Colossians - All I Need Is Christ!

Why Colossians?

Scientific Age -

Did Christ have a part in Creation?

Colossians 1:16 KJV 1900

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Practical Age -

Does Christ Work?

Does Christ have the power to change a life?

Is peace obtainable?

Does Christ give joy?

Does Christ give the meaning to life?

Colossians 1:22 KJV 1900

22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Ecumenical Age

Everything is being pushed to a one-world church, the super church.

Can there be true unity without true doctrine?

Can we really merge everybody religiously on the basis of culture and social?

Colossians 1:18 KJV 1900

18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Age of No Authority -

Colossians 2:6–7 KJV 1900

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:10 KJV 1900

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Colossians 3:3 KJV 1900

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:12 KJV 1900

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Age of No Absolutes -

We have in our world the religion of man, the religion of the human mind; no rules, no absolutes, just experience, fluctuating ethics, idol making. And Jesus is just another guru, like all the rest. His word is not absolute, His truth is not binding, He is not the one true God.

Colossians 1:15 KJV 1900

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

Colossians 2:9 KJV 1900

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Age of Broken Relationships -

People today are looking for meaningful relationships and fulfilling relationships. We see social media flourishing.

However, many people are desperately unfulfilled.

People are lonely. We are totally unrelated in a meaningful way to anybody, even our wives, husbands, parents, marriages, families, people that work together and worship together.

Our society has a very difficult time building bridges to one another.

Colossians speaks about relationships, Marriage, children, fathers, servants, employees, and even employers.

Relationships, what they are and how they work.

Lastly

Eschatological Age -

Colossians speaks of our destiny,

Colossians 1:12 (KJV 1900)

12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

of a coming Kingdom.

Colossians 1:13 (KJV 1900)

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

and about our future.

Colossians 3:4 KJV 1900

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Colossians is therefore, very practical and critical for today.

Colossians is about Christ.

The creator and sustainer of the universe.

Christ is the one true head of the one true church, His own body.

Christ is the all sufficient Savior, the source of unity.

Christ is the only authority, the image of the invisible God, the pre-eminent one in the universe, the embodiment of divine fullness, the source of all knowledge and all wisdom.

Christ can change your life miraculously and totally.

Christ can give you love, joy, peace, and forgiveness.

Christ can give you a new capacity for living life to the fullest.

Christ is the source of true love and understanding.

Christ builds families, marriages, and friendships.

Christ is the beginning and Christ is the end, the hope, the climax, the coming King, the one in which all history revolves.

When comparing Colossians with the letter the Ephesus, Ephesians portrayed the “church of Christ.”

Colossians portrays the “Christ of the church”

Ephesians focuses on the body; Colossians focuses on the head.

In Philippians we learned Joy comes in the single, submitted, spiritual mindset on Jesus Christ that will bring peace into the life of the believer. But Colossians shows us that God’s Word is not just to provide us with information for the mind, but to bring about personal transformation to the body.

Colossians clarifies Christ as being preeminent, first and foremost in everything and as such, the believer should live that priority in their life.

So, today, lets meet the author and recipients of this letter.

Colossians 1:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

The Writer - Paul.

The Call of God - an apostle of Jesus Christ.

Apostle –

SENT by the authority of Christ (perform miracles)

SPEAK accordingly for Christ – (write scriptures)

START churches for Christ – (found churches)

The book of Acts stipulates three qualifications for the office of apostle: Acts 1:21-22

He had to be a personal DISCIPLE of Jesus during His earthly ministry.

He had to be an EYE-witness of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

He had to be CALLED by Jesus Himself personally.

Unique call - Damascus Road, blinded with his own vision of His glory and told to go to the Gentiles.

He was a sent one, as an apostle, he received direct revelation from God and gave it to His people.

The Conformity to God - by the will of God.

Acts 9:6–8 (KJV 1900)

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.

Acts 9:15–20 (KJV 1900)

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

Not only was Paul called by God and that Paul Conformed to God, He couldn’t do everything he did, especially the suffering without

The Companionship for God - and Timothy our brother.

We need companions.

The men that Journeyed with Paul - led him to Damascus.

Ananias laid hands on Paul - giving him back his sight along with the immersion of the Holy Spirit.

By specifically in this letter, He mentions Timothy.

Paul mentions 4 times the Timothy was a son in the faith in 1 and 2 Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

My own son in the faith – an endeared child.

Here in our text this morning and in 5 other places, Paul calls him a brother.

Colossians 1:1 (KJV 1900)

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

Timothy is also described as Paul’s:

• “Fellow worker” (Rom 16:21; 1 Thess 3:2)

• “Bond-servant” (Phil 1:1)

• “Beloved and faithful child in the Lord” (1 Cor 4:17)

• Coequal in the Lord’s work (1 Cor 16:10; 1 Thess 3:2)

Timothy ministered along side of the Apostle Paul for about 10 years.

Remember what Paul said of Timothy in Philippians.

Philippians 2:19–23 (KJV 1900)

19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.

20 For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.

22 But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.

23 Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.

Timothy was a companion of Paul when he started 2 Corinthians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

Timothy was also 1 of 3 people to receive a personal letter that is secured in Scripture along with Titus and Philemon. His last recorded personal letter recorded was also to Timothy encouraging him to Keep on Keeping On.

Teach the Word of God and Preach the Word of God with Boldness.

Now that we know the author and his companion, lets look at

The Recipients - Colosse

Colossians 1:2 (KJV 1900)

2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Best known as the destination of the epistle to the Colossians, this place name occurs in the NT only in the superscription of the letter and in the epistolary greeting (Col 1:2). Colossae was located in the territory of Phrygia in the Roman province of Asia Minor about 120 miles E of Ephesus. Situated near the Lycus river at the foot of Mt. Cadmus (Honaz Dagi; elevation, 8,435 feet), Colossae was only 11 miles SE of Laodicea and 15 miles S SE of Hierapolis.

The ancient site was discovered in 1835 by explorer W. J. Hamilton. Surveys of the unexcavated site give evidence of an acropolis and a theater on the S bank of the Lycus river and a necropolis and the remains of other ancient buildings on the N bank.

Their Call - To the saints

There are the saints (hagios), that is, holy, within the church.

The word saint in the original Greek has no ethical or moral meaning at all. It has no righteous character in its terminology. It has no moral significance, it has no ethical significance, it simply means set apart one … a separated one.

We speak of a church as a holy place.

Now, that doesn’t mean that the brick and the stone and the wood has some kind-of ethical quality, it doesn’t mean this is moral mortar. No.

What it means is it’s holy only in the sense that this has been set apart for the use of God’s people.

We speak of the Bible so often and we say the “Holy Book.” The paper is not ethically different than any other paper, and the ink doesn’t have any moral quality at all, but when we say it’s a Holy Book, we mean of all the books in the world this book has been set aside as the one single book through which God conveyed His truth. It’s set apart from all other books.

We come to the Lord’s table sometime and we take the bread and we say—“This is holy bread.” Well, it isn’t any different than any other ordinary bread, but it has been set apart as a symbol of Jesus Christ.

Holy simply means set apart. You know what a Christian is? He’s holy. That does not make, necessarily, an ethical or moral statement about him; it simply says he has been set apart from the world of ordinary people to belong to God.

Now whether or not he is genuinely holy is something that has to be examined-to see whether he’s living up to the fact that he is set apart.

They had separated themselves from the world and had turned to the Lord Jesus to save them.

However, some saints or believers may or may not continue on with the Lord Jesus.

Some in the Colossian church were not continuing on. They were not fully committed. Their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ was lacking. Therefore, they were running the risk of falling into the error of false teaching and turning away from Christ.

“To the saints,” and then he narrows it a little more, “and faithful brethren.”

He is speaking of …

Their Conformation - Faithful Brethren

Now, I’m not only talking of the saints, but I’m talking to the ones that have been faithful. I’m talking to the ones that have been loyal, and that’s the idea here. It’s as if it would be translated this way, and this can be done because kai can be translated this way, “To the saints even the faithful brethren.” It’s not the saints over here and the faithful brethren over here, as if there’s an adverse meaning; it’s the saints, even the faithful brethren.

The faithful set them apart from the unfaithful saints.

The Contrast - Unfaithful.

Epaphras, the pastor of Colossae has made his way to Paul while Paul was imprisoned in Rome. Epaphras had to share some good things and some bad things with Paul that would cause him to write this letter to send back to the people at Colossae.

Paul’s letter is going to deal with 2 major heresies found in this area and also are problems we face even today.

First of all, it was coming from paganism.

Those people were living on the verge of paganism all the time. You know, in that one region, historians tell us that the deities such as Cybele, Men, Issus, Serapis, Helios, Selene, Demeter and Artimus dominated the worship of the people. I mean, there were gods, … plenty of them. And the basic evil that faced that church was a relapse into paganism. For the most part, they were new Christians and the pull of the darkness and the sensuality of the old life was strong.

Paul warns don’t go back.

For example,

Colossians 1:23 (KJV 1900)

23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Colossians 2:6 (KJV 1900)

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Colossians 3:2 (KJV 1900)

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

But, there was another thing, that was Satan. The world and the flesh pulls and so does Satan, and while the vice, the world and the flesh, pulls the body, Satan pulls the mind. We studied the importance of a single, submitted, spiritual mind in Philippians.

Satan is disguised as an angel of light and so here they’ve got vice pulling their lust, the lust of their body, and they’ve got false doctrine pulling their minds. Satan came in and sowed his false doctrine. And that becomes the real heartbeat of Paul’s writing to counteract false doctrine.

And this false doctrine, let me give it to you very simply, this false doctrine basically had two features. We don’t know what brand it is, we don’t have any title for it, it really isn’t any particular system that we know about historically, but I’ll define it for you. This false doctrine that Satan was beginning to spread, or at least going to try to spread in Colossae, had two basic features: number one, it included a false philosophy … 2:8,

Christ plus KNOWLEDGE equals salvation

Colossians 2:8 (KJV 1900)

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

The Greeks loved knowledge. They literally gloated over what they knew, and the higher you got in knowledge and the more difficult you were to understand, and the further you got spaced out with strange, weird understanding, the more snobbish you became.

The heretics were saying this: they were saying, “The simplicity of the gospel is not adequate.” Now listen. The simplicity of the gospel is not adequate. Jesus Christ is not enough; you must have elaborate knowledge in addition to having Him.

Salvation is Christ plus knowledge equals salvation. They claimed secret visions, 2:18,

Colossians 2:18 (KJV 1900)

18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

You know what it was? Here’s what was happening. This guy’s pretending to see a vision, and he comes and says—I have seen a vision … I have seen the supernatural—and he assumes an air of deep insight into divinely revealed mysteries, see. And he prides himself on his superior knowledge and this is what became later gnosticism, from gnosis to know … superior knowledge.

It isn’t gnosticism yet because gnosticism isn’t really defined for many years after this, but here are the seeds of it, intellectual snobbery. Somebody was saying it isn’t enough to know Jesus, you can’t defeat the powers of the emanating demons, you can’t crack the barriers to get to the divine realm by Jesus alone, you’ve got to have superior knowledge. And so, they were talking about weird philosophies, and they were intruding, verse 18 says, “Into things they had seen and their fleshly mind was being puffed up.” Jesus isn’t adequate. You see, Jesus, they believed, was one of the emanations.

Here’s what they believed.

God was good.

God was Spirit.

Matter was evil.

Remember that? That’s the same as the Gnostics.

How could God-good create matter-evil?

He couldn’t, so you know what God did? He just spawned off a whole bunch of sub-gods and they kept going and going and going and going and going and going and finally down here they started getting bad and got worse and worse and worse and then a really gross one created matter. And God was so far removed that He had nothing to do with it.

You know who Jesus was? He was in line up here, one of the good issues to come forth and the bad ones were the demons. And between man and God was this barrier of evil demons and the only way you could ever get through that was to have super-knowledge and to worship the good emanations who could help you get through. That’s why they worshipped angels, because they felt they needed the angels to crack through to get to the divine realm and Jesus was one of those angels. He wasn’t enough, you had to know more than just Him. He wasn’t God, He was sub-God, He was an emanation.

This later became, as I said, fully developed into Gnosticism. Jesus was a good emanation. Some of them said He was a phantom, and that’s why Paul says in 1:22 that:

Colossians 1:22 (KJV 1900)

22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

He did this. And in 2:9, he says:

Colossians 2:9 (KJV 1900)

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Now, this philosophy said Jesus can’t save you. Jesus plus knowledge … you need the help of Jesus but don’t forget you need all the other angels you can get too, so worship them all … cause when you start to crack through that bad group of there of emanations, you’re going to need some good emanations to kind of run as pulling guards for you, and that’s why they worshipped angels. Look at 2:18, it says right in the middle:

Colossians 2:18 (KJV 1900)

18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,

… They were worshipping good emanations.

You know what this philosophy attacked, beloved? It attacked this. It attacked the deity of Jesus Christ. Did it not? Head on—and do you know that becomes the theme of this letter?

Jesus is God

Colossians 1:15 KJV 1900

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

the pre-eminent one in creation.

Colossians 1:27 (KJV 1900)

27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Colossians 1:28 (KJV 1900)

28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Listen, what is he saying? He’s saying Christ is God and Christ is all you need. You don’t need anything else.

Chapter 2:3, “You don’t need anymore knowledge, for in Christ are hidden … what?… all the treasures of … what?… wisdom and knowledge.”

Colossians 2:3 (KJV 1900)

3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:9 (KJV 1900)

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Colossians 2:19 (KJV 1900)

19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.

In other words, he just keeps saying—Christ is God and Christ is sufficient and you don’t need anything else. No greater claims were ever made in any other epistle than are made in this epistle for Christ. Philosophy isn’t necessary, He’s all you need. Right? Not Christ plus knowledge equals salvation.

There’s a second factor in this heresy. The first one was false philosophy, the second was Judaistic ceremony, legalism.

Christ plus WORKS equals salvation.

Now, you say—Well, that’s a strange bedfellow for Greek philosophy. You’re right, but it was there. Somehow this strange heresy was a combination of Greek philosophy and Jewish ceremonialism, or legalism. Look at 2:11.

Some of them were saying you had to be circumcised to be saved:

Colossians 2:11 (KJV 1900)

11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

You don’t need a circumcision … what … what was this part of the heresy saying? Watch. Christ plus works equals salvation.

The philosophy said Christ plus knowledge equals salvation, this is Christ plus works … and God says—Christ plus nothing equals salvation. That’s the message of Colossians.

The Colossians had some people sitting on their doorstep who were just about as mixed up. They talked about Christ, but it was Christ plus some super-knowledge. They had not only all of the philosophy that was into their heresy in Colossae, but they had all of the Jewishlegalism. What a mess.

But, the one attack was this—Satan had concerted all of this hodgepodge to attack … what?… the sufficiency of … whom?… Christ. And that’s always where he attacks. And listen to Paul’s response in Colossians 2:9

Colossians 2:9 KJV 1900

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

listen to me, “and you are … what?…

Colossians 2:10 (KJV 1900)

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Isn’t that beautiful? There’s the answer.

You want to know God? Christ is the image of God.

You want knowledge? In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

You want to be accepted by God? Worship Christ not angels or celestial intercessors.

You want to fulfill God’s will? Don’t fool with the shadow, the substance is Christ.

You want holiness? It doesn’t come from abusing your body, it comes from setting your affections on Him.

Christ is…

Colossians 3:11 (KJV 1900)

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

This is the message of Paul to the church at Colossae, Paul’s masterpiece on Christ.

Their Commendation - Grace and peace.

Colossians 1:2 (KJV 1900)

2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we are confronted with this mess and mixture of beliefs, life’s 2 most important needs are Grace and Peace.

Grace to know we are not perfect but chosen, adopted, and loved.

Peace to know the no matter what we have a relationship with a Father that loves us and will care for us if we seek Him.

Who were the recipients of the letter to the Colossians, and where were they located?

What were the two major heresies that Paul addressed in the letter to the Colossians?

How did Paul describe the relationship between Christ and knowledge in contrast to the false philosophy present in Colossae?

What were the three qualifications for the office of apostle according to the book of Acts?

Why did Paul specifically mention Timothy in the letter to the Colossians?

In what ways can we ensure that our commitment to Christ is strong and unwavering in the face of false teachings and worldly distractions, like the Colossians faced with paganism and false philosophy?

How can we apply the concept of being set apart for God (holy) in our daily lives, just like the saints in Colossae were called to be?

Reflecting on the heresies of Christ plus knowledge and Christ plus works that the Colossians faced, how can we ensure that we rely solely on Christ for our salvation and not on human knowledge or works?

What can we learn from the example of Timothy's faithful companionship to Paul and the importance of strong Christian friendships in our own lives?

How can we guard ourselves against the pull of false teachings and worldly philosophies, similar to how the Colossians were warned about the dangers of mixing pagan beliefs and legalistic practices with their faith in Christ?