asadmin Often the most powerfully subversive things are those which look very similar to what they are challenging. I am a great lover of Renaissance art (I studied it many years ago) and Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic ‘Last Supper’ is a great example of this. All the traditional features are there: the long table, the twelve … Read more
It’s been a big week! Colossians chapter 2 is one of the densest but also richest in the whole of Scripture. This weekend, take a few moments to re-read the chapter in one go. Pick out key words that inspire you, or a phrase that you hadn’t understood before but now brings you life, and … Read more
After a week doing the hard theological yards, today is Paul’s practical advice to the little church in Colosse. ‘Therefore…. don’t let these frauds pull you off track!’ might be a candid paraphrase of our text for today. As we’ve observed, the church was struggling with teachers who insisted that the way to grow spiritually … Read more
In 1931 the theologian Gustaf Aulen published ‘Christus Victor’, which persuasively argued that arguably the most overlooked dimension of the saving work of Christ is that he has conquered all the powers that hold human beings captive: sin, Satan and death. It’s not just that, on the cross, Christ paid the penalty on our behalf … Read more
Reading yesterday’s reflection, some of you may have wondered if I’d deliberately ignored the last couple of verses, and the really tricky teaching about circumcision. Well, maybe! Though actually I’d said plenty already, and this section of the letter is the hardest to explain, with the most technical theology. So, I’m going to pick it … Read more
In modern life we’re familiar with the idea of add-ons. Maybe you buy something big, like a car or a holiday, and discover that only a basic specification is included in the listed price: to get the exact one you want, you have to add on this or that or the other – all at … Read more
Today is one of the great ‘so what’ passages of Scripture. Last week we basked in the greatness of Jesus, day after day. Today we get to the punchline: ‘so, then….’ if Jesus is all of that, how do we respond? Not surprisingly, the answer is quite simple: (v6) ‘continue to live your lives in … Read more
Who’s the smartest person you know? I suspect there’d be a range of answers to that question – you might have a particularly brainy friend or family member. Some of you will naturally think of famous big brains, like Albert Einstein or Alan Turing. I bet not many of us said ‘Jesus’. It’s funny isn’t … Read more
Today I want to introduce you to a word that is not very well-known, but is one of the most important words in the bible, and that is the little Greek word teleios. Now teleios is quite a hard word to define, but it’s the word used here in verse 28 which is translated in … Read more
If you were asked to summarise the purpose of life in a few words, what would you say? What’s the point of it all? What represents the ‘grand plan’? It’s a tough question, but in these stunning verses we get close to an answer. God’s ultimate purpose for all people is this: ‘Christ in you, … Read more