Colossians 2:6-15 Rooted in Christ
Colossians 2:6-15 (Evangelical Heritage Version)
6Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7by being rooted and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith just as you were taught, while you overflow in faith with thanksgiving.
8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, which are in accord with human tradition, namely, the basic principles of the world, but not in accord with Christ. 9For all the fullness of God’s being dwells bodily in Christ. 10And you have been brought to fullness in him. Christ is the head over every ruler and authority. 11You were also circumcised in him, with a circumcision not done by human hands, in the putting off of the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, 12when you were buried with Christ in baptism. And in baptism you were also raised with him through the faith worked by the God who raised Christ from the dead.
13Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. 14God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ.
Rooted in Christ
I.
“Everyone’s a philosopher.” The word “philosophy” comes from a Greek word meaning “a love of wisdom.” At the core, human beings tend to consider life’s big questions. We form opinions on everything: existence, morality, meaning. Philosophy isn’t just some intellectual pursuit, confined to elite educational institutions—it’s something woven into everyday life.
A shopping trip at the grocery store is filled with philosophical questions and answers. Does this piece of fruit have the right coloring; is it ripe enough, or overripe; is it bruised? All your knowledge of fruit gets poured into picking just the right produce for your family.
Perhaps you pour all your knowledge and insight into a search for a new car. You carefully construct all your car-wisdom. New cars come with a warranty. Those who buy new are just paying all the depreciation. Quickly the debate moves from new or used to other facts about cars. Electric, hybrid, or regular? Perhaps you calculate your total cost of ownership based on fuel mileage, how long you will keep the vehicle, where and how you drive, and other considerations. Your choice is the best choice. Philosophically you know it.
How much philosophical consideration or discussion happens when people are contemplating God, and religion? Some people seem to spend hours looking for fruit, but never contemplate the truth about God and eternal life. Some people will contemplate trim lines of a particular vehicle, and gas mileage and mode of propulsion, and maintenance costs, and maybe insurance costs. Cars have vast differences, even from one trim level to another, to them. But perhaps all gods are alike to the same person. Some people look around at different schools, whether at the grade school, high school, or college level, and see vast differences between them, but think all religions are alike.
“Everyone’s a philosopher.” Paul said: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy... in accord with human tradition, namely, the basic principles of the world” (Colossians 2:8, EHV).
Philosophical questions and answers given from some sort of “human tradition” are nothing new. Think of some simple philosophies. You’ve tried diets, only to fail. You’ve listened various ideologies, only to see inconsistency when they are put into practice.
Just like people look for the piece of fruit or the car or school or diet or ideology that appeals to them, they begin to look for religious “philosophies” that appeal, too. We expect God’s glory to shine in obvious ways, but sometimes it doesn’t look all that impressive. What God says doesn’t match our expectations.
The very day after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, John pointed him out. John said: “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, EHV). At first glance, The Lamb of God didn’t seem very appealing. A lamb was sacrificed in the temple every day—two on Sabbath days—more on festival days. Lambs weren’t really that impressive. There must be something more. Maybe most of those who heard John and saw him point to Jesus didn’t think all that much of it—or him. Perhaps they glanced Jesus’ way, then turned their attention back to John and other matters closer at hand.
God’s glory doesn’t always look all that impressive to people shopping for religion, either. They want to compare all the specifications of all the religions. Do I need a better system, or deeper knowledge? Should I look for some sort of super religious experience to convince me that I’m on the right track? Is Christ enough?
II.
Back to what Paul says in today’s reading: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, which are in accord with human tradition, namely, the basic principles of the world, but not in accord with Christ” (Colossians 2:8, EHV). Paul calls the world’s version of philosophy—of religion, let’s say—empty deceit. Things that are not in accord with Christ.
Philosophy is dangerous if you only use your own wisdom. Philosophy encounters empty deceit when you use human logic. You add rules. You trust yourself and your own feelings. You manage your own sin—or excuse it.
You might convince yourself you are on the right track, but nothing has really changed. But the guilt is still there. Sin has not been excused; instead sin accuses.
Paul says the situation is worse than the “empty deceit” brought about by the world’s philosophies and human traditions. “You were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh” (Colossians 2:13, EHV). We are disqualified to stand before God by “The record of our debt brought against us by [God’s] legal demands. This record stood against us” (Colossians 2:14, EHV).
Had John the Baptist’s disciples been looking for philosophy and empty deceit and human traditions? Certainly they had been looking for answers to life’s deepest questions. John himself had explained his purpose: “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ just as Isaiah the prophet said” (John 1:23, EHV). John the Baptist was there to point to the Messiah God had promised. Empty deceit and human traditions weren’t what they were looking for. They wanted to learn more about God’s promised Messiah; they wanted to have him pointed out to them.
Another day later, and John the Baptist pointed to Jesus again. Two of his disciples followed Jesus. They asked: “Where are you staying?” (John 1:38, EHV). You could call that a “safe distance” question. They weren’t sure yet whether Jesus had the answers to their philosophical questions.
III.
“[Jesus] told them, ‘Come, and you will see’” (John 1:39, EHV).
Human wisdom, or human philosophy, can’t answer the biggest question of all: “How can a person be made right with God? How can God and I be reconciled?”
I have a book on my shelf—both my shelves, my digital one and the physical shelf—a book titled: The Two Natures in Christ. It’s 495 pages, not including the index. The whole book talks about Jesus’ two natures—he is both truly human and truly divine, both true man and true God.
Jesus had to be both. He had to be completely human to live under God’s law and keep it to the letter; he had to suffer and die at the hands of people. But having kept God’s law completely perfectly, a mere human being would only be able to earn heaven for one—himself. To make Jesus’ innocent suffering and death count for every human being who ever lived or ever will live, it was necessary that the Lamb of God be God himself. He had to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
That’s what this book says, in small print, in 495 pages. It’s laid out with passage after passage. The author throws in theological terms and Greek words and Hebrew words to punctuate a godly philosophy.
But the whole book boils down to what Paul says in today’s reading: “For all the fullness of God’s being dwells bodily in Christ” (Colossians 2:9, EHV). The two natures of Christ are right there. Jesus is both human and divine. That’s the kind of Savior you and I needed.
“Even when you were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ by forgiving us all our trespasses. 14God erased the record of our debt brought against us by his legal demands. This record stood against us, but he took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14, EHV).
Paul didn’t stop by telling you about the two natures of Christ, he explained what God did through his promised Messiah. Jesus was the Lamb of God John the Baptist spoke of. He was different from all the lambs that were sacrificed at the temple day after day. His sacrifice meant the end of sacrifices. His sacrifice was the one that was truly important—the one that truly counted. Jesus’ sacrifice means that the record of our debt of sin was taken away—nailed to the tree of the cross and marked “paid in full.” That’s what Jesus’ last words mean. Jesus said: “It is finished,” which was the way a bill of sale was marked paid in full.
Philosophy is just empty deceit, in accord with human tradition, the basic principles of the world, isn’t it? God’s real glory—the real truth, the real wisdom—is hidden under suffering. God’s power is hidden under weakness. Jesus, the Lamb of God, has taken away the sin of the world—in an event that looked anything but glamorous or glorious.
IV.
“Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, 7by being rooted and built up in him, and strengthened in the faith just as you were taught” (Colossians 2:6-7, EHV).
It’s human wisdom and empty deceit to think that you could ask Jesus to come into your life. You received him. You have been rooted in him. You are being built up in him as your faith continues to grow day by day.
“You were also circumcised in him, with a circumcision not done by human hands, in the putting off of the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, 12when you were buried with Christ in baptism. And in baptism you were also raised with him through the faith worked by the God who raised Christ from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12, EHV).
Circumcision was the Old Testament mark that a man was a member of God’s family. Baptism is the New Testament mark of being a child of God. But your baptism is more than just a mark. God the Holy Spirit took the old sinful nature in you, and buried it with Christ in the grave.
Luther says that this baptism means something in our daily lives as Christians: (The Meaning of Baptism for our Daily Life) “Baptism means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”
Baptism is a tangible preaching of the gospel—a person can see and touch the gospel in baptism. Still, if you are like me, you were baptized when you were very, very young. You don’t remember that tangible preaching of the gospel. But it’s there and it’s valid, none-the-less. You experience baptism’s effect in your life by daily walking your life of faith with Jesus.
But there is another tangible preaching of the gospel. Confirmed believers have the opportunity to receive that tangible preaching of the gospel today. Taste and see that the Lord is good in his body and blood, given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.
“After disarming the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them by triumphing over them in Christ” (Colossians 2:15, EHV). Jesus has triumphed over all your enemies—sin, death, and Satan himself.
You are rooted in Christ. His victory for you transforms your life to one of delight. Trust in the revealed wisdom of God. Bear witness to that revealed wisdom—the wisdom of your crucified and risen Lord—that others might know him. Amen.
