White, Earl: Studies In Colossians-05-Col.4:4-13

Morning. Uh, we're going through the book of Colossians, if you want to turn there, chapter two. I was, uh, talking to our brother Johnny Veasey before the meeting and told him, we said, well, we'll, we'll get through Colossians someday. And he said, I'll be one hundred and five before you get through it. Which is, uh, you know, for Johnny, that's just a couple years from now or something like that. I'm, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Jo- Johnny's not that old, at least not yet. But, uh, we're, we're in Colossians chapter two. We'll be, uh, covering verses, um, four through thirteen this morning. And, um, the Apostle Paul, uh, as, as we, uh, studied or found out last month, uh, was writing this epistle in order to counteract the Gnostic heresy, the heresy that the Christians in Colossae, uh, had, uh, had started believing. And Paul, in his, uh, epistle, especially in chapter one, mentions prominently the Lord Jesus Christ, his person, his work on the cross. And in chapter two, he continues that, but in verses four through eight, he presents a warning to the Colossians. And verses nine through thirteen, he goes back to speaking about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we'll start reading at verse four of chapter two. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I, am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses. First of all, in verse four, uh, the Apostle Paul uses a couple of words and phrases in his warning, uh, to the Colossians. He uses the word beguile. He says, and this I say, lest any man, any man should beguile you. That word beguile means to deceive by false reasoning, to lead astray. He also uses the word, um, enticing. He says, and this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words, that is, persuasive arguments, clever arguments, uh, someone who is a fast talker. I think one of the illustrations of this would be, uh, the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ. Uh, critics of the resurrection say, well, you know, Jesus never really died on the cross. He fainted, he passed out, and his body, uh, was put in a tomb, but when his body was put in the tomb, he was still alive. So therefore, the resurrection really didn't happen. It was a hoax. Now, if you would listen to that, and and some people have, they will say, you know, that sounds, that sounds pretty logical to me. That sounds like, wow, this this this guy who, uh, who s- who said he was the Son of God, uh, and was buried in the tomb and supposedly, uh, was resurrected three days later, it it really didn't happen. He was still alive when he was in the tomb. But if you look at the biblical evidence, you find out very quickly, when Jesus was on the cross, he said, it is finished. His last words, he gave up the ghost, he died. The Roman soldiers found out that, uh, the Lord Jesus was dead. They, they, uh, pierced his side with a spear, and they saw that he was already dead. When the people, uh, who prepared the body of the Lord Jesus for burial, uh, put his body in the tomb, they could see that there was no life in it. There was no pulse. He was, his, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was dead. And, uh, you know, false teachers are, can use persuasive arguments. They can use s- enticing words. They can beguile people. But we have to be very careful. Especially about the resurrection of Christ, we know that if we accept the supposition that Jesus fainted on the cross, that he was still alive when he put his body in a tomb, if we accept that supposition, well, the resurrection can easily fall apart. But the biblical evidence is that Jesus Christ really died on the cross. It was a firm, it was affirmed by other people. They saw the body of the Lord Jesus. They saw the fact that he was really dead. So the fact of the resurrection is true. And, uh, Paul is warning the Colossians about the Gnostic heresy, that people would come into their fellowship, they would use deceptive reasoning, they would lead people astray, they would use enticing words, persuasive arguments, clever arguments, in order to lead them astray from their faith in Christ. And, you know, false teachers, they try to gather a, a following by being clever, by being deceptive, by being, being fast talkers. But you know, the, the truth of God needs, doesn't need clever speeches, does it? It doesn't need clever human arguments. The truth and the word of God stands on its own. The word of God stands on its own because the Spirit of God empowers that word and makes it real and makes it alive. That's why the Bible is the most unique book in the world, because these are the very words of God himself. And in his warning in, in verse five, Paul continues, he says, uh, though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying in beholding your order. He uses two words in verse five, order and steadfastness. Beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. Even though Paul was in prison, he was absent from the Colossians. Uh, he had a spiritual oneness with them because they both all the, they both, the Colossians and the, and the Apostle Paul had the same Savior. They believed the same thing, and they were following in the same direction. And Paul uses the word. Order here is a military term. It means an array of show- uh, an array of soldiers, not shoulders. An array of soldiers that are standing shoulder to shoulder. You know, if you would look out upon of, say, one hundred thousand soldiers, and they were standing in formation. You would see the ranks, in the ranks they would very, be very neat and very orderly. They would be standing shoulder to shoulder. In other words, the Colossians, uh, were standing shoulder to shoulder against false teaching. And Paul also uses in verse five that word steadfastness. Steadfastness means, uh, a solid front. The Colossians were standing true to the word of God. They were, they, uh, presented a solid front to false teaching. And we see those two words used that the Apostle Paul, uh, used in verse five to describe how the Colossians, Colossian Christians, were dealing with the Gnostic heresies, with the false teachings that were, that was so prevalent in their church. And we see that Paul l- looked at that, they saw, Paul saw their order, he saw their steadfastness, and he was praising them and encouraging, encouraging the Colossians to continue on. And in verse seven, he, uh, or verse six, he continues on, he says, as ye therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. They have received Christ Jesus the Lord. The Colossians placed their faith and trust in the person of Jesus Christ. They just didn't believe about him. They just didn't, didn't believe about what they heard about the Lord Jesus Christ. They accepted the finished work of Christ personally for themselves individually. In the Bible, the Word of God makes it very clear that if people want, if people want to have their sins forgiven, if people want to go to heaven when they die, they must come to Jesus Christ and him only, and the finished work that he did for them on the cross. That is the only way that one will have eternal life, according to the word of God. He also says, Paul says in verse six, that he is praising the, uh, Colossians for walking, walk ye in him. The Amplified Bible says, regulate your lives, conduct yourselves in union with and conformity to him. Regulate your lives and conduct yourselves in conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? You know, Paul is encouraging the Colossian Christians to walk in the Lord Jesus Christ, but isn't that what you and I supo- are supposed to do? That we're supposed to regulate our lives, uh, by the person of Christ, that, um, we conduct ourselves in conformity with him and his word and his leading. What a beautiful statement of the Christian experience in the Christian life, that we walk in Christ. And Paul says in verse seven, he uses some other words and phrases in verse seven. He says, rooted, he uses that word, root- rooted and built up and established. Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding theref- therein with thanksgiving. Uh, the word rooted means firmly anchored, firmly anchored. You know, a tree has got roots, and uh, they go deep into the ground and they draw nourishment from the soil for the, for the tree or the plant. Our roots go into the Lord Jesus Christ, and he provides spiritual nourishment for us. We have spiritual roots in Christ. And Paul hopes, and I hope, that we all have deep spiritual roots in the person of Christ. And also he uses that phrase built up, that the Colossians have been built up. You know, a, a, a building, if you're going to, uh, make a build a house, if you're going to build a skyscraper of a hundred stories or so, one of the things it's got to have is a solid foundation. If you haven't got a solid foundation for that building, it could collapse. And our b- our foundation is Jesus Christ. We build our lives upon him. And that's the, that is the, uh, point that Paul is trying to get across to the Colossians, that they be not only rooted, but also built up. And he uses that word established, established in the faith. In other words, confirmed. Being s- established in the faith is, is a, is a continuing process in our lives. You know, we learn spiritual truths from the scriptures, and these truths are established or confirmed in our hearts by the Spirit of God. So Paul uses three words there, uh, three words and phrases, rooted up, or rooted rather, built up, and established in the faith. And he also closes that verse with that, that phrase, with thanksgiving. Brothers, sisters in Christ, there's no excuse for not being thankful to God. That's something that you and I need to, to, to grab a hold of and be thankful every day for our blessed Savior. For the way he saved us, for the way he guides us, the way he loves us, the way he provides for us, the way he does all, gives us strength and encouragement, the way he comforts us, uh, and a dozen more other things that, that we could say about our Savior. We, we have a, we should be thankful to the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Apostle Paul is. He encourages the Colossians to f- be thankful to, to, to the Lord. And he goes on, he says in verse eight, this is another warning, this is a very specific warning in verse eight that Paul gives the Colossian believers. He says the word beware, that means be on the alert, pay attention. Beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. That word spoil means to carry away captive. It, it, it has a picture of a long line of prisoners of war going into slavery. Prisoners of war going into slavery. They have been caught. They are captives of their enemies, and they're being led away to be imprisoned and to be slaves. And Paul's concern was the Colossian Christians would be led astray and bought captive by the false teachers. And he says in verse eight, beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy. That word philosophy means here means a love of knowledge or a love of wisdom. And you know, there's nothing wrong with gaining knowledge for Christians to, to have knowledge. I've met some brilliant Christians, and you have too, who are very knowledgeable. They're teachers in, in universities and colleges. They have two or three degrees. This is not wrong, but the Apostle Paul is saying to the Colossian believers that the people who love knowledge here are not believers in Jesus Christ. They're the agnostics, the heretics. Here, Paul is talking about loving knowledge apart from Christ. And you know, there are people out there who substitute human reasoning and intellectualism, and they think that that's a better relationship, having, uh, uh, superior knowledge, having superior human reason is better than having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul would say that is vain deceit. He uses that phrase in, in verse, uh, uh, verse eight, vain deceit. In other words, people who think that intellectualism or human reason is superior to a f- to faith in Christ are engaging in empty delusions, vain speculations, high-sounding nonsense. You know, no amount of hu- human reason or intellectual pride can meet the needs of the soul, brother, sister in Christ. It just won't. There are people out there who think, well, you know, I am so intellectually superior to you Christians, that my reason is so, so much better, my reasoning powers are so much better than yours, that I've reached opposite conclusions, uh, than you do about the Bible, about Jesus Christ, about God. That all these things that I have in my life are so much superior to what you have. The only thing that you have is that you are saved and you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Look at what I have. What do people like that have? They have nothing. They have nothing. Nothing. To say that intellectualism, human reason and knowledge is, is better than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, people are deluded. They're engaging in vain deceit if they believe such a thing. And of course, that angers people, you know, they don't like that. But, you know, you ask him, ask them, what have you got? Ha- have you got forgiveness of sins? Have you got eternal life when you die? Well, I don't care about that stuff. I don't care if my sins are forgiven. I don't care if I have eternal life. God forbid. God forbid. That people would, and there are people who reason like that, and it's it's sad, it's tragic. We look out upon the human scene and, and we see the, the, the haughty pride of people. How puffed up they are with their own knowledge. They're engaging in vain deceit. Paul also is concerned in verse eight about the Colossians. He uses that term rudiments, uh, of the world. He warns the Colossians about the rudiments. Rudiments of the world, the word rudiments mean- means basic principles of the world. Any kind of rituals that appeal to the flesh. There are religious groups and organizations out there which are, uh, in the world today that we all know about. They have certain rituals, they have certain ceremonies, they have certain things that they do, and, uh, certain th- uh, they use certain objects in their w- in their worship. They say they're worshiping God. And we take a look at those things, and we see that they're engaging in the basic principles, the rudiments of the world. They they they've got these objects, they've got these rituals, they've got these ceremonies, but that's it. They don't have Christ. They don't have Jesus Christ working in their lives. They don't have Christ as their savior. They reject him. Well, you know, I would rather have all this religious stuff. I would rather have my ritual and my ceremony and my, these objects here that, that, that I worship, and I ra- I would rather have that. Well, you know, if, if that's all you've got, you've got nothing. You've got nothing. If you don't have Jesus Christ, you have nothing. That's about as plain as I could say it. You, you're engaging in vain deceit and the rudiments of the world. And Paul says at the end of verse eight, not after Christ. That the people who love philosophy, they love knowledge. They're, they, they are engaging in vain deceit. They're engaging in the rudiments of the world, the basic principles of the world, and not after Christ. Our Savior is the rock and foundation of knowledge, brother, sister in Christ. And we have Jesus Christ, our Lord, that he is, you know, he is just not Lord of the, uh, of the believers here. He is Lord of all. He is Lord over all. When we place our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have spiritual knowledge that comes directly from God. And this should not give us a feeling of superiority or a feeling of, well, I've got this and you've got that, and I'm right and you're wrong. You know, that's not the way we sh- we should think. But Paul is warning the Colossians here. He's, he's telling them, you know, i- i- the people who are teaching you, these Gnostics, these false teachers, are teaching you the rudiments of the world. They're engaging in the love of knowledge, in substitution, in substituting that for Christ. They're engaging in vain deceit, but not after Christ. Not after Jesus Christ. They don't have him as their foundation. They don't have him as their rock in their lives. Now, in verses nine through thirteen, in, in that pass- in, in verses nine through thirteen, the Apostle Paul brings us back to the person of Christ. And he says on, in, in verse nine, he makes, Paul makes an incredible statement in verse nine. And this statement in verse nine cannot be said about anything or anybody else. It says, for in him, that is in Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The word dwelleth means permanent residence. For in Christ, the permanent residence of the Godhead is found bodily. All the fullness of the Godhead. In Coli- if you go back in chapter one and verse nineteen, we read a, a similar statement that Paul, uh, said in verse nineteen, chapter one. It says, for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. In John chapter one verse fourteen, it says, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The Word was made flesh, that is Jesus Christ. God was made flesh, and we beheld his glory. All the divine attributes of God, all his omnipotence, his omniscience, his love, mercy, holiness, justice, his grace are found in Jesus Christ. Our Savior was not merely God-like. He was not m- he did not merely have a nature like God, but Jesus Christ was, is, and will always be God. He is God. He is God. When we worship God, we're worshiping Jesus Christ, our Lord. And you know that the in the, and Paul uses that phrase in the God, the Godhead bodily. What a beautiful phrase. It it describes the wonder and the perfection of the incarnation, that God became a human being. The Lord Jesus Christ is God in human. He is the God-man. He is the Son of God, and he is the Son of man. Jesus said, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. He also said, I and my Father are one. Jesus Christ, our Lord is not just the second person of the Trinity. He is God manifested and revealed in human flesh. Jesus Christ is God. That's what Paul is saying here. He is God in bodily form. The fullness of the ba- of the bodhead du- uh, of the Godhead dwells in the Lord Jesus Christ in his person. And this should put the rest for the, for the Christians in Colossian, in Colossae, who were concerned about the fact that the, they were receiving false teachings about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. This should put this to rest, the fact that in, in Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, that he is truly God and truly man. The Gnostics said that Jesus was not just, he was not God, he was something else. He was a little lower than God. He didn't quite make it to God, to godhood. That's what the Gnostics taught, and that's what people today believe about the Lord Jesus Christ. People day, people today believe, well, you know, Jesus was, he was a good guy. He, he had some, he taught some things that were nice, and, and, you know, he was a martyr for a cause, and, and, uh, and all this, and, and, you know, the Sermon on the Mount that he spoke, well, that, you know, that sounds pretty good. Paul says, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bod- bodily. Jesus Christ our Lord is God. He is God. Paul continues in verse ten. He says, and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. That word complete means the com- the phrase complete in him means that, means two things. In Christ, all that we need, all that we need to live a godly life is found in Jesus Christ. If we want to know what a godly life is and to glorify God, then Chr- Jesus Christ our Lord provides that for us. And not only that, but we see in verse ten that we are made full in Christ, that we have spiritual fullness. And we are complete in him. Think of our standing, think of our standing in Christ. Look at yourself as God sees you right now, brother, sister in Christ. How does God see you and me right now? He see, does he see, uh, uh, all these sins on us? Does he see, uh, that we're separated from God? Does d- d- does he see any of that? No, he doesn't see any of that. God does not see any sin on us. He does not see us separated from Go- from from God. Does he, does he see us on a lo- on a road to a lost eternity in the lake of fire into hell? Is that how God looks at at believers in Christ? No. We are complete in him. Everything that God has, we have. All the standing that, and and we say standing and position in Christ, that the the the standing and that in position in Christ that you and I enjoy are given to us by God himself. We are complete in him. In verse ten, it also says that he is the, he also makes a, uh, uh, comment about the Lord. He says, he is head of all principalities and power. Christ is the creator and leader of all angelic beings. You see, the Gnostics believed that angels were superior to God, that they were superior to Christ. And the Gnostics would teach the Christians there in Colossae to worship angels, you see. That was part of their belief system. But the Apostle Paul here is saying that Jesus Christ is head of all principalities and power. That is, he i- he is the creator and leader of all angelic beings. Does that mean that Jesus Christ controls Satan and his demons? Absolutely. Many ho- most Hollywood producers don't believe that. They believe that Satan i- is just as powerful as God is, if, if you watch their movies. But you recall the those, do you recall those times in the Gospels when the Lord Jesus encountered demon-possessed people? Do you remember those things? That the demons recognized who Christ was. Yeah, we, I recog- we recognize you. You, you're the Holy One of Israel. The demons, the very demons of Satan bowed down to the authority of Jesus Christ. The demons of Satan could not fight against the Lord Jesus Christ because they knew that if they would fight him, they would lose. Jesus Christ has authority over all demons, and that includes Satan. You, you recall in the book of Job that Satan wanted so much to, to attack Job, but the Lord had hedged him about, you see, protected him. Satan had to go to the throne of God. Satan had to go to God himself and get God, ask God's permission to attack Job. Jesus Christ is the head of all principalities and power. There is no demon, there is no satanic being, there's not even, even Satan himself cannot withstand the power of the Lord and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He just can't. They can't. He is the head of all principalities and power. And Paul makes that clear to the Colossians.