LETTER TO THE COLOSSIANS

How to Experience the Life of God

Colossians 2:6-23

INTRODUCTION

Why is it that cults like Gnosticism are so effective in winning converts? When some of our youth learned about Gnosticism, they couldn't believe that anybody would take it seriously. The ancient world though did take it seriously, so seriously that (from a human perspective) it endangered Christianity. Besides answering the big questions, Gnosticism also offered "life" to people, life not only in heaven but also in this world. That is normally the way cults attract followers. In some cases, some of the friendliest organizations in the world are cults. They promise warm, loving relationships. Since people are so hungry for relationships, they accept the beliefs of the cults in order to be accepted by the cults. In other cases some cults attract followers by tapping into the need for healthy families. Mormonism in the 70's was the leading proponent of developing healthy families; as a result it was the fasting growing cult in the 70's in the US. Christianity though has a response to this. It too offers life, in fact the life of God. It is important for Christians to learn how to experience this life so that they can demonstrate it to the rest of the world. That life will be the greatest draw Christianity will have in bringing people to the truths about Jesus.

HOW TO EXPERIENCE THE LIFE OF GOD (2:6-7)

Paul has been writing of Christ’s supremacy over both the old and new creations. Jesus is the image of God (the pattern God used to design mankind and the spitting image of God) and the Lord and Creator of all created things (earthly and heavenly). He is also the Head of the church, His body. By His resurrection He has guaranteed the resurrection of the entire church.

Now that I have received positively this tradition of the early church about Jesus, how then should I respond to who Jesus is and what He has done? How should I respond to the truth that Jesus is the Lord over the entire universe, material as well as spiritual? By walking continually in Him. The phrase “in Him” means that I am to operate out of my relationship with Him. Since Jesus is Lord, I should let Him lead me in each and every area of my life. The idea behind the word “walking” is that of the daily-ness of life. Too often Christians run for Christ, that is, they get all excited and busy for Jesus. After a little while, they tire out and quit serving the Lord. That’s because running is only for short periods of time. Walking is what we do all the time. Walking with Christ, that is, being consistent, is what Christ has called us to do.

Paul then lists 3 ways that the Christian walks in Jesus. First, he is rooted in Jesus. This has the idea of the plant which grows only after it has placed roots deep down into the soil. Jesus is the foundation of this new life we have received from God. Only when we trusted Jesus as our Lord did we receive this new life from Jesus. Second, the Christian is built up in Him. Paul changes metaphors here, using the image of a construction project. After the foundation has been laid, the building is erected stone by stone and brick by brick. Too many times Christians just simply get saved and then start doing things at church—run the time clock for league sports, attend SS, give some money, attend other church functions, without Christ ever really being a part of their experience. I started this new relationship with God because of Christ and I continue it by operating out of my relationship with Christ. Third, the Christian walks in Jesus by being confirmed in the faith. The metaphor once more changes, this time to a legal image, that of the document being ratified or confirmed. Notice that we are confirmed in the faith. By faith here Paul does not refer to the act of believing but to the thing believed, that is, the claims he has just made about Jesus (Col. 1:15-2:3). I have been confirmed, ratified as a believer because I adhere to these truths about Jesus. What I believe is just as important as that I believe. (Notice that we don't ratify the faith; it ratifies us. Jesus and Christianity are beyond our right to judge. Our response to Jesus judges/ratifies us, not vice versa. He is Lord no matter how we respond. Our response reflects on us, not on Him.)

The final way that I should respond to the truth that Jesus is Lord over all the universe is that I should give thanks. The grumbling Christian has either failed to understand that Jesus is Lord over all or else rejected how He has exercised His lordship. The “grumbling Christian” is a contradiction in terms. The 2 definitely should not go together. Since Jesus is Lord over the universe and since He rules out of love, no matter what happens, I should give thanks. Anything less constitutes a rejection of His lordship.

HOW CHRIST GIVES US THIS LIFE (2:8-15)

Warning (2:8)

Paul now turns specifically to the heresy confronting the Colossians. He warns them to be wary of the heretical teacher who is leading them into captivity with his so-called philosophy but which in fact is empty deceitfulness. The Gnostic teacher claimed that he could give the Colossians codes which would liberate them from the demonic forces which blocked their way to the heavenly realm. He claimed that he was giving them the freedom of a new life. Far from liberating them, he was actually leading them into captivity by enslaving them to rules and regulations and to the very demonic forces he claimed he was liberating them from. This Gnostic teacher claimed that his religion was such a superior religion that you should elevate it to the status of a philosophy. Now philosophy is not bad by any stretch of the imagination because it deals with the major issues of life: Who am I? What is ultimate reality (that is, is there a God)? What is ultimate reality (God) like? How can I get to know Him? Theology is the biblical counterpart to philosophy. Theology is the Christian answer to the questions of philosophy. What Paul is attacking is this superior attitude which will cause people to be in awe of this heretical religion.

Moreover, whereas the Gnostic teacher was probably claiming that he was imparting to the Colossians codes which were significant and meaningful, Paul actually claims that they are empty deceitfulness. Christ is where the riches of wisdom are located. Christ is where you unlock the secrets of the universe, not in the Gnostic heresy. Next, Paul says that Gnosticism was nothing more than human tradition. The heretical teacher claimed that his codes came from heaven, imparted to him by the clone Christ. The codes were tradition because they had been delivered to him, that is, he had not come up with them on his own. Paul dismisses this. Their source was not heaven, not God, but nothing more than man himself. They were of this world and therefore could never liberate man from this world.

The primary problem with this heretical teaching was that it was not “according to Christ.” For something to be true religiously, it must agree with what the Bible has told us about Jesus. Whereas we have no problem at all with speaking about God, we need to remember that Jesus is the image of God, the spitting image of God. Whatever contradicts our knowledge of Jesus is not from God. This applies not only to cults but also to Christian theology. (For example, recently someone said that he was against capital punishment because he could never conceive of Jesus endorsing capital punishment. Well, the Jesus of the Bible will one day throw those who have rejected Him into hell. If Jesus will do this much more horrific thing, then why would He not also endorse capital punishment? We need to measure what we believe against the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus we come up with in our own minds.)

The Reason Our Faith Should Be According to Jesus (2:9-15)

Paul has outright rejected the Colossian heresy because it was not according to Jesus, that is, it contradicted what we know about God in Jesus, God's image. Why should our beliefs be measured by what we see in Jesus? "For in Him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily." Once more, Jesus is not merely like God; He is the spitting image of the Father because He is God the Son. Whatever it means to be God, Jesus is. He is as much God as the Father is even though He is not the Father. As a result, if we believe something which contradicts what we have seen of God in Jesus, then we believe it is wrong.

[Notice that Paul says that the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Jesus. The fact that God the Son was willing to take on human flesh demonstrates that flesh in and of itself (as well as matter) is not evil. Whereas the human nature has become evil, the human body and created matter are not.]

More is at stake though. The Colossian heresy taught that it could give people life, fullness of life, the life of God Himself. Paul rejects this. He literally says, "You are made full in Him," that is, He has filled us and we remain filled. Fullness of life is in Him. In other words, the only way that we can be made full, receive the fullness of God's life, is to be in a right relationship with Jesus Christ. John claims the same thing: "For of His fullness we have all received and grace upon grace" (John 1:16).

Moreover, fear of the demonic forces in the heavens was robbing the Gnostics of the fullness of life, of joy. There was no need to fear them though because Jesus is the head of all rule and authority (titles for the demonic forces). Since He created them, He has ultimate power over them. We don't have to focus on the hostile forces around us; we just need to focus on Jesus who gives us victory over these hostile forces. (Verse 15 will expand on this concept.)

Why have we not received this fullness before and what has happened that makes this fullness of life possible? We are all born with a human nature. Unfortunately, as soon as it encounters temptation, it sins and then devolves into sinful nature. This sinful nature must be done away with and replaced with Christ's divine nature if we are going to enjoy the full life God has for us. Paul uses 2 illustrations to describe the process of stripping away the old nature and replacing it with the new.

The first illustration involves circumcision. According to Paul when Christ was circumcised, our sinful, fleshly nature was circumcised. Circumcision in this context refers to the violent cutting away of the old sinful nature. Because we are so united with Christ (because of His Spirit which dwells within us), whenever Christ was circumcised, we too were circumcised. When was Christ circumcised? Naturally when He was 8 days old; however, Paul seems here to be referring to the cross. Jesus was born with both a human nature and a divine nature. He received His divine nature from the Father and His human nature from Mary. (This is the reason the virgin birth is so critical.) We see Jesus on the cross having His human nature stripped off Him, leaving Him only with the divine nature. In the same way, when we became Christians we became so identified with Him by His Spirit that our old flesh nature was stripped away, leaving us with the new divine nature. (Unfortunately for us though, this process has really only just begun. The old nature will be finally eradicated only after Jesus returns. Whereas we do right now experience freedom from the old nature because Jesus' Spirit lives within us, we will not experience this fully until Christ returns.)

The second illustration involves baptism. Baptism by immersion symbolizes not only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, it also symbolizes the death and burial of our old nature and our resurrection by means of the new divine nature Jesus gives us at the moment of our salvation. Again, whereas it sounds like Paul is saying this has already taken place, once more we must say we are only now partially experiencing this. We shall experience it fully only after Christ has returned. (Baptism by immersion is significant because it is the only form of baptism which symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection.)

How do we experience our circumcision and/or our baptism? That is, how do we put away the old nature and let the new nature live through us? By faith (2:12). By faith we mean listening to and obeying Jesus, thereby energizing the new divine nature within us.

Focusing on the Past (2:13-14)

At this point Paul goes back and focuses on a person's life before he became a Christian. Now the way Paul treats this is instructive. Many times when Christians revisit their past, they feel so much guilt that it renders them totally ineffective. That's allowing Satan to govern the way you view your past. Paul looks at his past occasionally. Each time he marvels not at how bad he was but at how much Christ has saved him. It spurs him to a life of gratitude and service, not to a life of wallowing in guilt and shame.

Paul describes the former life of the Colossians as one of being dead in their trespasses and their lack of physical circumcision. Their lack of physical circumcision was merely a symbol of their spiritual deadness, of their having nothing but the old fleshy nature. Christ raised them/us from the dead by forgiving us of our trespasses. Trespasses were what killed us and what prevented God from giving us His life. So what did He do to remove our trespasses and thereby give us His life?

Christ took our trespasses and canceled them by nailing them to the cross. The idea behind this is that of a person who owes a major debt to somebody else. The person to whom the debt was owed would write the amount of the debt on a piece of papyrus (paper) or a wax tablet. After the debt had been paid, a great big X would be scrawled on top of the paper or else the wax tablet would be melted, thereby eliminating the debt. In the case of the paper, the X-ed out copy would then be attached to the outside of the debtor's home, thereby publicly announcing that the debt had been paid. The placard placed over Jesus' head on the cross now has become the X-ed out copy of our debt to God. With our debts now removed, God now can give us His life by placing the Spirit of Jesus within us.

The final reason that we should turn to Christ is that on the cross Christ has defeated the demonic forces. The Gnostics taught people to fear the demonic and to learn codes which would save them from the demonic. Paul claims that Christ triumphed over them on the cross. The primary way that Christ defeated them was by removing the debt which stood against Christians. The demonic could wave that paper with our debts on it in front of God claiming that we should be condemned because of our sins. Now that this record has been X-ed out, they have nothing now to condemn us with. Christ by canceling our sins has disarmed the demonic. We can now live life fearlessly. The only fear the Christian should have is the deep reverence we should have for God Christ Himself.

REJECTION OF ASCETICISM (2:16-23)

Paul has not only shown us how to experience the Christian life, the life of God, he now rejects the Gnostics' approach to experiencing God's life. There are only 3 ways to attempt to experience God's life: asceticism (legalism), licentiousness (doing your own thing), and faith (following Jesus on a daily consistent basis). Since these Gnostics believed that the body was evil, they tried to experience God's life by severely restraining the body and its desires.

Before looking at specific ways the Gnostics tried to live an ascetic life, we need to remember that Christianity does not promote asceticism. Christianity under the leadership of the Spirit produces temperance (moderation) and self-control. Some Christians almost view abstinence from sex as being spiritual. That's not spirituality though (see 1 Tim. 4:1-4). Life is like a pendulum. If the pendulum swings in one direction too far, it will have to balance itself out and swing in the other direction to the same degree. That's the reason you see a sincere person like Jimmy Swaggart who rails against prostitution in bed with prostitutes. The Spirit leads us to balance and moderation, not abstinence. [Abstinence under the leadership of the Spirit should exercised only when the Spirit is leading us to times of intensive prayer. After that period is over, abstinence should be abandoned (see 1 Cor. 7:5).] Remember that Christ did not say He came to take away life; He said that He came to give it (John 10:10).

(Be careful about adding restrictions where the Bible does not add them. Otherwise, you are in essence claiming to be "stricter" than God. In the same way, don't undo restrictions where the Bible has placed them. Otherwise, you are claiming to be more "compassionate" than God. Both are absurd thoughts.)

Paul now specifically addresses and rejects the Gnostic approach to experiencing the life of God. He issues 3 warnings against the Gnostic approach. First, he warns them (2:16-17) not to follow their advice regarding eating and drinking, and the observance of festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths. The Gnostics were apparently claiming that continual fasting from food and alcoholic beverages was the way to experience God's life. In addition, the Gnostics appeared to have started promoting Jewish religious holidays: the seasonal feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles; the monthly observance of the new moon; and the weekly observance of the Sabbath.

Conservative Christians need to be careful whenever they approach these areas. We tend towards legalism. It is great to go learn about the Feast of Tabernacles in order to deepen our appreciation and understanding of the Bible; however, this does not impart God's life to us. In the past our view of the Sabbath was out of balance. Whereas we need to set aside times for Bible study and worship (especially if we value them as much as we claim we do), in the past we sort of went overboard. We claimed you could not play games on Sunday; you definitely couldn't mixed bathed. The same people who looked down upon you for going to a movie on Sunday afternoon felt no qualms at all in turning on the TV and watching sports. (If you make people work by attending a movie on Sunday afternoons, you are also making people work by watching TV on Sundays. Legalism always tends to be selective. What I am doing is always OK; what you're doing is not.) The main problem Paul has with this is that these are only shadows and not the real thing. The real thing is Christ Himself, that is, living out of our relationship with Him.

Second, Paul warns the Colossians (2:18-19) not to let the Gnostics rob them of the benefits of their salvation. The Gnostics claimed that they were experiencing God's life because they engaged in assumed humility, the cult of angel worship, and the obtaining of visions. All these practices led to an arrogant attitude on the part of the Gnostics, the very attitude which contradicts the attitude of Christ (Phil. 2:5-11 which was written around the time Colossians was written).

The assumed humility was really false humility. The Gnostics believed that if they scourged their bodies or bathed with frigid water then they would be spiritual and experience God's life. They believed that they were unworthy to approach the supreme God; therefore, they opted to approach His emanations (clones). Paul rejects this and says that they are rather to hold onto Christ. Maybe the Christian is to take baths with frigid water; however, he is to do that only if that is what Christ wants (which I sincerely doubt). Maybe the Christian is to worship angels and/or saints; however, the Christian is to do that only if that is what Christ wants (which I sincerely doubt). For all practical purposes, the reason you do what you do many times is as important as what you do. If you try to do things because you believe this is what Christ wants, you are going to be safe. If you mess up, I believe that Christ is quite capable of getting you the information that you need to change your behavior. Heart, attitude, and motives are so important.

Third, Paul warns the Colossians (2:20-23) not to allow the world to superimpose upon them its regulations. Look at the regression in the world's commands: you are not only NOT supposed to handle them, you are not only supposed NOT supposed to taste them, you are not even supposed to touch them! In other words, the Gnostic solution to life is no life. On the surface this appears really spiritual. That is not though the Christian approach to life. The Christian approach is to live in union with Christ (2:6-7). It is made possible by the death and resurrection of Christ (2:9-15). How it is lived out specifically is spelled out in chapters 3 and 4. It is the life of the Spirit.