Captivity or Complete in Christ?

Intro

We are continuing our study on Colossians as we consider this subject of identity. Our identity is found in whatever is giving us this sense of being “enough.” Where does your “enoughness” come from, your fullness, your sense of worth, your happiness, your joy? It seems like every month, every week, every day, there is something new competing for our attention and our affections.

Last week it was the Super Bowl, a yearly event which not only disrupts the national calendar, but which can often become a great distraction for many of us as we get sucked into the players, politics on the teams, stats, commercials, what we’ll eat, and so on.

The week before that it was meme stocks and the market going crazy over GameStop and AMC. We can either get sucked into the excitement, hoping to make a quick buck, or we can be crushed with disappointment, that over our missed opportunity.

Today it might be romance, relationships, or the absence of, and feelings of loneliness, sadness, and loss.

Its always something, you know? Career achievement, the success of our children, financial stability...And as our hearts are being tugged in all of these different directions, our identity in Christ begins to fade. It’s kind of like an etch a sketch, you remember those? Felix just got one for Christmas. You use the knobs to draw a picture, and then you just have to give it a few shakes and the picture fades away.

Our identity can be a lot like that sometimes. We can think we’re well rooted in Christ, but all it takes is a few shakes, a few tugs in different directions, and our firm identity begins to crumble. When that happens, we quickly turn to other people or things to find our “enoughness.”

Last week, Charlie unpacked this command to stay rooted and grounded in Christ, that we might walk with him. In our passage this morning, we’ll see how when we are uprooted we can easily become captives of thoughts and ideas which lead us away from a firm identity in Christ. What we all need then, in response to these dangers, is a bigger and fuller picture of Christ’s work on our behalf and what he has won for us, which is exactly what Paul gives us in this text. So let’s consider the reading of God’s Word together now from Colossians 2:8-15:

Colossians 2:8–15 ESV

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 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. 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, 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. 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.

Verses 8 through 10 really summarize this passage well. In verse 8 we are commanded not to be taken captive, and the reason Paul gives in verse 10 is because we have already been filled, or as some translations say, completed, in Christ. The rest of the passage details what it means to be completed in Christ. So for our time together, we’re going to really chew on what Paul is getting at in verse 8 to see how we can avoid becoming captive to the things of this world. Then we will look at Verses 9 through 15 to see how we instead find our complete selves in Christ.

Captivity

Let’s look at the first part of verse 8 together. Following on the heels of his commands in verses 6 and 7, Paul exhorts us not to be taken captive. We’ll get into the rest of the verse in the moment. The idea here is that we, as God’s people, are in danger of being taken as plunder, like a thief carrying away their stolen treasures.

This idea is a common one throughout the Scriptures. Jeremiah gives us a vivid picture of what a captive is like in Chapter 2:13; they are like a broken cistern that seeks to be filled but can hold no water. We are like broken cisterns whenever we try to find life outside of Christ. This is why the Apostle Paul elsewhere exhorts us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds, so that we can discern the will of God and be found in him.

Now throughout this letter of Colossians, we have seen some indication that something fishy was going on in the church there. Paul keeps mentioning this idea of filled or fullness, we find it again twice in verses 9 and 10. The temptation for the church in Colossae was to find their fullness, to be made complete, in gods, people, or things other than Christ.

Unlike other letters in the New Testament, where the false teaching is fairly obvious to discern, the false teaching in Colossae is a little bit more difficult for us to parse out. That the false teaching here appears to be quite muddy is itself instructive for us. While we like to think wrong ideas about God or the world are easy to spot, often they’re not.

Verse 8 gives us the clearest picture of what this false teaching may have been. It is important that we understand this verse correctly. Is Paul condemning all kinds of philosophy? If so, many of us are in trouble, because our jobs relate to different schools of philosophy of some kind! Is he condemning all kinds of traditions? If so, I’m in trouble, because we Presbyterians are very fond of our tradition.

It has not been uncommon for some Christians to turn to this verse as a total condemnation of basically any idea that cannot be explicitly taken out of Scripture. As a result, they condemn any and all forms of secular art, science, philosophy, or various Christian traditions. Yet, the historic teaching of the Church, especially in our Reformed and Presbyterian tradition, is that God has gifted all people, Christian or not, with natural gifts that can benefit the common good. So far from having a low and negative view toward these things, we encourage Christians to appreciate the contributions of all art, science, civil law, and so on - so long as they promote godliness and the common good.

So let’s try and dig into a better understanding of verse 8. After instructing us not to be taken as captive plunder, Paul describes the false teaching as “the philosophy and vain deceit.” Taken by itself, this phrase doesn’t really tell us much. We have a very narrow view of philosophy today, and tend to think of particular schools of thought, such as Locke, Rousseau, or Marx. But in Paul’s day, philosophy had a much broader range. Anything that had to do with ideas about God, people, or the world, was considered a philosophy. So even Judaism would’ve been considered a philosophy by many. So it is not all philosophy which Paul condemns, but that which deceives us about who God is.

Paul helpfully gives us 3 characteristics of this empty, deceitful philosophy in Colossae. First, it is according to human tradition. It’s likely that this is referring to an emphasis on Jewish tradition, such as circumcision, which Paul addresses in verse 11, as well as special days and food restrictions, which Paul will address in verses 16-18.

Second, this philosophy is according to the elemental spirits of the world. There is some debate over what exactly Paul means here. Some think he’s addressing the worship of angels, others believe he is addressing the temptation to turn the elements - wind, fire, water - into gods that are worshipped. In either case, Paul is addressing what would’ve been the pagan influence of turning away from worshipping God alone to worshipping a collection of gods.

Third, it is a philosophy that is not according to Christ as they had been taught. This philosophy was deceitful, but the gospel which had been delivered to this church is both true and reliable Paul said in 1:5. This philosophy was empty, but the gospel of Jesus Christ is powerful and transforming he said in 1:6 and 23.

Christ is the one in whom truth, light, and life are found. But what had happened was the church in Colossae was being tricked by some spiritual hucksters who had combined parts of Christianity, Judaism, and pagan worship into some confusing mixture that was similar enough to lead this church astray.

Our oldest has recently been getting more into Play doh. And what has been frustrating for me and my tidy obsessions is that he has no problem combining all the colors into one big hodge podge. It’s not even worth trying to keep them separated I’ve realized, and I have to just let him combine them all into an ugly mess. The end result is still recognizable as play-doh, but it’s not at all true to its original colors anymore.

That’s a little bit like what these tricksters were doing in Colossae. This deceitful philosophy was just recognizable enough, but had become so mixed with these other ideas that it was no longer true to Christ.

You see my friends, this is why Paul was so strong about our need to be rooted in Christ. Because it is not just the obvious false teaching that is tempting to us; you know, the relativism, prosperity gospels, and so on. It’s the little stuff, the subtle stuff, that can become infused with our Christian faith, slowly driving us away from Christ.

Now I’m guessing for us, we might not be tempted to worship the elements, or angels, or to become preoccupied by ancient traditions. However, if you’re anything like me, then you can acknowledge that there are subtle thoughts and forces which we try to reconcile our Christian faith with. Subtle thoughts or tugs in different directions, where we try to find out identity in Christ…plus a few other things mixed in. What verse 8 is telling us is that when that happens, when we begin to find our fullness and our enoughness elsewhere, we have become captives. We’ve been plundered.

So how can we avoid becoming captives to that which would lead us away from Christ? I think this is where we might sometimes wish the Bible gave us a “how-to” guide. But life is too complex for “how-tos”, which is why we don’t need a list to keep but wisdom to live by. So as I was applying this text to my own life this week, I wrote down several questions to ask myself that were helpful for me, and I hope will be helpful for you.

These questions helped me see where I am tempted to become captive to thoughts and ideas that drive me away from Christ.

What easily frustrates you right now? What makes you impatient? Is there someone you work with, or a family member, who just really gets to you? Maybe it’s something in the news that just gets you wound up very quickly. Why is that? Could it be that you’ve bought into an empty or deceitful idea about yourself, or about someone else?

What do your thoughts dwell on most right now? When you’re just trying to watch TV, or drive in the car, or fall asleep at night, is there a common thread to where your thoughts tend to go? Could it be that you’ve begun to find your identity or sense of worth in some place other than Christ?

What do you fear? There is so much fear in the world right now, and many people would happily sell you on fear so you buy into their agenda. Is it world events? Maybe you fear that the church in the Unites States is doomed? Maybe you just feel a constant, low-grade paranoia at all times. Fear is often a good diagnostic that reveals where we might have put false hope or trust.

Who is your enemy? Related to number 3, have you started to turn others into the villain in your story? As the prophet Yoda said, fear leads to anger, and anger leads to hate. What might you be so defensive about that you might turn another person or group into an enemy? Perhaps there is a fragile identity that you are motivated to protect at all costs.

What is drawing you away from the means of grace? We use this term “means of grace” to describe how the Scriptures say God is typically at work in and among his people. The means of grace include the ministry and teaching of God’s Word, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, prayer, receiving the care of elders and deacons, church membership and participation in the life of God’s people, and so on. Is there anything in your life right now thats drawing you away from these things? Is it apathy? Fatigue? anger? What might these things reveal about our thoughts of God?

Those are some questions that were helpful for me this week, and I hope they’re helpful for you.

Listen, whatever it is that you may be feeling, whatever it is you may be thinking falsely about God, whatever it is that may be driving you away from Christ, I promise you that in some degree or another, I’ve probably felt it too. I know that it is really hard to stay rooted in Christ right now. I feel it too. But if there was ever a time for us to press into Christ and to one another, it’s now. Christ is worth it. Our fullness is found there.

So let us see to it that we are not taken captive by pressing into Christ together. He is worth it, and we will only be complete in him.

Complete in Christ

In verses 9 through 15 we find one of the most powerful passages in all of Scripture. In verse 9, Paul says that in Christ the fullness of God dwells bodily, clearly referring to Christ’s incarnation. Christ is completely God, come in the flesh. While the spiritual tricksters believed there were different spiritual forces at play to give our attention and allegiance to, Paul is reminding the church that we have something better. We have Christ, the revelation of God.

And just as Christ is the fullness of God, we who believe in him are filled in Him, or as it could also be translated in verse 10, we have been made complete in Him. In verses 11-15, we find two astounding ways that Christ has made us complete.

First, is the new life in Christ (11-13). When we put our faith in Christ, we have died to our old selves and been given a new life in Christ. Our text breaks this down in three ways.

First, through the image of circumcision. In the Old Testament, the physical sign of circumcision was to be a sign that you belonged to God. But throughout the Old Testament, there was a foreshadowing that the physical sign of circumcision must be completed with a kind of inward circumcision of the heart. So Deuteronomy 30:6 says,

Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

In other words, God was after not just an outward physical marker, but a deeper spiritual reality, a heart that had been renewed to love him. So what Paul is saying here is that when we put our faith in Christ, that is exactly what Christ does for us. We are given a circumcision not made with hands, but we receive the circumcision of Christ, whereby our body of flesh has been stripped off. This is likely similar to the idea which Paul conveyed in Romans 6:6, which says:

Romans 6:6 ESV

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

You see, Christ does a mighty work in those who trust in him. When we come to him and confess our sin to him, he does not merely forgive us, but he creates a new heart within us, such that it could be said that old, sinful self has been stripped from us. We do not belong to the old self anymore. We have a new self, created in and for Christ.

Next, verse 12 says we are buried with Christ in baptism. This verse is one of the most important verses for our theology of baptism, and if we were doing a topical sermon on baptism I would spend more time unpacking that for you. But the quick summary is that in verses 11 and 12 we see a close link between the signs of circumcision and baptism. While formerly God’s people were marked by the physical sign of circumcision, that sign has been completed in what Christ has done and given to us, and we now identify with him in baptism, signifying that we have died to sin and have been raised to new life with him. Just as circumcision was meant to point to deeper spiritual realities of the heart, so too does baptism point to deeper spiritual realities of having a life that is now united to Christ. His death was our death, his resurrection is our resurrection.

Third, verse 12 says that we have been raised with Christ through faith. You see, we have not merely died to our old selves. We have not merely been given a fresh start. We have been raised to new life, united to Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit to live a new life that is pleasing to God. When Christ was raised, we were raised with him. Ephesians 2:6 says that God has not only raised us with Christ but has seated us with him in the heavenly places. Our new life is now hidden with Christ, kept secure in him.

What does it mean to be made complete in Christ? New heart, dead to sin, raised to new life, kept secure in Christ. Can you believe that? And here is what this means. This means that your old self, the sinful self, it’s dead. Dead dead. In the ground. Whatever effects of sin that linger in your life, whatever sinful patterns you still have, whatever addictions even that you still might struggle with, those things aren’t the real you. Yes, they’re you, but not the real you. The real you has died to sin and has been raised to new life. The real you is seated in the heavenly places with Christ.

But our old selves linger, and they haunt us like a phantom. But listen, when you’re tempted to be drawn away from Christ, when you’re tempted to fall back into those old habits or patterns, it’s so important that you’re able to see that struggle for what it really is. It’s your old self calling you back. Don’t listen. That old me, that angry me, that bitter Ben, who still shows himself every now and then, that’s the old me.

I’ve been made complete in Christ. He is my portion, he is my enoughness. He is my identity. You’ve been made complete in Christ circumcision of the heart.

He is your portion, he is enough. He is your identity. Your old self has been stripped off, and you have been buried and raised to new life with Christ. This is your true identity, your true self.

But there’s more. Not only has Christ given us new life, but he has won a victory for us over the power of sin, guilt, and shame. Look at 13-15. Not only has our old self died, but Christ has forgiven us of all our sin, and the debt which we owed to God because of our sin has been done away with. That sense that we don’t measure up, that we’re not enough? That comes from the knowledge of sin, that we haven’t measured up to God’s good and holy law. But that debt of sin we accrued from not measuring up, Christ purchased it by nailing it to his cross. The debt is gone, and we have been set free into a world where our sin, shame, and guilt no longer have power over us. Look at verse 15.

Christ disarmed the sinful and demonic forces of this world, putting them to shame. His victory is our victory. Those sins, those temptations, those forces which might have pull over us, Christ has defeated.

We walk in his victory not when we try to rely on our own strength or self-sufficiency again, not when we try to make ourselves measure up, but when we set our hearts on Christ, when we root ourselves in him, who alone can make us complete, who alone can fill us, who alone has given us the victory over sin. His victory is our victory now.

So when you look at your life, and you survey all those thoughts or forces or sins that would take you captive as plunder, pulling you away from Christ, remember this. You are already complete in Christ. He is enough. He is our new identity. He has filled you with a new heart, and that old self is dead. He has taken your sin debt and nailed it to the cross. And he has won a victory over those sins and forces, that we might walk triumphantly with him.

O thou, my soul, forget no more

The Friend Who all thy sorrows bore;

Let every idol be forgot; but O my soul, forget Him not.

Let’s pray.

We are coming together to the Lord’s Supper now. If you’ll be joining us under the portico, now might be a good time to head out to join us here.

Let me just say a couple words before we partake of this Supper together. First, if you’re listening in at home, or you’re here right now, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, I just want to say that I am so glad you’ve taken the time to join us and consider who Jesus is and what he has done. My prayer for you this morning is that maybe through this time together, God has stirred your heart to see how unsatisfying the things of this world can be, and how firm of an identity Christ would be for you. My hope is that maybe you’ve come to an awareness of your own sin, and all of the ways you try to make an identity for yourself, it’s just not enough. And so if that’s you this morning, I just want to say, don’t ignore that feeling. It’s what we call conviction. It’s from the Lord. So I would invite you to turn to him, and ask for help to make sense of that conviction.

Many of us are about to partake in this meal called the Lord’s Supper together. ANd if you’re here right now, or planning to come to the portico, and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, I would ask you not to eat the bread or drink the juice. This isn’t to be exclusive, but it is because without faith, this bread or juice is of no benefit to you. Instead I would ask you to pray and receive Christ this morning. If you have any questions about what that means, please just reach out to one of us at the church and we’d love to talk to you about it.

For those of you who confess Christ as Lord and who are planning to partake in this meal with us, I hope and pray your hearts are encouraged this morning. As we come to the table together, let us feed on Christ and be filled by him afresh. Maybe you need to take a moment to think through what you’ve heard this morning, but do not hesitate to come to this table with us. This meal is not for perfect Christians. There’s no such thing. This table is for Christians who desire to find their fullness in Christ, and Christ alone. May he strengthen each of us now as we come and eat at his table.