Category Archives: Different

All, Bible, Christ, Different, Scripture

THE ALL

COLOSSIANS 3:11

“a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.”

If you were dropped on this earth without any prior knowledge of the people, you might think we were all intentionally separated by our skin color or our language. I have the privilege to travel all over this globe and let me tell you something – there isn’t a smidgen of difference between us. Some people like to talk about the differences, but we are all created by the same great Creator.

Paul is insistent that the Colossians know there is no separation between believers. Whomever accepts Jesus and follows Him are brothers and sisters in Christ. That is clear as Paul lists these groups – very different groups. But the one little word that caught my attention is not evident in the English. In the Greek, the last phrase literally reads, “but the all and in all Christ.” What word did you see? It’s the little definite article “the” which is in the original. Christ is not just all. He is THE all.

APPLICATION

I know you don’t want a grammar lesson. But you have to look at this little Greek definite article, ta. This separates Christ from the rest of the so-called gods. Christ is THE all. There is no other. It’s interesting that no commentator I read even mentioned this. I wonder why.

My wife is THE one for me. God is THE God. THE Bible is THE Word of God. That little word is so important. I believe Paul is saying that you may have all these other groups which are all brought together because of THE Christ. No other person could have done that.

We have heard stories of bitter enemies who became friends due to a life-changing experience one or both had with THE Christ. I have seen people set free from bondage by THE Christ. Don’t trust a substitute. There are many out there. Come to THE Christ and discover a whole new way of living.

Thank You, Father, for THE Christ You sent for me.

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Bible, Different, Freedom, Law, Scripture

NOT LIKE THE OTHER

GALATIANS 4:25

“Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children.”

When my children were small, they loved to watch Sesame Street. One of the little jingles they played along with a teaching moment was “One of these things is not like the other, One of these things is not the same…” I can still hear that tune in my head. It helped the kids recognize like images or pictures and to notice differences. A simple but needed skill.

Unlike Sesame Street, Paul is not pointing out differences in today’s verse. In fact, he is doing just the opposite. He is telling us Hagar represents Mount Sinai (the place the law was given to Moses by God) and that “corresponds to the present Jerusalem.” The Greek word for “corresponds” only occurs here and means to file in rank with, to march together. In other words, they were in lockstep, inseparable.

APPLICATION

In Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, he says this about the name “Hagar.” “…the Arabians according to Paul (who had formerly dwelt among them, Galatians 1:17) called the rocky Mount Sinai by a name similar in sound to הגר ( i.e. rock)…” Here’s a little math formula for you: Hagar = rock = Mount Sinai = Jerusalem = the Law = slavery. That is essentially what Paul is saying here and in Galatians 4:21-31.

We don’t want to be like that, do we? Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the Law but under grace.” I love what the author of Hebrews (whom I personally believe was either Paul or Barnabas) says in Hebrews 10:1. “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the form of those things itself, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, make those who approach perfect.”

Praise be to God! We are not like Hagar or like Mount Sinai or like Jerusalem or like the Law. One of these things is not like the other – that’s us in Christ. We are no longer bound to the things of the law. We are no longer required to keep all those rules and offer meaningless sacrifices. We are free in Jesus.

Lord, thank You for making me different than others and declaring me free in Jesus. 

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