Colossians 2:1-15

To understand God’s word, we must take a careful consideration about the context of the passage. Chapter 1 tells us that this is a letter written to the holy and faithful brothers, the believers at church at Colosse. The letter is primarily from Paul, although Timothy is also mentioned in the first verse. When you read the book of Colossians as a whole, you learn that there are problems at the church. The types of problems range from Jewish Legalism to angel worship to Gnosticism.  Gnosticism was a very widely held belief system and was reputed to play a large role in the way people thought back then, so it is worth giving a brief explanation on Gnosticism.

The word Gnostic came from Gnosis, which is Greek for knowledge. The Greeks had many words for knowledge, some that have to do with technical knowledge, or informational knowledge like Episteme, and some that mean wisdom, like Sophia, but Gnosis is the word that meant to know or understand things on a deeply personal, spiritual and divine level. It’s from this Greek root that the English language gets the words Agnostic and Diagnosis. Gnostics believe in a supreme God, who is capable of “emanations” where other manifestations, called Aeons, of that supreme God maintain Godly qualities, aspects, or attributes, but as these emanations get further or become more distant from God, they become more unstable. There is a being called a demiurge that created the world, but the creation was corrupt and fallen. There are many variations of Gnosticism, but in general Gnostics believed in the corruption of matter, flesh, and the things of the world but the divineness of the spiritual realm. Therefore, you could find Gnostics who lived a very legalistic life where they denied themselves and their flesh, because they were trying to overcome their fallen physical bodies for a higher enlightenment or spiritual knowledge. Other Gnostics would decide that since all the creation was corrupt and doomed, they could take part in any and all immoral activities and fleshly indulgence, and maintain a spiritual disconnect with their physical sinful lives. They compartmentalized their existence and philosophized away the spiritual significance of fleshly sins. With these various forces pulling at the church at Colosse, people had significant problems with sin. What the book of Colossians, and the Bible as a whole teach us is that it basically all boils down to trouble with their doctrine. The Gnostics were searching for spiritual knowledge, and Paul is prepared to give it to the leaders at the church at Colosse.

What’s happened in Colossians 1 so far? In Colossians 1:3-10, Paul reminds the Church that he’s thinking and praying for them to be filled with the knowledge of God. Paul says he’s thanking God for each and every one of them. He then describes how the Gospel is bearing fruit and growing. After that, in Colossians 1:12-14 he tells them the Gospel. This is the very good news that is the source of our salvation and redemption from our sins. The presentation of the Gospel here is important because we never want to assume the Gospel. We never want to assume that it’s understood by the people we are speaking to, and we never want to assume we don’t need to hear it. We are sinners; all of humanity; but Christ was sinless. We deserved punishment and death, Christ received it. In His death on the cross, Christ gave us freedom and redemption. Praise God! We never want to assume that everyone (even in a letter addressed to a church) knows the Gospel, or is thinking about the truth of the Gospel at the moment. But that’s the power that we so desperately need. Romans 1:16 tells us, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

In Colossians 1:15-20 Paul reasserts Christ’s supremacy, shattering the bad philosophy of Gnosticism. He explains how Christ isn’t just an Aeon or emanation of God. He is where God’s fullness dwells. Not just some of his attributes, not an unstable emanation of God, but the Embodiment of God. He talks about the concept of reconciliation in Colossians 1:21-23. Before he even describes the problems of the church, he preaches the solution to the church. Paul describes his motivation for laboring for the church in Colossians 1:23-29. So, that’s where Colossians 2 begins. And this is where this blog’s text starts:

1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Paul starts this passage here reminding the church of how hard he’s contending for them; other translations use the term struggling or having conflict. He’s describing how he’s struggling for them and the Laodiceans. I used to think that, while Paul did struggle a lot and went through hardships, he really liked to tell people about the hardships he was going through. Like he enjoyed being pitied and wanted to let everyone know how much he personally went through… I don’t really know Paul’s personality, but I am starting to think he wasn’t just a masochist who took pride in all his bad situations. God wanted people to know about suffering for a reason, and there’s a divine reason it’s in the scriptures so much. Paul knows this too. In verse 2 he says his goal isn’t for pity or for their acknowledgement of his efforts. His goal is for their encouragement. What kind of encouragement do they need? There were people at the church that understood the Gospel, There were people that had a saving faith in God and a love for his Kingdom, but they also had these significant problems with the church-wide understanding of the gospel. As a pastor, I understand on another level why these people need to be encouraged. Leaders of a church, elders of a church, and members of a church are called to build one another up. The Colossians had a church that was attracting all sorts of people. Yes, there were faithful brothers and sisters, but there were also gnostics, people believing in worshiping angels, people judging each other on Jewish law. The Gospel wasn’t being universally accepted, and I can imagine that as a pastor or even a fellow Christian in the congregation, it’s very emotional to be involved in people’s lives that won’t change or understand. It’s heartbreaking to learn that your congregation is not united. That your church is falling apart, that people that you thought were brothers and sisters are now judging each other and hurting each other. Pastors who try to shepherd a stubborn flock are prone to feeling weary or disillusioned. They may begin to feel like their efforts are in vain. The danger of losing friends and family to bad theology is intense and frightening. These people needed to be encouraged by hearing that even though they were struggling, Paul was struggling right there with them (if not physically, at least in spirit). Why do they need to be encouraged in Heart and united in love? So they could continue to partake in the “Full riches of complete understanding”. There was a danger of having a church at Colosse fall apart for lack of correct theology. They needed complete understanding of the mystery of Christ. Verse 3 says that the treasure that is most important is the treasure of being in Christ. All the treasure of wisdom and knowledge (true Gnosis; not the false Gnosis embraced by Gnostics) is hidden in Christ. Reading this verse, verse 3, in original Greek would be even more poignant to the church at Colosse, because the words Sophia (the word that’s the root of philosophy), and Gnosis, (the word for divine wisdom) would jump right out of the page, begging to be contrasted against the hollow Gnostic movement and the shallow philosophy of the day. Verse 3 is almost a redemption of those two words that had been hijacked by the people tearing apart the doctrine of the church. Verse 4 tells us that Paul wanted his readers to know that there are deceivers out there, and their arguments might sound fine, but the truth is “hidden” in Christ. Verse 5 tells us that even though he isn’t there physically, Paul is ready and waiting to see them and the fruits of their faith, namely discipline, (other translations use order and steadfastness). Paul wants to see an orderly church of people that love each other and are living a life of Godly discipline in the study of the Lord of Scripture.

Spiritual Fullness in Christ
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ

Verse 6 is incredibly profound. This is the first place in the entire letter to the Colossians that I see a command. Paul is finally giving us an application. Up until now, he was describing how he’s praying. He was telling us the Gospel. He was giving us facts. He was proclaiming the mysteries of Christ and God. He was telling the story that he loved to tell. The story that everyone needs to hear. The good news that saves souls. The only thing that can save souls. Now, in Colossians 2:6, he’s shifting gears. How are we to live our lives as Christians?? Paul explains that to continue to live our lives in Him, we need to have the same mindset as we had when we received him as our Lord. verse 6, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him” . Paul just preached the gospel. Now he is saying, “Remember the first time it made sense. Remember the feelings, the mindset, the emotion that you experienced when you first received Christ Jesus as Lord.” Every Christian should have an idea of what it felt like as a young believer. Their first understanding or acceptance, where everything just clicked and it made sense. I don’t think I’ve ever grasped something and understood something else and had it feel the same way. The first time I was able to apply the Pythagorean theorem to a right triangle, the quadratic formula in Algebra, or pass a test on US History felt nothing like getting the Gospel. The Gospel didn’t leave me with any sense of accomplishment – None At All! When I first found myself at the foot of the cross, there was no pride. No self worth. When I first trusted in Jesus, I felt at my most humble. It is at that moment that we understand that we are totally unable to save ourselves. We are unable to be good enough to get to God. We have been totally disobedient, selfish, prideful, sinful, and unworthy. When we get the Gospel, we actually understand that! When we find ourselves at the point of our conversion, the very moments that we begin to trust in God, we grasp how great God is and how low we are. And Paul is saying that this is how we are to continue to live in Him. Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him. In 1 Peter 1:17-20 it says “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake..”  The context of Peter is also telling believers to remember the Gospel when we are living our lives. 1 Peter 1:14 says not to conform to the patterns of the world with all its evil desires. It is a continual theme. The way we respond to sins in our lives, the way we avoid sinning, the way we overcome evil is the exact same way we originally found out that we were saved. It doesn’t involve works on our part. We don’t perform any acts, any rituals, any atonements, any sacrifices.

The first time we acknowledged that Jesus was our Lord.. the first time we understood that Jesus had taken our sins, that’s the same place that we need to find ourselves when we want to overcome sin. That’s the place the legalist needs to go when he or she feels righteous. That’s the place the worldly sinner needs to go when he or she feels enough freedom to bend the rules a little bit. That’s where we need to go when we are frustrated by somebody who is acting too righteous for our personal tastes. We need to be there when we start to fall in love with the world, and aren’t living here as a stranger. That’s where we need to be when we are feeling comfortable and unwilling to labor for God’s Kingdom. That’s the place where the gnostic needed to go when he thinks that Jesus was just an Aeon, or is searching for deeper spiritual knowledge.

When I read this scripture, I thought back to when I first believed. When I first responded to God’s call, I could pray for people for hours, but as the years went by, I had more trouble even keeping my prayer schedule. When I first Believed, I envied people who had scripture memorized and who were laboring for God’s Kingdom. As time went by, I thought people who had scripture memorized and worked hard for a church were just a bit too legalistic. I stopped living my life the way I was living when I received Christ. If Paul were writing to me, he would say I needed to get back to the basics. I needed to go back to the foot of the cross and remember the gospel. Verse 7 says root yourself and build yourself up in Christ, let your faith continue to strengthen, and let thankfulness overflow in your life. This might be a good time to ask yourself, “How thankful am I?“ When you are thankful, you aren’t thinking about the things you don’t have. You are thinking about the things you’ve been blessed with. Our society today doesn’t disdain the materialistic things, the way Gnostics did. Just the opposite- we treasure the material things. But our true treasure is hidden in Christ.

In verse 8, Paul says “see to it that no one takes you captive.” He’s given another command. We are to guard ourselves. It’s your job to see to it that you aren’t taken captive to any other philosophy. It’s my job as a pastor to proclaim the truth. It’s my job to tell you the Gospel and to explain passages in the Bible. It’s my job to pray for you and shepherd the flock as best as God will allow me. But it is your job to see to it that no one takes you captive. I want you to read your Bibles. Be on the lookout. Search the scriptures. Search them with the zeal and excitement in God just as you received Christ in your life. Find yourself in the place you were when you first believed!

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.