Colossians Study – Session 6
CrossPointe Community Church – Denton,
TX
February 17, 2013 - Larry Reynolds,
Teacher
III.
The Sufficiency of Christ (2:8-23) - This section is both and at the same time the most
important and the most difficult part of Colossians.
·
It is the most
important because it gets to the very heart of why Paul wrote this
letter. He wrote to reinforce to the
Colossians the absolute supremacy and complete sufficiency of Jesus. This passage, as much as any passage in the
NT, spells out how Christ is fully sufficient for all of our needs.
·
It is the most
difficult because it is filled with allusions to the false teaching
plaguing the church at Colossae of which we have only second hand
knowledge. All we really know about the
false teaching is how Paul responded to it.
In these verses we are hearing Paul’s refutation of a system of thought
with which the Colossians would have been very familiar. One thing is crystal clear about the false
teaching. The false teachers were saying that Christ, alone, was not
sufficient for our salvation. In
addition to belief in Christ, for a person to be saved that person had to
participate in certain religious rituals.
So Paul stresses in this part of Colossians the complete sufficiency of
Christ for all of our needs.
Verse 8 is obviously an introductory
statement. It is unclear whether it
introduces only the paragraph ending in v.15 or the larger section ending in
v.23. I am going to deal with v.8 as a
stand alone verse, then we will explore vv.9-15 as a unit.
·
In the NASB verse
8 begins with the phrase “See to it...”...I don’t think that is
nearly a strong enough translation of the word Paul used to begin this
verse...it is the same word Jesus used in Mark 12:38 when He said, “Beware
of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”...it’s also
the word Paul used three times Philippians 3:2 when he wrote, “Beware of
the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision...”...the
word means to be on guard, to watch out, to beware...and in these verses Paul
points out to the Colossians and to us the primary thing we are to be on guard
against, we are to watch out for, we are to beware of...
·
It is important
that we not misread the warning of v.8...Paul is not saying that philosophy in
any form is necessarily evil...the word philosophy simply means “the love of
wisdom”...this is the only place in the NT in which this word is
used...however, elsewhere in the Bible, especially in the book of Proverbs, we
are told to seek wisdom...and in the book of Acts Paul demonstrates on several
occasions his ability to engage in philosophical debates...
·
And Paul is not
saying here that all philosophy is evil...but, he is saying that we are to be
on guard against the kind of philosophy which is characterized by “empty
deception”...the grammar of v.8 indicates that the phrase “empty
deception” describes the kind of philosophy about which Paul is warning
his readers...it is a philosophy void of real truth and it’s ultimate intent is
to deceive us or lead us astray...
·
In first part of
v.8 Paul speaks of being taken “captive” by such empty, deceptive
philosophy...and the word translated “captive” is a compound word
made up of a word which means “to carry off” and a word which means “spoils
or booty”...was used to describe an army carrying off the spoils or booty
of war...Paul is saying that we are in a spiritual battle...need be on guard
constantly against our spiritual enemy who will attempt to use false reasoning,
empty deception to lead us astray...
·
If you’ll look
carefully at the text of Colossians 2:8 you will see three specific
characteristics of this false philosophy which we are to avoid—
--False
philosophy looks to human reasoning rather than divine revelation for its
source of authority - That’s the meaning of the phrase “according
to the traditions of men” means...false philosophies arise out of human
reasoning which is passed down from generation to generation...Christianity
however arises out of divine revelation...at the very root of Christianity is
the presupposition that God has chosen to reveal Himself to His creation...and
He has done so fully and completely in Jesus Christ...revelation, not reason,
is the authority upon which Christianity rests...
--False philosophy focuses more on creation than
on the Creator - The phrase the NASB translates “according to the
elementary principles of the world” is one of the most debated phrases in
Colossians...the word translated “elementary principles” had
numerous meanings...
o
It originally was
used to denote the letters of the alphabet and came to mean the basic elements,
the ABC’s of learning...if Paul is using the word in that way he is saying the
false philosophy is simplistic, elementary, not very advanced, in spite of what
its proponents would have you believe...
o
However, the word
translated “elementary principles” was used another way...could
mean the basic physical elements of the world, specifically the moon, stars,
and other physical bodies to which many ancient people attached supernatural
powers...since later in this chapter Paul refers to false teachers observing
the new moon and worshiping angels, I suspect that’s the primary meaning of
this verse...Paul is saying that false philosophy is so concerned with creation
that if fails to see the true Creator...in our day such false philosophy can be
seen in the astonishing number of people (48% of Americans according to a
recent poll) who believe in astrology, that the movement of the stars and
planets somehow reflects our souls and governs our lives, [Garland, p.160]
and such false philosophy can be seen in those who practice the age old
philosophy of pantheism, believing that nature itself is God...
--False philosophy does not have a clear
understanding of Christ - Paul says in the last part of v.8 that such
teaching is not “according to Christ”...the ultimate test of any
system of thought or any philosophy is how that system views Jesus...and so, in
vv.9-10, Paul makes four great affirmations about Christ that spell out
precisely who He is and what He has done for us…
·
Colossians 2:9-10 is the thesis statement of
Colossians – “For in Him all the fullness
of Deity dwells in bodily form and in Him you have been made complete, and He
is the head over all rule and authority.” Those verses affirm four
fundamental biblical teachings about Jesus:
·
He is fully God – The entire, complete, whole, fullness of god dwells in Him
permanently.
--“for” links v.9 to v.8...the warning
of v.8 is based upon the true identity of Christ as revealed in v.9...
--”in Him” by its position at the first
of the sentence is emphatic...the idea is that in Christ and Christ alone all
the fullness of Deity dwells...
--”all the fullness” is taken straight
from the words of the false teachers...they taught that the fullness of God was
distributed among a number of heavenly beings who had somehow spun off the true
God...Paul says not so...all of God is in Jesus...
--”Deity” - Only place in NT this word
occurs...it’s a strong word meaning the very essence of God...as one NT scholar
put it, the word means “...the whole glorious total of what God is...”
[Moule, quoted by Vaughan, p.72]
--”dwells” means to settle down, find a
permanent home...the word is in the present tense indicating a continuing
state...the thought is that in Christ the fullness of God permanently
resides...
·
He is fully man – The fullness of God dwells in Him in bodily form.
--”in bodily form” is a reminder of
Christ’s humanity...and it’s important to see that the present tense verb “dwells”
goes not just with the Deity of Jesus but also the humanity of
Jesus...as one writer put it, “The One who took upon Himself human nature
at Bethlehem will keep that humanity for all eternity. He will forever be the God-Man.” [MacArthur, p.103]
·
He is fully sufficient – Fullness of life is found in relationship with
Him. Every need that we have can be met
in Him.
--”...in Him you have been made complete...” ...the
word translated “complete” is the verb form of the word
translated “fullness” in v.9...follow Paul’s logic here...
--Jesus is fully God and fully man...
--we live in union with Jesus...
--therefore, in Jesus we are made full or complete...
The false teachers troubling the Colossians would
never have agreed with that logic...they said for a person to be spiritually
complete that person needed something in addition to Jesus...but Paul says, “Not
so! When you have Jesus, you have everything
you need. In Him you are made full or
complete.” John Wesley put it this way: “Thou
O Christ art all I need, More than all in Thee I find.” [Quoted by Vaughan
·
He is Lord of all – All things are subject to Him.
--”He
(Jesus) is the head over all rule and authority...”...this is the second time in Colossians Paul used the
word “head” to describe Jesus...in 1:18 Paul says that Jesus is
the “head” of the church...now in 2:10 says He is the “head”
over all that exists...the word translated “head” carries the
idea of being the source of life and lord over something...the point is that
Jesus is supreme...He is Lord over everything...
I love the way the
Living Bible paraphrases Colossians 2:9-10:
“For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; so you have
everything you need when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through
your union with Christ. He is the
highest Ruler, with authority over every other power.” [TLB]
The remainder of this paragraph (vv.11-15) give us a
detailed description of how Jesus has made us complete.
·
In Jesus we have complete salvation (11-12)
The false
teachers who had infiltrated the church at Colossae were teaching that Jesus
alone was not enough to save...they said a person needed Jesus plus something
else...what that something else was varied from false teacher to false
teacher...and from vv.11-12 we can conclude that some of them were saying that
physical circumcision was necessary for salvation...
And in these
verses Paul points out a person is not made right with God through outward acts
such as circumcision...instead, as the last part of v.12 says, we are made
right with God “through faith in the working of God...”...and
that phrase “working of God” points to the Christ event,
specifically the death and resurrection of Jesus which is symbolized in
baptism...
The point of all that is salvation is in Jesus and Jesus
alone... apart from a faith commitment to Jesus--which means believing Jesus is
Who He said He is and believing that Jesus had done for us what He said He
would do--nothing else is needed for salvation…
·
In Jesus we have complete forgiveness (13-14)
V. 13 describes us as being “dead in your transgressions”…that
is, we were utterly defeated by sin and powerless to break the chains of sin in
our lives.
V. 14 says
there was outstanding “certificate of debt” against us...that
phrase translates a word taken from the legal vocabulary of the 1st
century...word was used to describe a variety of legal documents and one of
those documents was a note of indebtedness...when someone borrowed money or
purchased something on credit, much like in our day, they would sign a document
specifying the amount of the debt and the terms of repayment...
The thrust
of v.14 is that we had such a debt...it was valid and it had come due...and we
were unable to meet our obligation...we were about to be foreclosed upon when
Jesus stepped in and “canceled” our debt...the word translated “canceled”
in the NASB means to blot-out, wipe-out, or erase...it was often used in the 1st
century to describe the wiping away of ink from a writing material so the material
could be used again...
And the
point is that our lives were stained and marred by sin... we were about to be
overwhelmed by the weight of it...and Jesus came to wipe our sins away...and
the last part of v.14 says he accomplished that by nailing our sins to the
cross...that is, it was through His
death on the cross that Jesus canceled our indebtedness...
John’s
Gospel tells us that just before He died on the cross Jesus cried out, “It
is finished”...the word He used is “tetelestai”...it means
completed, done, over...it was the word often written across a note of
indebtedness when the obligations were met...it’s comparable to our phrase “Paid
in full” which you sometimes see stamped across some bill...
·
In Jesus we have complete victory
V.15 refers
to a common practice in the 1st century...when an nation was
defeated in battle, the conquering army would take the leaders of the defeated
nation and bring them back to the capital of the conquering nation...then, on a
designated day, there would be a great parade to honor the victors and
humiliate the defeated... the leaders of the defeated nation would be stripped
of their clothing, placed in chains or cages, and marched through the streets
of the city as trophies of war...V.15 says that is what God has done to “the
rulers and authorities” which means the spiritual forces of evil and
wickedness...the verse says God has made a “public display of them”...they
have been defeated and humiliated...
And the last
part of the verse says this victory was won through “Him” meaning
Jesus or, as some versions read, through “it” meaning the cross
of Jesus...either way, the meaning is essentially the same...on the cross Jesus
won the victory over evil...it was complete, thorough, lasting...it is still in
effect today...
Why is it
important to give emphasis to both the His deity and humanity and humanity of
Jesus? What happens when we de-emphasize
either of those aspects of His nature?
What are some
specific ways that relationship with Jesus brings “fullness” to our lives?
Jesus
transformed an instrument of death and defeat (the cross) into an instrument of
victory. What does that say about how we
deal with the challenges we face in life?
