Rooted and Established (2)
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Shadows vs. Substance
Shadows vs. Substance
Paul’s tone in this passage is urgent; He wants to make it abundantly clear to the Colossian church that the false teachers among them have no connection to Christ or his body. The Colossians do not have to listen to those who would try to tell them they must observe the regulations of self-imposed religion. The apostle wants the Colossians to know that in Jesus, they have everything they need to walk with Jesus, for sanctification and to resist the desires of their sinful nature.
The main point:
Paul teaches the Colossian Christians that in Jesus they have everything they need to:
Walk with Jesus in daily life
Experience sanctification through God’s power alone
Resist the desires of their sinful nature
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
A. False teachers brought accusation without foundation. v. 16-17
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Shadows of concern:
Things we can’t do: eating, drinking, etc.
Things we must do: observe a festival, holiday or sabbath
The real issue:
Shadow defined as: “A dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an solid object. It occupies all of the dimensional space behind an object, but has no mass itself. It infers presence, but is otherwise inconsequential.”
Substance is found in Christ.
Now that Jesus has defeated the enslaving spiritual forces of evil, the Colossians do not have to listen to the empty threats of false teachers who insist that they must follow their strict religious practices. These practices have served their purpose. They were a mysterious shadow, vaguely outlining the figure that we can now clearly see. They were signposts pointing ahead to the reality that was to come. This Reality has come to us in the person of Jesus. In Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, heaven has begun to invade earth; God’s new creation has broken out into the world through Christ.
Check out verse 17 again:
Colossians 2:17 (NIV)
17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
This statement from Paul is quite radical and striking. He, in essence, is saying “If you are still trying to ‘fill-out’ the Colossians spiritual experience, then you are living as if Christ has not yet come. So it is YOU, with your claims to be superior, who are still living in the shadows!”— R.C. Lucas, commentary: The message of Colossians and Philemon.
B. False teachers suggested righteousness without relationship. v. 18-19
18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.
Asceticism defined: “severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.”— Dictionary.com
The false prophets in Colossae have presented themselves as super-spiritual sages with access to hidden wisdom and knowledge. They deny themselves worldly pleasures and boast with great detail about their supposed visions of the supernatural realm.
Much like the pharisee that Jesus describes in Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus uses this, and several other examples in his teaching to help us realize the “upside down” nature of the Gospel— this good news is not based on what we DO— but rather on what Jesus has DONE.
19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
These false teachers make themselves out to be great spiritual masters but are not connected to Christ or his body, the church. They are suggesting that a “righteousness” can be attained, somehow without Jesus. It is only through relationship to Jesus and participation in his body that we can grow into the mature disciples that God wants us to be. Once again— our growth and sanctification happens in Christ, from the inside - out.
C. False teachers propose a religion without results. v. 20-23
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?
The word “submit” here in this verse is “dogmatizo”--- Remember that— it’s where we get our English word, Dogmatic— or Dogma.
Paul exposes the rules of wrong religion.
If the spiritual forces of evil were already dealt a fatal blow through Jesus’ death on the cross, why should the Colossians, who are united with Christ in his death, continue to be bound to the religious rules of mere humans?
Some scholars believe that Paul is actually mocking some of their current practices. It is believed that they had these types of “rules” in their teachings.
21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.
Jesus taught us directly along these same lines of thinking:
18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
I’m a pastor, I’ve been a person of authority- even on the basketball court, people around me often don’t want to say a bad word around me— It slips out and people say “Oh - so sorry pastor, I don’t know where that came from”— I know where it came from! It came from your heart. There’s an old saying where I come from— “If it’s in the well, it’s going to come up in the bucket!”. We all can struggle with that… My suggestion is that you join me in trying to get as much Jesus in the very bottom of my heart— so that when I’m provoked—he’s all that comes out…
I want to explore this Dogma, Doctrine, Opinion issue a little bit. Remember that word in verse 20— Submit— “Dogmatizo”
The heart of this conflict for the Colossians— and sometimes for us is that often, we impose our own bias and assumption to the practice of our faith. WE try to treat something like “Dogma” when it really isn’t that at all.
Dogma: divinely revealed truth, declared by the church to be the most essential contents of faith.
The Apostles Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Doctrine: practical church teaching in matters of faith and morals.
Confessions of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective: Article 13: Foot washing (commentary)
3. Among our congregations, some practice foot washing, while others have discontinued the practice or have never observed it. Congregations are encouraged to practice foot washing when it is a meaningful symbol of service and love for each other. "Washing the feet of the saints" (1 Timothy 5:10) is one way of representing Christ to each other in acts of hospitality, service, and love.
Opinion: a judgement, viewpoint, or statement that is not necessarily conclusive.
Politics is a nasty business, and Christians should not get involved with it.
Moving any belief or conclusion to another category is problematic and causes conflict. We experience this all the time! Someone thinks that “shadow” is actually “substance”— concluding that we should believe and act a specific way.
Paul exposes the results of wrong religion.
23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
Man made rules and regulations may give only the appearance of a strong faith.
Man made regulations cannot truly conquer our sinful nature, only Jesus can!
The Christian life is an ongoing battle. Christians fight an internal tug-of-war between our renewed spiritual nature and the sinful nature of our flesh.1 While these false teachers might appear to be wise and spiritual, it is nothing more than a show. True Christian spirituality empowers us to fight against our sinful impulses and disordered desires. This power comes from Jesus and from nowhere else. He freely gives it to us when we come to him and seek his help. When we try to stop the indulgence of our flesh by our own strength, we end up weary and burned out.
Albert Einstein once said: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
We are going to move into the Communion portion of our service today— and I think I agree with Einstein. Religion without relationship with Jesus is not righteousness--- it’s us trying to solve our sin problem on the same level of thinking that it was created. Jesus represents that entirely new level of thinking.
We’re going to move into the Communion service now. We want to celebrate and remember Jesus, all that he’s done, is doing, and will do for us and through us.
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
Lets take a brief moment here and reflect, repent, respond to what the Holy Spirit may reveal to us.
We remember on the night
when Jesus and the disciples
had their last meal together,
Jesus took the bread, gave thanks,
and gave it to the disciples,
saying “This is my body,
which is broken for you.
Take and eat it, and as often as you do, remember me.”
[Distribution of the bread.]
In the symbol of the broken bread, we participate in the life of Christ
and dedicate ourselves
to being his disciples.
In the same way he took the cup,
and after giving thanks
he gave it to the disciples, saying:
“Drink this, all of you.
This cup is the new covenant,
poured out for you and for many
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
[Distribution of the wine.]
In the symbol of the cup, we participate in the new life Christ brings.
Let us pray.
We give thanks, loving God,
that you have refreshed us at your table.
Strengthen our faith;
increase our love for one another.
As we have been fed by the seed that became grain, and then became bread, may we go out into the world to plant seeds of justice, transformation, and hope.
Amen.