Scripture: Colossians 2:6-15
I. Introduction
The church at Colossae was started by Epaphras, who was a fellow Colossian and a preacher in Laodicea, Hierapolis and Colossae. The letter reveals that the Colossian believers had a great faith in Jesus and love for their fellow believers.
But despite their love and faith, the Colossians had a great need to grow in the knowledge about Christ. They didn’t understand that God’s complete message was already fully disclosed in Christ.
Apparently there were false teachers who had come to them with a message of additional requirements. They were being deceived by humanistic philosophical arguments that claimed that one needed to have more than just faith in Christ. These additional requirements included: circumcision, rules on food, Jewish special days, false humility, and the worship of angels. These appear to stem from Judaizers (likely former Pharisees; The Pharisees accepted and stringently observed the Law and “traditions of the elders”; mostly centered on laws of ritual purity, table-fellowship, Sabbath traditions, circumcision, and food laws. They believed in the after-life, resurrection of the body, the rewards and punishments of a last judgment, miracles, the coming Messiah and angels).
Having received this troubling news from Epaphras, Paul makes the perfect instrument to address the Colossian Christians. His thorough knowledge of Pharisaical Judaism, Gentile lifestyles in the Greco-Roman world, and strong apostolic faith in the Supremacy of Christ makes Paul singularly qualified to write to them. That Paul is writing from prison (for his witness to Christ) only makes his personal address to the Colossians on the behalf of Christ more compelling. He is not simply providing them instructions, but is living his faith and being persecuted for it.
II. Christ Jesus is Lord (Colossians 2:6-7)
A. Just as you received Jesus as Lord (2:6)
Do you remember when you received Jesus as Lord? What was your life like before you did? What is your life like now? I pray that there is a radical transformation, because that is what Jesus brings to our lives. Do you remember how free from sin and guilt you felt? Do you have that same passion, zeal, and love for the Lord as when you began?
Illustration: I was 15 years old when I went to a summer Christian camp in Hubbardsville, NY for three weeks in 1984. I was privileged to see so many Christians and the Christian life being displayed in those weeks that I knew I was missing something. I was missing the relationship with Jesus that they had. Their faith and love in Jesus compelled me to read the entire NT in less than a week to find out more about Him and what I needed to do. Two counselors helped me along the way, providing loving guidance.
I found out that I needed to make Jesus my Lord and dethrone myself. This was not my parents faith, but my own, authored by Jesus. It was 9:00 at night when I crucified that old man of sin with Jesus, confessed Jesus as Lord, and was immersed for the forgiveness of my sins in the Camp Hunt pool. My heart was changed forever. I will never be the same since He became my Lord and His love and gospel saved me.
B. Continue to live in Him (2:6-7)
Paul’s encouragement to the Colossians is just as true for us today. Often we forget to remain in the same correct teaching, zeal, and focus on Jesus as Lord as when we began our walk with Him. Is He still your Master, Lord, and Boss? Or is He a stranger to you now; grown distant by sin, rebelliousness, and the hardness of an ungrateful heart?
1. Rooted
How are your roots in Him doing? Are they shallow, dry, and coming up from the ground? Or are they deep, well watered by prayer, faith, hope, and the actions that spring from His love flowing through you?
2. Built up
Are you staying encouraged in Him? How is your study of our Lord going? Your fellowship with other believers? Are you encouraging others? Are your actions expressing your faith and love in Jesus? Are you helping to expand His Kingdom or are you a hindrance to His work in the world?
3. Strengthened in the faith
There is one faith (Ephesians 4:5) that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). It is the teaching and trust in Jesus our Lord: Savior, Redeemer, and Judge. This faith was passed on to us by His prophets and apostles and it is contained in His Word and in the hearts of His people. Be strong in it. Be assured. Be confident.
4. Overflowing with thankfulness
This is what Thanksgiving is all about. It overflows from our hearts from a genuine appreciation and love for the Lord and what He has accomplished and provided for us in our lives. But is Thanksgiving reserved for one day of the year? A hard heart cannot be thankful. It grumbles and complains about the slightest thing. Do you know people like that? Are you that person?
III. Emptiness of the Fallen World (Colossians 2:8)
Illustration: Nothing is more empty than a canteen without water on a 25 mile road march through the mountains. There were times as I carried that 100 pounds of military gear uphill (both ways), sweating profusely, muscles sore, feet blistered, where I would have given my right arm to just stop and get a long drink of water. But when you have an empty canteen, you might as well fill it with sand. That is the emptiness of what this world has to offer. *(Have an empty canteen and show it to be empty.)*
A. Taken captive
These spiritual tyrants (translated as “powers and authorities“ in the NIV) want to capture you as a spoil of war. They want to make you a prisoner once again to rebelliousness, sin, and guilt. What weapons does the world use?
1. By fine sounding arguments (2:4)
False teaching is accepted largely due to what sounds good. People are easily impressed by a charismatic speaker or by a strong, persuasive argument. Unfortunately, this can lead to falsehood.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NIV). For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears from the truth and turn aside to myths.
2. By deception (2:4,8)
“Magic” these days is all about illusion, sleight of hand, and misdirection. It is a deception of the eye and mind to appear “magical” or mysterious. The same is true of false teaching. It appears full, but it is just sand in a canteen, empty of what is really needed.
B. Empty philosophy
1. Human tradition
a. Ancient Jewish human traditions (2:16)
The “traditions of the elders” were some 600 human regulations added to the Law of Moses by rabbinical tradition. They were empty human effort attempts to put a hedge around the Law. The trouble with these traditions is that they became a law unto themselves and people began to even put them above God’s Law.
1.) Food and drink rules
2.) Sabbath and holy day rules
3.) Worship of angels
b. Modern Christian traditions
The modern institutional church has much of the same troubles. Over the course of 2,000 years, Christianity has built up human traditions around the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, these traditions have robbed us of an abundant, full life in Christ. Here are just a few:
1.) “Church” as a building/location
We need to stop this thinking that Jesus’ church is a location. “Going to church” was never mentioned in the NT. We need to be the church. We need to be Jesus’ feet going; His hands healing and serving.
2.) “Sabbath” and holy day rules
Although the Jewish Sabbath no longer exists in Christianity, it has in many ways been replaced by the Lord’s Day: Sunday. In the same way, Christians have surrounded this day with meaningless rituals and traditions that are more of a “going through the motions” than true worship. The Lord’s Day is to remind us that every day is His. We give Him the first of our time (first day of the week), the first of our service, the first fruits of our labor, and the first of our love to remind us that it ALL belongs to Him, every day!
3.) Bible study without application
The church has become a great library and storehouse of information about God, but with very little life application. Often, we miss out on the relationship with the God of the Bible.
John 5:39-40. “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.” --(Jesus)
How is your prayer life? What evidence would exist to convict you of the “crime” of Christianity? What fruit is being produced in your life?
4.) Program-driven secular business model of the church
Whatever happened to Spirit-led? Whatever happened to love and compassion for others being the motivation for what the church is involved in? What happened to Christ as Head of His church?
5.) Entertainment/materialism idolatry
2. Basic principles of the world
a. Ancient principles and philosophies
1.) Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch! (2:20)
This is a human asceticism, a “harsh treatment of the body” thinking that external practices can change the person. It is human effort by trying to change the inside from the outside.
2.) Mystery religions
There is a “secret” mystery that the disciple of the gods can only understand by a devotion to education, myths, and personal enlightenment.
3.) Syncretism
It is okay to mix and match religious faiths, even faiths that may be exclusive to one another. It is alright to be a Jew-Christian-Osiris-Zeus-Artemis-Emperor-Archangel Michael worshipper.
4.) Philosophies
Classical (Plato and Aristotle); Skeptics (The testing of teachings by unbelief); Stoics (Emotions devalued; human effort morality); Epicureans (Pleasure is the best ethic).
b. Modern principles and philosophies
1.) Pluralism “truth is relative”
There are many paths to heaven, take whichever one you like as it really doesn’t matter. Your truth is as good as mine. There is no absolute truth.
2.) Syncretism “religious buffet”
Today it is okay to be a Jewish-Muslim-Christian-Buddhist without the slightest qualm of conscience, even though they are mutually exclusive world religions.
3.) Humanism “I am my own god”
4.) Materialism “Idolatry of greed”
IV. Fullness in the Triumphant Christ (Colossians 2:9-15).
Transition: In stark contrast to the emptiness of the world and its deceptive traditions and philosophies is the fullness of the Christ-centered life. *(Drink from a full canteen)* Your thirst is quenched and your life becomes full to overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We have been given this fullness in Christ in His victory in His death, burial, and resurrection!
A. Putting off of the sinful nature (spiritual circumcision/crucifixion)
Circumcision was required to be a part of God’s people. It was a sign in the flesh that you belonged to Him and involved the cutting away of extraneous flesh from the male organ. Circumcision was one of the Jew’s traditions prescribed by the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants.
In the New covenant with Jesus, spiritual circumcision is what is required. This involves a “putting off of the sinful nature.” In Romans 6:6 it is described as our old self being “crucified with Him (Christ) so that the body of sin might be done away with.” It is a circumcision of the spiritual heart, not of the physical flesh. It is a cutting away of the old person of sin and self.
When we hear the gospel message, believe it, repent of our sinful lives, turning to Jesus for salvation by calling on His Name in the confession that “Jesus is Lord”, we are putting off the sinful nature. This is the symbolic crucifixion of sin and the old self with Jesus on the cross.
B. Immersion in water (burial)
Just as Jesus was buried in the tomb, so we need to bury that old person in water. That is what baptism is all about. Symbolically we receive a forgiveness or “washing away” of our sins (cf., Acts 2:38; 22:16). Baptism is a necessary part of salvation (cf., 1 Peter 3:21), necessary to enter the Kingdom of God (cf., John 3:5), was consistently performed immediately upon faith in Christ in the book of Acts, adds us to Jesus’ church by the Lord (cf., Acts 2:41, 47) and clothes us with Christ (cf., Galatians 3:27).
C. Raised by faith (resurrection)
Alive with Christ! That is the power of the resurrection. LIFE! Full, abundant, triumphant; is given through our obedient faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
D. Victory with Christ
Victory processions into the capital cities were well known in the first-century. The conquering king would lead his army into the city to great fanfare and public celebration. At the end of the procession would come the defeated prisoners of war. They were disarmed, being led through the streets in shame and humiliation. In the same way, Paul mentions to the Colossians the great and victorious Christ and those spiritual forces that are at the end of the procession, led through the streets in shame.
1. Over death
2. Over sin
3. Over the Law/ the certificate of debt
This “written code” is a certificate of indebtedness in the debtor’s own handwriting. Paul used this language to refer to the Law of Moses where we all are debtors to God. It is the list of all our transgressions, sins, mistakes, wrongs, apathy, hatred, and infractions.
This is what kept Christ’s hands nailed to the cross. Because He saw there something that none saw. The list of our debts. And as His hands bled for us, His perfect blood washed over that list, bringing His victory to you and I. We should be forever grateful.
4. Over spiritual tyrants
There are spiritual tyrants today even who wish nothing more than to chain you up with their lies and with sin once again. But we already know their end.
A. Who are disarmed
B. Who are made a public spectacle
V. Conclusion
Matt Maher: Alive Again
I woke up in darkness
Surrounded by silence
Oh where, oh where have I gone?
I woke to reality losing its grip on me
Oh where, where have I gone?
'Cause I can see the light
Before I see the sunrise
Late have I loved You
You waited for me, I searched for You
What took me so long?
I was looking outside
As if Love would ever want to hide
I'm finding I was wrong
'Cause I feel the wind
Before it hits my skin
You called and You shouted
Broke through my deafness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again
You shattered my darkness
Washed away my blindness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again
John 10:10b. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Are you ready to come alive again? Aren’t you tired of living a defeated, empty, and ritualistic “going through the motions” life? Aren’t you tired of following after the empty philosophies and traditions of men?
Now is the time. Today is the day. Fullness, abundance, and victory await you in a life with Jesus. Isn’t it time for you to accept His indescribable gift?
Jesus is calling to your heart now. He will break through your deafness, He will shatter your darkness, and He will wash away your blindness. Are you ready to be alive again?
