Walking in Christ - Part I

Welcome…

Guests…

Take out your Bibles and turn to Colossians 2, as we continue our series in Colossians

And just by way of reminder, this series is called “Fully Alive: Thinking and Living Like Christ” because when we see things God’s way and do things God’s way, we live the lives that he intended us to live.

Though there might be many opinions about what it means to be alive today or what constitutes a fulfilled life, the Bible makes it clear that any life that is truly fulfilling is a life that is lived God’s way

So we want to be a people who are thinking with the mind of Christ, letting his word inform our thinking

And following the commands of Christ with our lives.

Because that is a truly fulfilled life in which we are fully alive.

Now before we get to our text this morning…

Adding something so that it is no longer that thing

In the age of the electric car, some claims have been made…

Ford redesigned the mustang, made it electric, and then called it a mustang

That’s not a mustang

Its an abomination is what it is

I got nothing against electric cars, but when you add a battery to an icon, the icon is gone

It is something else.

And because it is something else, it is fundamentally different.

Listen - When you take something that is sufficient in and of itself and you add to it…

It is no longer that thing.

It is something different and it can no longer do what the original did.

[Hook] I am concerned that for many of us in the church, we don’t think twice about adding outside ideas to Jesus, thinking it somehow improves upon the Gospel, when in reality it empties the Gospel, because to add to the Gospel makes it into no Gospel at all.

That was the issue in Colossae - There were teachings in the church that were affirming Jesus but also attaching other ideas to him

The prominent voices in their culture were trying to change the Christian life to fit the world, rather than seeing the Christian life as contrary to it.

And in the rest of chapter 2, Paul is going to address these various teachings to show how, if you add anything to Christ, it is no longer Christian and it no longer offers hope.

We don’t need the Gospel plus something else - We need the simple Gospel that only Christ provides.

So we would do well to give these words our full attention.

[Passage]

Big Idea: Jesus is enough.

It’s an easy one to write down - But it is a difficult one to live out

We are always looking for new things that will improve our lives

We are always looking for something else that will give us hope.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to just rest in the simple truth that Jesus is enough.

But if we are to live truly Christian lives, we must accept the reality that Jesus is enough.

His word is sufficient

His life was perfect

His sacrifice is effective

His resurrection is final

His will is trustworthy

His work in you and me is powerful

Jesus is enough and we need to live like it.

[Bridge] What does it look like to live according to the truth that Jesus is enough?

What are the steps, as we walk on this road, that will ensure we are walking in Christ, going the direction he is leading?

Walking in Christ means:

Step #1: Receive the Command (6-7)

God’s word is full of commands that we must receive if we are to follow Jesus faithfully.

v. 6 contains the first command of the letter to the church

He has spent 34 verses telling us truths about Christ and now he is going to give a command in how to respond to those truths about Christ.

But notice: Paul does not just jump straight into giving a command. Instead, he reminds them that the command is directly linked to how they learned Christ.

“As you received Christ Jesus the Lord”

Christ is the Greek term for Messiah, or savior.

Lord is pointing to Jesus’ absolute rule.

So in this one phrase, Paul is reminding the church of what he has unpacked in chapter 1: that Jesus is Lord of all creation and that he is Savior, the cause of new creation

He is savior and Lord

Why does Paul start with a reminder of who Jesus is as savior and Lord?

Because we need to recognize that he is both if we are to have any hope of living like Jesus is enough

Too often people see Jesus as savior, but do not live like he is Lord

But you can’t have Jesus the savior without submitting to him as Lord

And if we are to submit to him as Lord, we have to receive the commands that he gives, knowing that they are best for us.

Look at the command: So walk in him

There is a way of living that reflects that you believe Jesus is both savior and Lord

Where no part of your life is separated from Christ’s reign and rule

Where you grieve and leave the sins that once marked your life because he has forgiven them and reconciled you to God

Where you don’t run to other sources of hope thinking they might work better and instead you trust in his saving work and submit to his reign over your life.

Where you don’t watch the news with baited breath seeing a person or a cause as your future hope

When Jesus is enough as Savior and Lord, then I have all that I need to follow him

And this is not an intellectual proposition for Paul. This is a matter of confidence in this life.

Look at what he says it looks like to walk in Christ:

Rooted, built up and established (both modifying Rooted)

Think of a tree - You go to the tree store… I think it is called a nursery.

You buy a tree at the tree store from the tree guy…

You bring it home and you do what?

You dig deep and place the roots of the tree into the hole so that they can go deeper - Why? Because the tree will flourish if it is rooted in the soil

Listen: The truth of Jesus Christ the Lord, Savior and Ruler, is the only soil that you can be rooted in.

It is the best possible soil for your life to flourish.

Friends, if Jesus is who Scripture claims he is, there is no other soil in which you will grow at all!

You life must be built upon him - Not upon the newest idea or the popular opinions of society.

Not the empty promises of the voices in culture or politics

Jesus is enough - And when you walk in him you will be rooted in him, built up and established.

Listen to the way the Psalmist describes this:

Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

He delights in the truth that is revealed in God’s word and so he is rooted, established, built up according to the truth.

And this is why the result is abounding in thanksgiving (v. 7)

When you delight yourself in the LORD, he will change your desires to look more like his and so you will be marked by gratitude for the way that he enables you to walk according to the words of Christ.

You will see things his way and so you will be grateful for his work.

But we have to see the commands of God as good, as revealing what life is supposed to be like, so that we can take the first step in walking in Christ, by receiving his commands.

So that’s the first step

Step #2: Reject the Distortion (8)

Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit…”

This is a warning - Just because you receive the commands of God does not mean that you are immune from being deceived.

To be taken captive is to be stolen away - The actual word Paul uses here is “plunder” - Carried away as a stolen treasure.

How will you be stolen away/taken captive?

“By philosophy and empty deceit”

This is not an outright condemnation of philosophy

Philo-Sophia - Love of wisdom

There is a wisdom that Scripture admonishes us to pursue - In fact, Paul calls Jesus the one in whom all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden

So the wisdom that we should pursue, the wisdom that we should love, is the wisdom that is found in Christ.

But if we look for wisdom outside of Christ, if we embrace ideas and claims to knowledge, ways of life that are built upon some other foundation than Christ, listening to voices that disagree with Christ, Paul calls these empty and deceitful philosophies that will carry us away.

Paul is condemning empty philosophies that are deceitful

An empty philosophy is any belief system that does not actually have substance

You can’t do anything with it - Its unlivable.

And it is deceitful because it doesn’t give you what it promises.

Okay Paul - I’ll avoid empty, deceitful philosophies - But how can I know if I am dealing with ideas like this?

Colossians 2:8 “… according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

According to human tradition - A worldly, self-focused way of viewing things

Seeing it from a human perspective only

I know I am dealing with empty, deceitful philosophies when it makes much of self

Elemental Spirits - The spiritual deception that is behind the worldly, self-focused way of viewing things

It isn’t just a people problem - It’s a spiritual problem

I know I am dealing with empty, deceitful philosophies when it

[SUMMARY] Paul is essentially saying, “When you think like the world, you have been deceived just like the rest of the world has.”

We don’t have to go very far to see these two collide - In fact, we can just flip back to Genesis 3

Read 2:9, 16-17 for the background

Two things I want you to notice

If they followed God’s command, they would have eaten of the tree of life - Do things God’s way and live

Next, what God made for them was good (Good for food, delight to the eyes) - He gave them all they needed.

Now in Genesis 3, we will see humans and elemental spirits collide and we will see what empty philosophy, what distortions of truth come to light.

Read Gen. 3:1-6

Very quickly, what are the distortions that come to light:

#1: You do you - 3:1-4

What does the serpent do?

Questioning God’s word - “Did God really say?”

Twisting God’s word - “any tree”

Rejecting God’s word - That isn’t true

The lie of “You do you” is so prevalent today - Question and twist God’s word so that I am no longer accountable to it

So much of what is going on around us (even in the church in many places) is the result of questioning the authority of God’s word, twisting God’s word, and ultimately rejecting God’s word in order to do what we want, rather than what he says.

Why? Because if I question God’s word, twist God’s word, and reject God’s word, I don’t have to live by God’s word.

And I can live with a “You do you” way of life.

But it is an empty philosophy - It is unlivable

If we embrace the philosophy of “You do you” then what happens when “You do you” and “Me do me” contradict and collide?

It is self-defeating and unlivable

It might sound good and tolerant, but it is empty.

On the contrary, if truth exists (which it does), then the best life I could live is one that aligns with the truth, even if it means that I have to change.

You see, that is the problem with empty philosophies that are from a human perspective.

You don't have to change. The truth can change to fit your desires.

But if truth exists outside of me, and comes from God, then I have to change to fit the truth.

#2: You can be God - 3:5

In Gen. 2, It is God who gives the commands. It is God who defines right and wrong.

Mankind was made to reflect God, as his image, living according to God’s definition of right and wrong

But the serpent promises that if they reject God’s word, they can determine right and wrong for themselves

Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””

Knowing - Skill/ability

This knowledge is the ability to do only what God has the right to do - To define good and evil

To eat of this tree is to replace God with self - That’s why it leads to death.

Humanity and satan collide to take worship off of God and place it on self

The distortion that you can be God is clear today when people argue that you can live however you feel

It is a magnification of the feelings and attitudes of humanity to the level of godhood

We now think the we can determine right and wrong for ourselves

Really, It is self-worship - The autonomy and authenticity of the human person is the highest value of our modern society

The Westminster confession says that the chief end of man is to Glorify God and enjoy him forever

The modern world of self-worship says that our chief end is to Glorify self and affirm me forever

And just like distortion #1, it is empty

You and I were never meant to worship ourselves, because we were made to worship God alone.

That’s why no amount of affirmation and inclusion will ever satisfy a self-worship culture.

True fulfillment can only come when we reject the distortions because we received God’s commands and worship him alone.

#3: You need more - 3:6 - cf. 2:9, 16-17

Look back at Gen. 2:9, 16-17

God gave them every tree for food that was a delight to the eyes and good for food.

He gave them the command to eat of every tree in the garden, which would include the tree of life.

“Do things God’s way, and live”

He gave the prohibition of eating from the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil

“Reject me, do things your way, and die.”

The serpent said, “You do you” and “Be like God”

And the people said, “We want more than what God is offering”

Look at v. 6 - Remember: God gave them every tree that was Good for food and a delight to the eyes

Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

The man and the woman would have had all the wisdom they needed if they just got it from God - But they wanted more and they wanted it right then.

The lie is that God has not given you enough.

The lie is that God is withholding something from you

The lie is that God’s way is somehow outdated and restrictive

Just look at the way society talks about what we should value as men and women:

The family is seen as oppressive - Having kids is seen as something to be avoided at all costs

Sex outside of marriage is seen as liberating

The goal of life is thought to be to amass wealth, not faithfulness to God

It is better to be at work than at home

It is better to travel than to build a community

It is better to pursue my own goals than lay down my life for those who depend on me

These are all lies that are based in the belief that God is withholding good from us and that there is a better way than his.

But it is empty - God’s way is good and right and best

God’s way leads to life and fulfillment.

Back to Paul in Colossians 2 - What do these distortions ultimately show us? A me-shaped worldview, which is the predominant worldview of our society today.

It is so tempting to think this way - We are surrounded by it constantly

The self is the most prominent idea in western society

My authenticity

My autonomy

My identity

My rights

Me, me, me.

It was the first temptation in the garden and it is the temptation we all face

This is why Paul warns them not to be “taken captive”

When you are not rooted in the truth of Christ, you are at risk of being taken captive by distortions that are empty.

[Summary] All of these distortions are a rejection of truths about Jesus and the outworking of that is a way of life that is against him.

So, if we are to walk in Christ Jesus the Lord as we received him, we have to let the truth of who he is correct the distortions, which leads to step #3…

Step #3: Embrace the Correction (9-15)

Walking in Christ means not just that we reject the distortion, but that we embrace the correction to that distortion.

If the me-shaped worldview is empty and distorted, then a Christ-shaped worldview is the correction

So how does a Christ-shaped worldview correct the distortions that we have seen?

The world says God is keeping things from you and you need more. But the truth is that

You are Full in Christ… so you have plenty (9-10)

What have we learned about who christ is up to this point?

He is Lord of all creation

He is the cause and accomplisher of new creation

In him are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

Colossians 2:9–10 “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,”

So when I have Christ, I have access to fullness of God

All his benefits, all of his blessings, all of the fulfillment, all of the joy, all of the peace.

I don’t need more out there - I just need more of him - And I have access to him!

Listen to the way Douglas Moo puts it:

Colossians and Philemon 1. Spiritual Fullness in Christ (2:8–15)

All that human beings can know or experience of God is found in Christ, and so Christians, simply by virtue of being Christians, have access to all this knowledge and all these experiences. We need look nowhere else.

Friends:

You don’t need to look somewhere else for fulfillment and peace.

You don’t need to embrace the empty me-shaped worldview.

God is not keeping anything from you

In fact, in Christ you have access to it all!

So run to Christ

Know Christ

Live for Christ

And as you run to him and know him and live for him you will look more like him and be fully alive in him.

Next, the world says that you can be God and worship your own self-made identity, but the truth is that…

You are Raised in Christ… So you already have an identity (11-12)

Paul is going to use the Old Testament imagery of circumcision to make a New Testament point

What is circumcision?

A sign of belonging to the people of God (Genesis 17:10)

Not simply an external ritual - But an external sign that displayed an internal reality

You belonged to the people of God

So it was a physical action, a mark if you will, but it represented a deeper, internal reality that you belong to God

Paul is saying, “That pointed ahead to a time when you would be marked by Christ…”

Colossians 2:11 “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,”

To know what Paul is getting at, we have to track the images

There is a “marking” that happens when you trust in Jesus, when you follow him by faith

Your old self is cut off from you - It isn’t done physically with human hands, but spiritually by the transforming power of God in Christ

Friends, if you follow Jesus by faith, your old self has been cut off from you - It is not your identity anymore.

I know you think it is who you are still

I know you remember those things from long ago and you feel like they still cling to you, but they don’t

That old you was put to death and removed from you.

Colossians 2:12 “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Your old self is dead if you are in Christ - You have been brought to life as something new

And like circumcision in the OT, baptism is now the external display of that inward reality

You are buried with Christ in the likeness of his death

Raised with him in the likeness of his resurrection

Publicly and physically demonstrating that you are a new creation, with a new identity - And you belong to the people of god.

Paul puts it this way:

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God.”

What are you still holding on to from your old self?

What old identity are you still viewing yourself through?

Embrace the correction - You the old is gone. The new has come.

Finally, the world says “You do you” but do you know what you do you can’t provide?

Security.

When you do, you is present in a cancel culture society, then you only have the opinions of society as to whether or not you’re doing what you should be doing, and there is no way to know

until you are accused of some unforgivable sin by the masses.

and cancel culture is unforgiving to the extrem

But the correction this

You are Forgiven in Christ… so you have security (13-15)

Colossians 2:13–15 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

what did God accomplish to give us security?

He put any other authority, human or spiritual, to shame by defeating all other authority through Christ.

There is no more accusation that can be brought against you

He has forgiven you

And he has cancelled the record of debt

One theologian put it this way, “He has not only cancelled the debt, but also destroyed the document on which it was recorded.”

so there is no accusation that can be brought against you that will stick. You are forgiven in Christ if you follow him by faith and so you have security.

Listen to the way that Paul puts it at the end of Romans 8:31–39

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus …”

What record have you been holding against yourself? What insecurity have you been living in because you were embracing a me-shaped worldview?

Embrace the correction - You are forgiven… so you have security.

[Gospel Call]

[Close]

Jesus is enough - He is more than enough. He is everything.

He corrects the distortions and he commands that we walk in him.

And when we receive that command, reject the distortions, and embrace the corrections that he gives, we will be walking in Christ.

Amen.