we have to do with the substance — Christ. Those were shadows, but divine value lies in the substance, and that is Christ.
Rem The apostle has headship in view.
CAC Yes. He wants to bring the saints to see the greatness of the Head as the source of supply, so that having the Head they might be independent of everything, whether Jewish elements, the philosophy of the heathen world, or imaginations as to unseen things. It is very establishing to see that everything, other than Christ, which is in the thoughts of man is valueless, however estimable it may be in man’s account, because the body is of Christ. There is nothing in the body that does not come from Christ.
A man may be puffed up while grovelling on his face in the dust. One has heard of people doing penance by licking a big cross in the dust of the floor. It seems a very humble thing to do, but all the time a man is doing it he is vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh; such a thing satisfies the flesh, but there is no true gain in it. “Not in a certain honour” — all it does is to satisfy the flesh. It is striking that humility of a fleshly character is spoken of here, in verses 18 and 23.
There have been two great church revivals going on during the last hundred years. Puseyism began just about the same time as the Spirit of God revived the truth of the headship of Christ; Puseyism was a reviving of the synagogue of Satan which comes into view alongside Philadelphia. Philadelphia represents spiritual movement, and alongside that movement in connection with Christ as Head, there has been an imitation church revival which has resulted in what is known as the High Church movement — a revival of sacraments, ordinances, and ceremonies, external things without spiritual vitality. An imitation has some resemblance to what is true; otherwise it would not succeed at all in deceiving people.
The Spirit of God has been calling attention to “the body”, the living organism which actually exists by God’s grace and power, and to the fact that Christ is the life of it, and everything in it is of Christ; there is no dead material in “the body”. But alongside of the body there is an imitation where people are occupied with what is traditional and ceremonial; it is of man [p. 307] in the flesh and suited to man as in the flesh; it is really the synagogue of Satan. It is solemn to think that a man may deny himself very strictly; he may refuse to eat or drink, and cut himself off from many things which others go in for: he may take what seems to be a humble place, but it may all be his own will, and a puffing up of the mind of the flesh. Sad to say, people often think more highly of all such things than they do of what is spiritual, because they make something of the flesh, but God and His Spirit make everything of Christ. It is strange how these things get mixed up sometimes with real faith, and even true christians get drawn into them.
Ques Would you give us a word on holding the Head?
CAC To hold fast the Head would be corrective of every form of departure, and a source of gain and building up. It means a tenacious holding of Christ as the only source of supply and direction for His body. It is a personal holding fast; it is not simply that we accept the doctrine of it. I am sure we all hold as doctrine that Christ is Head, but it is another thing for us to personally hold fast the Head and give Him His place in our affections, so that we do not look to any other source of supply. It is a vital thing. Mr. Stoney used to say that holding the Head was as if we all had our own heads cut off, and instead of them we all had only one Head, one source of supply and direction. How marvellously we should move together! If those here tonight had their heads cut off, and we all had Christ for our Head, we should move in perfect unity; Christ would become the source of feeling, impulse, direction and supply for everyone. We should move together without hitches or jars. The secret of all troubles, difficulties and want of agreement is that we are not holding the Head, but are using our own heads and human judgment. The saying of the world is ‘So many men, so many minds’, but in the church it should be, ‘So many men but one mind’.
Holding the Head means the refusal of every thought or feeling that has its origin in our own minds. If I have a feeling, an impression, or source of movement from my own mind it must be wrong. The only movements that are right are those which originate with Christ. It means personal self-judgment and refusal of one’s own mind; and that is often a struggle. I hope we have all known what it is to get into the Lord’s presence, and say, ‘If this thought came out of my mind, then help me to judge it, and give me instead what is in Thy mind’. When you have connected your own importance with a certain course of action, the giving it up costs you something; it is a real test, and nothing but the living influence of Christ can help you to do it, to give up what you would naturally be bound up with and to move instead with the mind of Christ. The apostle says, “We have the mind of Christ”. I do not know that I could quite say that, but the apostles could, because they were men who were holding fast the Head; they refused their own thoughts and impressions and got all from Christ.
If we held fast the Head wonderful grace would come in to nourish the body: we should all take our places as joints and bands. In this epistle the only things mentioned as acting in the body are things quite out of sight; not prominent members, but hidden “joints and bands”. When we are prepared to be joints and bands things will work very smoothly! There will be nothing then but the grace of Christ manifesting itself through us for the good of others; there will be a drawing together, and nourishment ministered. We shall never be knit together in the flesh; we are only really knit together as we come under the influence of the Head. If we were all set on following Christ we should not all have the same intelligence or discernment, but all would move the same way; we should keep rank and in that way we should move together. Every brother or sister — for a sister can be a joint and band — would become a medium of supply, and would help to draw the saints together in the appreciation of Christ. It is a real exercise to be in the activities of the body, and to hold the Head.
The body increases with the increase of God; this would suggest that everything is in beautiful divine proportion. It is what we find in the city; it lies four-square, all in perfect proportion. A great many of our exercises arise from things being out of proportion. The body is looked at as increasing, not as having reached finality. It is growing, something more of what is divine being continually found in it. It is well to keep in mind that everything which comes from the Head is for the whole body: that would save us from sectarianism. The church will come out in the value of everything that has been gained; and though only gained in a practical way now by few, yet it is given for the whole body, and the church will come out in the day of display in the value of it. If I get spiritual increase, a fuller and more just appreciation of Christ,
[p. 309] something has been gained that pertains to the whole body, and the church will come out in the value of it in the day of display.
Ques Is the body in Ephesians 4 rather different?
CAC What you get here is the internal activity of the body. In Ephesians 4 we have gifts which act on the part of Christ towards the body, but joints and bands are inward parts of the body, they are internal. A joint of supply is not a gift. Ephesians 4: 16 is all the members co-ordinated and co-operating so that every one becomes a joint of supply. The youngest of us ought to covet to be a joint of supply. Someone may say, I cannot contribute anything. That is not the point. Have you the sense that Christ can contribute? To have a profound sense of what Christ can contribute will make us joints of supply. Christ is looking for those He can use; He loves the assembly, and is seeking to manifest Himself to it. He is ready to use the feeblest and youngest of us if we place ourselves at His disposal; we have only to get a sense of what Christ can do. “To each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ”. What a wonderful thing! Who can measure the giving of the Christ? It is the same word as the giving of God in John 4. If we only knew what a beneficent source God is and Christ is! He is the beneficent source of all grace, and every one of us can have it.
The object of gifts is to make us independent of them, so that, if we really got the spiritual gain of them, we should not need them any longer. Gifts are exercised till we “all arrive ... at the full-grown man, at the measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ”. When we reach that point we shall not need gifts any longer. We are independent of gifts in the morning meeting: what has place there is the activity of the divine nature under the direction of the Head. Of course, if a gift is present it is quite possible the Lord may use it, but it is more a question of the divine nature in activity in each one, and the Head giving impulse so that things move on the line of family affections.