In Colossians 2 we encounter Paul’s teaching about the error that had invaded the church in Colossae. He alluded to it earlier, but this is his most direct discussion of the deceivers who had infiltrated this young church. Paul says, “Let no one delude you with persuasive argument.” At times we find very powerful the persuasion to give away what we have in Christ and grab something else; we are attracted by the mystery behind the door on the stage, by tantalizing possibilities. Let’s briefly take a tour of chapter 2 to identify these deceivers. Paul says in verse 4:

I say this in order that no one [and he has some specific people in mind] may delude you with persuasive argument.

Verse 8 says:

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

It wasn’t just delusion that these people were advancing; they were taking the Colossians captive. There were bad motives behind what they were doing. These deceivers were going to deliberately and selfishly take for themselves the life, hope, energy, and joy of these young Christians. They were going to use these Christians for their own ends if they were allowed to.

Verse 16 describes some of the ways phony religion operates when it takes over a life:

Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—

The people who sell the deception behind the door on the stage end up becoming supreme in the lives of those who listen to them. They have taken people captive and have begun to run their lives. What starts as the promise of something exotic, wonderful, and enriching becomes in fact a form of slavery. Time and again you see young believers who have been caught up in these kinds of deceptions lose their freedom and hope as they become more and more frightened, more under the thumb of those who are selling the deception, and more judged or restricted by them.

In verse 20 he says:

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

There is an accelerating loss of life. Fewer and fewer things are acceptable, more and more phony rules and ridiculous prohibitions apply. People’s lives become reduced, filled with fear, and hemmed in.

Summary: There are many things that look good and holy, but which turn out merely to be philosophies of life. Like a facade, they pretend to be a solid house, but is no place you’d want or be able to live. Beware of moralism; beware of dreams and visions; beware of ceremonies that are only “ordinances” borne of legalism; beware of geneologies. All of these things seem noble in and of themselves; they may even seem like godly “mysteries.”

What does Paul suggest, then? He is saying beware of those who would take you captive, delude you, use you, in the long run enslave you, promise you what is not possible, misrepresent the world, fascinate you, and destroy you. But does Paul then give their teaching in detail to help us combat these deceptions? No, he goes back and talks about Christ. The answer is Jesus! It is when we are certain of his greatness, overtaken by his magnificence, more deeply in love with him, that we are best defended against any alternative. Verses 9-10:

For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority….

In him God has come and joined the human race. There is no other answer. In him you have partaken of this fullness, you have been made complete, and you have been given everything you need. He is the head over all rule and authority. These are great reminders of what he has already taught in chapter 1 about who Jesus Christ is. Verses 11-15:

…and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

UNION WITH CHRIST
That is a wonderful encapsulation not only of who Christ is but what he has done and what happens to us. We are with him on the cross; we are baptized into his death, burial and resurrection. We have a circumcision made without hands on our hearts, not just outwardly or physically. We rejoice with him, overthrowing the power of principalities and everything arrayed against him. That is who we are in Christ.

Blessings –and full forgiveness & redemption! — in Christ,
Eric Zacharias

HOWEVER, by just saying “I will believe it because it has been spoken to me” discounts the possibility that the devil himself may have spoken these things to you.

After all, did not Eve and then Adam believe the word spoken to them? Yes; and they bought into it, because the one who said it seemed good. In doing so, however, they failed to believe God. The result was an eternal death which Jesus had to reverse by his own suffering and death.

My point is, we must square everything in Scripture on what God has intended for us to receive. Eve and Adam were people who had eternal life. They exchanged it for a lie. Those who would follow God must follow the gift of God — for that is what GRACE meants. In all Scripture, God points us to Jesus himself: (speaking to his critics, Jesus said,) You study the Holy Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life; (agreeing with them, he continued by saying) these [Scriptures] are the ones that testify about ME. Let’s agree that the mystery of God — salvation, redemption– begin and end with Jesus Christ himself.

With that in mind…

Where is Jesus in your article? Nowhere. The mysteries of God begin and end with Jesus; St. Paul speaks of his church being the keepers of the mysteries of God. A Christian hears the Word of forgiveness, spoken by the pastor, and is forgiven; a child is baptized into Christ and is clothed with Christ himself; a Christian will partake of the Lord’s Supper and receive the body and blood of Christ, “for the forgiveness of sins.” What is going on here? The Christian is taking on the blessings of God, for the sake of (and by virtue of) what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross.

How is that? That is a mystery: God conveys grace (unmerited mercy and love) through the process of hearing the Word of Christ (forgiveness! yeah!!!); grace, through faithful administration of the sacraments (literally, “the mystery”) of Baptism (“the washing and renewing only God accomplishes); grace, through the Lord’s Supper (where, again, we are nourished by eating and drinking Christ, our living Lord).

The trust which any Christian has (Old Testament or New) will be based on what is founded in Christ. (For a thorough look, see the people of faith, listed in Hebrews 11)

Blessings to you in Christ,
Eric

Thanks for your thoughts…what do you mean exactly by “missing the mark?”

Thanks for your comments…it sounds like a confession to me…you may want to check out my other post on confessing : )

All kidding aside, I think we’re all guilty of not praying enough, but we can always acknowledge this and try to do better.

thanks for your thoughts.