Paul explains in his letter to the Colossians that he did nothing but make Christ known.
He tells us…
Colossians 1:26 (NKJV)
…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations,
but now has been revealed to His saints.
Which is:
Colossians 1:27b (NKJV)
Christ in you, the hope of glory!
Epiphaneia (επιφανεια) is derived from a verb meaning ‘to shine’ or ‘to appear’, like, for example, a star that is always there, but becomes visible at night.
The word is used in reference to the glory and majesty of the Lord who has always been there and who at some point appears, thus becomes visible.
Titus 2:13 (NASB)
We are looking for the blessed hope and the appearing (epiphaneia)
of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.
We have just read where that glory will appear: in you!
Colossians 1:27b (NKJV)
Christ in you, the hope of glory!
For example, Revelation 2 says:
Revelation 2:25 (NLT)
Hold tightly to what you have until I come.
The blessed hope and appearance of the glory
of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we therefore expect within us.
Throughout the Bible, Jesus is revealed to us.
And in Jesus we get to know God the Father and we get to know the Son.
Our identity as son of God is thus revealed throughout the Bible.
As believers, we often hold each other accountable for our behavior.
But behavior is on the outside.
We behave according to who we think we are.
So our behavior stems from our identity.
When we get to know our true identity, we therefore naturally start to behave differently.
This is why Jesus says to the Pharisees:
Matthew 23:26 (NLT)
First wash the inside of the cup and the dish,
and then the outside will become clean, too.
With this new knowledge of identity and behavior and of the word Epiphaneia, we can also better understand the following words of Paul.
1 Timothy 6:11,13-14 (NASB)
Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
I charge you in the presence of God, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul is saying here:
Pursue everything that comes from God, for therein lies your true identity.
And when you have found your identity as a son of God, Christ will appear in you.
So pursue everything that comes from God, until Christ appears in you, until other people begin to see Christ in you.
Then Christ, who has always been present in you, has become visible.
