Colossians 2:8-10 - Captivated
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Introduction:
There is something about a sunrise that is captivating. My family really enjoys being able to see sunrises. Where we live, we are able to normally see a beautiful sunrise most clear mornings. Watching the colors and the contrasts gives us one more reason to be captivated by God. The beauty that He has created is extravagant. He didn’t need to make a sunrise bend light the way it does and reflect off of clouds the way it does. But He did.
We live in a world full of other captivating things as well. Some captivating things are worthy of honor and bring God glory. While others are of the evil on and take you captive as they captivate you. Today we are going to discuss two types of captivity. One is being captivated by God which is actually a liberating captivity. When captivated by God, you are drawn to Him and you are given an offer of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Instead of being captive to sin, you are freed from it. The captivity of God brings about freedom. However, captivity to the world and to the evil one brings chains of bondage.
Join me as we read God’s Word:
8 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. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Let us pray.
Prayer
Today we are going to discuss the two major things you can be captivated by…The first is...
I. You Can Be Captivated By… The World (8)
I. You Can Be Captivated By… The World (8)
8 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.
“See to it” is the way Paul segues this section of Scripture. This phrase means to “be on guard” or “to watch out for or pay attention to.” This is written as an imperative meaning it isn’t optional but is a mandatory warning.
He has just finished talking about being rooted in Christ and being built up and established by Christ. And now he changes the approach from what to do to what not to do.
What is this warning that he is stressing to the Colossian people? To avoid being captive by philosophy and empty deceit.
Captive is an interesting idea. To captivate is to hold interest and attention or to charm. A captive is someone who has been taken prisoner or maybe better stated someone who has lost control to another. When you put these two together it really seems to flow with Paul is saying here. Do not be charmed into becoming a prisoner of wrong thinking.
This word captive can also mean to be enslaved. We are designed to be worshipers. We are designed to be captivated. And we are all enslaved to something. It is either sin or it is Christ. We see this idea taught elsewhere in Scripture.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You see we can be enslaved to sin which leads to death or we can be enslaved to God which leads to freedom and eternal life.
8 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.
So what does Paul teach here in verse 8 of Colossians that makes it so easy to become enslaved to sin?
He first brings up the word philosophy. This Greek word, Philosophia (phill-ose-oh-fee-a), is only found here in this verse. It means to love wisdom. What is missing in our English translation is an article before this word. It could be translated “the philosophy.” It most likely was referring to the erroneous teachings of the false teachers in the area of Colossae. In context, as we will see in a moment, it most likely was a false teaching that involved mystical experiences and human traditions. These false teachers focused on the supernatural more than Christ and focused on tradition more than Christ.
Right after hitting on this idea of false philosophies he warns against empty deceit as well.
Empty deceit refers to deception that has no real base. It is like a mirage in the desert. It looks so real to people and yet it has no substance. It is a deception of the eyes and mind. This is likely a qualifier for ‘the philosophy’ mentioned before. These philosophies seem so promising but they have no real substance. They have no value.
This philosophy and empty deceit stems from two different things Paul brings up here:
Philosophy and Empty Deceit Are:
According to Human Tradition
According to the Elemental Spirits of the World
First, what does it mean that they are according to human tradition? The Greek word here means given from one to another. Just because something has been passed down from generation to generation does not mean it is true. The Catholic Church is a great example of this. There are many traditions that are passed down that have no Biblical backing. Some of them even fly right in the face of the Biblical text. This religiosity and human tradition chokes out the actual Word of God, much like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Obviously the Colossian church was battling similar things. The traditions of man were triumphing over the Gospel.
The church in Colossae was also battling another arch nemesis. If Satan cannot get a church to embrace false teaching through humanism and human tradition, he resorts to false spiritual experiences. He encourages mysticism. Mysticism is a form of spiritual expression in which one may gain insight through supernatural experiences. Sadly, these experiences are not Biblically based and are often demonically-based. These elemental spirits mentioned here are likely demonic in nature. There is some disagreement with what these elemental spirits are and what the correct translation is here in this - however most translators agree that they are a form of demonic force.
Note that both of these first two “according to’s” in verse 8 are satantic and demonic in nature. The first is humanism which originated in the garden.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Satan knew right where to first attack man - his pride. Did God really say? Satan is still very effective using this today as well isn’t he!
And the second, elemental spirits, is directly demonic.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Be careful about how you work through beliefs and philosophies. Oftentimes demonically-inspired false teachers present something very close to the Gospel but twist it gradually and over time. They come as wolves in sheep’s clothing. See what Jesus says about these false teachers:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Some of these false teachers will appear as good trees from a distance. Yet, as you get closer and examine the fruit through the lens of the Scriptures, the rottenness of the fruit becomes more and more apparent.
How are we to stand against these forces? How can we protect our churches against these forces? We will get into that in a moment as we focus on Christ. Yet before we move on from this point, there is one movement among churches that warrants some note. It is one thing to speak about the Colossian church and their struggles. But what about today? Do we have false teachings moving through our churches today? Time wouldn’t suffice to cover them all my friends! They are spreading like wildfire through our churches today. But to illustrate one glaring problem, I want us to spend a brief few moments discussing the emergent church:
The Emergent Church - Universalism, Sexuality, and Anti-Church Movement
The Emergent Church Movement finds its roots in postmodernism which we have discussed before. This thinking of relative or personal truth and experience triumphing over any set truth of Scripture or reality is diffusing throughout our culture at unparalleled speeds. At its core - It is experience over reason.
The first fatal flaw of this movement has become a predisposition toward universalism which we have discussed in the past. This view is that there are multiple ways to God and not only one way.
Their experience and feelings tell them that because God is love, He would never send anyone to Hell. Their elevation of humans above God and their experience of sadness at the thought of Hell leads them to deny the existence of Hell altogether. And their desire for unity and ecumenicism leads them to deny the truth of the Scripture such as John 14:6.
One example of this was found in a best-selling book called Love Wins by Rob Bell. He stated:
“It's been clearly communicated to many that this belief (in hell as eternal, conscious torment) is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus' message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world desperately needs to hear." Moving forward he states, "Whatever objections a person may have of [the universalist view], and there are many, one has to admit that it is fitting, proper, and Christian to long for it." – Love Wins, p. 111
Here we see a former pastor, author, and speaker who is arguing for universalism.
Sadly, many spoke out in support of his comments. Listen to a few of these Amazon reviews of his books:
“I personally find his take on theology refreshing, he challenges me to take a fresh look at bible passages and principles and I feel my faith has deepened as a result.”
My question would be your faith in what? Man? Beware of someone offering a fresh look at the Bible and its teachings. If someone hasn’t noted something in over 2000 years of church history and comes out of nowhere with a new revelation - there is almost a 100% chance that it is false teaching!
Or take this one:
“It literally changed my life, and I wish everyone would read it because it is liberating and deeply enlightening....Rob Bell is a very lucid and practical writer. He literally writes like he is sitting across a table from you having a conversation…his writing style was so friendly to my brain that I could not put it down.”
This is the heart of the emergent church movement. Liberation from the Word of God. And Rob Bell is just the kind of guy to help with this with his wolf in sheep’s clothing style of accessibility and charisma. The final sentence in the review was extremely eerie to me - ‘his writing style was so friendly to my brain that I could not put it down.’ That is an incredible description of demonic teachings! When someone is preaching a humanistic manifesto - the flesh eats it all up!
Other teachers have come out with positive comments about Bell’s works as well such as Brian McLaren who is also a part of this movement. This movement does not end only in universalism. It is marked by relative truth in many areas. These same two men among many others in their group have argued that homosexuality is not a sin with McLaren going so far that he led a commitment ceremony presiding over his son and his sons male partner.
Sadly men like this are running rampant in the teen world. The book, Love Wins, has targeted teens with a teen version. This brand of false Christianity is infiltrating young people throughout our nation. Why? Because it is an anti-institutionalized view of church and our youth ministry culture has fed right into it - some going so far as to say the youth culture is what has created it!
Youth culture today is all about being captivated by the world. And many youth pastors would even admit that they use this innate captivity to the world to attract youth to their groups. The youth group is separate from the church. They oftentimes even have their own service on Sunday. They meet in their own building on many church campuses. They never actually become a part of the church itself. And because of this, the solid doctrines and the understanding of ecclesiology (meaning the study of the church and how it functions) never take any root in their lives.
So when they graduate high school, they never were actually a part of the church to begin with. So they really never leave the church - they weren’t ever part of it. So the temptation for them to becoming postmodern thinkers - believing in relative and personal truth is just what comes natural to them. They do not possess an adequate knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and thereby are prone to disaster without being rooted and established in Christ and His Word.
So it shouldn’t surprise us when the data aligns with these findings. According to a Lifeway research study from 2007 that studied 20-29 year olds who went to church regularly as a child - only 11% were still going to church when they went to college. On further questioning - these students were not lost in college. Most of them - close to 90% of them did not believe the doctrines of their churches by the time they were in middle school or late elementary school!(1)
Many may balk at the fact that we don’t have a youth ministry and that we keep our kids in the service with us. They may balk at the fact that we even have a Growth Group that is all ages. Although I do not know what the Lord will have us do in the future - I can say this - We want to be a church family in which everyone is a part of it. The church is made up of all ages. And we want to be a church that is not split up based on life-stage, interests, or desires. We want to be a church that honors the Lord as one body and many parts that are working together (Ephesians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27).
I know I have been harshly real regarding the state of youth culture in our church world. However, for clarity, there are those who do a good job in youth ministry such as Pastor Travis at Good Shepherd. He brings the Word and teaches deep and foundational doctrines to his youth. And there are others out there that do this as well. But, sadly, these godly men are exceptions and not the rule.
8 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.
Friends, are we captivated by the world? Are we captivated by human tradition or experientialism and mysticism? Or are we captivated by Christ?
There are two ways of thinking today. We can think according to Christ or we can think according to the evil one. There is no middle ground. Every type of thinking that it is apart from Christ is against Christ.
I highly suggest you spend time learning the Biblical defense of these false teachings. Jesus did just that when He was attacked by the false teachings of the devil in the wilderness. He answered back with Scripture. We do not need to research and learn every single false teaching out there. But we do need to learn the Word of God so we can recognize these false teachings as they come.
As we have been teaching in this first point of the sermon, you can be captivated by the world. I pray you are not, friends. I pray instead that you are....
Scripture References: Romans 6:20-23, Genesis 3:1, Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 7:15-20, John 14:6, Ephesians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27
II. You Can Be Captivated By… The Wonderful (9-10)
II. You Can Be Captivated By… The Wonderful (9-10)
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Paul just ended verse 8 with according to Christ. They were not to be taken captive by false teaching but instead to be captivated by Christ alone. He then reminds them of the beautiful words he had just written in chapter 1 of this great book:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
He knows that in order for them to be able to fight false teaching, they needed to be captivated by the wonderful Savior of the world. He wanted to remind them that Christ is the Creator God. That Christ is 100% God and 100% man. That Christ saves those who repent of their sins, believe in Him and follow Him as their ruler and authority.
Let’s break this down a bit more:
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Verse 9 was addressed as we discussed envisioning the invisible. Jesus is fully God. All of the Deity of God dwelt in the human body of Jesus Christ. All of the fullness of the deity continues to dwell in Christ’s resurrected and transformed body as well!
But then we get to verse 10 and we see that “you have been filled in him.”
This phrase means to be made complete or to be brought to fulfillment. What this means is that your life before Christ was as empty as the false teaching we saw in verse 8. Yet, through salvation in Jesus Christ, you are given a reason for living. Your life has purpose, direction, and an eternal destination with Jesus Christ in heaven. The ultimate fulfillment of any of our lives is to be with Christ. And this phrase is stated as a past thing - meaning that once we become believers, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and are saved at that point. We are not perfected yet but we are completely justified before Christ. And this fulfillment on earth may still mean struggle after struggle as Paul saw all too well. Yet, the peace and purposes of God continue to work for your good and His glory:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Always remember that you saved and filled with Christ in order to do His purpose. Our purpose always needs to be His purpose. What God does through us is to ultimately give us fulfillment by serving Him according to His will which brings us into the last part of verse 10.
10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Christ is the head of all rule and authority. This word head that we have mentioned before, kephalē (kef-a-lay), can also refer to Lord or one who is supreme which is exactly what qualifiers we see right after this. He the head of all rule and authority. This means He is over all. He is all powerful and rules in unopposed glory and greatness. He is the King of Kings the Lord of Lords and holds all authority. The great commentator F.F. Bruce in his commentary on Colossians stated:
“Those who are united to Christ have no need to pay their respects to those forces over which he has vindicated his preeminence.”
F.F. Bruce
What philosophies and empty deceit have you paid your respects to? What false teachers have you paid your respects to? Meaning who and what have you taken as an authority greater than the Word of God. The devil is cunning and will sneak false teachings into our minds through the back door. Oftentimes they don’t come with neon lights and arrows pointing to them. They usually sneak in by our culture, by our traditions through our upbringing, and through our experiences.
May we repent of our sinfulness and turn toward Christ and His Word as our ultimate authority.
Scripture References: Colossians 1:15-17, Romans 8:28
Conclusion:
Today we end with one of - if not the - most important important question of your life:
What will you allow to captivate you?
Brothers and sisters, we all are captivated by something. Everyone has certain things that naturally attract their attention and take their time. What will that be for you? Will it be the false teachings of the world? Will it be the lusts of the flesh? Will it be the ideas of man? Will it be your experiences? Or will it be the Person of Jesus Christ.
Being captivated by Christ is the only way we can truly live in freedom. I pray that each of you have been set free from the bonds of sin through the power of salvation through Christ. If not, accept the free gift of salvation today. Repent of your sins, turn to Christ, and follow Him. His captivating beauty never ends. You will never tire of learning more about our wonderful Savior.
If you have put your trust in the Savior - pray that you are captivated even further by His glory and beauty. Pray that the sparkle of man’s ideas and the things of this world pale in comparison to the glory of Christ. Repent for your disposition of idolatry that we all at times struggle with. Pray that Jesus helps you see Him more clearly.
I think we all can relate to the hymn-writer Robert Robinson who in 1758 wrote a hymn called “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”:
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
May He be the apple of our eye and that captivation of our affections, church.
Let us pray.
Prayer
If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ or want to obey Jesus by obeying the first commandment of a believer in going through the waters of baptism - please let me know.
Have a blessed week.