January 8, 2017
 

Colossians

Colossians 1:23 - 2:15

Colossae:
- small agricultural town
- in modern day Turkey
- about 110 miles inland from Ephesus
- very simple little city
- part of the tri-cities: Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis 

Colossians 1:24-29
24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.

This section where Paul talks about himself and what he is going through serves a big purpose.  For anyone in the church that does know him, it fills them in on where is mentally and emotionally while in jail.  He takes a minute and zooms out of his situation to look at the big picture.

Colossians 2:1-5
1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

So, he’s saying: I’m fighting for you through my life and my prayer, and I want you to keep fighting to be encouraged and unified as a church, so that you can fully understand the life Jesus brings.

When you look at the whole picture, and you look at the fullness of who Jesus is, any and all suffering you go through is completely and utterly worth it.

Colossians 2:4-8
4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

Deceptive -
giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading.

So a deceptive philosophy is really: any belief system that is different, expounded on, or incomplete in relation to God’s will or the Bible.

So if ANYTHING is teaching you something that doesn’t line up with the Bible, it is a deceptive philosophy.  We see these all over the place, outside the church and inside the church.  Even we sometimes fall into deceptive theology because we just openly believe the things we hear.

Colossians 2:9-15
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

So basically we have a choice… Give into these deceptive philosophies or follow Jesus, live by his teaching, and be free!

Are you going to believe in popular opinion in the world, because they have a good argument today and everyone else is doing it?  Are you going to believe in popular opinion in the church, because big named authors and speakers say it, and big groups say its true?  Or are you going to believe what the Bible ACTUALLY SAYS, not what we want to hear?

Communication Card
- I will work towards a lifestyle of being rooted in the Bible.
- I will focus on Jesus and ignore deceptive philosophy.
- I will read Colossians this week.