Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Colossians 3:4
When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
4. When Christ shall appear ] R.V., somewhat more closely, shall be manifested; leaving the Secret Place of His glory to return to human sight, in His Second Advent. The verb is used in the same connexion, 1Pe 5:4; 1Jn 2:28; 1Jn 3:2 (probably). In connexion with the visible “manifestation” of the Son at the First Advent it occurs e.g. 1Ti 3:16; 1Jn 1:2; and in connexion with the “manifestation” of the Risen One after death, Mar 16:12; Mar 16:14; Joh 21:14. The import of the word in all these passages far transcends mere visibility, and gives the thought of a discovery of what He is Who is seen; but it implies a quite literal visibility. “This same Jesus, in like manner, shall come” (Act 1:11). This is the one place in the Epistle where the Lord’s glorious Return is distinctly mentioned (see Col 1:5, for a pregnant allusion to it). In the Ephesians no explicit reference to it occurs (but see Eph 4:30).
who is our life ] The truth of the previous verse is repeated in an intenser form. The “life” which is “hid with Him,” in respect of your possession of it, is, in respect of itself, nothing less than He. So is Christ’s exalted life the direct secret of your regenerate life and faculty, that it is Christ, and nothing secondary. The Holy Spirit is “the Lord, the Life- Giver ” (Nicene Creed); but the Life is the Son of God, as the Redeemer and Head of His saints. Cp. Joh 6:57; Joh 11:25; Joh 14:6; Gal 2:20; 1Jn 5:11-12.
“ Our life ” : he has just said, “ your life is hid, &c.”; now he “hastens to include himself among the recipients of the bounty” (Lightfoot).
shall ye also appear ] be manifested. “ It hath not yet been manifested what we shall be ” (1Jn 3:2). The believer has a supernatural secret of peace and holiness, but it is hidden; and the Divine quality of the effects will not be fully “manifested” till the Cause is “manifested.” Again, the effects, though in a partial sense “manifested” even now, “in our mortal flesh ” (2Co 4:11), are as to their Divine quantity still “hidden,” till the final glorification of the saints. Then, the oneness of the members with their Head will be seen, in all its living power and wonder, and their perfect holiness will be discovered to be all “of Him.” So “the sons of God will be manifested ” (Rom 8:19) in respect of the nature and the greatness of their sonship.
The Apostle’s practical aim is to bring his converts to use their “hidden” life the more freely and confidently, in view of its promised issues, and to cheer them by the same prospects under the cross of sorrow, temptation, limitation, or whatever else “conceals,” in God’s present order, their life eternal.
with him ] from whom the glorified are never separated. Cp. 1Th 3:13; 1Th 4:14.
in glory ] His glory, the effulgence, visible and spiritual, of His presence; shared by His members. Cf. Rom 8:17-18; Rom 8:21 (“ the liberty of the glory, &c.”); 1Jn 3:2. And see 1Co 15:43; Php 3:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
When Christ, who is our life – Notes, Joh 1:4; Joh 11:25, note.
Shall appear – In the day when he shall come to judge the world.
Then shall ye also appear with him in glory – 1Th 4:16-17. Christians shall then be raised from the dead, and ascend with the Redeemer to heaven.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Col 3:4
When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.
Christ our life
What is meant by life? The word is very comprehensive, and includes–
1. Appropriate activity.
2. Happiness. The life here intended is
(1) not natural life;
(2) not intellectual life;
(3) but spiritual and eternal life. Christ is our life in that He is–
I. Its author.
1. He saves us from death.
(1) By His atonement which satisfies the law.
(2) By delivering us from the power of Satan.
2. He is the author of inward spiritual life. Because–
(1) He procures for us the gift of the life-giving Spirit. He has redeemed us in order that He might receive the promise of the Spirit.
(2) He not only merits, but imparts the gift of the Holy Spirit.
II. Its object.
1. The exercises in which Christian life consists terminate on Him.
2. The happiness involved consists in fellowship with Him. He is our life as He is our joy, portion, inheritance.
III. Its end. It is Christ for us to live. While others live for themselves–some for their country, some for mankind–the believer lives for Christ. It is the great design of his life to promote Christs glory and advance His kingdom. Inferences:
1. Test of character. The difference between the true and nominal Christian lies here. The one seeks and regards Christ as His life only as He delivers from death; the other as the end and object of life.
2. The true way to grow in grace, or to get life, is to come to Christ.
3. The happiness and duty of thus making Christ our life. (C. Hodge, D. D.)
Christ our life
1. Life is seen around us striking out in tender beauty in the tiny flower which opens its delicate bosom to the light of the sun, or developing into majesty and grandeur in the giants of the forest–this is vegetable life.
2. Life is seen breaking out in the songs of birds, and displayed in the movements of the lower creatures and in the manifold activities of men–this is animal life.
3. Life is seen in the speculations of the philosopher, the research of the historian, the musings of the poet, and the contrivances of the architect and mechanician–this is intellectual life.
4. Life is seen in that hatred to sin, those yearnings after holiness, those graces of faith, hope, etc., the anticipation for heaven which characterize the true Christian–this is spiritual life, To Christ all these may be traced, but Paul is here speaking of the last.
I. Christ on the cross is the source of our life. Spiritual life is no new principle; it was bestowed by Christ as the Almighty Creator. But here we have to view Christ not as the Lord of life, but the victim of death. What an amazing contrast. Yet by the latter He brought life and immortality to light. From this His life flows out to those dead in sin.
II. Christ in the heart is the essence of our life. He not only procures, but is our life. I am the life. When we receive life we receive Him. The faith which saves embraces not an abstraction, a truth, but a Person. Many are satisfied with knowing about Christ–the Christian has vital union with Him.
III. Christ in his ordinances is the support of our life. All life requires sustenance. A flower that receives no rain or sunshine withers. God has appointed means for the nourishment of our life.
1. Secret prayer. What is this? An interview with a Person, not the mere utterance of desire breathed into the vacant air; growing intimacy with Christ; the soaring of the soul into the atmosphere of love and joy which makes the pulse of life beat more firmly. The Christians vital breath, etc.
2. The Sabbath, and its opportunities for sustained intercourse with Christ in sanctuary services (Psa 63:2). The want of profit in these arises from not seeking God in them. Those who find Him receive augmentation of life.
3. The Lords Supper, in which Christ brings Himself specially near, and to realize Him in it is to receive out of His fulness grace for grace.
IV. Christ on earth is the pattern of our life. All life has some outward manifestation. Every grace embodies itself in act. Work of faith, etc. God has given us a rule in His Word after which we should conform ourselves. But He has taught us also by example. In Christs lowly condition He has taught us not to be ashamed of our poverty. As a workman He ennobled trade. The sorrowful may be comforted by thinking of the Man of sorrows. What an example we have in Him of self-sacrifice, love, forgiveness, courage, etc. The closer we study His life the more we shall be assimilated to it as Moses was to the glory of God (2Co 3:18).
V. Christ in heaven is the consummation of our life. Here we have but grace, glory lies beyond. His presence in glory is a pledge that we shall share it. The bonds of union will be drawn closer. For ever with the Lord, etc. Conclusion: There is no true life but in Christ. Let us beware lest Christs lamentation, Ye will not come unto Me, etc., be over us. (W. Steele, M. A.)
Christ our life
What think ye of Christ? The proper answer is the text. It is not said merely that He lives in us, or that we live by Him or through Him, but that He is our life. Let us apply this–
I. To the Christians relative life: justification.
1. We are all dead in law. The soul destitute of the favour of God is dead. There remains only the execution of the sentence to complete our misery.
2. In this state Christ finds us and undertakes to be our life. One of the first questions of an awakened soul is, How shall a man be just with God? The gospel replies, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. There was such merit in His cross that God, though just, becomes a Saviour. It is not by the works of the law or repentance, but by the atonement laid hold of by faith that we legally live. But this only justifies us instrumentally; Christ through it meritoriously. Whatever view the Scriptures take of it–release from curse, deliverance from wrath, remission of penalty, acceptance with God–Christ is always the author.
II. To the Christians actual life: sanctification.
1. Our death in sin is not only a death in law, but a proper alienation from the life of God. Before we can be restored to communion with God a life of purity must be imparted. Of this Christ is the cause, His Spirit the agent, His word the instrument, His example the model. The outcome of all which is that as He was so are we in the world.
2. But Christ is our life not only as it respects the way in which we are made holy, but as it respects holiness in detail. He is
(1) the life of all Christian graces.
(a) Faith which gives life to good works, holy tempers, joyful affections; but faith is looking to an object; that object is Christ. It is receiving a gift; that gift is Christ.
(b) Hope. Our anchor is cast within the vail, and is sure and steadfast; but if Christ had not entered first our attempts to cast it had been in vain.
(c) Love. Christ is its object, purifier, director.
(2) The life of all Christian duties. They are inspired by Him and directed to His glory.
(3) The life of Christian ordinances. These will be wells without water if He be absent–sacraments, prayers, thanksgiving, preaching.
III. The Christians future life.
1. Of resurrection.
(1) As His power is the agent to effect it.
(2) Because His raised body will be its model.
(3) Inasmuch as His appearance the second time will be its signal.
2. Of glory.
(1) It is His to assign to each saint his proper place and occupation in heaven.
(2) His presence mainly constitutes the bliss of heaven.
(3) The degrees of heavenly glory will be regulated by the degrees of our nearness and intimacy to Christ. Conclusion:
1. The subject addresses itself most powerfully to the hearers of the gospel. Preachers labour in vain, hearers listen in vain, if there be no communication of life.
2. To earnest seekers of salvation the subject affords much encouragement. You want pardon, purity, strength, hope. Secure Christ for your life and you will have all.
3. Let Christians learn to be grateful, consistent, useful. (Jabez Bunting, D. D.)
Christ our life
No thoughtful man can be satisfied with a mere worldly life–continued existence, a round of selfish pursuits, and sensual delights which deaden the finest instincts.
I. The vital principle that is recognized. The relation between Christ and His people is vital. Christ is not merely the source and support of their life, but is it. There can be no life–physical, mental, or spiritual–apart from the action of the Divine mind. A- sculptor may carve a most life-like figure, but he cannot impart the vital principle.
1. This life is spiritual in its nature. The Christian is surrounded by material things, and resides in a material body; but his spiritual life is distinct. Christ creates and controls it. It is the life of faith, hope, love.
2. It is eternal in its duration. It does not prevent physical dissolution, but survives it. Christ has given us the fullest assurance of our immortality? It is part of the Divine life; therefore age cannot enfeeble its powers, disease cannot impair its beauty, and death cannot terminate its existence.
3. What is your life? Are you living to gratify the lowest or highest instincts of your nature? If the former your life is not worth living.
II. The splendid spectacle that is predicted.
1. The manner of Christs appearing in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. It is a splendid sight to witness a military review, to see the glittering swords, serried ranks, waving banners, to hear the clattering drums, martial strains, triumphant shout. But no earthly scene is worth comparing with the grandeur and solemnity of the second coming of Christ. Millions were ignorant of His first advent; all shall see His second.
2. Its purpose.
(1) To be glorified. Once He appeared in weakness and humiliation; then in power and majesty.
(2) To glorify us.
3. Its time. Unknown, and to attempt to settle it is to trifle with Gods Word. When it comes it will be sudden and unexpected.
III. The glorious hope that is awakened. From the cradle to the grave our life is inspired by hope. The Christian hope is–
1. That one day we shall be with Christ. There are earthly companionships for which the heart sighs. Our affections cling to those we love. The believer clings to Christ who is the object of all his hope and desire.
2. That one day we shall participate in Christs glory. What that glory is no mind can conceive. Can the seed understand the sweetness and beauty of the flower? the stone the form and grace of the statue? Here Gods children are often poor and unknown. By and by Christ will recognize, honour, crown them. The poets fame is brief, the soldiers glory uncertain, the kings crown perishable, but the Christians triumph certain and eternal. (J. T. Woodhouse.)
Christ our life
Yet to appear.
I. Christ is our life.
1. This is Johns way of talking. In Him was life, etc.
(1) Christ is the source of our life. As the Father raiseth up the dead, etc. Jesus is our Alpha as well as Omega. We should have been dead in sin if it had not been said, You hath He quickened. He gives us the living water, which is in us a well springing up into everlasting life.
(2) Its substance. There is much mystery in the new nature, but none as to what is its life. Penetrate the believers heart and you will find Christs love throbbing there; penetrate his brain and you will find Christ to be its central thought.
(3) Its sustenance. He is the living bread which came down from heaven.
(4) Its solace. His loving kindness is better than life.
(5) Its object. As speeds the ship towards the port, the arrow to its goal, so flies the Christian towards the perfecting of His fellowship with Christ. As the soldier fights for his captain and is crowned in his captains victory, so the Christian. To me to live is Christ.
(6) Its exemplar. The Christian has the portrait of Christ before him as the artist has the Greek sculptures. If he wants to study life, he studies from Christ. Husbands and wives truly knit together grow somewhat like each other in expression, if not in feature, and the heart in near fellowship with Jesus must grow like Him. Grace is the light, our loving heart the sensitive plate, Jesus the object who fills the lens of the soul, and soon a heavenly photograph of His character is produced–similarity of spirit, temper, motive, action.
2. What is true concerning our spiritual life now is equally true of our spiritual life in heaven.
3. This life of Christ marks our dignity. Kings cannot claim it as such. Talk of their blue blood and pedigree, here is something more.
4. This accounts for Christian holiness. How can a man remain in sin if Christ is his life?
5. See how secure the Christian is. Unless Christ dies he cannot die.
II. Christ is hidden, so, therefore, is our life.
1. TO the unspiritual Christ is as though He did not exist. The worldling can neither see, taste, nor handle Him. Yet unseen as He is He is in heaven, full of joy, pleading before the throne, reigning, and having fellowship with His saints every where.
2. The servant is as his Lord, and is treated accordingly.
III. Christ will one day appear and we with him.
1. How?
(1) In person.
(2) With great splendour.
2. When? No one knows, and it is impertinent to inquire. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christ our life and our hope
There are two things in daily life which exert a great influence over men–fear and hope. A man will work hard through fear that want may come or through hope of bettering his condition. God appeals to both to awaken conscience and stir up the heart to diligence. Flee from the wrath to come. Lay hold on eternal life. Mortify, etc. (verses 5, 6, and text).
I. Christ our life. Many are Christs glorious titles, but none more precious than this. Christ is our life inasmuch as He negatively delivers from death. But He does much more. In a positive sense He is our life.
1. In bringing spiritual and eternal life to the soul dead in sin. There is no life without light. When God said, Let there be light, life soon came. So in Him was light, and the light was the life of men. We cannot believe Christ till we know Him; when we know Him we believe, and by faith comes life. This is life eternal, etc.
2. In being the indwelling life of the soul. An infidel once said to a negro, How can God dwell in man and man in God? How can fire be in iron and iron in fire? When the bar is in the furnace, was the reply. In Christ. Christ in you.
3. Through the souls going out to Him for spiritual life and blessing. Plants stretch towards the light. If they are closed in a dark house, and there be a chink through which the light shines, they will stretch in that direction. Where there is spiritual life it will move towards Christ in faith and love.
4. In being the strength of our life. Herein lies alone our power for good against evil. It is no easy thing to live the Christian life; and forms afford little help against temptation and for duty. The old man must be thrown off and the new man put on, and Christ only is sufficient for that and just as we are strong in Christ shall we be able to discharge the duties here laid down.
II. Christ our hope.
1. The present position of the Christian is good: his prospect is equally good. Hence not only Christ crucified, but Christ coming was the subject of apostolic Leaching. Christs first coming was the desire of all nations; His second the grand hope of the Church.
2. His redeemed people will appear with Him.
(1) They will for ever emerge from their obscurity.
(2) They will be made glorious. The ambition of many is to shine in positions of honour; but surpassing every earthly distinction will be that of appearing with Christ. If we suffer we shall also reign with Him, and be like Him A dying soldier said to his friend, I am going to the front. The front is a position of danger and honour. This good soldier of Christ was going to the front to meet the last enemy, and also to receive the crown of victory. (T. West, B. A.)
Christ the life and hope of believers
Paul in the previous verse tells believers that their life is hid. When shall it be discovered? they might object. He here tells them.
I. Christ is our life.
1. As its author (Joh 14:6).
2. As its matter (Joh 6:48).
3. As its exerciser and actor (Joh 15:5).
4. As its strengthener and cherisher (Psa 138:3).
5. As its completer and finisher (Heb 12:2; Php 1:6). This being the case let us–
(1) Not repent of anything done, suffered, or lost for Him. All that a man hath will he give for his life.
(2) Highly prize the Lord Jesus. He is worthy, and consider how highly He prizes you; and a Christ highly prized will be gloriously obeyed.
II. Believers shall at last appear glorious (Jdg 15:14; 1Co 15:43-44; 1Co 15:51-55; 1Th 4:13; Mat 19:26-28). The reasons are because–
1. The day of their appearing will be the marriage day of the lamb. Mourning weeds will be put off, and glorious robes put on.
2. They shall appear as kings crowned; here they are kings elected with the crown in reversion (2Ti 4:7-8).
3. Their enemies and persecutors will see them in their true character as Gods favoured ones.
4. Their manifestation will make much for the honour of Christ. The more glorious the body or the bride, the more glorious the head or bridegroom.
5. The wicked will then justify the goodness and mercy of God in His dealings with His people. Objections will then be answered (Job 21:15; Mal 3:14).
6. They shall be employed in glorious work (1Co 6:2-3). (T. Brooks.)
Christ the life and hope of the Church
I. Christ is our life. Our life is bound up with His. He is Source, Medium, Giver. This destroys every hope of obtaining salvation without Him. Then let the sinner trust Him alone; and let this truth fill the Christian with joy.
II. Christ is now hid.
1. He was so to the Old Testament Church, before His first coming; He is so to the New Testament Church before His second coming. There is nothing that speaks to our eyes or ears. But this is true also of God Himself.
2. But as the invisible things of God are manifested in creation, so the invisible things of Christ are made patent by the influence of His preached truth upon the mind and heart. We live by faith not by sight.
3. This does not interfere with His purposes of mercy. Both God and Christ can bless without discovery to the senses, and if this fact becomes a snare and an affliction to those who trust Him, it is because they seek Him by sense not by faith.
4. By this arrangement the gospel appeals to the higher elements of our nature, to those faculties which identify us with the angels; and thus it tends to lift us above the seen and temporal. It compels us to think, and should call forth gratitude.
III. Christ shall one day appear.
1. This subject is shrouded in mystery, and every speculation as to the time, etc., has been falsified; which should warn us off, and turn us to practical preparation for His coming.
2. There is a sense in which Christ appears–
(1) in proportion as His cause triumphs;
(2) to nations, that knew Him not, when they receive His gospel;
(3) to believers at conversion and every stage of the spiritual life;
(4) to dying saints;
(5) to His people in the disembodied state. But these are all different from and inferior to the manifestation at the last day.
3. His second coming is looked forward to not only by the Church on earth. Patriarchs, etc., who never saw Him on earth await it; so do glorified saints who have not forgotten the promises they learned here.
4. The purposes for which He shall appear are important in relation to–
(1) His adversaries, who shall be completely subdued.
(2) His friends, who have been aspersed and persecuted, and shall then be honoured and rewarded.
(3) Himself; for His honour will then be vindicated in the presence of the Jew, unbeliever, and denier of His Godhead.
(4) God, whose justice and mercy have been denied.
IV. His people shall appear with him in glory.
1. As Christ is hid so are His people. The angels know them (Luk 15:1-32.; Heb 1:1-14.) but not the world, and sometimes not one another; and many are hid in heaven.
2. When He appears so will they.
(1) In countless multitudes; think of the millions of infants who have been saved the conflict, and the millions of believers who have triumphed over it.
(2) In distinct individuality, as every eye shall see Him, so they.
(3) As identified with Christ. Thine they were, and Thou hast given them Me.
(4) In glory–free from sin and sorrow; publicly acquitted; possessed of the kingdom; body and soul happy for ever, and both like Christ. Let us hasten forward to meet this glory. (Joseph Davies.)
The Christians winter and summer
In winter the green tree is like the dry. Summer comes, and the living loot produces leaves and fruits. So our winter is the concealment of Christ, our summer His manifestation (verse 3). Yes, dead full surely. But dead in appearance, alive at the roots. And think of the summer burst which is to follow–when Christ, who is our life, shall appear. Lo, my covenant, dear God! I will die to myself that Thou mayest live in me. (Augustine.)
Anticipations of glory
Do you ever feel like those lions in the Zoological Gardens, restlessly walking up and down before the bars of their cage, and seeming to feel that they were never meant to be confined? Sometimes they are for thrusting their heads through the bars, and then for dashing back and tearing the back of their dungeon, or for rending up the pavement beneath them, as if they yearned for liberty. Does your soul ever want to get free from her cage? Here is an iron bar of sin, of doubt, and there is another iron bar of mistrust and infirmity. You may have seen an eagle with a chain upon its foot, standing on a reck–poor unhappy thing! it flaps its wings–looks up to the sun–wants to fly right straight ahead at it and stare the sun out of countenance–looks to the blue sky, and seems as if it could sniff the blue beyond the dusky clouds, and wants to be away; and so it tries its wings and dreams of mounting–but that chain, that cruel chain, remorselessly holds it down. Has not it often been so with you? You feel, I am not meant to be what I am; I have a something in me which is adapted for something better and higher, and I want to mount and soar, but that chain–that dragging chain of the body of sin and death will keep me down. Now it is to such as you that this text comes, and says to you, Yes, your present state is not your souls true condition, you have a hidden life in you; that life of yours pants to get out of the bonds and fetters which control it, and it shall be delivered soon, for Christ is coming, and the same appearance that belongs to Him belongs to you. And then your day of true happiness, and joy, and peace, and everything that you are panting for, and longing for, shall certainly come too. I wonder whether the little oak inside the acorn–for there is a whole oak there, and there are all the roots, and all the boughs, and everything inside that acorn- I wonder whether that little oak inside the acorn ever has any premonition of the summer weather that will float over it a hundred years hence, and of the mists that will hang in autumn on its sere leaves, and of the hundreds of acorns which itself will cast, every autumn, upon the earth, when it shall become in the forest a great tree. You and I are like that acorn; inside of each of us are the germs of great things. There is the tree that we are to be–I mean there is the spiritual thing we are to be, both in body and soul even now within us, and sometimes here below, in happy moments, we get some inklings of what we are to be; and then how we want to burst the shell, to get out of the acorn and to be the oak! Ay, but stop. Christ has not come, Christian, and you cannot get out of that till the time shall come for Jesus to appear, and then shall you appear with Him in glory. You will very soon perceive in your rainwater certain ugly little things which swim and twist about in it, always trying if they can to reach the surface and breathe through one end of their bodies. What makes these little things so lively, these innumerable little things like very small tadpoles, why are they so lively? Possibly they have an idea of what they are going to be. The day will come when all of a sudden there will come out of the case of the creature that you have had swimming about in your water, a long-legged thing with two bright gauze-like wings, which will mount into the air, and on a summers evening will dance in the sunlight. It is a gnat you have swimming there in one of its earliest stages. You are just like that; you are an undeveloped being; you have not your wings yet, and yet sometimes in your activity for Christ, when the strong desires of something better are upon you, you leap in foretaste of the bliss to come I do not know what I am to be, but I feel that there is a heart within me too big for these ribs to hold, I have an immortal spark which cannot have been intended to burn on this poor earth, and then to go out; it must have been meant to burn on heavens altar. Wait a bit, and when Christ comes you will know what you are. We are in the chrysalis state now, and those who are the liveliest worms among us grow more and more uneasy in that chrysalis state. Some are so frozen up in it that they forget the hereafter, and appear content to remain a chrysalis for ever. But others of us feel we would sooner not be than be what we now are for ever, we feel as if we must burst our bonds, and when that time of bursting shall come, when the chrysalis shall get its painted wings and mount to the land of flowers, then shall we be satisfied. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, we also shall appear with Him in glory. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. When Christ, who is our life] When Christ comes to judge the world, ye shall appear with him in his glory, and in an eternal state of blessedness.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear; which will be, according to the purpose and promise of God, with whom it is laid up, Col 1:5, when Christ by whom they live shall so appear that they shall be like him, 1Jo 3:2, and be taken to be with him in the heavenly inheritance, 1Pe 1:4; then their conformity to him, began here, partly in holiness and partly in sufferings, Rom 8:18, shall be completed at last in glory and felicity, Phi 3:21; Heb 11:26,35.
Then shall ye also appear with him in glory; and then shall these adopted children be brought into glory with him, Heb 2:10, out of whose hands none shall be able to pull them, Joh 10:28; but however the world look upon them as despicable, Joh 16:2, and sometimes they are so in their own eyes, wherein ofttimes there be tears, so that they can see but as through a glass, darkly, Psa 31:22; 1Co 13:12; but then they shall see Christ face to face, all tears shall be wiped away from their eyes, Rev 7:17, and at the last day they shall shine as the sun in glory, Mat 13:43; 1Co 15:43,53; 2Th 1:7,10,12.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Translate, “When Christshall be manifested who is our life (Joh 11:25;Joh 14:6; Joh 14:19),then shall ye also with Him be manifested in glory” (1Pe4:13). The spiritual life our souls have now in Him shallbe extended to our bodies (Ro8:11).
thenand not till then.Those err who think to find a perfect Church before then. The trueChurch is now militant. Rome errs in trying to set up a Church nowregnant and triumphant. The true Church shall be visible as a perfectand reigning Church, when Christ shall be visibly manifested as herreigning Head. Rome having ceased to look for Him in patient faith,has set up a visible mockhead, a false anticipation of the millennialkingdom. The Papacy took to itself by robbery that glory which is anobject of hope, and can only be reached by bearing the cross now.When the Church became a harlot, she ceased to be a bride who goes tomeet her Bridegroom. Hence the millennial kingdom ceased to be lookedfor [AUBERLEN].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,…. The Vulgate Latin version, and some copies, read, “your life”. Christ is the author of spiritual life, the fountain from whence it springs, the object on which the saints live, yea, their very life itself; it is not so much they that live, as Christ that lives in them: and he is their eternal life; it is in him, and given forth by him; to know him now is the beginning of it; and its perfection hereafter will lie in the vision of him, communion with him, and conformity to him. The Jews have a saying y,
“that lives depend upon the son of Jesse,”
all sorts of life, natural, spiritual, and eternal. At present, Christ, the life of his people, is, as it were, hid; when he had done the work he came into this world about, and which he was manifest in the flesh, he departed out of it, ascended up into heaven, and went to his God and Father, where he is, and will be retained, until the time of the restitution of all things; and though he appears in the presence of God, and on the behalf of his redeemed ones, yet he is now out of sight, and not to be seen with their bodily eyes; but, ere long, he will be revealed from heaven, and come in the clouds of it, and be seen by all, to the terror and confusion of some, and to the joy and salvation of others; when his appearance will be exceeding glorious, not only in his glorified body, or exalted human nature, and as the Judge of the whole earth, clothed with majesty, authority, and power, but as the Son of God, God equal with the Father, in all the perfections and glory of deity, which will be manifest and apparent to everyone:
then shall ye also appear with him in glory: the dead bodies of the saints will then be raised and united to their souls, which he will bring with him, when he appears; and living saints shall be changed, and be caught up together with the raised ones, into the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so they all shall be with him together, wherever he is, whether in the air, or on earth, or in heaven, and while he is in either; and shall be for ever with him, enjoy communion with him, be made like unto him, and behold his glory: yea, they shall “appear in glory” too; with a glory on their bodies, which will be raised in glory like unto the glorious body of Christ; and on their souls, being in perfect holiness, having on the wedding garment, or robe of Christ’s righteousness, being clothed upon with their house from heaven, and appearing in the shining robes of immortality, incorruption, and glory; having the glory of God upon them in soul and body, and such a glory revealed in them, as the sufferings of this present life, and all the enjoyments of it, are not to be compared with. All which furnish out strong arguments and reasons, enforcing the above exhortations to seek for, and set the affections on things in heaven, and not on earth.
y Zohar in Gen. fol. 2. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When Christ shall be manifested ( ). Indefinite temporal clause with and the first aorist passive subjunctive of , “whenever Christ is manifested,” a reference to the second coming of Christ as looked for and longed for, but wholly uncertain as to time. See this same verb used of the second coming in 1Jo 3:2.
Ye also together with him ( ). That is the joy of this blessed hope. He repeats the verb about us (future passive indicative) and adds (in glory). Not to respond to this high appeal is to be like Bunyan’s man with the muck-rake.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Who is our life [] . See on Joh 1:4. The life is not only with Christ, it is Christ. Compare Joh 14:6; 2Co 4:10, 11; 1Jo 5:11, 12. For the change of person, our for your, see on ch. Col 2:13.
Shall appear [] . Rev., correctly, shall be manifested. Compare 1Jo 3:2, note. See on Rom 3:21.
In glory. Compare Rom 8:17.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “When Christ” (hotan ho Christos) “Whenever Christ; The whenever expresses an indefinite, undetermined hour, but does not reflect any doubt or uncertainty of the return of Jesus Christ, Act 1:7; Mat 24:36.
2) “Who is our life, shall appear” (phanerothe he zoe hemon) “The life of us (our life) is manifested” Christ not only gives eternal life to the believer but he is also a pattern of unselfish, obedient, service to His Father, that his children should follow, Act 3:15; 1Pe 2:21; 1Co 11:1.
3) “Then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (tote kai humeis sun auto phanerothesesthe en dokse) “Then also with him ye will be manifested in glory.” This pledge of (sun) with him” refers to an intimate, close association with him, refers not only to the glorified bodily redemption of every believer but also seems to refer to an affinity of those who are members of the Lord’s Church (at Colosse and other such) as having a special closeness of honor to him and with him in the Bridehood relation of the Church, Act 1:10-11; 1Co 11:1-2; Rev 19:5-9.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
4. But when Christ, our life, shall appear. Here we have a choice consolation — that the coming of Christ will be the manifestation of our life. And, at the same time, he admonishes us how unreasonable were the disposition of the man, who should refuse to bear up (435) until that day. For if our life is shut up in Christ, it must be hid, until he shall appear
(435) “ D’endurer et attendre;” — “To endure and wait.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) When Christ . . . shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.This describes the last stage of the spiritual lifethe glorification with Christ in heaven, manifesting what now is hidden, and perfecting what exists only in germ. (Comp. 1Jn. 3:1-2, Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.) This same conclusion ends the corresponding passage in Php. 3:21.
In all these Epistles we note how constant a reference there is to the glory of God, and to the share in it reserved for us. So we also note the especial reference to the appearance of Christ in the Pastoral Epistles (see 1Ti. 6:14; 2Ti. 1:10; 2Ti. 4:1; 2Ti. 4:8; Tit. 2:13), and the constant revelation of it in the Apocalypse.
The whole passage forms a complete and magnificent picture of the spiritual life in Christthe means of its beginning, the signs of its presence, and the hope of its close. It may be compared with the fuller yet hardly completer picture of Romans 8.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. When Christ shall appear Shall be manifested at his second coming, being in hiddenness no longer. As he is now the life of all believers, they will share with him in all its ultimate developments in the resurrection and in the glorification of both soul and body.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘When Christ who is our life shall be revealed and made fully made known, then will you also be fully made known with him in glory.’
And what a glorious future awaits the Christian. For one day at His coming Christ will be made fully known. He will be revealed in all His glory (2Th 1:7-10; Mar 13:26-27). We will see Him as He is (1Jn 3:2). And then will the world see the glory that the Christian has in his oneness with Christ, for we will share His glory, and it will shine out from us as it shines out from Him ( 2Co 3:18 ; 2Th 1:10; 1Jn 3:2; Php 3:21). The long chain of redemption will be complete (Rom 8:29-30).
‘Christ Who is our life.’ Paul was so taken up with Christ that he could say, ‘to me to live is Christ’ (Php 1:21). And this should be so for all His people, for He is our life, the source of all spiritual life and blessing (Joh 5:24; Joh 5:40; Joh 6:33-35; Joh 6:47-54; Joh 10:28; Joh 11:25; Joh 14:6; Joh 17:3; Rom 5:10; Rom 6:4; Rom 8:10; 2Co 4:10; Gal 2:20; 2Pe 1:3 ; 1Jn 5:11-12).
‘Then will you also be made fully known in glory.’ None of us at this present time would want to be fully known. We have too much we wish to hide. But we must ensure that we get rid of these things of which we would be ashamed if we thought of them being revealed to God and fellow-Christians. For in that day we will be fully known. All will be revealed.
But the final result of that day will be that we will be His transformed people, and we will delight in being fully known, for we will be like Him and will share His glory.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Col 3:4 . And what a blissful future is connected with the . . . .! This bright, favourable side of the previous thought is the continuation of the proof of Col 3:2 begun in Col 3:3 , detaching them thoroughly from earthly pursuits and elevating them to the courage of victory; vividly introduced without connecting particle ( ): “repentina luce percellit,” Bengel, which Hofmann fails to perceive, when he objects to the absence of . The relation is not antithetical at all.
] shall have become manifest , have come forth from His present concealment, namely, by His Parousia. See on Col 3:3 .
] your life . Christ Himself is thus designated (comp. in Col 1:27 ), because He is the personal author, possessor, and bearer of the eternal life of His believers (comp. Joh 14:6 ; Joh 11:25 ), and this, according to the context, inasmuch as they have entered into the fellowship of His resurrection: they are alive [141] with Him ( . ., Col 3:3 ); His life is their life. The definite object of this apposition, moreover, is argumentative , for the following . . .
] as Christ , so also ye with Him. The two subjects have the emphasis.
. ] Comp. in Rom 3:17 . It means nothing else than the glory of the Messianic kingdom , in which believers (also glorified bodily, 1Co 15:43 ; 2Co 5:1 ff.; Phi 3:21 ) shall be manifested visibly. The offence which Holtzmann takes at the use of (instead of , Rom 3:17 ff.) and , presupposes a too limited range for Paul’s manipulation of language. Our passage has nothing to do with 2Co 4:10 f. Nor does it even “almost look” (Holtzmann) as if the author were conceiving the readers as already dead at the Parousia. The takes place in the case of those still alive through their being changed , as the reader was aware.
[141] Comp. Ignatius, Eph 3 , where Christ is designated , also Magnes. 1, Smyrn . 4.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Ver. 4. Then shall we appear ] What then do we loading onrselves with thick clay, or moiling ourselves here as muckworms?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Col 3:4 . This life is not always to remain hidden, it will be manifested at the second coming. And that not merely in union with Christ, for it is Christ Himself who is our Life. This is not to be toned down to mean that Christ is the possessor and giver of eternal life. Paul means quite literally what he says, that Christ is Himself the essence of the Christian life ( cf. Phi 1:21 , , also Gal 2:20 ). His manifestation therefore includes that of those who are one with Him. And this can only be a manifestation in glory ( cf. Rom 8:17 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
appear = be manifested. App-106.
glory. See p. 1511.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Col 3:4. , when) This word, used absolutely, strikes (flashes upon) the whole mind of the reader, as if he had been unmindful of the preceding words, with a sudden light, so that it is doubtful whether and or but should be supplied.-, shall be manifested) in glory, 1Pe 4:13.- , your life) This expresses the aspect (in relation to you), under which He will be manifested.-, then) We should not demand it sooner.- , ye also) This hope draws men off from the earth.- , in glory) a glorious life.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Col 3:4
Col 3:4
When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested,-The reference is to the second coming of Christ, which was a blessed hope to Paul as it is to us. He looked for his personal coming again as a glorious hope. Christ is our life here and now, for he that hath the Son hath the life. (1Jn 5:12).
then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory.-It will be in glory and we shall share in that glory. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is. (1Jn 3:2). The glory will come as the crown of the hidden life.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
our: Joh 11:25, Joh 14:6, Joh 20:31, Act 3:15, Gal 2:20, 2Ti 1:1, 1Jo 1:1, 1Jo 1:2, 1Jo 5:12, Rev 2:7, Rev 22:1, Rev 22:14
appear: 1Ti 6:14, 2Ti 4:8, Tit 2:13, Heb 9:28, 1Pe 5:4, 1Jo 2:28, 1Jo 3:2
ye: Psa 17:15, Psa 73:24, Isa 25:8, Isa 25:9, Mat 13:43, Joh 6:39, Joh 6:40, Joh 14:3, Joh 17:24, 1Co 15:43, 2Co 4:17, Phi 3:21, 1Th 4:17, 2Th 1:10-12, Jud 1:24
Reciprocal: Deu 30:20 – thy life Deu 33:3 – all his saints 1Sa 25:29 – with the Lord Psa 66:9 – holdeth Mat 13:44 – like Luk 9:31 – appeared Luk 10:42 – which Luk 16:12 – that which is your Luk 20:38 – for all Joh 1:4 – him Joh 5:26 – so hath Joh 6:47 – He that Joh 6:57 – even Joh 10:28 – they Joh 14:16 – abide Joh 14:19 – because Rom 5:10 – we shall Rom 6:8 – we believe Rom 8:10 – but Rom 8:18 – the glory Rom 8:30 – he justified Rom 8:39 – shall be 1Co 1:7 – coming 1Co 15:45 – a quickening Phi 1:21 – to live Col 3:3 – your 2Ti 2:11 – For 2Ti 4:1 – at Heb 2:10 – glory 1Pe 1:4 – reserved 1Pe 2:4 – a living 1Pe 5:1 – a partaker 1Jo 4:9 – we 1Jo 5:11 – this
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Col 3:4.) , -When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then, too, shall ye with Him be revealed in glory. The form appears, on good authority, to be preferable to the of the Received Text. The verb is opposed to the of the previous verse. There is concealment now, but there shall be ultimate and glorious disclosure. 1Jn 1:2; 1Jn 3:2; 1Jn 3:5; Rom 8:18; 1Ti 3:16; 1Pe 5:4. Christ is termed our life; and in the former verse our life is said to be hid with Him. He is our life, not simply because he reveals it, and He alone has the words of eternal life; nor yet because coming that we might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly, He died that we might live, and has given us this blessed pledge-as I live, ye shall live also; but specially, because by His Spirit, as His representative, He enters into the heart and gives it life-fans and fosters it by his continuous abode-gratifies all its instincts, and evokes all its susceptibilities by His word and His presence. If Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness.
When it is said-Christ our life shall appear, the meaning is, that He shall appear in the character of our life. In this peculiar aspect of His operation shall He make Himself manifest. To appear as our life, implies our relation to Him as His living ones; and the unveiling of the Fountain shall allow the eye to discover the myriads of rivulets which issue out of it; or, as our life is hid with Christ, so, when Christ comes out of His hiding-place, our life shall accompany Him into openness and light. Nay more, as our life, He appears to perfect it, and to give it fulness and finality of development. At present it is checked by a variety of causes. It exists in a body dead because of sin, and it feels the chill of a mortality that so closely envelops it. The distance, too, implied in the fact-that it is hidden with Christ in God-keeps it from its perfect strength, and induces occasional debility and lassitude; but the revelation of Christ brings it into nearness and vigour. Nay more, at that period, the body is to be brought into harmony with it, and mortality shall be swallowed up of life. For He who is our life shall diffuse life through us-change our vile body, and fashion it like unto His own glorious body. The physical frame then to be raised, spiritualized, and imbued with life, shall be a fit receptacle for the living soul within it, which shall then indulge its tastes without hindrance, feeling no barrier to activity in any of its occupations-no stint to capacity in any of its enjoyments. Hiems nostra, says Augustine, Christi occultatio, aestas nostra, Christi revelatio. Suicer remarks-gloria capitis est gloria corporis et membrorum. For the apostle describes, as the consequence of the appearance of Christ our life, that we, too, shall appear with Him in glory. Rom 8:17; 1Jn 3:2. Since He appears as our life, so to a ppear with Him is, on our part, to appear as partakers of His life. The source, progress, and maturity of our life shall then be fully apparent-how it originated, and how it was sustained-what course it took, and what obstacles it encountered-how it was still supported, and still maintained its hold-how it was felt in our own consciousness, and yet had its hidden spring with Christ in God-and what shall be now its high crown and its magnificent destiny-all shall be seen in the living and life-filling brightness of Christ our life. The followers of Christ shall surround Him in triumph, a dense and glorious retinue-ye, too, shall appear with Him, and that- .
It would be wrong to restrict this glory to any special aspect of final perfection. It consists, as Davenant, after the schoolmen, says, of the robe of the soul and the robe of the body. It is here the result of life-vita gloriosa, of life in its highest form and fullest manifestation – life diffused through spirit, soul, and body. Nor is our appearance in glory with Christ a momentary gleam; it is rather the first burst of unending splendour. And it has, or shall have, for its elements-final freedom from the sins and sorrows of earth; perfect holiness beyond the possibility of loss, with unmingled felicity beyond the reach of forfeit; an endless abode in heaven, and in the brightest province of it; the rapturous adoration of God, and unbroken fellowship with Christ; the exalted companionship of angels and genial spirits of human kindred; and the successful pursuit of Divine knowledge in a realm where no shadow ever falls, but where is chanted the high halleluiah, welling out of the consciousness that all this ecstasy is of sovereign grace, ay, all of it sealed to us for eternity, in connection with Christ our life.
The apostle now descends to particularize certain forms of sins which were very prevalent in heathendom-in which they themselves had revelled during their prior state of gloom and degradation, but which they must now and for ever abandon.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Col 3:4. Christ who is our life. To be hid with Christ gives assurance of enjoying the provisions that He has made for his faithful servants. Those provisions include eternal life; and all of the interests of Christians that have been hid with Him will be re-vealed–will come out of hiding–when Christ appears at the last day. “When that illustrious day shall rise,” it will be in a halo of eternal glory, betokening victory over the sinful world.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Col 3:4. When Christ, who is our life. The evidence in favor of the reading your is strong (including that of Aleph, C, the best cursives, and the Vulgate), but is scarcely decisive against the Vatican manuscript and other weighty authorities. Your might have been taken from the preceding verse. Christ, occurring for the fourth time, is emphatic Our points to Christians in general, ye also to the Colossians. Christ Himself is our life; He is not merely a remote and separated Cause, but Impulse, Power, Object and Subject of the Life itself (Braune); comp. marg. references.
Shall be manifested; not, appear. This manifestation is contrasted with hath been hidden (Col 3:3); it will occur at the Second Advent.
Then shall ye also. See above. If your is accepted in the previous clause. also here must mean as well as Christ, an idea expressed by with him, which has an emphatic position in the Greek.
In glory; comp. Rom 8:17 : glorified with Him. Lightfoot: The veil which now shrouds your higher life from others, and even partly from yourselves, will then be withdrawn. The world which persecutes, despises, ignores now, will then be blinded with the dazzling glory of the revelation. Thus the motives for sanctification are drawn from the past, present, and future; but all from Christ; ye were raised together with Him; ye can now set your mind on Him at Gods right hand; your future glory will begin in the day of His manifestation.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
That is, “When Christ, who is the author, and purchaser, and preserver of our life, shall appear to judge the world at the great day, then shall all believers, who have received spiritual life from him, be sharers in glory with him.
Here note, 1. That Jesus Christ, by whom believers live a life of grace, and from whom they expect a life of glory, shall certainly appear, yea, and have a very glorious appearing; he shall be glorious in his person, glorious in his attendants, glorious in his authority, &c.
Note, 2. That when Christ appears in glory to judge the world, then it is that all believers shall enjoy a full glorification with him.
Note, 3. That the faith of approaching glory, at Christ’s second appearance, is a strong argument to take off our affections from things below, and place them on things above.
St. Paul’s argument is, to press the Colossians to set their affections on things above, because Christ is above, and, when he appears, they shall appear with him in glory.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
“When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
"Sometimes we say of a man, ’Music is his life-Sport is his life-He lives for his work.’ Such a man finds life and all that life means in music, in sport, in work, as the case may be. For the Christian, Christ is his life. Jesus Christ dominates his thought and fills his life." [Note: Barclay, p. 179. Cf. Philippians 1:21.]
"Whenever" indicates that a revelation of Christ in the future is certain, but its time is unknown. The Greek word phaneroo ("revealed") stresses the open display of Christ at His coming. This is probably a reference to the Rapture. When He is revealed to us then, our lives will no longer be hidden in Him but revealed for what they are in our glorification. The Rapture will be a glorious revelation of Him to us and us in our glorified state. Now our eternal life is hidden (Col 3:3), but then it will be manifest.
"In Colossians . . . there is an emphasis on realized eschatology. Within the ’already-not yet’ tension the stress falls upon the former, called forth by the circumstances of the letter. . . . The ’already’ of salvation needed to be asserted repeatedly over against those who were interested in the heavenly realm but who had false notions about it, believing it could be reached by legalistic observances, knowledge, visionary experiences and the like. . .
"But if the ’already’ pole received the emphasis, the ’not yet’ of salvation still needed to be mentioned, and here in Col 3:4 we find a clear future reference." [Note: O’Brien, Colossians . . ., pp. 171-72.]
In view of this prospect the Colossians and we need not pursue another system that claims to provide more than we have in Christ. God has provided all we need for acceptance with Him and godly living in Christ. All we need to do is act on the implications of these truths, which Paul proceeded to help his readers do.