True or False

In Colossians 2, Paul urges us to fight philosophies of the mind and resist religions of the hands that short-circuit or circumvent the heart that is made new by faith in Jesus.

Let’s Read Colossians 2:1-7

Here we see kind of an overview of the chapter as Paul concludes his thoughts from the previous chapter and lays his foundation.

It is apparent that false teaching is rampant:

Mystery Religions, Gnosticism, Polytheism and Judaizers were all moving in on Colossae and Laodicea.

Mystery Religions were imbedded in the Polytheistic culture. Polytheism taught that there were many gods. Mystery religions described the worship of some of those gods through secret initiations that were immoral which led to secret revelations. (Think Mormonism, Masons/Shriners).

Gnosticism elevated knowledge and spiritual experience, again special revelation and secret knowledge. To oversimplify, “If we know better we will do better.” How many of us know better and don’t do better? How many know better ways to use God’s resources? How many feel they know how to eat better than they do? Even still, eating better may help us feel better or live a little longer, but it won’t give us perfect physiques that will never get sick or die. Of course that’s just the Gnostics point… Our bodies are evil and our spirits are good (Docetism).

This leads to two different views:

Enjoy our bodies to the fullest because they are evil and our spirits will be preserved (saved) regardless. (of course, greater revelation, regardless of how one lives will yield higher levels of salvation.

Beat and deny our bodies mercilessly because they are evil and must be brought into submission to gain levels and obtain greater revelation of mysteries and greater salvation.

We see those thought processes here in this chapter.

Judaizers were the Judeans (Jews) who attempted to make the Gentiles pass through Judaism to get to Christ.

There’s one more word to mention and that’s syncretism. That’s the mixture of cultures and religions. For our purposes, it’s mixing Christianity with their old dead religions/beliefs. For example, Christmas is celebrated through a mixture of ancient Persian, Roman, Germanic, and Nordic religious days and festivities with the Gospels of Luke and Matthew slapped onto them. It’s the most wonderful time of the year when you can hear Christian songs on secular radio and secular songs on Christian radio!

One Way: Jesus

In these letters Paul uses the same language as the false teachers mystery (Eph -6x; 1 Tim 2x; 1 Cor 5x; Col 4x), hidden things, fullness, revelation (revealed), ages, generations, wisdom.

Paul takes these words and uses them to point to Christ, that HE is the revelation, in HIM is the knowledge and wisdom and fullness, in fact, HE IS the fullness! in all generations! from age to age!

And oh yeah, the invisible God became the physical God. He covered all of that and GOT IT DONE! with no limitation of Deity, no elevation of flesh, no compromise of being, All God - All man, All Jesus! Jesus Jesus!

This He did from the Father, not as the Father, but the Father did through Him BY their Spirit - for the 3 are one and the one is 3.

Only one salvation from the curse that we are truly under sin and death.

Dead religion can’t bring life.

Greater knowledge and wisdom yields greater damnation not salvation.

You want mystery? We got mystery!

You want complexity - we have it beyond comprehension.

How? Through simplicity.

The impossible.

The weakest and most shameful and base symbol of the cross, became the most powerful tool in the hands of the living loving God, the Author of life who allowed justice for our sins to be brought through His body on the tree and He put all the pride and boastfulness of sin, guilt, shame, death, Satan, and every enemy of those He loves UNDER His victorious feet by raising from the dead. The cross defeated sin - resurrection defeated death!

Let’s Read Colossians 2:1-7

Don’t Be Deluded: Know Who Christ Is!

Let’s Read Colossians 2:8-15

Don’t Be Dragged Away as Captives: Know What Christ Has Done!

Paul is struggling for them to KNOW what they’ve already been told.

The irony of this passage is that he is writing from prison to convince them of their freedom in Christ! Don’t confuse this with a triumphalist Gospel that says you’ll always win at everything in life and always be healed and never face defeat or harsh things that you just don’t like!

Let’s Read Colossians 2:16-17

Don’t Be Discredited: Know Who You Are in Christ!

Let’s Read Colossians 2:18-23

Don’t Be Disqualified: Know What Christ is Doing Through You

This is not just freedom from sin in the typical sense and the freeing of our mortality - this is freedom from dead religion and works of the flesh! Freedom from the futility.

How quickly we want to run back to our old ways of measuring self and comparing with others to qualify ourselves somehow, as if it ever worked even one time in all of humanity.

Jesus doesn’t love you because you come to church. Because Jesus loves you - come to church!

You don’t have to - and you can’t prove anything to anyone - especially Him.

Know WHO He IS and WHAT He’s DONE and you can know WHO you ARE and WHAT to DO because of relationship with Him.

As Pastor Travis said when he was here, God will give you what you need. You can afford to love your neighbor AND your enemy because you are drawing from a bottomless and always full well of God’s eternal limitless love!