GOLDMINE!

from Juanny via FACE!

Colossians is one of my favorite books of the Bible. If you hang around me long enough, you’ll hear me say that about every book of the Bible at some time or another. I love Paul’s letter to the Colossians for it’s rich Christology. One of my absolute favorite descriptions for Jesus is Paul’s devotional declaration that Jesus is a gold mine, or treasure trove, full of inexhaustible revelatory riches waiting for us to unearth.

“…Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Chapter 2, verse 3)

Inquiring minds want to know, “why?” What makes Jesus so special that ALL the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are tucked away inside his skin of light? Paul answers this question later in his letter:

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”
(Chapter 2, verse 9)

We meet God and God’s man when we meet Jesus, because in Christ heaven and earth kiss. Humanity and Deity converge in the “one mediator between God and man.” In chapter one, Paul proclaims Jesus to be the nexus of humanity and Deity.

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.”
(Chapter 1, verse 19)

Such profound passages form the basis of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation, or “in-fleshment,” of the glory of God. The fullness spoken of here in Paul’s letter is another term for the glory of God, that is, his KABOD. This Hebrew term refers to God's weightiness or tangible density. In other words, the fullness of God is the gold of his presence. The gold (tangible density) of God's presence lives in Jesus and Jesus lives in the gold of God's presence. Jesus describes this reality three times in John’s gospel as “…I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” Therefore, Jesus is a veritable gold mine of divine revelation (wisdom and knowledge) because God and all the gold of his wisdom reside in Christ. To find God, we must dig through the one who said: "no one comes to the Father but through me." As we uncover God through mining our relationship with Jesus, we acquire more and more of God to enjoy personally and share with others. We must burrow into Jesus to unearth the vast riches of divine wisdom and knowledge.

Let me clarify what kind of knowledge Paul is speaking of here. He is not speaking about academic knowledge alone, but rather, he is referring to knowledge as a corollary to wisdom. Being a Hebrew, Paul speaks using Hebraic parallelism. Such literary devices are replete in the Psalms and proverbs. Wisdom and knowledge are two sides of the same coin. Both comprise nuggets of information or truths that wise men pick-up on the path of life under the aegis of God’s tutelage. It is holy experiential knowledge, and Paul is saying that Jesus is a gold mine of information learned while living life in God.

Imagine that! We have a friend who knows God completely (and correctly) and he continues in that communion now in his resurrected state. According to Revelation 1:1, Jesus continues to receive revelation from the Father while in his resurrection body and proceeds to pass the revelation on to his church via (in this case) angelic means. Because he is fully human like us, Jesus knows how to talk to us. He can “speak our language.” Jesus is the head of the church. The church is described in the Bible as the Body of Christ. The Brain knows how to talk to his Body. In addition, Jesus continues to be connected to God. Therefore, he can take the Father’s “knowledge and wisdom” and transmit them to us in ways we will recognize and be most receptive to. Jesus might speak to us through dreams, visions, Scripture passages, a preacher’s sermon, our spouse, a good friend, our perceived enemy, a relevant book, directly through thoughts in our mind, through a little child, etc. All of these methods and more are mediated by the holy Spirit who connects every Christian with Jesus and the Father. Jesus describes this supernatural relationship between God and humans in Christ as follows:

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you."
(Chapter 15, verse 13-15)

To access God’s database we must interface and interact with Jesus. Union and communion with Christ is the means of mining the gold nuggets of God-given wisdom and knowledge buried in Jesus. Paul describes intimacy with the risen Lord and it’s resultant benefits as follows:

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”
(Chapter 2, verse 6,7)

As we received him into us (refer to Colossians 1:27), we must continue to live within him. As the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father, Christians are in Jesus and Jesus is in Christians. Jesus predicted this relational reality in John 14:20 to be a glorious result of his impending death, burial and resurrection:

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

In Colossians 2:9 and 10, Paul describes the Christian relational reality in much the same manner as Jesus does. He declares that since Jesus is filled with God’s glory, so too is every Christian by virtue of spiritual embeddedness in Christ. We fill up with God’s presence (and therefore possess or “have” him in us) because we are as empty bottles submerged in the sea of God's presence in Christ.

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”

We keep the union through communion. We must spend time sitting at the master’s feet learning from him what information he already knows about God from God. Additionally, we must be willing to go on a mining expedition with Jesus to find yet uncovered revelatory nuggets in the brilliant, uninhabitable recesses of him who “lives in unapproachable light.” Like the dark impenetrable regions of the ocean floor filled with secret stunning beauty, so too, God’s presence has an undiscovered depth filled with majesty and splendor that human sensory perception has yet to behold. For those of you who bore easily, rest assured, the hobby of delving into God’s presence holds never a dull moment. How far into the glory can we go? God is bigger than the universe he created and we will never exhaust the revelatory expanse of his being. Is it possible to go so far into God’s presence and never come back out? Is it possible to become lost in the revelatory nature of his being? How far in are we willing to go to find out?

God is so immense. Where should we begin to stare at him in awe? The best point of reference is the salvation he has provided the world in Christ Jesus. God’s ineffable wisdom becomes mentally manageable when meditating on the salvific (cool word, eh?) ramifications of the cross, burial and resurrection of his son for the sake of the world’s salvation. Think about what Jesus has accomplished for us in cooperation with our heavenly Father. Jesus has become our redemption on the cross (paying the price for the world’s sin). He has become our holiness in burial (“made separate” from this worldly dimension and consecrated to the heavenly dimension). He has become our righteousness in resurrection (Jesus vindicated from perceived failure at the cross by the Father raising him from the dead). Through our simple faith-filled alignment with Jesus Christ and his history (past, present and future), we share in all the blessings that belongs to him, especially, union and communion with “our Father in heaven.” Jesus is the centerpiece of God’s salvation activity. Through his obedient involvement in the plans of God he becomes, in character and action, the personification of God’s wisdom demonstrated in his saving deeds. It is now easy to see why Paul exclaims in 1 Corinthians 1: 29-31:

“ It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

It’s amazing isn’t it? Christians are in Christ by God’s design and doing. God has embedded us in the expansive holy temple he has created and lives in, that is, his son Jesus (that’s my shameless plug for another teaching). God has made us righteous, holy and redeemed because we dwell in the "always-doing-right," holy Redeemer and have allowed him, in turn, to dwell in us? Can we gaze into the wisdom of salvation’s divine design for a few minutes? Can we gaze for a few hours? Perhaps we can gaze for a few days? Snorkel swimmers practice holding their breath to expand lung capacity. This is done to allow them to remain underwater for extended periods of time. All the hard work is for the express purpose of enjoying the view underwater for as long as possible. Can we expand our spiritual capacity to remain in his presence for extended periods to explore his goodness, majesty and ways? How long can we stay submerged in the ocean of God's self-revelatory presence? How far down can we go together?

Let’s wrap this study up by going a little deeper into Colossians 2:3 and considering it’s context. What follows is Colossians 1:24-29 and chapter 2:1-3. After each verse follows my commentary.

“Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—"

1) “The word of God in its fullness” refers to Paul’s mission to constantly elucidate the enormity of the ramifications of the gospel message (word of God) summarized as follows: the cross, burial and resurrection of Jesus make possible unabated supernatural union with God in Christ.
2) “The word of God in its fullness” refers to more than Paul’s exhaustive didactic explanation of the Christ event, it refers to that and a demonstration of the “fullness of God,” his breath or life, that inhabits his word. God’s word is full of his spirit and the two are inseparable. The faithful articulation of God’s word releases the presence of God in the life of those who hear and receive it.

"…the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."


3) The experience that accompanies the preaching of God’s word, i.e., release of God’s spirit and union with Christ, was God’s secret agenda (“the mystery”) in the sending of his son, Jesus. God wants more than to live with his people as he had done in the past; he has wanted all along to live in his people. The purpose of holy visitation is holy habitation!

4) God’s secret is out! With the invasion of God’s Spirit via the preaching of his word (i.e., the “good news” about Jesus), the “mysterious ways” of God are no longer mysterious. Now everyone can know that God’s prime directive in all he does is holy habitation. See? Some hidden agendas are good! Evangelism is simply pointing out to others that God’s great big cat is out of the bag. That cat is the Lion of Judah, Jesus, released from the bag of the tomb.

5) This truth about God’s secret agenda is revealed to the “saints” (meaning everyone in Christ-not just dead people) through Paul’s words and the accompanying demonstration of God’s invasive power. That which Paul proclaims becomes living reality in the lives of Christians. The formerly dead Christ who is preached proves he is risen by tangibly materializing inside recipients of the message. He appears in a believer at Re-creation as God’s breath of life appeared in Adam at Creation. So tangible is the presence of Jesus in Christians that the entire world must look up, take note and consider the consequences.

6) “Christ in you, the hope of glory” - The appearing of the resurrected Jesus inside of Christians is personal confirmation of our eventual co-glorification (resurrection) with Jesus. Christ within confirms eternal life.

7) "Glorious riches of this mystery:" This experiential reality of Christ in us and we in Christ is an inexhaustible treasure trove of divine revelation to the recipient. For example, take some time to contemplate some of the following results of the impartation of holy Spirit in a Christian’s life, such as: regeneration; justification; incorporation; sanctification; mortification; maturation and glorification. If you do not understand these technical terms, stay tuned for further teachings from yours truly (another shameless plug).

"We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

8) Paul's life mission statement is clear. He is committed to systematic extemporaneous preaching of Jesus Christ (what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do) as a catalyst for releasing the reality of perfecting union with God in the life of the listener.

"To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."

9) Paul's does not labor alone. He is on a mission WITH God, not just for God.

"I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

10) Paul's struggle to accomplish God's commission benefits first century Christians and all generations to follow, including us. Will Christians 2000 years from now be blessed by what we do today?

11) Paul's motivation in proclaiming Christ is to encourage Christians and therefore unite them in love. The preaching of Jesus supernaturally releases the Father and the Son (via the Spirit) to transform a congregation. Transformed people, in turn, will desire unification in Christ as opposed to division.

12) The experience of God's transforming christopheric presence released through the preaching of Christ is a revelation in itself. Encountering the risen Christ daily is ultimate revelatory reality. Jesus' own words are appropriate here: " I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

13) Paul wants the church to "know" the mystery of God (i.e., Christ in you the hope of glory) not in the academic sense alone through his teaching but experientially through encounter with the invasive presence of God. The word "to know" in this passage means "intimate acquaintance with" in a relational sense. Like Adam "knew" Eve. "The full riches of complete understanding" of the mystery of God revealed as "Christ in you, the hope of glory" is attained through intellectual and emotional encounter with God in Christ released through the preaching of Christ.

14) The experience of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" can be adequately described as the experience of the risen Jesus who is preached. This fact leads Paul to describe the entire experience of the holy Spirit by the title of him who makes it all possible and who characterizes and mediates all encounter with God, "namely, Christ!" We can contemporarily describe the reality of union with God in Christ, The Jesus Experience. So, are you experienced?

15) Jesus of Nazareth, as the repository and mediator of the presence of God, becomes a gold mine of God's wisdom and truth implanted in his resurrected glory to be mined as one continues to walk with God in the Jesus experience.
We are imbedded in the risen Christ and therefore in God our Father also. Let's go on a fantastic voyage together in the heart and mind of God. Let us travel there as fast as light in our hearts and minds. Let us cultivate within our hearts a passion to unearth all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge buried within Jesus. Let us discover with our minds (through intellectual intercourse with Jesus) all the beauty and activity of our Father in heaven. Let us consider our great salvation. One fine day, as we all are busy digging for treasure in the world of our precious Goldmine, we will all look up and realize that the reality many said was only in our imagination is in fact the ultimate reality as the present world order finally succumbs to Goldmine's universe. We'll let Paul have the final say in this matter (how noble of me):

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)