At the heart of Rome stands the Pantheon, often called one of the architectural miracles of the ancient world. This massive circular structure, whose name means "temple of all gods," was once filled with statues of the many deities worshiped by the Romans of the time. Yet the true wonder of the building is not found in those splendid idols. It is the single circular opening at the very center of the great dome above, known as the oculus-the "eye." In a place with no artificial lighting, only the light pouring through that one opening illuminates the entire temple. Under that light, the surrounding idols are exposed for what they are: mere stones.
When the Apostle Paul, imprisoned in Rome some two thousand years ago, took up his pen to write to the church in Colossae, his heart must have been much like that gaze fixed on the oculus. Colossae was then like an exhibition hall of syncretistic religion, where Greek philosophical speculation, Gnostic mysticism, Jewish legalism, and angel worship were all entangled together. In the midst of that confusion, where countless forms of "spiritual knowledge" clamored to present themselves as the way of salvation, Paul points to only one light: Jesus Christ alone.
The Only Ladder Between Heaven and Earth: The Fullness of Christ
Through his many lectures and sermons, Pastor David Jang, founder of Olivet University, has continually emphasized that the central theme running through Colossians is the supremacy of Christ and His fullness (pleroma). The Gnostics of that era tried to reduce Jesus to merely one among many divine beings, or to dismiss Him as a spiritual apparition without a real body. But Pastor David Jang insists that Paul's declaration-"For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Col. 2:9)-is the very heartbeat of Christian faith.
Like the oculus of the Pantheon, Christ is the only passage connecting God and the world, the mystery in which the image of the invisible God appeared in visible flesh. The confession defended through centuries of fierce debate at the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Chalcedon-that Christ is truly God and truly man-is not merely a doctrinal formula. It is the assurance that our salvation is not built upon illusion or abstraction, but upon the concrete historical events of Jesus' cross and resurrection. The theological insight Pastor David Jang conveys becomes a firm anchor for us today as we face modern forms of Gnosticism that say, "All religions ultimately lead to the same place," or "Jesus was merely a great moral teacher."
When Holy Doctrine Comes Down to the Dinner Table
What is especially striking is that Paul, after singing of the cosmic Christ, suddenly turns his attention to something very ordinary and seemingly small: the household. Colossians chapters 3 and 4 address relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants. Some may assume this is simply a repetition of the patriarchal "household codes" (Haustafeln) of the ancient world. But Pastor David Jang reads in this passage the revolutionary subversion of the gospel. The order of the world is a pyramid in which the strong dominate the weak, but the household Paul presents is structured by the cross, where every member serves the other "as unto the Lord."
"Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." "Masters, provide your servants with what is right and fair." These commands, radical for their time, show that the fullness of Christ is not confined within the walls of the church. Pastor David Jang emphasizes that "the true power of the gospel is proven less by loud proclamation from the pulpit than by a warm word spoken to one's family at the dinner table and by the attitude one shows toward subordinates at work." If the sermons and Bible studies we hear each week do not chisel away at our character and smooth out the roughness in our relationships, then they are nothing more than hollow echoes. Colossians asks us: Is your theology changing your daily life? Has your home become a little heaven?
A Faith That Does Not Remain Isolated: Solidarity Connected Through Prayer
Finally, we must not forget that this great letter was not delivered by the strength of one man alone. At Paul's side stood Tychicus, the faithful messenger; Onesimus, transformed from a runaway slave into a beloved brother; and Epaphras, who labored fervently for the believers in Colossae. This tightly woven network of the early church-like a spider's web-was the hidden force that enabled the gospel to overcome the Roman Empire.
Pastor David Jang calls on the Korean church today, which is increasingly becoming isolated through individualistic local-church thinking, to recover this "holy solidarity" revealed in Colossians 4. Just as the churches of Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis shared letters and spiritual inheritance with one another, believers today must also be connected in prayer wherever they are. Paul's exhortation, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Col. 4:2), comes knocking across two thousand years at the door of our prayer closets even now.
The world still resembles a Pantheon filled with countless idols. Money, fame, pleasure, and false knowledge each beckon to us, claiming they can save us. But the truth Pastor David Jang reminds us of through Colossians is clear: only Jesus Christ is the true light who illuminates our lives. Let us return quietly to the place of Scripture meditation, lay down the hollow values of this world, and fix our eyes on
