Colossians 2:8-15

As Paul continues his letter to the young believers in Collosae, he gives them the best motivation they could possibly need to continue pushing forward in their faith. Remember, the reason he wrote in the first place was because there were certain people that were denying the deity of Jesus, attributing his humanity to just that, being human. Paul sets out to remind the church of the truth of Jesus, and in our passage this morning we find such rich doctrine about what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

Previous passage of preeminence, who he was / is.

Read Colossians 2:8-15

Big Idea: The work of Jesus on the cross should motivate us to fight for truth and stand firm in our faith.

Paul begins this section with a warning, “Watch out! Beware! There are philosophies and ideas derived from the traditions and thoughts of man. They are not of Christ.”

He uses some strong language by referring to the idea of being taken captive. It means to plunder, and then to carry away as slaves. The idea is that the person is stripped of belief, of truth, of conviction, being convinced that what they believe may not really be true, and then they are placed into the chains of a system of belief that will never satisfy, that will never make them complete. 

Now, is all philosophy bad? No, that’s not what Paul is saying, but we have to look at context. The word used here by Paul means “a love of wisdom,” and had come to refer to “human understanding or wisdom, and by implication, in contrast with divinely revealed knowledge.”

In other words, “I know better than God.” Think about this for a minute: 

How did Satan begin his deception of Eve in Genesis 3 to plant seeds of doubt? 

• Did God really say?

And what did Satan do when Jesus was weak in His humanity? He sowed seeds of doubt, and challenged Jesus’ knowledge of the truth. In a way, he’s causing Jesus to question, “did God really say?” 

In the same way, philosophy that is driven by human knowledge and understanding is challenging truth with the question, “did God really say? Is it really absolute truth?”

A common philosophy that I alluded to last week is called Relativism. It is the belief that all beliefs are valid, that there is no absolute truth, that we get to determine what is right and wrong. This is sweeping across the country, and many Christians have been swept up in the idea that if it makes me feel good, if the belief is comfortable, then it must not be wrong. (Sex before marriage)

And so many who profess Christ have abandoned truth to fit a narrative that is derived from worldly philosophies. This book is outdated, it’s 2022! I mean did God really say? But, lest we stray too far, let’s get back into Scripture. 

Paul offers this warning, and then gives a very strong motivation that would correct any believer who may have been tempted to adopt the worldly philosophies. That motivation is the work of Jesus. Remember, this letter is all about the preeminence of Jesus. Jesus, supreme over all. 

The Work of Jesus That Motivates Us Forward:

1.. Filled Us (10)

Jesus, somehow contains the fullness of deity in his human body. When He came to this earth, He didn’t stop being God. That in and of itself should be enough to stop us in our tracks and listen to what He has to say. It should cause us to run hard after Him, leaving all worldly ideas and devices behind. In our own strength, that is impossible, but look at what Paul says in verse 10, “you have been filled IN Him.” Better translation would be that “you have been made complete in Him.” 

If we have Jesus, we don’t need anything else. You may have heard the quippy church equation, “Jesus + Nothing = Everything.” It’s true. We don’t need Jesus and money. We don’t need Jesus and relationships. We don’t need Jesus and material possession. We need only Jesus. Jesus is enough. 

The phrase that Paul uses here also carries an idea of being controlled by that which fills. Our relationship with Jesus radically changes the way that we live. Our relationship with Jesus affects our perspective of the world around us. It causes us to love differently. It causes us to think differently. It convinces us of truth, so that when worldly philosophies present themselves, we know how to rightly think about them. 

What else does Jesus do?

2.. Circumcision of our heart (11)

We’re going to keep this one PG. In simple terms, circumcision means to cut something off or away. Paul uses this well-known practice to illustrate the effect that the work of Jesus had on our hearts. It was necessary for Jesus to “put off the body of flesh,” to cut away that which polluted our lives, our sin. Let’s make the connection between our flesh and our sin.

Galatians 5:24 - “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” When we are crucified with Christ, it is our flesh, our sinful passions and desires, that are nailed to the cross with Jesus. 

So the body of flesh that is “put off” is our sin. By nature, when we enter this world, we are sinners, separated from God. It’s our destiny as human beings, because of a decision that was made thousands of years ago. If anything were to change our trajectory, that very nature had to be removed. Circumcision of the heart.

Circumcision in the Old Testament wasn’t just a removal of skin, though. Genesis 17:10, “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” The covenant between Abraham and God was marked by circumcision. It marked Israel as God’s chosen people. 

Fast forward to Paul in prison writing this letter to the Colossians. When we accept the free gift of salvation, offered by Jesus on the cross, our flesh is circumcised, cutting off the sin nature and marking us as a part of God’s chosen people (1 Peter 2:9-10). When God looks at the Christian He doesn’t see a sinner, He sees the righteousness of Jesus imprinted on them. He sees His child. He sees one who is holy, set apart for His good purposes. Paul explains further…

3.. Shared baptism and resurrection (12)

This is another picture of what takes place when we confess our need for a Savior and submit to the Lordship of Jesus. We are spiritually and supernaturally joined with Christ in His death. Our body of sin is put to death, and in that moment we receive newness of life, symbolically and spiritually joining with Christ in His resurrection. We’ve talked about this alot, how we are fused together with Christ. We become one with Him.

Paul masterfully explains this phenomenon in Romans chapter 6:1-7:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in  newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.”

From baptism to resurrection; death to life. Destined to an eternity separated from God, now destined for an eternity of life with Jesus in the new heavens and the new Earth. 

Paul continues: 

4.. Makes us alive with Him (13a)

We were having a pool party for the high schoolers years ago in our Student Ministry. I came up with a game that made sense in the moment, but almost turned out to be a disaster. We had a ball, and the goal was to get from the shallow end to the deep end and touch the wall with the ball. In the meantime, everyone else tried to stop you and get the ball for themselves. I went first, and had the brilliant idea of diving to the bottom to evade capture. I was followed closely by a few large young men, who tried to wrestle the ball out of my grip, I thought I was good for a few seconds, until my chest started hurting and my vision started blurring. I let go of the ball, but still had the guys grabbing and pulling at me. When the chaos finally stopped, I barely had enough strength to push myself to the surface. When I got there, I gasped for a massive breath, and a sense of relief overcame me. That breath of life overwhelmed me. I was so thankful for it. Emotions rushed over me, (I stopped the game of course). 

When we experience life in Christ, and breath for the first time His breath, it’s exhilarating. This is what life is meant to feel like. This is what it feels like to be satisfied. This is what it feels like to live! Scripture tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Lifeless. No heartbeat. But then Jesus dies, and raises to life. 

So for us, sin no longer reigns. Sin no longer destroys. “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” And it isn’t just a present living, but a future promise of eternal life with Jesus. We will walk into His presence and experience life like we never could have dreamed. And you talk about a breath of fresh air! 

Man, what else did Jesus do?!

5.. Forgave our trespasses (13b-14)

Some of these are hard for us to grasp this morning. But this one I think we can understand clearly. See in our world, there are punishments that have been laid out depending on the crime that is committed. Sometimes there is a fee to pay, sometimes there is jail time, sometimes there is long term prison time. There are laws that have been established, and if you break the law, you are handed down judgment for that crime. 

I’m almost 40, and my debt would be longer than a CVS receipt. And were I sitting in the courtroom of heaven, the legal demand of my crimes would be a death sentence. The gavel would strike, and my fate would be sealed. But, Jesus took my death sentence to that cross and reversed it. Paul says it happened “by nailing it to the cross.” 

We needed that to happen to have any hope of ultimate forgiveness:

Romans 3:23 - “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 - “The WAGES of sin is death.” 

This is where we are left without Christ. Now, there were many Old Testament requirements dictating the sacrificial system. There were 5 main types of sacrifices, with some occurring yearly, and others occurring more frequently. 

Hebrews 10:1-4 - “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

Hebrews 9:11-12 - “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

Romans 6:23 does say that the payment we owe for our sins is death, but Paul finishes that verse “but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” He provided a way, by forgiving our sins, casting them as far as the east is from the west, and canceling our record of debt and its legal demands. He remembers them no more!

6.. Disarmed rulers and authorities (15)

Paul is referring to the spiritual realm here, those rulers and authorities that we cannot see, Satan being the chief among them. He disarmed them because of what the previous verse said. Satan was waiving our record of debt before the Father, “They are mine! See! They don’t believe, they are wicked, they have sinned against you over and over!” That is the weapon that Satan can wield against us, but Jesus disarmed him. He took the one thing that Satan could use to prove our guilt, striking him a massive blow.

Romans 8:33-35 asks the questions, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? Who is to condemn? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul continues in verse 37, “In all this, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” 

Satan cannot touch us any more. Satan holds no power over us. The power of sin has been defeated. The consequence of our sin has been taken to the cross. Through the blood of Jesus and our unity with Him, we have become the victors. And while Satan still roams this earth, like a lion stalking his prey to devour, one day, one day even that reign will end. 

Revelation:

12:12 - But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short. 

20:7-10 - And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Jesus, the Son of God, in my place.