The Truth of the Gospel

one year in ColossiansOne year ago, I felt like the Holy Spirit told me to spend a year in each of the epistles. It seemed ridiculous at the time, and — knowing how much better I am at starting things than finishing them — I wasn’t sure how long my best attempt would last.

But last month ended one year in Galatians. It was definitely the trial run, and I think I learned as much about the process of studying scripture — especially this way: a few chapters for a whole year — as I did about Galatians itself.

The last thing I expected was to feel not done with one short book after a whole year, but as my birthday rolled around I definitely felt like I’d only scratched the surface of Galatians. I’m sticking with the process, though, and moving on, determined to do better this year.

Part of doing better is going to be trying to write more. It helps me process and remember, so I’m going to try to share something at least every week this time around.

This time around it’s Colossians. Truth: I don’t really enjoy Colossians, but as I prayed about what would be next I couldn’t escape it.

If your own Bible study is lost for direction, or in need of something new, or ready for some accountability, you’re welcome to join me. I’ve only been at it for a couple weeks, and I’m only about 10 verses in.

One thing that I did do with Galatians, that I’m keeping (at least for now), is starting the year by journaling through the text. I pull out each word, or very small phrase, and analyze it: jot down a few synonyms and/or a quick definition. Ask why that word was used instead of another, etc. It can be a painstaking process, but it forces me to examine the text without glossing over thick verses.

And it helps me recognize some of Paul’s favorite phrases, like, “the truth of the gospel.”

I’d journaled through the concept twice in Galatians, and seeing it in the fifth verse of Colossians was like bumping into an old friend. (It also made me feel pretty fancy — connecting Paul’s language from one epistle to another — and a little more confident about giving a year to Colossians.)

because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;

The believers in Colosse had hope that they heard about in the word of the truth of the gospel. Why not just say, “the word of the gospel”? 

Paul uses the phrase twice in Galatians 2:

:5
to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

:14
But when I saw that they were not straight-forward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, …

In Galatians, Paul is talking about circumcision, and the freedom available in Christ as opposed to the bondage of the law. The John 3:16 gospel doesn’t say anything about circumcision, but Paul knows that the simplest iteration of the gospel of Christ has everything to do with circumcision.

The John 3:16 gospel was not at risk in Galatia, which is why Paul did not write that they stood firm so that “the gospel might continue with you,” or that he noticed they were, “not straight-forward about the gospel.” It was the bigger picture, the implications of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ and what it means to our everyday lives, that was at stake: the truth of the gospel.

In Colossians, Paul doesn’t say that their hope of salvation is the truth of the gospel, he says they heard about this hope and salvation, “in the word of the truth of the gospel,” as though it were part of the greater whole.

It was a fascinating concept in Galatians, and I’m glad to see it back in Colossians. The fact that it permeates Paul’s letters hints that it was a concept that just lived in him. It was something that had taken root as he studied scripture and met with the Holy Spirit and walked out the life God set for him.

If I could sit down with Paul and ask him one question, I would ask him what the gospel is. I think it means more to him that what we preach in America on Sunday mornings. I think it starts with John 3:16, but is so much more than than. I think Paul understood something about salvation and the gospel that I’m only just starting to see.

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