Colossians 2 verse 2’s last line reads, “…acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.”

I thought it was God who is the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit?  Please explain.

Sincerely,
Triad Trepidation

Dear Triad Trepidation,

Col 2:2 has two possible translations.  The New American Standard and American Standard translate it: “resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself”.  In the King James and New King James Version, it is translated as you stated.  Most likely, the American Standard translation is more accurate, and it clarifies the issue.  Jesus is the mystery of God which matches what is said in 1 Tim 3:16, Col 1:27, and Eph 5:32.

However, even if the King James Version is the better translation, it is simply stating that the church should acknowledge three things:

1. Acknowledge the mystery of God
2. Acknowledge the Father
3. Acknowledge the Christ

If that is the case, then the mystery of God is most likely the Bible message – which Paul says is a mystery that has only now been revealed to us in the New Testament (Eph 3:3-6).  Either way, there is no doctrinal problem.  The Father is God (Jude 1:1).

I have a question about "honor your father and your mother".  Some parents seem to use this as a weapon when kids are not listening to their parents or misbehaving.  I seem to get different meanings of what this really means.  I do thank you for your time.  God bless!

Sincerely,
Ain’t Misbehavin’

Dear Ain’t Misbehavin’,

Children are told to honor their father and mother at all ages (Eph 6:2-3). The word ‘honor’ means ‘to esteem highly’.  Parents deserve respect and kind treatment from their offspring.  As parents reach old age, children show honor by caring for their parents’ needs (Matt 15:4-6).  Until independent adulthood, honoring your parents is shown through respectful obedience (Eph 6:1).  No Scripture should ever be wielded “as a weapon”, but regardless of how the verse is used, that is what it means.

I've been listening to the series of lessons Lowell has been preaching on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage.  As if things weren't already confusing enough, when I was checking Lowell's interpretation of Matthew 19:9, I noticed my New American Standard Bible simply says, "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."  It includes a footnote saying, "Some early manuscripts add 'and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.'"  I'm somewhat familiar with textual criticism, but usually I don't worry too much about it because the debated passages don't have major doctrinal implications.  This case seems a bit more significant to me.  How can I know which version is what was actually in the original Greek manuscript?

Sincerely,
It’s Greek To Me

Dear It’s Greek To Me,

There are two major texts that are used in Bible translations, the Nestle-Aland & United Bible Society Text (often referred to as the ‘NU’ text) and the Majority text (referred to as the ‘M’ text).  In Matt 19:9, the NU text doesn’t include the phrase “and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery”, but the M text does.  However, this doesn’t create any sort of doctrinal problem because in Matt 5:32, the NU text does include that phrase.  Therefore, even if the phrase isn’t included in Matt 19:9, it is in Matt 5:32.  No matter which version is the more accurate (and yes, that is a greatly debated topic), both include that phrase somewhere within the text.

Why did God require blood sacrifice?

Sincerely,
Seeing Red

Dear Seeing Red,

Blood sacrifices taught the Jewish people something about the cost of sin.  The Old Testament was designed to prepare people for Christ’s coming (Gal 3:23-24).  The blood of the bulls and goats that were killed as sin offerings never paid the price of sin (Heb 10:4).  However, by making those sacrifices, Israel learned that all sin must be paid for with blood.  Eventually, Christ came and paid for our sins with His blood (1 Pet 1:18-19) – the blood of God.  All those animal sacrifices prepared Israel to see and understand what Jesus’ crucifixion meant.  He was the true sacrificial lamb (Jhn 1:29).  The Old Testament sacrifices were a shadow of the things to come (Heb 10:1).

I know as believers under the New Covenant that we are no longer bound by the law.  But, besides making disciples of all the nations, I think our Jesus-given mission is to live a holy life… obeying, as well as we can, the law out of love and appreciation for our salvation and to generally set the example of a life given to Christ.  With that said, Jesus told us that the greatest command was to love God with all we have and to love others as ourselves.  That command given by Jesus would closely fulfill the Ten Commandments.  But what about Levitical laws?  What commands outside of the Ten do we need to observe?  Where is the line if there is one?  And, for that matter, is any command in the Old Testament outside of the Ten important?  Please don't get me wrong, I know we are saved by grace, and no matter how many laws we obey, we could never work our way to salvation.  I am not trying to save myself; I just want to know what commands we are advised to obey in the Old Testament.  I just want to give my entire life to God, but I don't know where to start.  What commands does God still like to see from us under the New Covenant?

Sincerely,
A New Believer

Dear A New Believer,

We don’t need to obey any of the Old Testament laws unless they are repeated in the New Testament.  Even the Ten Commandments no longer apply… except for the fact that nine out of the ten are repeated in the New Testament (the only one left out is to “keep the Sabbath holy” – see “The Nine Commandments” post for further details).

The Old Testament was a law given to the nation of Israel (Lev 26:46).  Though many of those laws were appropriate to reiterate in the New Testament (i.e. laws against murder, idolatry, etc.), the Old Testament has been put away by the blood of Christ (Col 2:14).  Today, we look to the Old Testament for examples of godly (and ungodly) people.  Paul says that the books of the Old Testament are written down as examples for us (1 Cor 10:6-11).  We don’t follow the same rules as David, Isaiah, Daniel, etc., but we can learn from their lives and follow their examples.