[ESV] Colossians 3:14. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Following the external application, a supreme exhortation was presented with, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. “ Above the applied five qualities, one is to ‘put on love’. The phrase “above all” indicates that love is the “crowning grace” of the new self in Christ, a grace to be put on “in addition to” (as indicated by the dative preposition ejpiv). The love used in the Greek is the noun form of the verb used to describe God’s love for His ‘recipients of special privileges’ in verse twelve. The love that Christians are to “put on” above all other qualities is a form of generous “devotedness” and “kindly concern”. The result of obedience to this exhortation is that this love binds together the individual parts into a cohesive whole. What has been translated to English as the verb ‘binds’ is in the Greek a noun referring to a “band of union”. The English Standard Version of the Bible translates that cohesive whole that is bound together by love as a state of “perfect harmony”. The source for this translation is the noun teleiotētos, defined as “completeness, perfectness”.

[ESV] Colossians 3:13. bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Paul followed the exhortation by an external application of the five internal qualities to one’s life in relation to others: “bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” In putting on the five qualities of verse twelve, the Christian is to “endure patiently”, and even “suffer”, other Christians. When one individual has grounds for complaint against another, then he must forgive the other in the same way that God has forgiven, echarisato, each Christian. The one who has cause for complaint is expected to take the initiative in private endurance and forgiveness, as these traits are natural to the new self in Christ and are not dependent upon others’ apologies. Christians are imperfect and can occasionally be difficult with which to live and fellowship, and the example of Christ is to love others even when they make it difficult. ‘Complaint’ deserves a closer look: the Greek has a rounder meaning than the English word, for momphēn carries with it the idea of a ‘debt’ that requires remission. The verb ‘to forgive’ is commonly understood in English, yet the depths of the meaning are frequently lost or ignored. Paul states in verse thirteen that the form of forgiveness between Christians is to match the form given by God; the debt of sin is utterly forgiven by God, and complaints are not to remain within the body of believers.

The first four verses of the passage are focused on the internal surrender to Christ’s Lordship while directing Christians towards external applications.

[ESV] Colossians 3:12. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

The passage begins in verse twelve with an exhortation to “[p]ut on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience”. The verb Endysasthe, or ‘to put on’, contains two additional significant meanings: “to clothe” and “to be invested (with qualities)”. The English equivalent, ‘to put on’, is strictly external, but the Greek verb is more nuanced. Endysasthe can imply both the external and the internal. This exhortation is made possible by the agency of God.

As His ‘chosen’ ones, or eklektoi, Christians are the “recipients of special privileges”. The term ‘chosen’, or sometimes ‘elect’, frequently refers to the church membership when used in the epistles. They are described as being hagioi, “separate from common condition and use”, and ēgapēmenoi, considered valuable and worthwhile. Through dedicated divine enablement Christians are to invest themselves with five key qualities. These five qualities are parallel to the five sinful qualities warned against in Colossians 3:5.

The very core of a Christian is to be dedicated to the relief of “sorrow and want”, as indicated by the phrase oiktirmou splanchna. One is to operate with “beneficence”, or chrēstotēta, and to be humble and meek. The Christian is to adopt a “slowness of avenging injuries”, as implied by the Greek equivalent to ‘patience’, makrothymian. The starting focus for mature Christian relationships is on the individual who is commanded to be patient rather than the one who may be causing others to need patience.

The Scriptures do not consist of completely independent passages. The Bible incorporates many passages on a wide variety of themes, topics, and issues, and none of the passages stands in fundamental conflict with the others. Exegesis necessitates contextual analysis for maximum understanding and applicability.

Pauline Epistles

Paul communicated with Christian churches throughout his near world. He travelled extensively to spread the gospel of Christ. The epistle to the Colossians was probably written during Paul’s Roman imprisonment as he awaited trial. He was granted particular mercies by the Roman Prefect to ease his situation, but the imprisonment was nevertheless extremely difficult. Paul was confined to the house he had rented, and he was in direct “military custody”. His arm was at all times chained to that of an imperial bodyguard.  He was, however, allowed to receive visitors and to preach the Gospel. He wrote to the church in Colossae after he was visited by Epaphras.

Colossians

Colossians is Paul’s letter to a young Christian church in Colossae that appears to have been threatened by false teachings. Paul greeted the church in 1:1–14 with his prayers for them and his thankful joy for their conversions to the Gospel. He reminded them of the supreme identity and Lordship of Christ in verses 1:15–20, and in verses 1:21–23 observed Christ’s reconciliatory work that defines a truth upon which Christians must stand. Paul established in 1:24–2:5 that he had a justified responsibility to not only share the Gospel but to continue teaching the subsequent lessons of developing maturity in Christ, particularly when false teachers might attempt to delude Christians away from the truth. Salvation brings with it a new birth in which Christians are made alive in Christ, and this new life in Him is one of mature liberty, as described in 2:6–15.

Critical observers and false teachers, Paul taught in verses 2:16–23, cannot demand that Christians follow the physical strictures of the old law, nor the ascetic spiritualism of human sensation and earthly elements. The earthly things in oneself, addressed in 3:1–10, are to be put to death so that Christians may live in the liberty of Christ that Paul referenced in verse 3:11.  He iterated the elements and behaviors of the new self in verses 3:12–17, and emphasized the community-oriented nature of the development. Healthy community was further encouraged by Paul’s application of Christian behavior to household life in verses 3:18–4:1. Paul concluded in verses 4:2–18 with the summary advice prayer and thanksgiving, as well as endorsing and communicating on behalf of and with his fellow ministers, messengers, and prisoners.

Colossians 3:12–17

The third chapter of Colossians is focused on the removal of the old self, that which was lived by the individual prior to salvation in Christ, and the putting on of the new that is found in God. Verses 12–17 clarify a definition of what the new life in Christ consists and implies in terms of internal and external behavior. These two sides of the individual, the internal and the external, are not considered independent; rather, they fluidly generate and edify the qualities that define a mature Christian identity. Similarly, the individuals in a body of believers are not considered independent, because the same fluidity that applies to the individual also binds together believers into a complete church in Christ.

Sound biblical exegesis requires an understanding of the historical context relevant to the studied passage. Thorough analysis involves study of the history of the text itself, in terms of its author and date of origination, and of the socio-economic and religious culture and specific circumstances of the people connected to the text.

Authorship and Dating

Colossians was written by Paul. The authorship of Colossians has been the subject of debate due to its apparent shift in theological focus and introduction of terminology and phrasing not present in Paul’s other texts. Some scholars theorize that Colossians was written by one of Paul’s disciples after Paul’s death who continued to write in Paul’s name. This theory, however, is without historical evidence and stems from circumstantial assumptions. Others, like Robert Bultmann, believe that Colossians is a product of Christian Gnosticism rather than a pure rebuttal of the heresy. Yet Pauline authorship is not disproven by its differences with the other epistles so much as it is affirmed.

The Epistle of Colossians was a “splendid development” of the teachings found in the other epistles, and did not conflict with the rest of Pauline theology. Paul had previously written on similar subjects in his epistle to the Galatians, and thus his phrasing would have had time to develop. Colossians is not tainted by heresy, but it utilizes imagery and language familiar to the intended audience. The difference in style between Colossians and other Pauline texts may well be related to the difference in his audience; unlike other audiences, Paul had not met the majority of the church in Colossae and did not have the personal friendships and firsthand knowledge that he had of his other audiences.

Colossians was probably written in 61/62 A.D. during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (of either 60/62 or 61/63) and prior to the earthquake of 61/62 A.D., at approximately the same point in which Ephesians and Philemon were also written.

Colossae and Region

The city of Colossae was established by the kingdom of Phrygia prior to the Persian invasion. As a part of the Phrygian kingdom, Colossae was probably a very successful city, but its importance diminished following the Persian and Greek invasive conquests The town remained a commercial site located in the provincial center Ephesus. Colossae was keenly located ten miles from the cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis, a pair separated by six miles. Laodicea was an extremely affluent center of industry, banking, and administrative activities, and Hierapolis was a famous health resort. Eighty miles away from Colossae stood Apamea, a massive trading city the nickname of which translates to ‘treasure chest’. Although Colossae itself was not competitive with the metropolitan cities by which it was surrounded, Colossae benefited reasonably from its placement to them by the Roman road system. Little historical detail is known about Colossae, due in part to its diminished importance to the Greco-Roman civilizations and also to it sharing in the intensely damaging earthquake that destroyed Laodicea and Hierapolis in either 61 or 62 A.D.

The church in Colossae was founded during or after Paul’s ministry in the Ephesus region in 53–56 A.D.. Epaphras was probably converted as a result of Paul’s work in Ephesus, and he began the church in Colossae shortly thereafter, as well as probably being the founder of the churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis. The Christians of Colossae may have been a very diverse group. The names listed in 4:7–17 indicate seven Greek individuals, one Roman, and three Jews, and, of these eleven, four probably were or had previously been slaves. Epaphras was referred to as being one of the Colossians and a “servant of Jesus Christ” in verse 4:12. The specific acknowledgements of Epaphras indicate that he was readily able to relate to the church of Colossae as a fellow Colossian and that he had Paul’s personal recommendation and approval. Epaphras was described as “struggling” on behalf of the Colossians in his prayers in a similar sense to that which Paul claims to have been struggling, or agōnizomenos, in 1:28–29, with Christ’s energy for the sake of the maturation of the churches. Prior to the writing of the epistle to Colossians, Epaphras left his home area and visited Paul in prison. He shared with Paul an update regarding the church, and presumably discussion was had regarding the influx of false teachings that affected the congregation.

The geographical positioning of Colossae that granted the city such excellent access to Roman roads also caused the cultural phenomena of the larger cities to have influence in Colossae. Although the biblical text does not specifically name which heretical movements threatened the church, the false philosophies described connect to two significant ideological elements in the local society: Phrygian paganism and moderate Hellenistic Judaism. Modern historians frequently attempt to compare the Colossian heresies to equivalent ideas of other times, but direct parallels paint incomplete pictures. The doctrinal troubles appear to have had similarities to second century Gnosticism that grew out of a similar environment of blended paganism, Judaism, and Christianity. By the end of the twentieth century a new scholastic consensus was forming that believed that the Colossian heresy was a form of Jewish mysticism, but alone such mysticism does not reflect the pagan cultural context.

The most convincing historical interpretation is that the church in Colossae struggled with a local blend of folk religions involving philosophies and ascetic practices of the pagan rites of Phrygian cults and Greco-Roman philosophy in addition to Jewish mysticism. Phrygian religious culture, known as the “Phrygian Mysteries”, survived the Greco-Roman conquests by syncretistic assimilation. Worship included self-mutilating activities and intense emotional experiences. Common pagan practice was to incorporate multiple deities into the worship performed in each household. The veneration of angels, ascetic rituals, and extensive practices of witchcraft appear to have been significant problems in the community. Simultaneously, an approximate minimum of five hundred tax-paying Jews lived in Colossae ca. 60 B.C., and other cities in Ephesus were known to have a heavy Judaic influence resulting from the significant Jewish population.

Over the next several days I’ll be posting an exegetical study of Colossians 3:12–17. I’ll address the historical and biblical contexts of the passage, but the focus will be on the word/grammar study of the verses. Sooner or later I’ll work the essay into a more laid-back devotional.

Why study this passage? Christians struggle with the process of maturing in Christ while facing problems within the church and the local community. Individuals experience a variety of internal and external pressures. Fellow Christians grate on one another and cause offense, and false teachers pursue with complicated alternative philosophies. Paul exhorted the church in Colossae to hold doctrine accountable to the true identity and superiority of Christ and to cast off the sinful qualities of their former selves. Thus corrected, Paul desired to guide them in the healthy qualities of a mature Christian life. Those qualities addressed the interplay of personal and relational issues that affect the unity of the church. The fluidity of the internal and external Christ-centered existence expressed in Colossians 3:12–17 is Paul’s articulation of how Christians are to knit themselves together in defense against false teaching.

Bolivian Law now requires all importers to register with Aduana. An importer is defined as anyone receiving an international delivery/package, and is further defined by habitual importer and occasional importer. Habitual importers will require a fundempresa registration. The following step-by-step process applies to occasional importers living in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The registration process should be very similar regardless of city, but all geographical references are specific to Cochabamba. The deadline for this registration is 29 May, 2010, and registration is currently free. Registration will theoretically be closed by June, but will probably be available with a large fine / multa.

Recommended Taxi Driver who knows the location:
Marco Zelaya, cell phone: 793–99289.
Marco is an old friend who shuttled me all over town as we figured out this process… if you’re even the slightest bit unsure, hire him! He’s worth the extra few dollars!

Almost certainly not going to jail. Immigration officer realizes that I am a victim.

Rita was waiting at the office. We drove to Immigration. Her contact was most decidedly not available. They have lost my passport entirely.

Essentially, I have no passport but I am in a foreign country.

Immigration is indicating that they understand that I legally hired someone to do my paperwork and that that person did not do said paperwork. Everyone is in a quandary: I have no passport and no visa, Rita has to pay approx. $2000+ out of her pocket to recoup losses, and the immigration office cannot verify when I entered the country of Bolivia in order to properly fine Rita. Score.

We are going back tomorrow morning and will be accompanied by the regional American Consul who will attempt to buy me more time while the U.S. provides me with a new passport.

But no jail. Theoretically.

We handed over to the immigration control officers what identification documents we had easily accessible. We weren’t entirely sure, frankly, that they were in fact officers. They didn’t volunteer their own ID readily.

Our lack of enthusiasm combined with our insufficient ID inspired the two officers to morph into four as they led us deeper into the terminal.

“Where are your passports?”

“Where are you from?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Why are you in Bolivia?”

I answered their questions. I asked to be able to look for my father, who was somewhere in the bus terminal looking for us. This was ignored, beyond:

“Who is your father?”

“Why is he here?”

I rattled off the names and identification numbers of both my parents, as well as our address. Nothing. I told them repeatedly, “I LIVE in Cochabamba. This is my home. My address is…!” They ignored me.

Two or three other officers walked up behind us. Katherine and I were surrounded.

They handed me a paper to sign.

“What is this?”

“It says that we have your documents.”

“What happens if I sign it?”

“You can walk normally [’caminar normal’] until Monday morning when you show us your other documents. Then you can have these back.”

We stalled, trying to get  more answers from them. Nothing. Just old questions.

“How long have you been in Bolivia?”

Answering their questions had thus far done nothing, so I tried, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand much Spanish.”

The lead officer snorted. He told the others, “They have no papers. They’re Illegal.”

“What do you think I’m going to do?”

“Nothing. Sign the paper.”

Katherine pointed out that all they’d be getting was her photocopy and my driver’s license if we signed.

I asked again, “What happens if we sign this?”

“You may go and walk away normally and we keep your documents until Monday.”

“Fine!” I scribbled a signature angrily and tore off the top copy — my copy — and reached out to hand them back their copy and pen. “You may have them!”

“YOU cannot tear it! You cannot have it!” A woman ripped all copies and the pen from my hands. The man added, “You are going to the office.” They began to lead us away.

“You told me that if I signed that then I could walk away.”

“You yelled.”

“I did not yell. I am tired. You told me that if I signed then I could walk normally.”

“You are going to the immigration office.”

“Where is the office?”

“Here.”

“The office is here? Where here?”

“Here.”

We were, by then, at a back door to the outside of the terminal. Police were waiting.

“You said it was here. Why are we outside?”

The military police took control of us. A female police officer was pushing my right shoulder, leading me towards an unmarked SUV. Katherine was behind us, also being led forward.

“What is this car?”

“Get in,” she said.

“Where are we going?”

“To the office.”

“They told me we could go if I signed a paper. I signed the paper. Then they told me I had to go to the office and that the office is here. Now we are leaving? To where?”

“The office. Get in the car.”

Katherine saw Dad’s car in the parking lot and pointed it out to me. I tried to get the police to talk to him.

“Look! That is my father’s car. He is inside and he will be worried. Please let’s find him inside and ask him about this.”

“You can call him at the office. GET IN THE CAR.”

As I got into the car I responded firmly, “This is not safe.”

They laughed.

We were pushed, albeit gently, into the back of the unmarked SUV. They drove us to the office located on El Prado. During the drive, one of the men in the front made a phone call, in which he said, “We have them. Six gringas from Chile.” Katherine and I were the only two gringas in the car. We were led inside and quizzed again. They called my mother at home and allowed me to talk to her. I filled her in and told her that we’d need legal help.

After a bit, one of the immigration officers stood in front of us, leaned back against the wall, and asked, “Are you more tranquil now?”

“I was tranquil, and I am still tranquil. I was and am confused. They said if I signed the paper I could walk normally. They said the office was there. These things did not happen.”

He chuckled and shrugged, “Sometimes they miscommunicate the full process.”

I asked him what would next happen. He stated that, “You will show us your documents. Or, we can hold you for eight hours. Then you will go to jail.”

He was standing below a poster which portrayed notable victims of racism in Bolivian history. My white skin could sympathize with the darker tones of the photographed victims of Bolivia’s past.

Katherine and I waited in the hall of the office until someone arrived. A dear friend of the family, who happens to be — without exaggeration — the world’s leading expert on Bolivian law, entered the building. He walked straight into the office and conversed with the inspector. He apparently had us released into his parole custody, and he then delivered us back to my home.

This is where we stand:
Katherine and I must be at the immigration office at 8:30 Monday morning. Katherine will show her passport, establishing herself as a legal tourist, and will be absolutely fine. For her this is a mere formality and her parole will be lifted. No problems, no records, absolutely no worries!

My situation is more complicated.

I have no passport to show, because Rita the Travel Agent has it. Dad and I went to Rita’s office on Saturday. She has promised to be available at her office at 8:00 in order to be picked up by us to go with us to immigration at 8:30. She absolutely must be there. If she skips out then a plan is in place to solve the situation. Our legal adviser, bless him, is positive that he can transfer my parole custody over to my father and can prevent me from going to jail. What happens Monday hinges largely on whatever Rita does — whether she appears, whether she still has my documentation after lying to me for nearly two years… and whether she has been behaving legally.

The questions for Monday are how much money I will have to pay the government of Bolivia — for her failure to procure me a legal visa — and whether I can stay in Bolivia at all.

The primary goal, of course, is to stay out of jail and, as Katherine puts it, refrain from becoming someone’s buttmonkey.

But I’d really like to stay in Bolivia, too, thank you.

Side note: all of this drama has been murder on my work — on which I WAS ahead of schedule! I’m madly trying to get everything finished and submitted on time with class deadlines. There will likely be a delay before I get to update the results of Monday morning, and delays will not mean that I’m a jail-stuck buttmonkey. Schoolwork is the priority, writing-wise.

Stories are, occasionally, best begun at the end.

When this is true in the context of day-to-day personal narrative (um, blogging), it usually means the storyteller doesn’t have time to build up to the punchline.

I get punched in the line Monday morning at 8:00, so I’ll skip ahead to the end and start blathering about my excellentfantasticinterestinghilarious-and-vomitous trip with Katherine through Western Bolivia later this week.

I’m on parole.

Theoretically, I could be in a Bolivian jail tomorrow evening.

The story is a bit spoiled by noting that jail is entirely unlikely, I realize, but the note is nonetheless fair.

Katherine and I took a double-decker bus from La Paz to Cochabamba on Friday night, leaving 10:30pm and arriving 6:00am. We arrived in Cochabamba about 15 minutes early, hopped down from the bus, collected our gear from below, and headed into the bus terminal to look for my father who was set to pick us up.

Twenty  feet into the terminal, Katherine was confronted by two individuals asking for her identification. I was about ten feet behind, so I caught up to them and asked what was up. They were from Immigration Control and insisted on documentation. We handed over a photocopy of Katherine’s passport and my U.S. Missouri Driver’s License. We left Katherine’s physical passport at our house in Cochabamba so as to not risk it getting stolen on the road.

My passport, however, is somewhere in the bowels of the red tape tangle of Bolivia. I have not seen my passport since November 2007.

I arrived in Bolivia in February 2007 when no significant immigration limitations were placed on American tourists. An American could enter the country without a visa and have 90 days, renewable up to 180 days, to hang out. Dandy! At the 90 day mark I had determined that I would be in Bolivia for about a year so I went to a local travel agency to start the process of a visa. I went to the agency to whom practically all of the local gringo missionaries are recommended because they have this little lady, Rita, who just whizzes people right through the system of endless paperwork. Hand over your cash and your passport, and she handles the rest. Just a few months later you have a shiny new ID card and a sticker in your passport.

My passport and cash, therefore, went into Rita’s hands. Several months later when I needed a quick jaunt to the States for business in October 2007, I had to spend an afternoon staring at Rita’s office from outside until she was willing to get up and go do the necessary steps to retrieve my passport from the mix of tramites — paperwork! — and provide me with a slip of paper which proved that I had been in tramites in an attempt to get a visa. She did so, I went on my trip, and returned to put my passport right back into tramites just days before the Bolivian immigration laws changed.

Moving on to August 2009, she still hasn’t given me a visa. The laws have changed, things are complicated, etc etc. I haven’t minded; as long as she sorts it out in the end, the delays have afforded me time in Bolivia that I’ve been able to use for good purposes. I should have been able to go in January 2010 without any significant problems other than her putzing around with time.

Katherine and I went on our jaunt across Western Bolivia. We’d flash our photocopies of our passports when necessary or just use our U.S. driver’s licenses when someone needed a photo ID without tax or travel ties. No serious problems.

In La Paz we attempted to schedule a trip up to Lake Titicaca and Copacabana. What we learned, however, was that an immigration checkpoint has been opened on the way to Copacabana, and that the officials wouldn’t be content with our photocopies, leaving us stuck having to give outrageous cash bribes. We skipped the Lake and spent more time in La Paz instead.

Everything seemed dandy until we found ourselves faced with two immigration officers ten inches from our faces in the middle of the bus terminal back home in Cochabamba…