Day 3- Christ is all, and in all

"Here, there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all, and is in all." [Colossians 3: 11]

This "title" of Christ is perhaps more of a role than a title. What exactly does this mean in context?

Let's take the verse apart.

• "Here..."- Where's the "here" that this verse is referring to? When taken in context of the letter to the Colossians and all that Paul has been saying prior to this verse, it is clear that the "here" he is talking about is within the church. Not a church building mind you, but within the group of the redeemed.
• "...there is not..."- When I look back to verse 10, I see Paul's instructions to "put off the old self with its practices, and... put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. " The "there is not" of verse 11 leads me to wonder if it was actually a "there is" instead in the days of the old self. It would appear that "there is not" now because each member of the body of redeemed has received a new self to put on.
• "Greek and jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free..."- Try to imagine the tremendous differences between the aforementioned ranging everywhere from legal standing, social status and religious favor to educational level, ethnicity, language, and cultural class. These eight labels or divisions had much opposed to their unity. If we put this into a current perspective, let's say Donald Trump has to work alongside a girl from a nomadic Muslim tribe in central Asia. He is wealthy, educated, English-speaking, cultured, and "civilized." She is devout, uneducated, speaks a tribal language, and uncivilized according to Western standards. What could possibly bring the likes of these to unity??
• "but Christ is all, and in all."- In these last seven words, we find our answer. Christ is the great leveler among His people. He absorbs in Himself all distinctions, being to all alike everything they need for justification, sanctification, and glorification. All stand on the same level before Him in duty and principle. The unity of the life in Christ that is shared by all believers counterbalances all external differences. He is to be ALL in the life of a believer and He is to be recognized as IN ALL because His Spirit now dwells in all the redeemed. Those of His people who understand that He is all will also understand that He is in all of His people, regardless of all other differences, and this will be the rock of unity upon which they stand together.

So, how have I learned to treasure Christ more through seeing that He is all, and is in all within His church?

• It has led me to realize why disunity is spoken of so strongly in other areas of the New Testament. For the church to live in disunity is nothing more than an outflow of the church not believing that Jesus is all, and is in all. If we know that He is all, everything else (all divisions, disagreements, and differences) fall away because they are unimportant in light of Christ. And if we know that He is in all who are redeemed, we will love and respect the Christ life in one another.
• I've seen once again that Christ does not play favorites. His redemption has purchased people from all tongues, tribes, nations, and strata of society. He seems to revel in outward diversity so that He can show His goodness and power when His church actually stands united.
• Whether we are poor or rich, slave or free, educated or uneducated, civilized or uncivilized, we will all stand before God with only the blood of Christ to plead on our behalf. Our money will not pay to defend us before the throne of God nor will our poverty be an excuse for our life of sin. No matter what our sovereignly ordained circumstances in this life, Christ is all and to live life apart from that revelation is to live a lie.

Tomorrow, we will start a three day study on one verse- Revelations 1: 8. We will begin with looking at Christ as the "Alpha and Omega."