COMA: Meaning
BY Robert Krumrey
We have almost made it to finish line! We’ve looked at Context and we’ve made Observations about our text. These two parts of the process are helping us get at the original intention of the author. This intention is informed by a particular people living in a particular place at a particular time in history. Once we’ve done this work, we have a sense of the message of our passage for THEM/THEN. This is very crucial because if we don’t understand the original intent of a passage, we have little hope of finding the the meaning of the passage for ourselves today (US/NOW).
That message for today is tightly linked to the MEANING part of the COMA process. The Meaning is the truth or truths expressed in a Scripture passage that are true for all people at all times and in all places. One way to think about this process is like an hour glass that starts broad/open and then narrows and then opens back up again. Something like this:
My Context and Observation is usually a bit chaotic. I’m looking at words and phrases. Looking up cultural allusions that I don’t understand. Looking up biblical allusions from other parts of the Bible and reading about them in their entirety. As I’m doing this, there are themes that are beginning to arise from the soup of my study. Eventually a moment of clarity happens quite naturally and is brought about by the Holy Spirit. Once you begin to see these truth themes, begin writing down some kind of outline in your own words. My outline for Colossians 3 was to Get set (3:1-4); Get dressed (3:5-17); Get going (3:18-25). The Get set is the setting of our minds on things above, namely Christ. The Get dressed is the putting off of the old life and the putting on of the new life in Christ. The Get going is the working out of these things on the ground of one’s life - family, work, friends, church.
Once you’ve got an outline or flow chart of the passage, you are ready to really hone in on Meaning. Here are a few questions that will help you get out some of those truths that are for all people at all times in all places:
Once you’ve reflected on these, you are ready to distill down the thrust of the passage. On the night that we reflected on Colossians 3 in our Wednesday Devo, my breakout group came up with some of the following “true truths” that we sought to apply to our lives:
Human beings (in their sinful state) are a real mess. They are in bondage to sin and experience that inwardly (evil desires, sinful passions . . . ) and outwardly (anger, malice, slander . . . )
God has given us hope in the gospel to put these things OFF and put a whole new set of virtues ON like compassion, humility, love . . .
God accomplishes this transformation through the heart-level RULE of Christ that is exercised in the Christian through the WORD of Christ that dwells in us through practices like study and singing in both solitude and in community.
Once you’ve narrowed down the Meaning, you are ready to open things back up in the Application part of the process which we’ll look at next week (5/27/20) See this LINK for details. Hope you will join us then!