The Pulpit Commentary — Colossians — Section 29

He is "ajnst God and" Saviour." His power works on tho linos Inid down by his right<-'onsness. He would have destroyed rather than saved us would hnve violated the human conscience, had he (conceivably) saved us without forgiveness; or without a forgiveness rationally grounded on some act of propitiation. that should make amends for the guilty past. 'l'his propitiation, ns it frees us from the power of Satan and of de~th, is our ransom._ The Son of ~D?-'s ~ove_, if he wo~ld redeem us, must pay tlis ,:,rice. w·hat. that price should be, D1vme Justice determines, while Divine love pro• ,ides it. He bought us with "his own blood" (Gal. iii. 13 ; Acts xx. 28; 1 Pet. i. 1S, 19); "gave his life a ransom" (Matt. xx. 28; Titus ii. 14). (3) And we may anti- cipat.e what follows in vers. 20, 21, by adding thl\t it is, finally, an act of reconciliation. God lays aside his holy resentment~gainst us as sinners, accepting the sacrifice of Christ which he himself bas provided, offered on earth and by our Representative, as a just and countervailing satisfaction "for the sins of the whole world" (Rom. iii. 25; John. i. 29; 1 John ii. 2); while men. thereupon, becoming aware of this (Luke ii. 14; Eph. ii. li), cease from their enmity a.nd strife against him (2 Cor. v. 19, 20). So" peace is made through the blood of the cross" (Eph. ii 16; Rom. v. 1, 10, 11). And meeting God in this peace-ma.king, men meet each other ; the broken unity of mankind is restored (Eph. ii. 13--16; eh. iii 11; John :x.i. 51, 52); and other worlcls, it may be, share with our own. in the "peace" established "on earth" (ver. 20). Vers. 15-23.--8ect. 2. The redeeming &n and his kingdom. I. CHBIBT THE LORD OF m"IVEBSAL NATURE. (Vers. 15-17.) Colossiau error was undermining the Christian ,;:,stem by introducing into it a false, doalistic theory of nature; then widely prevalent in other quarters. And the leaders of Christian thought can never afford to be indifferent to the current philosophic views of their day. Indeed, in the contact of Christian teaching mth philosophy, and in the reflection of thoughtful men at all times, the question was sure to arise a.nd must constantly recur in new ·rorms, " What is the rela-- tion of Christ to the universe? At what point does he enter the scheme of things? He who died on. Calvary, who claims to save the souls of men, what has he to do with nature a.nd the common world?" If this question could not be answered, or if any inferior and limited position in the world of being must be assigned to him, then, as the Colossian heresy shows, his spiritual authority and the efficacy of his redemption become, in the same degree, limited and uncertain. Hence the teaching of the Epistles of this group (Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians) respecting the Person of Christ is the logical and theological sequel of that of the second (<r.llatians, Romans, 1 and 2 Corin- thians), respecting our salvation through him. We gather from the apostle's teaching here : L 1'hat in Olirut God becomes visible, and nature becomes intelligible. • To earnest philosophic thought, as to sound religious instinct, it has always been evident that "what is seen hath not been made out of things which do appear" (Heb. xi. 3). ~ "everlasting power and divinity are clearly seen from the creation of the w~rl_d" -but as " invisible things" (Rom. i. 20). Our latest Agnosticism is but a despamng echo of the cry of Job: "I go towards the east, but he is not there; and westward, but I cannot perceive him ; towa.rd the north, where he is workin~, b~t I c~!:'not see him ; where he veileth himself in the south, but I cannot find him (xxm. 8, 9). God effectually hides himself behind his works. All visfole point to invisible causes, all finite things lead up to the In.finite, all phenomena to the no~nal; but whith~r t~ey point we cannot follow. Some of the most profound and mmute of modem sc1ent1fic inquirers testify most strongly to this (e.q. M. Dumas and M. Pasteur, in their addresses at the French Academy, 1880, 1882). From that invisible, Christ comes forth to testify of him whom" no man hath seen nor can see" (John i. 14, 18; xiv. 9). We know now what the Maker of the universe is like. The world is no longer orphaned. The unknown God proves to be its Father, and his Son its elder Brother. Human thought has a visible centre around which to move, a sun which sheds light and warmth over e.ll its speculations. The incarnation and resurrection of Christ, with the whole course of his miracles (his signs), assure us that natural law is, and must prove itself ultimately to be, subservient to spiritual Jaw, the lower to the higher order, the material world to the moral being of man. His miracles and parables and his general teaching furnish many fruitful hints, some that lie on the surface, others that await our deeper searching or future need, respecting the meaning and use of the natural world. He is, after all, OH, I, 1-20,] 'l'IIE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 23