Colossians 2:9-15
Staying on Track
I. \\#1:1-2:23\\ Christ Exalted Through His Person and His Work
A. \\#1:1-12\\ Introduction
1. \\#1-2\\ Paul’s Salutation
2. \\#1:3-8\\ Paul’s Recognition
3. \\#1:9-11\\ Paul’s Prayer
B. \\#1:12-2:3\\ The Person of Christ
1. \\#1:12-14\\ Paul’s Thanks
2. \\#1:15-22\\ Paul’s Message
a. \\#15-17\\ Who Jesus is in Creation.
(1) \\#15\\ Jesus, the image of the invisible God.
(2) \\#15\\ Jesus, the firstborn of every creature.
(3) \\#16\\ Jesus, the Creator of all things.
(4) \\#17\\ Jesus, the One before all things.
(5) \\#17\\ Jesus, the One by whom all things consist.
b. \\#18-21\\ Who Jesus is in the church
(1) \\#18\\ Jesus, the Head of the body.
(2) \\#18\\ Jesus, the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.
(3) \\#19\\ Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead.
(4) \\#20\\ Jesus. the Peacemaker.
(5) \\#21\\ Jesus, the Reconciler.
(6) \\#22\\ Jesus, the Presenter.
3. \\#1:23\\ Paul’s Challenge
4. \\1:24-2:3\\ Paul’s Ministry
a. \\#1:24\\ Paul Enduring
b. \\#1:25-28\\ Paul Entrusted
c. \\#2:1-3\\ Paul Expected
C. \\#2:4-23\\ Warnings to the Church
1. \\#2:4-7\\ Don’t Be Beguiled
2. \\#2:8-15\\ Don’t Be (Spoiled) Ruined
3. \\#2:16-17\\ Don’t Be (Judged) Condemned
4. \\#2:18\\ Don’t Lose Your Reward
5. \\#2:19-23\\ Don’t Lose Your Christ
D. \\#2:10-23\\ The Solution is to Remember
1. \\#2:9-10\\ Who Christ is.
2. \\#2:11-15\\ What Christ has done.
3. \\#2:16-23\\ What we should do.
II. \\#3:1-4:18\\ Christ Exalted Through His People
We have been looking at an important section where Paul gives warnings to the
church at Colosse, and us via them, concerning those things which can ruin a good
church. In the midst of giving the warnings, Paul also gives counsel on how to
avoid falling into the snares that he describes. Because the warnings and
solution are woven together, we have already hit upon part of the counsel, but
let’s go back and look at the solution as a whole.
In order to avoid the dangers, the church must understand and remember some
truths. All of these truths center around Christ and His ministry; hence, we
return to the theme of the book, the Exaltation of Christ.
What things should we understand?
I. \\#9-10\\ We should understand who Christ is.
A. Many heresies come by misunderstanding who Jesus is and our
relationship to Him.
1. Did Jesus "become" God?
2. Is Jesus a "creation" of God?
3. Is Jesus one of God’s sons?
4. These and other issues make Jesus somehow less than God.
5. In three simple statements, Paul eliminates the possibility of so
many false teachings.
a. I have reminded you several times that most feel these thoughts
were directed toward the Gnostics. Perhaps Paul was speaking
to those who were developing the seeds of that cult.
b. However, it may be that Paul is merely sharing truth. Truth
shared does not have to be directed at anyone.
B. We understand that in Jesus is God - In Him dwells all the fullness of
the Godhead in an earthly body.
1. That means that Jesus is the embodiment of God, or that Jesus is
God incarnate.
2. Plainly spoken, Jesus is God put into flesh.
a. That truth combined with \\#Mal 3:6\\ means that Jesus is God
in totality.
Mal 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not
consumed.
(1) He was not "like" God.
(2) He was not becoming or achieving God.
(3) He was not what God "became."
(4) He was (and is) God, the Eternal, the Almighty, the
Omnipotent, poured into human flesh.
b. That truth combined with \\#John 3:16\\ means that Jesus is
uniquely God.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
(1) Jesus is not one of many or one of several or even one of
two.
(2) Jesus is the One and Only embodiment of God.
C. We understand that in Jesus is Our Completer - We are complete in Him.
1. Because Jesus is all God, when we become One with Him, then we
ourselves are complete.
2. Nothing more needs to be added to us, especially for salvation.
a. Not Judaism. (We do not need to keep any Old Testament laws in
order to be made whole.)
b. Not baptism.
c. Not church membership.
(1) We do not need this or any other religious membership to
make us complete.
(2) Church is important for growth, for service, for
fellowship, and for other reasons; but not for salvation.
d. Not time. (We do not have to wait until we get to heaven to
find out if we are complete.)
e. Not purgatory. (We do not have to go to a holding place to be
purged before we are complete.)
D. We understand that Jesus is the Head - He is the Head of all….
1. The text mentions that Jesus is the head of all principality and
power.
a. Principalities means rulers or lords.
(1) Literally the word means "firsts," referring to those who
started or created a thing.
(2) Typically, those who create something own or operate it.
(3) Jesus is Lord of the creators.
b. Powers means authorities or strengths. That means that Jesus
is the Boss of the bosses; or as the Bible puts it, King of
kings.
2. These two phrases then mean that Jesus is Ruler, Master, Head of
all powers, authorities, or rulers.
3. This certainly makes Jesus OUR Head, a relationship we should
desire to maintain.
II. \\#11-15\\ We should understand what Christ has done.
A. \\#11\\ Christ has removed our sin.
1. Paul reveals the same thought in several different images.
a. \\#11\\ Revealed through circumcision.
b. \\#12\\ Revealed through baptism.
c. \\#14\\ Revealed through nailing the ordinances to the cross.
2. All three of these thoughts tell us that Christ has separated our
sins from us and removed it.
a. Circumcision is a picture of the cutting away of the sinful
flesh.
(1) The Bible is not hinting that physical relationship
between a husband and wife is in any way wrong.
(2) It is hinting that our sinful nature is part of our most
personal, private, and intimate being.
(3) We are not just sinners in our actions but in the most
private parts of the heart.
b. Baptism is a picture of the burying of our dead flesh.
(1) \\#12\\ The Bible sells that we are "buried with Him,"
Jesus.
(2) You bury the things that are dead not alive.
(3) Christ has cut away that sinful part of us.
(a) It is dead and now must be disposed of.
(b) Baptism is a picture of several things, but among
them baptism pictures the separation between our
old life and our new life.
(c) Jesus was buried (separated) for three days and when
He arose, He was not the same.
(d) So our sins and sinful nature has been cut off and
buried.
(e) As we shall see, it did not come out of the gave the
same either but was gloriously changed.
c. Nailing the ordinances to the cross is a picture the crimes
which killed us being paid for.
(1) Sin killed us. This is a analogy presented throughout the
Bible.
Ro 7:11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew
me.
(2) Every sinful charge that killed us was posted upon Jesus’
cross, summarized in the plague which was nailed above
Jesus’ head.
(3) If those crimes had not been paid for by Jesus, even if we
had been made alive again (like Lazarus, and the maid
whom Jesus raised, and Dorcas, and every other
resurrection of the Bible except for Jesus), we would
have had to die again!
(4) Once the crimes had been paid for, death can not get us
again!
3. So all three of these pictures point to the work of Christ in
removing our sins.
B. \\#12-13\\ Christ has raised us.
1. \\#13\\ So a major emphasis was that sin had killed us but Christ
removed our sins.
a. The part of us that circumcision removed, baptism buried, and
the crimes that killed us was removed by Jesus.
b. But that leaves us "forgiven" yet still dead and buried.
c. \\#12\\ So Jesus then raised us!
2. The resurrection!
a. The resurrection speaks of life beyond death.
(1) I have said before that Jesus has done far more than was
required.
(2) If there was no resurrection, then some cults could be
right.
(3) Our sins being gone, we could simply cease to exist.
(4) Oblivion would be sweet sleep compared to damnation.
b. The resurrection speaks of the power of God.
c. The resurrection speaks of new life.
3. All of these are provided for us by Jesus.
C. \\#15\\ In doing this, Christ has spoiled the spoilers.
1. The spoilers of this verse speak of the devil and his gang.
a. The devil, his buddies death and hell, have all been spoiled.
b. They have no power over us.
c. Their threat has been neutralized.
d. They can do nothing to us.
2. As we understand this, we must spoil those who seek to derail us.
a. Those beguilers and tricksters who try to confuse and pull us
away from our Lord.
b. They are servants of the spoilers whom Jesus has already
defeated.
c. By knowing and understanding these truths, we will not be
derailed by them in our walk with Jesus.
III. \\#16-23\\ We should remember what we are to do.
A. \\#16-17\\ We are not to let another judge and condemn our liberties.
1. At the beginning of this book, I mentioned that some believe this
epistle was written to rebuttal Gnosticism.
a. Perhaps Paul did have in mind dealing with some of the false
teachings that would become Gnosticism.
b. However, one of the main doctrinal problems of that day was
legalism, the false teaching that grace and law had to be
mixed for salvation.
c. It seems obvious from these verses that Paul had that false
teaching on his mind.
2. Regardless of what doctrines Paul might have feared coming into
this church, the truth is that once we lose sound foundational
doctrines, we become subject to man’s philosophies and heresies—
whatever they may be.
B. \\#19-23\\ If we do…
1. \\#18\\ We lose our rewards.
a. This is a confusing passage.
b. Paul is warning us that some who are proud (vainly puffed up by
his fleshly mind) and ignorant (intruding into those things
which he hath not seen), will try to deceive you.
c. In so doing, they will cost us some rewards.
d. Now here is where the verse gets confusing. I think the
rewards that Paul mentions deal with:
(1) "voluntary humility" - Our humility
(a) I don’t know many who do but I would think that
people who correct the Bible must be a proud lot.
(b) The influence of proud people in our life tends to
make us proud too.
(c) A humble spirit is the spirit that God requires of
His servants.
(d) Those with a humble spirit shall be greatly rewarded.
Mt 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same
is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud,
but giveth grace unto the humble.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may
exalt you in due time:
(2) "worshipping of angels" - Our service
(a) I do not know if that is what Paul meant by this
phrase or not.
(b) It is obvious that Paul is not encouraging us to
worship angels for that is idolatry. (However I
have never understood why John would attempt to
worship a messenger of God TWICE!)
Re 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do
it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of
Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Re 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and
seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these
things.
9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of
thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book:
worship God.
(c) "Worshipping" means religious observance.
(d) The Greek word is translated "religion" the three
other times it is used
\\#Acts 26:5, James 1:26, 27\\.
(e) The word for "angelic" means messenger and could be
the heavenly or earthly kind.
(f) So the phrase could mean the "religion of God’s
messengers or servants."
(g) Some have been robbed of their religion or service
to God by these derailers.
2. \\#19\\ We cease to hold Jesus as the Head of the body.
a. Here again, Paul refers to the blessed relationship the
believer now has with Christ.
(1) He is our Head.
(2) By the Head, we are all knitted together, made into one
body.
(3) By the Head, we are all nourished.
(4) By the Head, we are all increased.
b. If we do not believe and obey Jesus, He is not our Head.
c. We can say that He is, but the proof is in our actions.
d. In essence, those who forsake true teachings are losing their
Jesus.
3. \\#20\\ We make ourselves subject to man and his ordinances.
a. Again, this appears to me to be directed to the Judaizers and
legalists not the Gnostics.
b. \\#20\\ Paul speaks of putting ourselves back under the
"rudiments of the world."
(1) \\#21\\ Things like the don’t touch, don’t taste, don’t
handle.
(2) These seem to be an obvious reference back to the Law.
c. \\#21\\ All of these things, although given by God, deal only
with the world and will perish with it.
d. \\#23\\ While they may appear to some to be wise in
controlling your will, humbling yourself, and even neglecting
yourself, they have no lasting value.
We will stop here. From this point, we will look at the same theme, the
Exaltation of Christ and God, but we will now see it how it is to be accomplished
through the believers instead of through Christ.
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