The Importance of the Resurrection in Colossians

The resurrection is key in Colossians.  Oddly enough Paul grounds the Colossians' faith and love upon the hope they heard in the word of truth of the good news (1:5).  The gospel here is defined as the Colossians' hope.  This is reiterated in 1:23 when Paul writes about the "hope of the good news".  What is this hope?  I contend that this is the resurrection of the Colossians at the end of the age, a resurrection made possible by Jesus' resurrection.  This hope is stored in heaven (1:5) but this does not mean that when the hope is fully realized it will "be in heaven".  Paul says that when Christ is revealed then those in him will also be revealed in glory (3:4).  This is because Christ in you is the hope of glory (1:27).  It is clear that this hope is the future eternal resurrected life made possible by Jesus' resurrection.

Further prove of this found in 1:12 where the Colossians are told that they have been qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints "in the light".  The "in the light" probably refers to the glory of the eternal kingdom where the resurrected dwell.  The next verse (1:13) says that the Colossians have been rescued from the authority of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of the Son.  This rescue reminds us of Exodus where God rescued Israel (see Ex. 6:6; 12:27; 14:30).  The Exodus from the slavery of sin is clear in 1:14 when it states that in Jesus we have redemption the forgiveness of sins.

It is very significant that the cure for sin is the death and resurrection of Jesus.  This is evident in 2:12-13.  In 2:12 we are told that the Colossians are buried and raised with Jesus.  In 2:13, they are dead in their trespasses (same word used in the singular in Rom. 5:15), but that they are made alive in Jesus.  They are made alive because Jesus was raised from the dead.  This is reiterated in 3:1, where the Colossians are told that they have been raised with Christ.  Christ is their life (3:4). 

The process of salvation in Colossians is therefore one of incorporation into Christ (hence all the talk of being "in Christ").  We die in Christ and we are made alive in Christ because he was killed and raised.  This is a far cry from just saying that our sins are forgiven because Jesus was sacrificed like an animal.