I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit

[TonyChanYT]

Colossians 2:

5 For though I [Paul] am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Is this a spiritual metaphor or spiritual reality?

It is not just a metaphor. See Spiritual Unity in the Body of Christ. Paul was not physically in Colossae, but his indwelling spirit informed him of what had happened there.

Paul repeated a similar expression in 1 Corinthians 5:

3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,

Paul's spirit is connected to the Paraclete and associated with the power of the Lord.

5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:

17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Through the central hub of the Paraclete, there is an objective spiritual connection among all the believers born of the Spirit.

 

[Randy Kluth]

Colossians 2:


Is this a spiritual metaphor or spiritual reality?

It is not just a metaphor. See Spiritual Unity in the Body of Christ. Paul was not physically in Colossae, but his indwelling spirit informed him of what had happened there.

Paul repeated a similar expression in 1 Corinthians 5:


Paul's spirit is connected to the Paraclete and associated with the power of the Lord.


1 Corinthians 6:


Through the central hub of the Paraclete, there is an objective spiritual connection among all the believers born of the Spirit.

This question has always had me stumped. My thought is that our spirit is connected to our body. However, Paul makes it sound as if his spirit is virtually omnipresent--an attribute of God alone. Clearly, there is something missing here in my knowledge!

It's possible that Paul viewed his current attitude as determinative such that Christians in other places could reference his spirit in rendering a verdict. But it's beyond me.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Colossians 2:


Is this a spiritual metaphor or spiritual reality?

It is not just a metaphor. See Spiritual Unity in the Body of Christ. Paul was not physically in Colossae, but his indwelling spirit informed him of what had happened there.

Paul repeated a similar expression in 1 Corinthians 5:


Paul's spirit is connected to the Paraclete and associated with the power of the Lord.


1 Corinthians 6:


Through the central hub of the Paraclete, there is an objective spiritual connection among all the believers born of the Spirit.

Right. We are in Christ and so spiritually connected. Since the Holy Spirit is omniscient, He speaks through Paul exactly what he needs to know and say to anyone. He informed Paul what's going on over there that needed attention. All scripture is God breathed.
He does this all the time. I just wrote a letter to a 21 year old relative in the family ( whose parents did a terrible job bringing him up). He has fear and reluctance about growing up and becoming a man, getting a job, etc. He seems to be like most Millennials who want to stay home through their 20's and milk off their parents. He actually asked me once how long is it acceptable to live home - (and be a leech). So long story short, he was bouncing around, living for awhile with his Mom, then Dad, then uncle and now he wanted to move in with us. Well, I wrote him a tough love, man up, go get a job, type letter. His grandmother was praying that someone talk to him. The Holy Spirit put the issue on my heart and I sent him a letter about facing life's challenges, making a plan, setting goals, preparing himslef for life, having faith - which he has little of.
He had a 1380 on his SATs and blew off a full scholarship to UC at Irvine. What a wasted mind, so far. Believe it or not his parents claim to be Christians, yet he never has talks with his Dad (who was a good financial provider but absent in communication. They say the average Dad speaks to his children eye to eye for about 1 minute per day. That can't be Christian Dads, that sounds irresponsible.
Disciplinarians is all some think they have to be.