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Study: The Colossians EpistleText for Next Sunday Morning (August 7th): Colossians 2:20-23 The Supremacy of Jesus Christ Over Human Ideology; Part 1Colossians 2:16-19 Colossians 2:16-19 (NKJV): 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. IntroductionLast time, we finished a two-week study entitled, "The Supremacy of Jesus Christ in Complete Atonement." During that study, we studied 1) Our Completeness in Jesus Christ's Circumcision, 2) His Baptism, 3) His Deliverance, 4) His Cross and 5) His Triumph. In short, the theme of these verses is encapsulated in verse 10 which says, "you are complete in Him" (i.e., true believers, through their spiritual union with Jesus Christ, stand absolutely complete). In other words, for spiritual fullness (i.e., both in salvation and sanctification), one need look no farther than Jesus Christ). For Jesus Christ is all-sufficient! This is in sharp contrast to the Colossian Heresy being propagated by the false teachers. As a reminder, these false teachers claimed to possess a higher, special, knowledge (i.e., spiritual secrets and hidden truths over-and-beyond Jesus Christ and His Word as contained in Scripture). As such, the false teachers exalted themselves as an exclusive group of the spiritually elite, who offered to let the Colossians in on their superior knowledge. And what was this supposed superior knowledge? That Jesus Christ was not sufficient; in which case, according to the false teachers, the Colossian believers were lacking and needed something in addition to Jesus Christ alone. Therefore, because true Christians are absolutely complete through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, Paul warns the Colossians against becoming entangled in this Colossian Heresy. A heresy, which included elements of: 1) worldly philosophy, 2) legalism, 3) mysticism and 4) asceticism. We studied Paul's warnings against worldly philosophy (i.e., empty deceit) back in verses 8-10. Next week, we will study Paul's warnings regarding asceticism. This week, we will study Paul's warnings against legalism and mysticism. It will be Part 1 of a two-week study entitled, "The Supremacy of Jesus Christ Over Human Ideology." 1. The Supremacy of Jesus Christ Over Legalism So (NKJV) / Therefore (NASB)- Here is the connection we just mentioned. This word is what connects everything we have studied in verses 8-15 (i.e., our absolute completeness in Jesus Christ) with the rest of chapter two (i.e., Paul's warnings against legalism, mysticism and asceticism). In essence, Paul is saying, "You are absolutely complete in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ; therefore" A. The Shadow Here we see Paul warn the Colossians against legalism. Specifically, legalistic teachings regarding one's diet and observance of certain days. What do we mean by the term "legalism?" In its most pure form, legalism is, "Adherence to the law in an effort to make oneself righteous before God." In other words, it is a religion of human achievement (e.g., Christ plus works). As such, the result is innumerable man-made rules and regulations superimposed upon God's law (i.e., primarily the OT Mosaic law; but also God's instruction as contained in the NT). Practically speaking, variant strains of this error infiltrate today's church by professed believers imposing their subjective beliefs, standards and preferences upon all others. In short, legalists attempt to measure one's spirituality (i.e., that of their own or someone else) by conformity to man-made rules. Here in Colossians, the false teachers were apparently asserting that spiritual fullness (i.e., salvation and sanctification) required one to return to the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. We see it first regarding dietary laws (i.e., eating and drinking). As one can see in Leviticus 11, the Old Testament categorized certain foods as either clean or unclean. The spiritual purposes underlying this were primarily two-fold: 1) to familiarize God's people with the concepts of purity and impurity and 2) to distinguish God's people from the rest of the world. Legalists however, as always, attach an unwarranted spiritual significance inherent in the food and drink itself (i.e., an undue focus on the external as opposed to the internal (viz., man's heart)). In fact, this is the chief characteristic of a legalist. However, Scripture is clear that the Person and Work of Jesus Christ rendered those dietary laws obsolete (i.e., abolished them). See Mark 7:18-19; Matthew 15:1-20; Acts 10:1-16; 1 Corinthians 8:8; Acts 15:28-29. Further, that foods and drinks are not inherently unlawful. Therefore, Paul states that we are not to judge others or allow anyone else to pass judgment on us in regard to food or drink. It is as if Paul is saying, "Do not sacrifice your freedom in Jesus Christ for a bunch of man-made rules and regulations; instead glory in the absolute completeness you have in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ!" Galatians 5:1 (NKJV): Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Likewise with special days in the OT (e.g., Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Lights, New Moon celebrations and the Sabbath). Just as with the dietary laws, Christ fulfilled them all, and in doing so, rendered these special days obsolete (including the Sabbath). All said, this rendered the Old Testament dietary laws and observance of special days as, "a shadow of things to come," Application- For those of us who are complete in Jesus Christ, we have been freed from the bondage of the law and man-made rules which only serve to damn sinners, not save them. As such, we should glory in the completeness and freedom we have in Jesus Christ! Glory in the Christian liberty we enjoy through Jesus Christ; restricting it only: a) to protect a weaker brother or sister in Christ from offense/stumbling (see 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14-15) and/or b) to protect our own conscience! In short, whether it is in food, drink or special days, whatever we do, do it unto the glory of our Lord! In contrast, legalism should be absolutely shunned. Why? First, it is absolutely useless because it cannot restrain sinful flesh. Instead, like the law which legalists embrace, legalism only arouses sin (see Romans 7:5). Second, as MacArthur puts it, "Legalism is dangerously deceptive, because inwardly rebellious and disobedient Christians, or even non-Christians, can conform to a set of external performance standards or rituals." Note- Parents should be careful not to produce legalistic Pharisees (e.g., in regard to their children's clothing, music, movies, activities, speech, hair, etc.)!! It is not external conformity which matters most, it is an internal spirit of obedience (i.e., the heart). Third, legalism results in a mere surface faith. Why? Because legalists emphasize the things which are superficial, artificial and unimportant (viz.,man-made rules) in lieu of the deep, authentic, meaningful things of utmost importance (viz., a heart which loves, adores, worships and obeys Jesus Christ out of gratitude for His suffering on the cross as our sinless substitute). Fourth, legalism ignores the sins hidden in the heart (e.g., coveting, bitterness, hatred, anger, wrath, jealousy, envy, sexual lust, worldly materialism, etc.). As Hughes notes, "Legalism limits one to shallow self-righteousness, and thus damns him." Fifth, legalism results in a judgmental and joyless spirit. In contrast, only God's infinite and sovereign grace through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ results in freedom, joy, peace and contentment whereby one can truly glory in our Lord! B. The Substance The legalistic rules imposed by the false teachers were only a mere shadow. And as we all know, a shadow has no substance or reality in and of itself. Instead, it only reflects a substantive reality. Here, Jesus Christ is that substance. In other words, the Old Testament ceremonial laws were not an end in and of themselves; but instead only served to point forward to the real substance of Jesus Christ Himself! Luke 24:25-27 (NKJV): 25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. MacArthur- "Paul's point is simple: true spirituality does not consist merely of keeping external rules, but of having an inner relationship with Jesus Christ." 2. The Supremacy of Jesus Christ Over Mysticism Mysticism (MacArthur)- "The pursuit of a deeper or higher subjective religious experience. It is the belief that spiritual reality is perceived apart from the human intellect and natural senses. It looks for truth internally, weighing feelings, intuition and other internal sensations more heavily than objective, observable, external data. Mysticism ultimately derives its authority from a self-actualized, self-authenticated light rising from within. This irrational and anti-intellectual approach is the antithesis of Christian theology." Hughes- "We must say that Christian mysticism per se is not evil, for its goal is a deeper knowledge of God. What we are talking about here is a deceptive mysticism which is not rooted in Christ. In this context, it's a mysticism derived from the pretense/imagination of the Gnostics." A. The Veneer Let No One Cheat You of Your Reward- The Colossian Heretics were claiming a supposed mystical union with God that the Colossians lacked. So, Paul warns the Colossians against allowing these false teachers "to keep defrauding them of their prize" (NASB) (i.e., losing their temporal blessings and future eternal rewards by being led astray into ineffectual mysticism). What was this deceptive mysticism based on? False humility, angel worship, and visions; all of which were a veneer (i.e., thinly disguised puffed-up, fleshly, horrific and sinful pride). In short, as with all false teaching and false doctrine, the sinful undercurrent is self-exaltation. False Humility- The Colossian Heretics acted so humble. In fact, the text says they delighted in their humility. Their line was probably something like this, "We are not good enough to go directly to God, so we begin humbly with one of the angels/emanations, which, if we are in correct spirit, will elevate our requests to God on our behalf." In short, they were sinfully proud of their humility! Application- The split second you believe you have attained humility is the same split second you lost it! In other words, just when you think you have it, you just lost it! Be careful to not take pride in your humility. There is no humility in that kind of thinking; instead it is just sinful, ugly, pride (i.e., a self-made veneer). Worship of Angels- As we just touched on, the Colossian Heretics also erred in their worship of angels; which is very serious error indeed. Scripture is clear that there is one mediator between man and God (i.e., the all-sufficient Jesus Christ as seen in 1 Timothy 2:5). Anything else, including angel worship, is sinful idolatry. See Matthew 4:10; Isaiah 6:1-4; Revelation 5:11-12; Revelation 19:10; Revelation 22:9). Intruding Into Those Things Which He Has Not Seen- All indications are that this is regarding the false teachers' supposed special visions; in which they went into great detail about what they had seen. This was a technical phrase used in that day to describe, "Someone being admitted to a higher grade in one of the mystery religions." Through this, they claimed to be, "On the inside" (i.e., have the inside scoop). Vainly Puffed Up By His Fleshly Mind- Again, all of this was nothing short of a thinly disguised spiritual pride and arrogance (i.e., a veneer). Translated differently, Paul says, "His unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." Their veneer was humility; their heart was one of conceit. Hendriksen- "The man pretends (perhaps even believes) to have seen something, and he presumes on this experience he has had. He makes the most of it. If any one ventures to contradict him or to question the truth of his theories, he will answer, "But I have seen such and such vision." In saying this and in relating the vision he will, of course, assume an air of deep insight into divinely revealed mysteries. He prides himself on what he regards as his superior knowledge." Application- Today's brand of mysticism is most commonly seen in the charismatic movement where special visions and secret revelations take precedence over the objective and absolute divine truth as clearly depicted in Scripture. While emotions certainly have a role in our worship of, and our walk with, our Lord; we should be extremely careful that these emotions are based on a well-informed knowledge of Scripture. Which will result in real humility; not spiritual pride. B. The Vine Here is the underlying root of the problem. False teachers will have nothing to do with the all-sufficient Jesus Christ of Scripture. He fails to see that Jesus Christ is all-sufficient for salvation and sanctification and that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him. As such, He does not cling to Jesus Christ. In short, this verse teaches that Jesus Christ is the head of His Church as earlier stated by Paul back in 1:18. As the figurative head of the body, Jesus Christ is the one and only source of any and all spiritual growth. In other words, spiritual growth comes only from union with Christ. John 15:4-5: Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. Hendriksen- "The main idea is that to Christ the entire church owes it growth. The church need not, and must not, look for any other source of strength to overcome sin or to increase in knowledge, virtue and joy. Just as the human body, when properly supported and held together by joints and ligaments, experiences normal growth, so also the church, when each of its members supports and maintains loving contact with the others, will, under the sustaining care of God, proceed from grace to grace and from glory to glory." Teacher: Darin Lawson |