Colossians 2:8-12 says...
Today's verses are Colossians 2:8-12, which read,
v.8 - See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Paul is writing to the new Christians in the Colossian church with prayers and instruction for these new believers. Last study, he spoke of the establishment of their faith in Christ that was rooted, built up, and established showing through an overflow of gratitude. One who is doing this will not fall for the elements of this verse.
The fruit of not having your faith rooted, built up, and established in Christ is being taken prisoner of the wisdom of the world and its empty promises. The fruit of a weak faith is to have a greater faith in something else and that is the traditions of men or the cultural norms held to of the day. The Christian goes down this wide road when what is according to Christ is set aside for what is the popular opinion of the day. This is how whole denominations disregard the very words of the Bible and adopt into their constitutions the very words of culture that contradict them.
v.9, 10 - For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;...
Why can we stand on what Jesus has said? The answer is because He is God, the fullness of Deity. Immanuel means "God with us" and it is one of the names given to Jesus. God came in human form to us to personally die on a cross for the glory of Himself to make you and I complete. He is also the Creator of all of creation and holds the position of head over all rule and authority. What we stand on and root, build up, and establish our faith in is much more than a created man and his feeble words of persuasion for his own personal benefit.
v.11 - ...and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;...
Circumcision was a physical sign of the covenant of the Jewish people. In the physical act of circumcision something was cut off and thrown away. Paul is speaking to the new Christians in Colossae of another circumcision not made with human hands or a man made knife. This circumcision done by Christ was He Himself dying on a cross to be cut off because of our sin, to remove it from us.
v.8 - See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Paul is writing to the new Christians in the Colossian church with prayers and instruction for these new believers. Last study, he spoke of the establishment of their faith in Christ that was rooted, built up, and established showing through an overflow of gratitude. One who is doing this will not fall for the elements of this verse.
The fruit of not having your faith rooted, built up, and established in Christ is being taken prisoner of the wisdom of the world and its empty promises. The fruit of a weak faith is to have a greater faith in something else and that is the traditions of men or the cultural norms held to of the day. The Christian goes down this wide road when what is according to Christ is set aside for what is the popular opinion of the day. This is how whole denominations disregard the very words of the Bible and adopt into their constitutions the very words of culture that contradict them.
v.9, 10 - For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;...
Why can we stand on what Jesus has said? The answer is because He is God, the fullness of Deity. Immanuel means "God with us" and it is one of the names given to Jesus. God came in human form to us to personally die on a cross for the glory of Himself to make you and I complete. He is also the Creator of all of creation and holds the position of head over all rule and authority. What we stand on and root, build up, and establish our faith in is much more than a created man and his feeble words of persuasion for his own personal benefit.
v.11 - ...and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;...
Circumcision was a physical sign of the covenant of the Jewish people. In the physical act of circumcision something was cut off and thrown away. Paul is speaking to the new Christians in Colossae of another circumcision not made with human hands or a man made knife. This circumcision done by Christ was He Himself dying on a cross to be cut off because of our sin, to remove it from us.
You
are a part of the new covenant because of what Jesus cut off of you
through His one and only needed sacrifice on the cross. Nothing that
the world can offer compares to this act of love by God Himself offering
His own Son so that we could be freed from sin and have victory over
the sting of death. We physically die now to wake up in the arms of our
Savior, Jesus Christ.
v.12 - ...having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Paul continues on with the reasons why listening to the world is futile when comparing it to words and actions of Christ. Christ next was buried after His sacrificial death on the cross but not to stay in the grave. He was raised by God from the dead and we will be raised by Him also.
We come to baptism, that physical action like the physical act of circumcision, to signify and show a repentant heart that is seeking to follow Christ. Baptism was shown in the past by the recipients on one side of river shedding all their old clothes, signifying their sinful self, and proceeding into the river to cross. They would go completely under at some point, buried in the water and then be raised up by another, resurrected from that water to proceed to the other side where they would put on new clothing of white, off with the old and on with the new.
What a beautiful physical picture of what is happening in our lives when we receive the faith that God has given us, the working of God, through His grace and the cross of Christ. Paul is helping the new Christians to keep a handle on their salvation in the face of the world's deceptions that lead to empty promises and selfish agendas of men. Tomorrow he will proceed on with more of what we have in Christ to cement the tremendous difference between the words and actions of men and the words and actions of God. Let's pray.
"Lord, we can be led astray by the voices of our world. We can adopt words and ways that are not Yours. We do this when we take our eyes off of You and stop actively rooting and building up and establishing our faith that is in You. May I see what You have done and continue to be in a state of overwhelming gratitude to live as one freed from sin and raised to a new life in You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.12 - ...having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Paul continues on with the reasons why listening to the world is futile when comparing it to words and actions of Christ. Christ next was buried after His sacrificial death on the cross but not to stay in the grave. He was raised by God from the dead and we will be raised by Him also.
We come to baptism, that physical action like the physical act of circumcision, to signify and show a repentant heart that is seeking to follow Christ. Baptism was shown in the past by the recipients on one side of river shedding all their old clothes, signifying their sinful self, and proceeding into the river to cross. They would go completely under at some point, buried in the water and then be raised up by another, resurrected from that water to proceed to the other side where they would put on new clothing of white, off with the old and on with the new.
What a beautiful physical picture of what is happening in our lives when we receive the faith that God has given us, the working of God, through His grace and the cross of Christ. Paul is helping the new Christians to keep a handle on their salvation in the face of the world's deceptions that lead to empty promises and selfish agendas of men. Tomorrow he will proceed on with more of what we have in Christ to cement the tremendous difference between the words and actions of men and the words and actions of God. Let's pray.
"Lord, we can be led astray by the voices of our world. We can adopt words and ways that are not Yours. We do this when we take our eyes off of You and stop actively rooting and building up and establishing our faith that is in You. May I see what You have done and continue to be in a state of overwhelming gratitude to live as one freed from sin and raised to a new life in You. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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