TITLE: Stay Free
TEXT: Colossians 2:8-10
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through empty and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
Prior to our liberation by Christ we were in bondage to sin and Satan, but according to Colossians 1:13, we have been rescued and liberated from the kingdom of darkness. (Also see Romans 6:18, 22.)
In addition to liberating us from sin and Satan, God also empowered us to be masters over our carnal desires instead of being mastered by them.
In addition to freedom from sin and Satan, we are being set free from debilitating habits, mindsets and other controlling influences. In Romans 12, Paul tells us that we are being transformed, an ongoing process, by the renewing of our minds.
The freedom Christ has given to us is genuine and real (Jn. 8:36), and it is a treasure to be guarded.
In Galatians 5:1, Paul declared: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Recidivism is the tendency to relapse into a previous undesirable type of behavior, especially crime. About 65% of those released from prison will be rearrested within three years of their release date. They will return to prison, because they lapse back into the undesirable behavior that got them in prison in the first place.
Paul’s readers had been set free from sin, Satan and self. They had been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, but Paul issues a sobering warning to these new believers. They are in great danger.
THE MENACE
“See to it that no one takes you captive…” (v.8)
Paul is not concerned that his readers will maliciously and deliberately turn their backs on Christ, but that they will be led astray by resident spiritual Pied Pipers. They were in great danger and the lurking abductor was not sexual immorality or greed or glory; it was deception!
Deception causes people to believe what is false and disbelieve what is true. Like seduction, deception is a subtle insidious thing. Deceivers are sly, cunning, crafty and delicate in their methods and mannerisms. They ply their trade so as not to alert their victims to the danger they are in.
Jesus warned us that deceivers would come.
“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:5).
“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11).
This problem wasn’t resolved in Paul’s day, but has grown worse.
“…evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (NIV, 2 Timothy 3:13).
The deceivers Paul was referring to had five candy sticks in their bag of lures: intellectualism (2:8-10), ritualism (2:11-13), legalism (2:14-17), mysticism (2:18-19), and asceticism (2:20-23). In our immediate text the issue is intellectualism and the method of deception is stated in verse 8.
THE METHOD
“…through empty and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elementary principles of this world…” (v.8).
The means by which these hijackers deceive is philosophy or intellectualism. The wisdom or “philosophy” that Paul refers to here is empty and void of substance. It is wordy and charming and secretive and appealing, but it contains nothing useful. Paul gives us two reasons why this is so.
• First of all it is empty because it is the product of the traditions of men or generations of depraved thinking. It cannot solve man’s dilemma, because it is the invention of men in that dilemma. Those who produced it are demented. (See Col. 1:21.) Instead of solving the problem they perpetuate and enlarge it.
• Secondly, it is empty because it is elementary. Although it promotes itself as intellectually superior, it is based on silly childish thoughts. Instead of being lofty and profound, it isn’t even up to par with what is taught in the nursery Sunday School class.
The hijackers that Paul warns his readers about exalt man-sourced-ideas above the Word of God or place them on a par with the Word of God.
• This is what the Mormons do with their Doctrines and Covenants and the book of Mormon.
• It’s what Jehovah’s Witnesses do with the writings and teachings of Russell.
• It’s what Christian Science does with the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy.
• It’s what E. W. Kenyon did and then called it “revelation knowledge.”
The truth we have in the Bible is not sourced in man’s intellect. It is not a verbal tradition passed from one sinful generation to another. It is not the product of automatic writing or the record of what was uttered by mediums while in a trance like state. To the contrary, Holy men of God moved and inspired by the Spirit put their pens to paper and recorded God’s thoughts in the words given to them by God. As a result the Bible is the Word of God. It is uncontaminated by the fallenness of the human condition and the blindness of the human intellect. Unlike human wisdom, it can be trusted.
If we are going to stay free and avoid being hijacked by these deceptive wordsmiths, then we must get and maintain a firm grip of the truth concerning Christ. Paul contrasts empty intellectualism which “depends on human tradition and the elementary principles of this world” with that wisdom which depends on Christ. The key to being free and staying free is a made up mind concerning the sufficiency of Christ.
THE MADEUP MIND
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
Are you always looking for some supernatural/spiritual/experiential additive that will bring your illusion about the Christian life into being. What is that illusionary life like?
• Will it be problem free?
• Will you be able to walk on water and raise the dead at will?
• Will your life be void of the trials and tests that God has allowed you to experience thus far?
• Will all the things that God has called you to do because you love Him automatically begin to happen?
• Will all your family problems disappear?
• Will everything go your way?
What exactly will your revived spiritual life be like?
• Are you always miserable because you can’t feel God?
• Is the Christian life you envision always out of reach?
• Is it always a matter of some coming “move of God” or some future experience or future blessing? When this happens or when that happens or when I experience this or when God does that.
Paul focuses on three essential facts about Jesus that every believer must hold onto!
1. Christ’s Person (The Meaning of Christ’s birth - 2:9). Christ is not an emanation from the pleroma (fullness), but He is the fullness of God. The babe born in Bethlehem’s manger was indwelt by the sum total of all that God is; all of His being and all of His attributes. The body of Jesus was not an illusion; it was real. He was and is the God-Man. We don’t need an angel or Buddha, or Confucius, or Mohammed or a departed saint or an Imam or anyone else.
• Confucius was a necromancer who sacrificed to the dead.
• Buddha was a false god who declared, “No one is like me; in the world of men and of gods, no one is like me.”
• Mohammad was a false prophet.
Everything we need is found in Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the way! He is the truth! He is the life! He is our Redeemer! He is our Shepherd! He is our righteousness! If anyone suggests that you need Jesus plus someone else, they are seeking to lead you away from Christ into slavery. Don’t listen them or follow them!
2. Christ’s Provisions (The Mystery of Christ’s body - 2:10a). The term “in Christ” is a reference to the believer’s union with Christ and his place in Christ’s body—the Church. Christ is everything we need and everything we need we have by virtue of being in Him. All we need to do is abide in Christ and our every need is met. We don’t need anything beyond Christ, because there is nothing more than what is in Christ. If someone suggests that you need Jesus plus something else, don’t listen to them or follow them…they are antichrists!
3. Christ’s Power (The Majesty of Christ’s being - 2:10b). We are not dependent upon saints or angels or gurus or prophets, as Christ is the supreme sovereign of the universe—“he is the head over every power and authority” (V.10b).
John tells us that Jesus was “manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1Jn. 3:8). Jesus has taken the mortar out of Satan’s stone castle. He has dissolved, destroyed and demolished Satan’s empire, but He is not through. At His coming He will eradicate it. Isaiah tells us that when the Lord Jesus returns to reign, He is going to overturn the Gentile world empire and Satan’s global rule in the heavens. He says, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high [i.e., Satan’s spirit overlords], and the kings of the earth upon the earth [the Gentile world powers headed by the Antichrist]” (Isa. 24:21). If someone tells you that you need Jesus plus their secret revelation or their spiritual soap, don’t listen to them or follow them! They will rob you of your freedom and to take you captive!
SUMMARY
Paul has warned us of a stealthy menace so dangerous that if ignored it can lead to the loss of our freedom and our enslavement.
He informs us that those who come to bind us aren’t carrying rusty iron chains. They are coming with well crafted arguments. They use smooth words and flattery and interesting stories and fabricated testimonies that bend and twist the truth. They mention the Word, but they preach their ideas and their interpretations of that Word. They are convincing and passionate, and their arguments sound plausible, but they are not the servants of Christ and neither are they interested in your welfare. They will beat you, rob you and leave you alone to die.
This menace cannot be combated by by using human reasoning and logic. There is only one remedy--total, complete and absolute reliance upon Christ. He is all we need and all we need we find in Him!
Could it be that the hijackers have robbed us and taken us captive by telling us that there’s something beyond what Jesus has provided? We can’t enjoy Him, because He alone isn’t enough.
JESUS’ Person is enough!
JESUS’ Provisions are enough!
JESUS’ Power is enough!
What would happen right now, if we began to praise and worship Him for who He is, for what He has done and for what He will do? Instead of telling Him about what we don’t have and what we can’t feel, why don’t we praise Him for who He is, what He has done and for His allness?
