“Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.” Col. 2:16, 17
“And He is before all things . . .” Col. 1:17a
The Colossian believers had abandoned their pursuit of Christ to chase shadows. They had heard the true gospel from Epaphras (Col. 1:5 – 7). This gospel was the same gospel preached by Paul of Tarsus. This gospel was not about a thing. This gospel (or good news) was not about an ‘it.’ This gospel was not about anything. This gospel is a Person: the very Person of the Lord Jesus Christ! Paul said that he preached this Person (I Cor. 1:23; I Cor. 2:2; Gal. 1:15 – 16; Phil. 1:18). He preached this Person as the good news to mankind.
But the Colossians left the one true gospel for other things. These “things” were only shadows of the reality, that is, Christ Himself. They got into matters of the Jewish law, holy days, the Sabbath, and so on. And these things or shadows became their new religion.
The Religion of Shadows
Life can never be found in things but only in a Person (John 5:39, 40). And it’s a very sad fact that most Christians still have not discovered this truth.
We have built a religion based upon the foundation of shadows. Pretty flimsy I would say! We have built a religious system based upon teachings, methods, and programs. All of these are ‘things’ and ‘its’ and not the reality of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. When I say “we,” I am referring to most believers down through the centuries who have (unknowingly) built the religion of Christianity. Webster defines Christianity as “the religion of Christians, or the system of doctrines and precepts taught by Christ; conformity to the laws and precepts of the Christian religion.”
Sadly, most Christians today would agree with that definition. And so would I. That is the Christian religion. That is Christianity. So under this definition and description I must declare to you that I have once and for all time rejected Christianity! But Milt, you may be saying, have you rejected the doctrines and precepts taught by Christ? No I have not. But I have rejected the idea that the teachings of Christ can be separated from the Person of Christ. The teachings or doctrines are there to point us to the Person. The teachings within themselves are not the goal. The Person is the goal!
So we have created this system called the Christian religion or Christianity and it has become just another “thing.” Jesus never started the Christian religion. He never started any religion. He only pointed people to the only Way to the Father. And then He told us that He is the Way. The problem with religions is that they all point to a teaching, a concept, a philosophy, a method, or a program to help you reach spirituality or your acceptance with God. But Jesus only pointed to a Person.
The All in All
Paul told the Colossians that all the fullness of God was found in only one place. That place is inside of the Lord Jesus Christ (Col. 1:19). He is everything that everyone is looking for. The letter to the Colossians points the believers to this glorious and awesome Person.
This wonderful Person is:
* The allotted portion of the saints
* The Image of the invisible God
* The Firstborn of all creation
* The One in whom all things were created
* Our redemption
* The One in whom, through whom, for whom all things were created
* Before all things
* The One who holds all things together
* The Head of the Body, the church
* The Beginning of the New Creation
* The Firstborn of the dead
* The One who must have first place in all things
* The One in whom all the fullness dwells
* The One who reconciles all things to Himself
* The Word of God
* The Mystery hidden from the ages
* The Hope of glory
* The One in whom are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge
* The Soil we are rooted in
* The Substance of the shadows
* Our Life!
This glorious Christ is so much bigger than any mere religion! No religion can contain Him. No doctrinal system can define or explain Him. No set of things or ‘its’ can ever confine this unlimited Christ. Even your thoughts and ideas about Him can never restrain this all sufficient Person. The confines of man-made religion (including Christianity) can never harness the Christ who is before all things. No thing can contain this vast Christ, and, anything less than Him will never satisfy the human heart.
Yet we continue to settle for lesser things. We continue to settle for things about Him instead of just Him. We continue to live in the shadows instead of the substance. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of living in the shadows. I want to live in reality. I want to grab hold of the substance of this Person. I desperately want to live this Christ who is the All in all!
“I don’t know about you, but I am tired of living in the shadows. I want to live in reality. I want to grab hold of the substance of this Person. I desperately want to live this Christ who is the All in all!”
Amen Brother!
Hey, Milt
I’ve read this three times now–it’s taken a while to sink in. The shadow analogy speaks to me powerfully. You know how C.S. Lewis called death the shadowlands when he was a boy, and in The Last Battle he puts forth the idea that life in this world is really the shadowlands?
What this says to me is that we always have to be looking to the substance that cast the shadow. Everything we see in creation is a type or shadow of something else. I need constant reminding not to get caught up in the shadows, but to always be looking for the substance, which is Christ.
Thanks so much for another (always needed) reminder!
Love, Cindy
Hi Cindy,
Yes, that’s right. C.S. Lewis did use that analogy which I’m sure he got from that passage in Colossians.
People look in the sky at night and see that glowing orb and call it the “moon”. But actually, that’s only the shadow of the moon. The REAL moon is Jesus Christ. He is the perfect reflection of His Father. He said, “I am the true (real) Vine. Those things that you see across the landscape with grapes hanging on them are only a shadow of the real thing (or Person).
We need to recognize the things for what they are – merely shadows. And start recognizing Christ for who He is – the one Reality!
thanks for sharing!
Hi Milt,
have you ever wondered why the Way was deep, profound, in the heart of the early Christians, but surfaced up, becoming shallower and shallower until it was visible only on their outward behavior? It took only a few generations for that to happen. (It is true that deep experiences with the Lord have been manifested among isolated groups or individuals, but not in the mainstream Christianity. But that’s another story.)
I’ve asked myself why is that for many years, hoping that if I just understand why is that, I would find the keys to the deeper Christian life.
My understanding now is that we get born with a pretty lame spirit, to say the least. This spirit, which was supposed to see and touch God, does not know and does not have the strength to do that. We also are born with a soul which is very strong, being hardened in the fights with the elements and the flesh, a soul that does not know the ways of the Lord, and the way to the spirit inside. We also get a body, with all its glory left from creation but full of misleading desires. So we find ourselves in a mess, big time.
The only way to get out of the mess is to follow Him, step by step. In His strength, but nonetheless follow Him. If we do that, He will lead us out of misery. He goes ahead of us, leading the way, and we just need to stick with Him, and we’ll be fine in Him.
We do want to follow the Lord, so we say, but do we follow on His steps? The truth is that we say “Yes, yes, Lord” but in our heart we make decisions that diverge from Him. This explains the hundreds of years of Christianity living in the shadows. The reality is in Christ who comes in our spirit. The reality needs to be released to live in us, otherwise we stay in the shadows. Christ will do all it takes to make this happen in us, but do we want that, I mean do we really want that?
The Lord is merciful with us, understanding our desire for life, our confusion, our double minded soul, and He pursues His desire to bring us to Him, but do we really want that? Aren’t we bowing sometimes to some desire, some imagination of our own, calling it God’s will, and struggling to see it fulfilled in us, even if the Lord is not in it? We are too weak to pass by the mighty flesh, to feeble to move through the maze of our thoughts and feelings in order to stand in spirit before Him to receive the overflowing of light and reality that comes from our lovely Lord. May He find a way to feed our spirit first. The mind knows a lot about Him, but the spirit is thirsty. May He raise brothers and sisters who can impart the true food to others who are starving. I long for that, for brothers who know how to bring heavenly bread on earth, those who have seen the Unseen.
Abel
(Sorry for being so long. I did not mean it.)
Abel,
I believe you hit the nail right on the head!
Very well put, my brother.
“The mind knows a lot about Him, but the spirit is thirsty. May He raise brothers and sisters who can impart the true food to others who are starving. I long for that, for brothers who know how to bring heavenly bread on earth, those who have seen the Unseen.” – Abel Avram –
Amen and amen Brother!
Yes!
Many mistakenly attribute the Bible to be the Word of God. Instead, they are the words of God whose only purpose is to lead you into union with the Word of God, who is Person and not an intellectual concept that can be grasped with your mind.
He is the LOVE that surpasses knowledge! (Ephesians 3:14-20)
Milt, another mind blowing post, Jesus Christ saturated as usual! I love also the comments that people have made here! Thank you for allowing for the labor of Love!
I love this. Thank you for the reminder! Knowing Jesus is eternal life. Not knowing things about Jesus, but really knowing Him. Thinking we can know Jesus just by going to church (of any kind) or reading the Bible (any version) or doing a good deed (any deed) is like trying to experience a true relationship and/or community through facebook. It can tell you things about people, but it’s a poor substitute for the real thing.
Wow, you have penned what I’ve thought for 8 years now, at least every since I left the church building/organization I was a part of. Mainstream Christianity has given Christ bad representation. Christ is so much purer, simpler, and clearer than what is portrayed from those who label themselves Christian. Anyway Milt thanks for sharing. This is the first “Christian” article I’ve read and received in years. Since my husband and I left religious abuse in 2002,we have been out here observing from a distance, perhaps still healing. But thanks for a simple, love-filled not too religious message that came straight from the Author of truth!