Human
Rules and Regulations Pale Compared to Christ
[Colossians
chapter 2]
Today
we'll move on to chapter two of the book of Colossians, where we find
the apostle Paul further defining and underlining his leading role in
the founding of at least 7 churches, as the Bible chronicles it, for
the propagation of the Gospel of Christ to all the world. Last week
when we left off, Jesus was being described as being “before all
things” and “the head of the body, the church”. Jesus is called
“the mystery of God”, and “the hope of glory”. By him and
through him alone, we are all saved from what would be otherwise be
eternal condemnation. Nobody, no matter who they are, can stand in
the presence of God. It would mean instant death for any of us, just
as God said to Moses on Mt. Sinai when Moses asked God, “show me
your glory” in Exodus chapter 19. Bearing that in mind, let's begin
our study now.
“I
want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at
Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is
that they may be encouraged in heart and unified 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, in whom are
hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so
that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I
am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and
delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ
is. So, then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to
live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as
you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no
one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which
depends on the human tradition and the basic principals of this world
rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity
lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who
is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also
circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, not with a
circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done
by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him
through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the
dead.” (Col. 2, verses 1-12, NIV)
In
verse one, the church at Laodicea is mentioned here and in only one
other place in the Bible. Besides here in Colossians chapter two, the
only other place the Bible mentions Laodicea is in the book of
Revelation (chapter 3, verses 14-22). Paul was struggling on behalf
of all the churches, as he wrote, for this holy purpose, “so
that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in
order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom
are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
“To know the Lord”, Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs, “is
the beginning of all wisdom”. Knowing Christ, then, is like finding
“all treasures of wisdom and knowledge”, since Jesus is the Son
of God. Jesus is, as it says in Revelation, the alpha and the omega,
the beginning and the end. So it is very fitting that all treasures
of wisdom and knowledge, the whole entirety thereof, be found in
Christ and him alone. And it's because, you see, he is and shall
always be “before all things”.
The
next step in the acquisition of Godly and genuine wisdom was defined
by Paul as being a matter of faith when he wrote, “just
as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted
and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness”.
Receiving Jesus into our hearts is something to be renewed on a daily
basis, like filling up your gas tank.
We
can keep running on pure Jesus provided that we have an ample supply
of his grace. How do we obtain this grace, this Spiritual fuel? By
placing our purest and most devoted faith in Jesus Christ and his
Holy Spirit, with
nothing held back,
we get the grace of God in return. That's what Jesus meant in the
Sermon on the Mount when he said, “Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God”.
Not necessarily face-to-face, but through having the Holy Spirit
dwelling within you so that He can act through you. It's not that God
withholds grace pending an outpouring of our faith as if it were some
kind of Spiritual exchange. His endless grace is a natural byproduct
of our faith. And let's all be sure, myself included, to be ever
thankful towards Jesus Christ for his supreme sacrifice for all of us
on the cross. We can never be thankful enough for all that He has
done and will do for us.
“For
in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you
have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power
and authority.”
This is the summation of the point the apostle Paul was making when
he wrote these words so long ago. Jesus Christ and he alone “is the
head over every power and authority”. He is the ruler of all things
just as the Father is the creator of all things. And we are saved by
Jesus our Savior by being given eternal life, “having
been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your
faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”
When Jesus was raised from the dead, we were all raised with him. It
is the very essence of Christianity. Jesus has eternal life, and so
do all who place their total belief in him. And now let's take a look
at the second half of chapter two.
“When
you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful
nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was
against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it
to a cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a
public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
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. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the
reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone worship who
delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you
for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has
seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has
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. Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this
world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its
rules: “Do not handle! Do not waste! Do not touch!”? These are
all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human
commands and teachings. 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.”
Paul
highlights the passion of Christ as he writes, “...that
was against us and that stood opposed to us; ... having disarmed the
powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross.”
Since we are all a part of the Family of God, anything that stands
against us also stands against Jesus, and vice versa. The early
church was subject to much persecution by the Roman authorities,
partly due to the fact that the Roman government of that time viewed
the concept of monotheism, the teaching that there is but one true
God, as a potential threat to their “national security” (sound
familiar?). But the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ
disarmed not just the Roman authorities of the day, it took down all
man-made authority for all time. Not as an act of sedition, which is
violent revolt, but instead through an act of contrition by the
Supreme Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. All who have the Holy
Spirit within them maintain a contrite and thankful heart towards
Christ.
“Do
not let anyone judge you”, Paul
wrote to the early believers, many of whom found themselves
ostracized for their faith,
“by what you eat or drink” ... “the reality, however, is found
in Christ”.
There are all kinds of religions that prohibit the consumption of
certain foods, or of alcoholic beverages and so on. There are many
others that are opposed to abortion for any
reason. Still others disagree over what day the Sabbath should be,
even though it says in the Bible the Sabbath is on the seventh day of
the week (the problem is our Western calendar and the ancient Hebrew
calendar are sufficiently different to cloud that issue). There are
still others who insist God is a right-wing conservative, when in
fact the very term “conservative Christian” is an oxymoron. I
personally think most of these are side-issues that are completely
incidental to Christianity, but that's not in the Bible either. The
core issue is – are you saved for an eternity with God or aren't
you? If so, good – and stay that way because His coming is quite
near. If not, today is as good a time as any. I am usually by my
phone except for overnight hours, but search “Billy Graham prayer
line” on your computer or your mobile device and call the toll-free
number for prayer if you can't get hold of me, it's open 24 hours a
day. This is very serious. Reboot, or initialize, your lifetime
relationship with Jesus Christ. Wherever you spend eternity depends
upon it. Do it now.
Paul
concludes chapter two with these words: “Since
you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as
though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do
not handle! Do not waste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to
perish with use, because they are based on human commands and
teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom …
but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”
Let me be very clear right here. Paul isn't advocating anarchy or
lawlessness when he asks why the church at Colossi is still
conforming to all the rules. I don't think Paul was referring to
living under Roman rule, which was quite brutal in itself, so much as
he was writing about the laws of the Synagogue where they worshiped.
Remember that the apostle Paul was born and raised a Jew, as was
Jesus, John the Baptist, and eleven out of the twelve original
apostles (Luke was the only Gentile). As you recall from previous
studies, the Jewish sacred text called the Torah was comprised of the
first five books of the Old Testament, also called the Law of Moses
during Jesus' lifetime. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
ended the Old Testament and began the new one, with the Law of Moses
being replaced by the Law of Jesus. Jesus, by his own definition, was
the fulfillment of the Law of Moses since he was the Son of God.
So Paul was writing about the fact that those who were
still worshiping God while adhering to the Law of Moses were doing so
in vain. They should have and ought to have been worshiping Christ as
their sole Lord and Savior instead. Such rules look well thought out
and painstakingly crafted, but they don't hold people back from evil.
Only the internal dwelling of the Holy Spirit can do that, and we
only obtain that by asking Jesus for it. Only by asking Jesus to come
and live within our hearts can we have the Holy Spirit. When we have
the Holy Spirit we gain access to all the love, the purity, the
goodness, the mercy, the power and the glory of Jesus Christ. The
more we do these things, the more like Him we will become. And that,
dear readers, is the whole idea!
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