On Bible Notes

My plan here is to not rely on Bible notes that can be found in many Bibles or on Bible commentaries of which there are numerous fine ones. This technique for examining the Bible is not THE mode available to the scholar. It is A mode. I wanted to focus on The Word, plain and simple.

When I was in grad school, I was surprised to find so much attention being paid to commentaries on the works of great authors and so little emphasis being placed on reading the works being commented on. It is a core belief of mine that if you want to get to know the text, you have to deal with it. Deal with it, not just the commentaries on it and the interpretations of others. Those may be valuable. They may help in understanding a poem, or story, or play, or (in this case) a Bible verse, but they should never take the place of one’s own encounter with the text. This blog is a record of my encounter with a particular text – The Bible. In this sense, the blog is meant for my own consumption even though it is on a public forum.

If Thoreau went into the woods in order to face life, I maintain this blog in order to record my facing the Bible. I hope this serves as inspiration for some reader to do the same – to confront the Words of the Bible and discuss that confrontation, make sense of it, fully explore it. Maybe in a blog or journal. Maybe in a Sunday School class or Bible study group. Maybe in a conversation.

Bible Notes

My idea here is not to rely on the notes that can be found in a lot of Bibles or in any one of dozens of Bible commentaries. This tack by no means makes what I'm doing more scholarly or better. It's just a different experience. One that I want now.

As a professional reader, (I work as an English professor) I try to remind myself that no matter how interesting an interpretation is, the poem, story, play, or (in this case) Bible verse, it is the text that has to be the center of focus.

When I was in Grad school, I was surprised that so much emphasis was placed on what commentators had to say. I was really there to hear what the authors themselves had to say. That can get lost sometimes. My strategy in this blog is to make sure the Bible doesn't get lost. In that sense, of course, I am doing this for myself. This is MY encounter with the Bible. I'm sharing it with anyone who cares to read, but I hope the reader is inspired to start their own blog or journal or Bible study group or maybe just a conversation.

Why Colossians? Why Now?

Mainly because many people people think that the Bible is negative, as though it were all about the "Thou Shall Nots". It isn't. And if any one writer in the Bible is singled out as having a negative message, it would be Paul. But here, at least, Paul demonstrates a positive message. He doesn't just tell what not to do. He also gives advice about what one should do. For instance, "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity which is the bond of perfectness." (Col. 3:12-14) Or Col. 3:15b: "Be ye thankful."

No negativity in the message here, just positive advice. No threats -- "Be thankful or else." Just words of wisdom to help the reader, not to hurt. That's why Colossians.

Colossians 4:3

“Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.”

What interests me here is Paul calling Christ a mystery. There have been attempts, many of them, in recent years to make Christianity out to belike this – There was a man named Jesus who was a good Jewish man who cared for the poor and preached in the synagogues on the Sabbath. Then there was a man named Paul who glorified this simple carpenter and turned him into Christ. This move by Paul was not, according to this theory, something that Jesus would have appreciated. Sounds a bit sinister. Yet, there is this verse.

“The mystery of Christ,” coming from Paul is surprising. What mystery? Didn’t Paul know Christ well? Paul was at the end of his journey as a missionary, not the beginning. Of all the people in the Universe, Paul should have known Christ – some even say Paul invented him. I take this verse to mean that Paul felt he was still learning about Jesus, still finding out the full measure of what the appearance of God on Earth meant.

In the third chapter of Colossians, Paul gives a wonderful set of easy to understand dictums: “And be ye thankful,” for instance, in 3:15b. Simple. But how about 3:11b? “But Christ is all, and in all”? There is no explanation given for this. What does it mean? It’s a mystery. Something to work out every day.

Slavery in the Bible

Slavery can be nothing less than troubling. One can argue (as many do) that the slavery of the Bible was nothing like the slavery of the Americas. No doubt true. But it still was bad. True a slave in ancient times could rise to a high rank in a household, even inherit and marry into the family. But it's not a position anyone willingly sought (except for the prodigal son, I think).

Paul admonishes slaves to be obedient and even returns a slave to the owner he ran away from. More on that much later when I get to Philemon. Masters are exhorted to be kind to their slaves. Could it be that this was the best that could be done at that time? For an all-powerful God?

It's a tough nut to crack. No answers. Just questions.

Colossians 3:17, 23-24

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

This repetition interests me. In deconstructive theory, repetition is significant. That is, in repetition we see how even the same words can have different meanings. After all, taken out of context as these verses are, the second verse seems only to amplify and elaborate upon the first. But the first is spoken to all believers and the second is part of an admonition to slaves. The trick, then, would appear to be to find out how the second verse is different for today’s non-slave believer – does the context change the meaning for me? Can I, for instance, say that the second verse doesn’t apply to me somehow since I am not a slave?

It turns out that I can’t see a way in which the second verse does not apply to me. Though I am not a slave, I do serve the Lord Christ. I hope for the reward. I do whatever I do “heartily as to the Lord.” When I do things as though “unto men,” I know I am doing things wrongly. These words can be twisted to fit the slaveholder’s purposes, but they apply to all who want to be considered followers of Jesus. The key, I think if found a little later on in Colossians 3:25 – “there is not respect of persons.” That is, God treats all equally. A-ha.

Colossians 3:15a

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body"

So much in just this segment of a verse. "Let the Peace of God" Who wouldn't "Let Peace" or "Let God"? Yet we're told to do this rather forcefully. Apparently many don't "Let". Think Luke 10:41 -- "Martha, Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things."

But then it is not "Let the peace of God into your hearts." It's "Let the peace of God RULE in your hearts." Think of the times when it is difficult to let peace rule your decision making. Let peace run the household. When you make a decision, ask whether the decision coincides with "the peace of God." This is a high standard. It's not about relaxing (although that's in there too). It's about taking actions and living a life where the motivating force is "the peace of God."

"To the which also ye are called in one body" -- the reason we need the peace of God to rule in our hearts? Because we have to deal with others. Were we to sequester ourselves, and commune only with God, things would be easier. Less strife. Less deviation from the peace of God. Had Jesus arrived at Martha's house without an entourage, had Mary, her sister not been there, Martha would have had less troubling her. But we're in the world, and we must work together because we were called to do exactly that. And if we don't let "the peace of God rule in our hearts" what do we have? What's the alternative?

Link Troubles

Just wanted you to know that I would link to several nice sites if I could figure out how to do that.

Colossians 4:12-16a

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom."

For me, this is one of the most inspiring passages of the entire Bible. There is a lot too discuss. There is a lot of unpacking to do in trying to get a handle on this section of Scripture. For right now, all I'll do is draw attention to the activity that is requested of us -- the number of times it says "Put on" or "Let". We are exhorted to action. Some of these actions may seem to be impossible to accomplish -- when you are troubled, how can you "let" the peace of God "Rule in your hearts"? Putting on "Longsuffering" seems something like asking for trouble.

Yet, part of the inspiration I draw from the passage comes from the fact that all these things, and they are wonderful things, are presented as doable -- things that can be accomplished.

Colossians 3:2, 5, 8-9

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

The theme for this chapter. Simple. Change your outlook. Look up, not down. Try to be better. Try. Leave behind what you know to be worse.


“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

“Mortify” of course, is related to killing. Uncleanness and inordinate affection are stumpers for me. Does uncleanness refer to bathing and those things? Unclean thoughts? Inordinate affection would seem to mean loving something or someone too much. Or is it having an inappropriate object of affection? Like loving your neighbor’s wife?

“But now you also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not to one another seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”

Telling lies, filthy talk, anger and wrath all seem like no-brainers though, of course, it takes work to control one’s impulses to these things. What’s malice? I remember CS Lewis describing malice as pulling off the wings of a fly to see it suffer. Fair enough. It seems, therefore to be a sort of planned anger, cold and premeditated. Like “Malice aforethought,” the legal term that can make a crime seem all the worse though the result, a murder, is the same – the victim is just as dead whether there was a passionate heat or a controlled chill in the attacker. But then, this section of Paul isn’t about the people you hurt through your actions; it’s about YOU. What you think and feel and the fact that you should make a conscious effort to control those things.

Room for God's Miracles

Paraphrased from what I heard on TV from the father of one of the teens who was lost at sea for six days: "I thought as more days passed, that there was less room for God to work a miracle."

Quite the opposite, I say. If the kids had been found in an hour or a day, not many would think that was a miracle. That's just being found. The longer the ordeal, the MORE room God has to roll up His sleeves and work the miracle.

Colossians 2:8, 16, 18

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

There is a lot of warning going on in the second chapter of Colossians; this is one of them. I think it is in three parts, but first, the word “Spoil” – I take it to mean “rob” as in plunder. I could check a newer translation, and I will, but first, an attempt at my own interpretation.

1 – Philosophy and vain deceit are paired, not necessarily a knock on philosophy as we know it. There were (and still are) philosophers who were charlatans. What they have to say is vain deceit. However, I think the warning is a little broader. I get the impression that Paul would also like for believers to be wary of even the serious philosophers. There’s nothing better than the saving grace of Jesus.

2 – “The tradition of men” may not be philosophy and it may not be simply vain deceit. Many traditions are held onto sincerely by simple people who have learned this one way of living. But where these traditions keep you from Christ, discard them.

3 – “The rudiments of the world” I take to mean the way the world works. That is, whatever the majority of people consider most necessary. Things like money and pleasure seeking. Again, they may be nice but where they keep you from Christ, they are wrong. Didn’t Jesus say something about letting the dead bury their dead? And about leaving family and friends to take up one’s cross and follow him?

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday…”

Another warning. Kind of a “you’re not the boss of me” moment. Only God is that boss. I don’t think this suggests that one should believe that there is no authority on Earth above you. I think this means that we should obey those whose authority comes from God. Tricky. How do you know if it comes from God? Discernment.

“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels…”

I wonder what is meant by “voluntary humility” but the rest is clear. People may not be too ready to worship angels anymore, but, oddly, they do worship lesser beings all the time. I’ve had students say they would do anything Britney Spears asked them to do. Britney Spears! Talk about your “Voluntary humility”!

Did I mention...?

That this is not one of those organized walks through the Bible. I’m not trying to read it in one year. I’m not reading from cover to cover. I’m not going through the books in chronological or alphabetical or size order. I’d like to say I’m going wherever the Spirit leads me, but that sounds rather grand. Let’s just say “no agenda” except what interests me.