Colossians 3.11-There are No Racial, National, Religious, Cultural, Economic, Political or Social Distinctions in the Body of Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday July 24, 2016
Colossians: Colossians 3:11-There are No Racial, National, Religious, Cultural, Economic, Political or Social Distinctions in the Body of Christ
Lesson # 81
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. (NASB95)
“Greek and Jew” refers to the fact that there are absolutely no distinctions in the body of Christ based upon race or nationality or culture.
The reference to the “Greek” pertains to those Gentiles under the influence of the Greek language and culture as distinguished from Israel’s culture.
The reference to the “Jew” speaks of those members of the human race who are descendants racially of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and thus members of the nation of Israel and thus, denotes nationality distinguishing the Jew from the Gentile under the influence of Greek language and culture.
The second distinction between “circumcision and uncircumcision” expresses the fact that there are absolutely no distinctions in the body of Christ based upon religion and specifically between Jew and Gentile.
“Circumcision” is a designation for those members of the human race who are descendants racially of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who have received circumcision as a sign of the covenant relationship between themselves and the God of Israel.
“Uncircumcision” pertains to the state of being uncircumcised and is thus a designation for the Gentiles but with emphasis upon the fact that these individuals do not participate in the religion of Israel or in other words, they do not practice the Mosaic Law which governed the spiritual life of Israel.
There is no contrast between “barbarian” and “Scythian” since these two groups were also Gentiles and would thus fall under the category of the “uncircumcision.”
The term “barbarian” was used by those immersed in Graeco-Roman culture and language and was a designation for a non-Greek or someone who was not Graeco-Roman in language and culture.
“Scythian” pertains a Gentile from Scythia and was used by those Gentiles immersed in Greek language and culture to describe those Gentiles who were not immersed in Greek language and culture.
The third and final distinction between “slave and freeman” expresses the fact that there are absolutely no social, economic or political distinctions in the body of Christ.
“Slave” pertains to a state of being completely controlled by someone and is referring to a person who is totally under the power and authority and control of another person in contrast to a master who is not but controls others.
“Free person” pertains to a person who is not a slave and is thus socially and politically free and refers to the social status of being a freeman in contrast to being a slave in the Roman Empire.
“But Christ is all, and in all” is teaching that Jesus Christ is supreme over the new creation since He is the head of this new creation (cf. Col. 1:18) and that He indwells each and every member of the body of Christ who compose the new creation.
Colossians 3:9 Each and every one of you continue making it your habit of not lying to one another because each and every one of you for your own benefit have stripped off the old man with its practices. 10 Likewise, each and every one of you have clothed yourselves with the new man which is, as an eternal spiritual truth existing in the state of desiring to be replenished for the purpose of an experiential knowledge in conformity with the image produced by the One who created him. 11 In the sphere of which, absolutely no distinctions are, as an eternal spiritual truth existing between Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free person. But rather, Christ as an eternal spiritual truth exists in the state of being everything as well as in each and every person. (My translation)
Colossians 3:11 brings out the implication of the Colossians stripping off the old man and putting on the new man through their identification with Christ in His death and resurrection which was accomplished through the baptism of the Spirit.
Paul makes an assertion about the new man by stating that in the sphere of this new man or new humanity, absolutely no distinctions are existing between Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free person.
In this verse, Paul also asserts that Jesus Christ is everything to the new humanity in the sense that He is all that matters with regards to the new creation since He is the head of this new humanity and reigns supreme over it.
He also asserts that Jesus Christ indwells each and every member of the body of Christ who compose the new creation which echoes his statement in Colossians 1:27.
All of these human distinctions mentioned by Paul in Colossians 3:11 are all related to the old creation or old man under the headship of Adam and none of them are related to the new creation or new humanity under the headship of Christ.
Paul’s statement in Colossians 3:11 echoes much of his statement in Galatians 3:28 but not all because in the latter, he mentions there are no gender distinctions in the body of Christ with his reference to there being no distinctions between male and female whereas in the former, he does not mention this distinction.
Taken together, Colossians 3:11 and Galatians 3:28 teach that there are no racial, cultural, religious, social, economic, political and gender distinctions in the body of Christ.
The implication is that each and every person in the body of Christ regardless of their race, culture, religion, social status, economic status, political status or gender has equal privilege and equal opportunity to execute the Father’s plan for the church age believer to become like Jesus Christ.
Another implication is that regardless of one’s race or ethnicity, culture, religion, social status, economic status, political status or gender, each member of the body of Christ has been given the victory over the indwelling sin nature and Satan in a positional sense.
They are guaranteed this victory in a perfective sense when they receive their resurrection body at the resurrection or rapture of the church and they have the potential to experience this victory in an experiential sense before the rapture.
This potential becomes a reality when the believer appropriates by faith their identification with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection by considering themselves dead to the sin nature and alive to God (cf. Rom. 6; Col. 3:5).
Another implication is that each and every church age believer must never reject having fellowship with another believer because of their race, culture, religion they practiced in their past, their economic, political or social status and they should never reject another believer because they are male or female either.
Another implication which is related to the false teaching of the Judaizers, which we noted in our study of Colossians 2:8-23, is that one does not have to become a Jew to have the victory over sin and do God’s will since the Gentile believer has the same opportunity to execute the Father’s plan as the Jewish believer.
Another implication is that there is unity in the body of Christ which was accomplished by the Father through His Son and the Spirit since the baptism of the Spirit unifies in a positional sense the individual members of the body of Christ.
This unity is experienced when these individual members of the body of Christ appropriate by faith by their union and identification with Christ and view each other as equals.
Therefore, here in Colossians 3:11, the apostle Paul is teaching that all human distinctions in the body of Christ related to the old creation under Adam are obliterated because of their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
Now, we must qualify this by stating that Paul does not mean that once a person becomes a Christian through faith alone in Jesus Christ that all these distinctions must no longer be recognized or rejected.
Rather, he is speaking in the context of the new creation and with regards to the body of Christ and the relationship between believers in the church.
He is teaching that these distinctions are not a hindrance in doing the Father’s will and that these distinctions can never prevent a member of the body of Christ from experiencing victory over sin.
He is teaching that these distinctions do not prevent any member of the body of Christ from experiencing this victory.
He is not saying that a person stops being male or female because of their identification with Christ and he is not teaching that God no longer recognizes a person’s race or cultural background and he is not implying that a slave must run away from his or her master.
Therefore, the apostle is reminding the church that there are absolutely no barriers which prevent the Colossians or any believer from doing God’s will or experiencing victory over sin.
Paul is teaching that the Gentile is not inferior to the Jew and the slave is not inferior to the free person and in Galatians 3:28, he teaches that a woman is not inferior to a man.
All of this is indicated by Paul’s teaching in Colossians 3:18-4:1 where he addresses the relationships between husbands and wives and slaves and their masters.
This passage makes clear the Christian community is comprised of people who maintain their gender, familial and social identities or in other words, Jews are still Jews in Christ and Gentiles are still Gentiles in Christ and slaves are still slaves in Christ.
However, these earthly identities are no longer relevant with regards to the relationships between the individual members of the body of Christ.
So the gospel of Jesus Christ breaks down all barriers and any obstacle or hindrance to doing God’s will and experiencing victory over sin and Satan.
Specifically, the good news is that those sinners who have been declared justified by the Father as a result of trusting in His Son Jesus Christ as Savior and as a result have been identified with His Son in His death and resurrection through the baptism of the Spirit breaks down all barriers.