Prison Epistles

The Prison Epistles
Sermon Number Thirty-Four
The Magnificence of the Person and Work of Christ (part 2)
Colossians 2:1-15
January 8th, 2006
Jim Bordwine, ThD

Introduction

During Advent and Christmas, I suspended my sermon series on the Prison Epistles. Today, I will return to that series and will, therefore, give you a quick summary of where we are in our study. These particular letters--Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon--were written during the apostle's imprisonment in the city of Rome between A. D. 59-61.

With a lot of time to think and analyze the needs of each party to which he sent communication, Paul produced these letters that were written to people considering various aspects of the Christian faith. In the first one, Ephesians, we find an epistle rich in theological content and moving descriptions of what the Church is and how we who are part of the Church are supposed to live. Paul covers many truths related to the Body of Christ in this letter. Ephesians is about redemption, all aspects of redemption--the personal aspects as well as the corporate aspects.

Moving on, we came to the letter to the saints in Philippi. As we know from his testimony elsewhere, concern for all the churches never left Paul's mind, no matter what else he was enduring. His relationship with the Philippians, therefore, was particularly rewarding because of their obvious love for the apostle. This congregation caused him much joy as he labored for them. He was comforted and encouraged when those for whom he served not only spoke well of him and often expressed their affection for him, but also joined with him and became fellow-workers. The church in the city of Philippi was a clear exception to what Paul often encountered.

Then we began consideration of Paul's letter to the Colossians. We know that the Christians in Colossae were bothered by heretical teaching. This, more than anything else it seems, prompted Paul's letter. The Colossian church was composed mainly of Gentiles. Some Gentiles and some Jews in the region, however, were advocating doctrines contrary to the gospel, doctrines that compromised the message of the full atonement made by Jesus Christ. Some were attempting to combine the teachings of the gospel, therefore, with Gnosticism, the worship of angels, and certain aspects of Jewish ceremonialism.

In the first chapter of this letter, we saw how Paul emphasizes the absolute sufficiency of the atonement achieved by Christ. There is nothing to be added to what the Savior did for His people. Because He is God in the flesh, His sacrifice is of infinite worth and, therefore, needs no enhancement whatsoever. This led Paul to write about the magnificence of the Person and work of Jesus Christ. This is what we were considering when we took our break. You'll recall that we had begun study of the second chapter, vv. 1-15, in particular.

The Colossians had professed faith in Christ and now a threat was present that might cause them to doubt. Instead of doubting or being troubled by what they were being told, Paul wanted them to grow more confident and more certain of their convictions. And the chief way in which this would happen would be through increased understanding of the person and work of Christ. Consequently, in 2:3, we saw that declaration concerning the preeminence of the nature of Christ. Speaking of the Savior, the apostle writes: "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

This assertion elevates Christ. He's not, as I stated previously, the misguided prophet who stood up to the Pharisees and lost His life as a result, as some thought. He's not the Zealot out to attract a following and make a name for Himself, as others thought. He's not the "do-gooder" who was too naīve to understand how things really work between God and man, as still others assumed. Christ is the source of all wisdom and knowledge. It is His nature to possess not most wisdom and knowledge, but all wisdom and knowledge.

Paul is saying: Understand who He is and then consider what those false teachers are telling you! Can the One in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge be challenged? Can the salvation He provides be lacking because He didn't foresee something or because He didn't know that God would demand more of the sinner?

At that point, I said to you that the gospel cannot be degraded or watered-down or challenged unless the person of Christ is, at the same time, maligned. Any attack upon the atonement is an attack upon the One who provided the atonement. Any proposed addition to the gospel is, at the same time, a declaration that the Savior failed! There will always be someone or some movement or some institution promoting the idea--sometimes boldly and sometimes subtlety--that the sinner must contribute to or maintain what is provided in Christ. When Paul writes that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, the conclusion must be that Christ provided a perfect atonement made known to us in a perfect gospel. It's this kind of conviction regarding the nature of Christ that would arm the Colossians against false teachers.

I closed that sermon with three thoughts for you. First, I stated that however sophisticated we become in our ability to articulate theology, we must not forget that the basis for what we proclaim and the beginning point for our relationship with God in Christ is simple faith. At the heart of our relationship with the Savior is that unembellished belief in Him as the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. Second, I observed that one of the points Paul made is that the Colossians should stay where they are, so to speak. They had the proper foundation; they had believed the right message.

There is a much-needed lesson in this for us. From time to time, new ideas come along or someone or some group starts pushing a "fresh" way of considering some significant aspect of the faith. That is when we must rest on what we have received; that is when we must take the heritage we have been given and analyze what we are hearing. And, third, I sought to impress upon you the duty we have of remaining true to the pure gospel and the duty we have to defend it and preserve it for those who follow us.

Now we are ready to return to vv. 1-15 of the second chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians. Having spoken of the magnificence of the Person of Jesus Christ, the apostle now addresses the magnificence of the work of Jesus Christ. We covered vv. 1-7 already; therefore, I'll begin in v. 8:

2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11 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; 12 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. 13 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, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

02. The Magnificence of the Work of Jesus Christ (vv. 8-15)

There is a time to speak softly and attempt to persuade through the use of non-confrontation dialogue. When discussing that state of a man's soul, when discussing the sinner's plight before a holy God, when seeking to guard a message of essential importance against misinterpretation or compromise, however, clear and bold words are required. At such a time, language needs to be used that establishes a sense of urgency and absolute seriousness for the conversation; all confusion must be eliminated. This is what we find in Paul's words to the Colossians in v. 8. The disagreement brewing in Colossae wasn't about politics or the weather or the latest economic forecast. The controversy in that city centered on the nature of the gospel--Was it complete, as presented by Paul, or was it in need of modification, as proposed by others? This was not a time for meekness or complacency, and the apostle speaks bluntly as he gives his opinion of the teaching troubling these saints.

Paul calls the view of his opponents "philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." So, you read these words in that church or you hear them read and you do not wonder how Paul really felt about the issue currently disrupting your congregation. Paul draws the lines of battle immediately and he does this because, as I already indicated, the matter at hand was of the utmost importance.

Paul was not interested in "finding common ground" with his opponents; he was not interested in guarding the impression others had of them; he wasn't interested in sitting down to work out some kind of compromise that would please both sides. When you're speaking about the gospel, there is no common ground with opposing views and there is to be no worry about exposing your opponents for what they are and there can be no thought of compromise. God doesn't allow such things when it comes to the truth He has conveyed to us in His Word.

What the Colossians were hearing was dressed up using terms and reasoning that made it sound important or made it appeal to the minds of those accustomed to engaging in philosophical debate or discussion. The problem, as Paul points out later, is that the teaching they were being given by others only had the appearance of wisdom. He has already declared that all true wisdom is to be found in Christ, the Savior in Whom the Colossians had placed their trust upon hearing His gospel. So, something was wrong when a competing philosophy showed up in town. It might have sounded "ok" to some, but Paul reveals that it is, in reality, a spiritually deadly perspective.

Notice again how he describes it: philosophy and empty deception--not just deception, but empty deception! It's as if Paul really wanted to emphasize the worthlessness of his opponents' viewpoint. And, of course, it wasn't just worthless, it was dangerous because the matter under consideration happens to be the question of how a sinner can stand before a holy God. Paul has given his answer--it's the one found in the gospel. And his answer cannot co-exist with the other answer being advocated by some in this church.

Where does this teaching come from? Paul labels it nothing more than "the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world." In other words, what was being offered as a competitor to the gospel was the opinion of fallen men based on the observations they made regarding the fallen world in which they lived. So, it was God's opinion about how a sinner is redeemed versus the opinion of sinners! What are the chances that they would be right and God would be wrong? That sounds absurd, doesn't it? But that is what was being proposed in this church. "You don't have the full story. Just because you are trusting in the work of Christ doesn't mean you have all you need," Paul's opponents were saying.

Paul warns his readers about being taken "captive" by the teaching of his opponents. He uses a word (sulagogeo) that literally means "to carry off as spoil." Figuratively, this term is used in reference to being led away from the truth. This is what Paul feared--namely, that the Colossians, who had expressed trust in Christ's finished work, might now be enticed to follow his opponents. And there was some evidence that this was, in fact, happening. The reason for the appeal of this false teaching has already been given--it was grounded in what is to be observed by fallen men in a fallen world. In this environment, grace is not easily discerned and we learn to be selfish and protective of what we have. We are not acquainted, therefore, with the ideas of grace and mercy.

Therefore, when the gospel comes along telling us of the grace and mercy of God, we need His help simply to believe the message we are hearing. And then someone else comes along and says, "Hey, wait a minute. You don't get something for nothing. You cannot really believe that simple faith in the work of Another is going to satisfy God." And that reasoning sounds believable to the one not firmly grounded in a right understanding of redemption. But if such a message is accepted, then the gospel is lost and so is salvation. God doesn't justify us on the basis of what we offer, but on the basis of what His Son offers, which is payment of our debt with His own life and the imputation to us, as undeserving as we are, of His righteousness.

Either our trust resides in Christ alone or it is a divided trust and if it is divided, it is of no use before God. He doesn't want our efforts because they are wholly inadequate; but He will accept the efforts of a Substitute, namely, His own Son. God doesn't accept our righteousness because it is like filthy rags, but He will accept the perfect righteousness of His Son and impute it to us.

The message being offered in Colossae was one that would lead the people away from this truth and if they were led away, they would be lost. As I said before, you cannot compromise or find "common ground" with an alternate view when you are talking about the gospel. You cannot have God's grace and man's efforts combined into some kind of synergistic remedy for man's condemnation. That's why Paul speaks so pointedly. He doesn't look for the "good" in the view of his opponents; no, he immediately blasts that view as a dangerous enemy of truth.

What was being offered to the Colossians is set in direct contrast to the gospel, as I said before. After describing the view of his opponents, Paul says, in essence, you can have this rather that what is according to Christ, but you cannot have both. Two mutually exclusive ideas are being put before the Colossians. One says the sinner need only trust in Christ for a complete salvation and the other says the sinner must look also to his own efforts. The work of Christ, which Paul is emphasizing at this point in the letter, stands by itself. It is not in need of anything. The apostle drives home this point when he adds: "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 ..." (vv. 9, 10)

Again, who are we speaking of when we consider the Christian gospel? We are speaking of the God-Man, God in the flesh, having come and suffered and died for sinners. As Paul has stressed at length previously, if God comes and provides for your redemption by taking your place and dying in your stead, then you cannot ask for or expect that you will need more! That's why Paul can proclaim: "in Him you have been made complete." Don't look for more, don't worry about having more, don't think for a second that God demands more when it comes to your justification before Him.

If the work of Christ were insufficient, God would not tell us to trust in Him and Him alone. If our sin has not been atoned for by the shedding of Christ's blood, then God would tell us: "Here is what more you need to do to be reconciled to Me." But the message of Scripture is that of a complete redemption accomplished by our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is the height of arrogance and stupidity to suggest that what He did was somehow less than what needed to be done. He was God, Paul has emphasized! He knew what had to be done and He did it.

When Scripture declares that Christ is now Head over all rule and authority, it is testifying to the finality of His atonement. This position of exaltation was promised to the Messiah before He came and it was promised in conjunction with a completed work of redemption, not a partial work or a work in need of additional acts. Remember the picture given to us, for example, in Psalm 2. There we find God announcing that He is appointing His Son as King over the earth. In spite of protest, the writer says that God's King takes His place and begins His work of subduing all those under Him.

This passage is quoted by believers in the book of Acts in reference to the opposition they were facing when they started preaching about Christ and His work on the cross. And remember what Jesus Himself said when He met with His disciples after His resurrection: "All authority has been given to me on heaven and on earth." Nowhere in the Bible are we led to believe that the work of the Savior was somehow insufficient; on the contrary, we are taught that He did what was necessary and, consequently, was elevated to a position of supreme authority and honor by the Father. The Church, as Paul says here, now has the risen Christ as Her Head and in that capacity, He has authority above all realms and dominions. In fact, He is using His superior authority to bring others into subjection to His rule.

The gospel doesn't introduce the sinner to some weakling who tried, but failed to save us. It doesn't tell us the story of a heroic effort that left us almost saved, but not quite. The gospel puts before us a victorious Savior who brings to us a finished salvation. Those who were telling the Colossians that they needed to add their efforts to what Christ offered were heretics and false teachers; and they were to be rejected swiftly and certainly.

The good news is not that Jesus took us to the gates of the Kingdom, but needs some help pushing the gates open! He is the King of kings and Lord of lords! All other rulers bow before Him. All others serve His purposes. The gospel isn't about a competition; it's a proclamation that Jesus Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life. If you want forgiveness of sins, if you want to be acceptable before God, if you want eternal life, you come to Him, period. You don't bring anything with you; you simply cling to Him. Anything other than this perspective is in error.

Paul goes on to declare to the Colossians that in Christ, they were "circumcised with a circumcision made without hands." (v. 11) Clearly, a Jewish element in the false teachin is indicated here. Paul says that what was symbolized in circumcision, which was membership in the redeemed people of God, has been achieved in reality by the Savior. He makes true what circumcision signaled by way of type. In Christ, the heart is cleansed and made ready for God. Paul is telling them that they already have what his opponents claimed was lacking for those who only believed the gospel. "You have what they say you don't have," Paul teaches. "You have the standing before God they claim you must earn through circumcision or some other ritual." Remember his earlier comment: "In Him you have been made complete."

We're back to that all-important realization that the work of Christ was sufficient for the need of the sinner. When the sinner gets this through his head, then he is no longer enticed or tempted or tormented by the thought that he still "owes" something to God. He realizes that he is able to live a life free of condemnation and free from the supposed frown of God.

The knowledge that Christ has done everything necessary for us is a liberating concept! It is one that is difficult for our flesh to accept, but it is a doctrine that brings with it the sweetest peace and produces in us the most pervasive sense of humility. Jesus is our all in all. We owe nothing; God is not waiting for us to supplement what His Son did. In Him we are saved and forever secure. The man or woman who understands that great truth can look at those teaching a contrary doctrine and dismiss them as destroyers of peace who stir up in the heart those matters that Christ has resolved.

Paul tells his readers: "[you were] 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." (v. 12) Paul is speaking of the union of Savior and sinner. Baptism does indeed signal identification between the sinner and Jesus Christ. Those who belong to Him share in the benefits He secured. They have died, as it were, and have been raised from the dead. In our union with Christ, we have what He attained. Baptism, an outward act, points to the spiritual reality of our relationship with the Savior.

As he has been speaking of the magnificent work of the Savior, Paul puts in plain terms what this is all about. If you want to know what Jesus did and how it affects you, then listen to Paul: "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, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." You were dead in sin, the apostle says, and your flesh was corrupt and you were not numbered among the people of God. Nevertheless, he adds, God made you alive with the Savior and, in the process, forgave all your transgressions.

You may know this was an act of finality, Paul states, because the charge against you was nailed to the cross. We know that no piece of paper was nailed to that cross. We know that the God-Man was nailed to that cross. Paul means that He became our sin and that is what God nailed to the cross in an act of punishment that also was an act of unimaginable mercy. The sinless One became sin and the sinful ones went free. This is the gospel Paul is defending.

Now, is it any wonder he comes out fighting against teaching that undermined this gospel? You were doomed, Paul teaches, and you had no hope. The holy character of God stood as an accuser pointing out every last flaw in our makeup and identifying every last transgression and highlighting the fact of our alienation from God. Yet, God took our indisputable guilt and put it on the back of His own Son and that Son then was put on that cross as if He were the offending party.

What are you going to add to this?, Paul could have asked. When you consider the Savior hanging on the cross in agony with your transgression now imputed to Him, what are you going to offer to God to make that act more meaningful or more effective in taking away your guilt? Whenever the slightest doubt arises in the mind of one who has believed the gospel, whenever an idea enters his mind that challenges his understanding of salvation by grace, he need only look to that cross. There he will see what God did and there he will discern the finality and the sufficiency of the work of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ. When you start thinking about what Jesus did, you want to say to an opponent of the gospel: "Get out of here! Don't trouble me with your pathetic suggestions that the work of Jesus Christ is somehow less than what is needed. Look! There He is upon the cross in my place, and you're telling me God wants more!"

Jesus triumphed on that cross (cf. v. 15). He overcame the obstacles that prevented us from returning to God in loving fellowship. Jesus rendered powerless that which was keeping us from God. There is nothing more to be done. It is finished.

Application

I will close with three quick thoughts about how Paul's teaching should be applied in your life. First, understand that there are times when you must be willing to "get tough" in your defense of the gospel. We live at a time when compromise is infiltrating the Church. It's usually subtle and barely noticeable until the damage is done. You hear voices suggesting that we can work with someone or some institution our fathers would not have worked with; we can do it, we're told, without damaging the gospel. Or you hear voices saying that we need to be sensitive to the world in which we live and, therefore, we need to be careful about not offending when we share our faith.

Few are the voices today saying "wait a minute, let's not get carried away!" But we need to remind ourselves that when it comes to the gospel and the implications of the gospel, we simply cannot allow a compromise. You will hear people claiming loyalty to the essentials while also, at the same time, telling you that we need to repackage the gospel and down-play concepts like condemnation. But the gospel is an essential; in fact, it is the essential of our faith. So, be on your guard.

Second, don't take lightly Paul's declaration that you are complete in Christ. Knowing this truth is the key to living a productive and peaceful life. Knowing this to be true provides many benefits and among them is the ability to concentrate on your sanctification. When you get passed worrying all the time about your acceptability before God, then you can focus on what it means to live for His glory. The gospel allows you to put to rest all worry about being acceptable before God; this is so because the gospel announces that Christ has done all that needed to be done to secure us before God forever. So, enjoy what He gives you. Rest in Him even as you seek to live a life appropriate for one who has been forgiven.

Third, don't forget about that cross. Paul speaks often about the cross. He does so because that is where our sin was taken care of once and for all. The cross signaled and end to our condemnation--not a temporary escape from it so that we now spend our days on this earth trying to figure out what more God wants. The charges against us, as Paul teaches, were nailed to that cross in the Person of our Savior. And that's it. There is now no condemnation against us.

So many Christians struggle with this notion. They constantly feel that they are not accepted by God when He has declared that their sin was nailed to the cross. That's the wonderful news we hear in the gospel and that's what we have to share with those still searching for relief from the burden of sin.

Let's pray...

Conclusion

The confusion we witness in the evangelical world today, as churches try to find their way and relate to their culture and present the gospel in an effective manner is greatly reduced here at the Lord's Table. Here we are reminded of the simple truth that He gave Himself for us. This is what we announce in the gospel. Sinners have a Savior and His salvation is complete and renders them eternally safe.

The Scripture says:

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. (Matt. 26:26-28)