Series: Colossians: Supreme!
Title: “How to resist deceptive cults, religions, and philosophies of this world and why”
Scripture: Colossians 2:8-10
(Commentary helps listed at the end)
Bottom line this week: Resist instead of settling for the deceptive philosophies of this world by embracing the fullness of Christ Jesus himself in you.
Opening story:
People are easy to fool. P. 255
“That little incident is a good illustration of all the earth-born religions. People talk about having faith; they tell you to look in a direction there is absolutely nothing. (Like look inside yourself) Some poeple are so desperately in need of seeing something that they will look till they are almost blind, yet they never catch a glimpse of anything real.” -Donald Barnhouse
Many of us have heard of family members, church members and friends who’ve left and followed a cult leader or false religion deceived by a charismatic leader or deceptive lies. It happens. If it wasn’t seductive, it wouldn’t happen. If it didn’t sound credible, no one would fall for it. But it is. And they do.
Philosophy = love of wisdom
“Everything that had to do with theories about God, the world, and the meaning of human life was called philosophy, both in the pagan and Jewish schools of the day. Both Judaism and Christianity are philosophical because they make holistic claims about the nature of reality and set values to guide life.” -Hughes
“What Paul was warning against was a dangerous philosophy made up of both elements of Judaism and Greek Gnosticism. Greek Gnosticism taught that a person must work his or her way up a long series of lesser gods, called emanations, before reaching the ultimate god. Here false Jewish teachers combined Hebrew rites and ascetic regulations with their philosophy as a better way to move up the spiritual ladder. It was all very mysterious, complicated, astrological, and snooty. But worst of all, it was very deadly because it mixed some of the truth of Hebrew religion with the delectably enticing mysteries of Eastern mysticism and Greek philosophy. This was presented as “something more” that would elevate the ignorant Colossian Christian’s from their crude baby-faith to the truly deep things of God. Evidently some succumbed.” -Hughes
Transition: Paul states his concern (shared with Epaphras) in 2:4. He then calls them to resist and gives them reasons to resist along with the power to resist. Spoiler alert: It centers on Jesus Christ.
Outline: (based on Hughes)
I. Charged to Resist. (2:8)
Paul’s warning notes 4 characteristics of this dangerously seductive philosophy:
It (the Gnostic philosophy) was deceptive. It sounded great but was “empty deceit.” (8)
It was purported to come from ancient and primal “human tradition.” (8) ex. If someone jumps off a cliff will you jump too?
It was demon controlled, depending on the “elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (8b)
Human traditions
Elemental — stars, planets i.e. astrology, horoscopes, ouiji boards
This was happening then. This happens today.
It is enslaving. “See to it that no one takes your captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.” (8)
“Take you captive” means to carry off, as prisoners were led away by victorious armies. “Cultic teaching asserts a death-like group on its followers, and few come out of it. Paul is saying, stay away from false teaching if you value you life.” (Refer back to v. 4 and last week) -Hughes
“How is it possible for one not to be sucked in by a philosophy that is subtly deceitful in its language, logically compelling within its system of reason, and enticingly moral? The only answer is the fullness of Christ.” -Hughes
II. Reasons to Resist. (2:9-10)
Because Christ is full of deity.
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (9)
Re-read Colossians 1:15-20
Umbrella = Covering that comes when I stay under his authority analogy
Would you rather be full of Christ or full of yourself?
Because we are full of Christ who is full of deity himself.
Christ is more than merely Godlike. More than simply overflowing with the character of God.
“This statement that ‘in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily’ (9) forever blasts the Gnostics’ idea that the fullness came through the emanations and angelic mediators. We can see the fullness of God in his work in the heavens and creation around us. But in Christ we see the face of God.” -Hughes
“This out to steel us against being taken captive by deceitful, empty philosophies.” -Hughes
Even more breath-taking: “Christ, full of Deity, fills us.” (10)
Illustration: “My wife and I once stood on the shore of the vast Pacific Ocean—two finite dots alongside a seemingly infinite expanse. As we stood there, we reflected that if I were to take a pint jar and allow the ocean to rush into it, in an instant my jar would be filled with the fullness of the Pacific (which is huge but finite). But I could never put the fullness of the Pacific Ocean into my jar! Thinking of Christ, we realize that because he is infinite, he can hold all the fullness of Deity. And whenever one of us finite creatures, dips the tiny vessel of our life into him, we instantly become full of his (infinite) fullness.”
Our souls are elastic in this sense. Our capacity is infinite because he made us to be able to contain the infinite fullness of Christ. Wow!
His fullness meets our individual needs. “He gives us what the moment requires: wisdom, strength, courage. We must remember too that as we experience the satisfaction of his fullness, a continual stream filling and overflowing our lives.”
He is a path, if any be misled;
He is a robe, if any naked be;
If any chance to hunger, he is bread;
If any be a bondsman, he is free;
If any be but weak, how strong is he!
To dead men, life he is, to sick men health,
To blind men sight, and to the needy, wealth.
-R.E.O. White
“If you are full of Christ, and growing in that fullness, if you are overflowing with Christ, the Gnostic appeals of the empty philosophies of our age will bear little appeal to you. If you are full of him, how can you want anything else?” -Hughes
How do we resist? See 2:6-7 again
And embracing the fullness of Christ that is already in us.
Alexander Maclauren put it this way:
“Though all the earth were covered with helpers and lovers of my soul, ‘as the sand by the sea short unnumerable,’ and all the heavens were sown with faces of angels who cared for me and succoured me, thick as the stars in the Milky Way—all could not do for me what I need. Yea, though all these were gathered into one mighty and loving creature, even he were no sufficient stay for one soul of man. We want more than creature help. We need the whole fulness of the Godhead to draw from. It is all there in Christ, for each of us. Whosoever will, let him draw freely. Why should we leave the fountain of living waters to hew out for ourselves, with infinite pains, broken cisterns that can hold no water? All we need is in Christ. Let us life our eyes from the low earth and all creatures, and behold ‘no man any more,’ as Lord and Helper, ‘save Jesus only,’ ‘that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
“Let us covenant with God to invite more of his fulness.” -Hughes
Bottom line this week: Resist instead of settling for the deceptive philosophies of this world by embracing the fullness of Christ Jesus himself in you.
Conclusion
We need to learn to treat our Bibles like love letters from God. How did you treat your love letters?
Why did I hold it, read it, re-read it, smell it? Because of what it said. Yes, in part. But mainly because of who sent it.
Pray
Lord’s Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:17-32
Other
Pace notes
Main idea: “God calls us to grow in our walks with Christ in order to strengthen our faith and find our fulfillment in him.”
I. We must deepen our intimacy with Christ. (2:6-7)
II. We must denounce the insufficiency of Christ. (2:8-10
A. False teaching 1) deceives us and 2) denies Christ. (8) (This is the fundamental flaw) “depends on” vs. “rooted and built up”
False teachings about person of Jesus Christ. (Who he is)
False teachings about works of Jesus Christ. (What he’s done/doing)
Our culture does this through
Persuasive philosophies
Worldly values
To combat, we must
“Recognize the infinite worth of Christ” (person and work) “as the only source of truly fulfillment (being in the word) and
“Denounce any teaching to the contrary.” (Based on the word)
B. Faithful teaching 1) edifies us and 2) exalts Christ. (9-10)
Intimacy with Christ + Sufficiency of Christ + Defining our identity in Christ = Strengthening of our faith in Christ
Faith in Christ must be exclusive and singular. There’s no room for Christ + anyone/anything.
Person and work of Jesus Christ is at stake!
False teaching —> Deceives us + Denies Christ
Faithful teaching —> Edifies us + Exalts Christ
Quite the contrast!
Another contrast is the barren emptiness of deceptive teaching vs. the divine fullness of Christ.
Cf. “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him” (1:19)
W.W.
I. Keep making spiritual progress. (2:4-7)
Colossians 2:6 (BEC): Paul had already encouraged his readers to “walk worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:10), and later he used this image again (Col. 3:7; 4:5
Colossians 2:7a (BEC): The tree (v. 7a). Rooted is an agricultural word. The tense of the Greek word means “once and for all having been rooted.” Christians are not to be tumbleweeds that have no roots and are blown about by “every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14)
By reviewing these pictures of spiritual progress, we see how the growing Christian can easily defeat the enemy and not be led astray. If his spiritual roots are deep in Christ, he will not want any other soil. If Christ is his sure foundation, he has no need to move. If he is studying and growing in the Word, he will not be easily enticed by false doctrine. And if his heart is overflowing with thanksgiving, he will not even consider turning from the fullness he has in Christ. A grounded, growing, grateful believer will not be led astray.
II. Watch out for spiritual perils. (2:8-10)
Colossians 2:8–10 (BEC): Paul continued the military image with this warning: “Beware lest any man carry you off as a captive” (literal translation). The false teachers did not go out and win the lost, no more than the cultists do today. They “kidnapped” converts from churches!
Colossians 2:8–10 (BEC): How is it possible for false teachers to capture people? The answer is simple: These “captives” are ignorant of the truths of the Word of God. They become fascinated by the philosophy and empty delusion of the false teachers. (This is not to say that all philosophy is wrong, because there is a Christian philosophy of life. The word simply means “to love wisdom.”) When a person does not know the doctrines of the Christian faith, he can easily be captured by false religions
Colossians 2:8–10 (BEC): is a true Christian tradition (1 Cor. 15:3ff; 2 Thes. 2:15; 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:2). The important thing about any teaching is its origin: Did it come from God or from man? The religious leaders in our Lord’s day had their traditions and were very zealous to obey them and protect them (Matt. 15:1–20). Even the Apostle Paul, before he met the Lord, was “exceedingly zealous of the traditions” (Gal. 1:14).
Colossians 2:8–10 (BEC): But in ancient Greece, this word also meant “the elemental spirits of the universe, the angels that influenced the heavenly bodies.” It was one of the words in the vocabulary of the religious astrology of that day. P
Colossians 2:8–10 (BEC): The gnostics believed that the angels and the heavenly bodies influenced people’s lives…The fact that this teaching is not after Christ is sufficient to warn us against horoscopes, astral charts, Ouija boards, and other spiritist practices
Why follow empty philosophy when we have all fullness in Christ? This is like turning away from the satisfying river to drink at the dirty cisterns of the world (Jer. 2:13). Of course, the false teachers in Colossae did not ask the believers to forsake Christ. They asked them to make Christ a part of the new system. But this would only remove Him from His rightful place of preeminence.
My thought:
We all do this. We add idols to our worship of God making us double-minded in all that we do.
Back to WW:
So Paul gave the true and lasting antidote to all false teaching: “All fullness is in Christ, and you have been made full in Him. Why, then, would you need anything else?” (see Col. 2:9–10)
We have seen the word “fullness” (pleroma) before (Col. 1:19). It means “the sum total of all that God is, all of His being and attributes.” This word was used by the gnostics, but they did not give it the same meaning as did Paul. To them, the pleroma was the source of all the “emanations” through which men could come to God. The highest point in gnostic religious experience was to share in the pleroma.
Of course, there are no emanations from God. The gulf between heaven and earth was bridged in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He is declared to be “Emmanuel, God with us” (Matt. 1:23). Jesus Christ is the fullness of God, and that fullness dwells continually and permanently in Him bodily. Once again, Paul refuted the gnostic doctrine that matter was evil and that Jesus did not have a human body.
When Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He went in a human body. It was a glorified body, to be sure, but it was real. After His resurrection, our Lord was careful to assure His disciples that He was the same Person in the same body; He was not a ghost or a spirit (see John 20:19–29). There is a glorified Man in heaven! The God-Man, Jesus Christ, embodies the fullness of God!
Now, the remarkable thing is this: every believer shares that fullness! “And you are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10). The tense of the Greek verb indicates that this fullness is a permanent experience.
When a person is born again into the family of God, he is born complete in Christ. His spiritual growth is not by addition, but by nutrition. He grows from the inside out. Nothing needs to be added to Christ because He already is the very fullness of God. As the believer draws on Christ’s fullness, he is “filled unto all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19). What more does he need?
Indeed, there are spiritual perils that the Christian faces. The fundamental test of any religious teaching is, “Where does it put Jesus Christ—His person and His work?” Does it rob Him of His fullness? Does it deny either His deity or His humanity? Does it affirm that the believer must have some “new experience” to supplement his experience with Christ? If so, that teaching is wrong and dangerous.
III. Draw on your own spiritual provisions. (2:11-15)
WW outline for a message:
In this chapter, Paul gets to the heart of the problem and denounces the false teachers. He asserts clearly the sufficiency of Christ for every need. He sounds three warnings, and these warnings are needed just as much today as in his day
Colossians 2:1–10 (WEONT):
I. Beware of Empty Philosophies (2:1–10)
A. Walk in Christ (v. 6).
As you were saved by faith, so walk by faith. As you were saved by the Word, so walk according to the Word. As you were saved through the work of the Spirit, so walk in the Spirit. The Christian life continues as it began, by faith in God.
B. Grow up in Christ (v. 7).
Have roots that dig down into the richness of the Word. Have foundations that are strong, laid upon Jesus Christ. How important it is to be taught the Word of God! Believers fall prey to religious philosophies unless they are rooted in Christ, grounded in the Word, and built up in Bible truth.
C. Make Christ the test (v. 8).
Test every high-sounding religious system by asking, “Does it give Christ the place of preeminence?” Almost every religious system today gives Christ an eminent place, but only true Bible Christianity gives Him the preeminent place.
D. Draw on His fullness (vv. 9–10).
Realize that there is no substitute for Christ and that in Him we have all that we need. When believers drift into worldly living, or are taken prey by man-made systems, it is usually because they feel they lack something that Jesus Christ cannot supply. “You are made full in Him!” What a wonderful position we have in Christ!
OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS:
Sacrifice happens inside the Temple
“Sacrifice happens inside the temple.” -Chris Karpus
In the OT, sacrifice happened first inside the Tabernacle and later the Temple.
In the NT, we Christ-followers—individually and collectively—are the temple in which the Spirit of Christ resides. Therefore, sacrifice happens inside of us as we gladly submit and surrender all to him.
Fighting Wolves
I recall a story about a pastor who was concerned about some unsavory businesses that had opened near a school. His protests finally led to a court case, and the defense attorney did all he could to embarrass the Gospel minister.
“Are you not a pastor?” the lawyer asked. “And doesn’t the word pastor mean ‘shepherd’?”
To this definition the minister agreed.
“Well, if you are a shepherd, why aren’t you out taking care of the sheep?”
“Because today I’m fighting the wolves!” was the pastor’s quick reply, and a good answer it was.
Knowing that there were enemies already attacking the church in Colossae, Paul offered encouragement. By heeding his admonitions, the Colossians would overcome their enemies
You made converts, not disciples
Then there’s the MS story. This middle eastern woman comes to Christ and immediately starts making disciples who make disciples. When her future husband meets her she’s already started 25 house churches of about 250 people in 5 cities.
When she moves to America with her new husband (Pastor X) she eventually finds herself depressed saying,
“The western Church is under a satanic lullaby and I’m going to sleep. And every time I want to wake up the lullaby goes faster.”
When they returned to this middle eastern country she was from, the movement then grew to 5,000.
Leaders are “making a mess of the country and Jesus is just the cleanup crew.” -Pastor X
1,300 leaders arrested that year—enemy #1 was the house church movement.
Q. Why is persecution not growing the church? pastor x asked God.
God answered, “You made converts, not disciples. Converts run away from persecution. Disciples will die for me.”
“Because she encountered me she will die for me. You must give the word of God but it must be sealed by the power of God.”
Now doing a disciple making movement (DMM).
As some are running to the mountains for their lives and staying in caves, they are also starting up their zoom meetings so they can reach more people for Jesus. Wow.
20:21 mark: “The only way to change a nation is through discipleship.” -Steve T. “…Through love.”
As I reflect on Tim Keller’s summary of Larry Hurtado’s main points in his book, I see a lot of wisdom to help me lead our church going forward.
I learned about this article while having lunch with Neal McGlohon. He summarized the o
5 points in a slightly different order . Neal shared it this way:
1. The early church was multi-racial and experienced a unity across ethnic boundaries that was startling. (Democrat, Progressive concerns)
3. The early church was famous for its hospitality to the poor and the suffering. (Democrat, Progressive concerns)
2. The early church was a community of forgiveness and reconciliation. (What both sides thinks it’s doing when in fact what we see is fighting for power)
4. It was a community committed to the sanctity of life. (Republican; conservative concerns)
5. It was a sexual counterculture. (Republican; conservative concerns)
MAIN COMMENTARY HELP:
Exalting Jesus in Colossians by Scott Pace
Preaching the Word: Philippians, Colossians and Philemon commentary by R. Kent Hughes
ESV Global Study Bible
Bible in One Year by Nicky Gumbel
Bible Knowledge Commentary
The Outline Bible, Wilmington
Paul for Everyone, The Prison Letters, NT Wright’s commentary on Philippians and Colossians
Gospel Transformation Bible
NIV Study Bible
The Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren Wiersbe
BQ = Better Questions
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