Colossians 2:20-23
1. You are Dead!
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world,
• Dead to the sinful nature.
Now this is a different dead than verse 13.
If = since = because
It’s Paul’s way of stating something that is unquestionable.
Since you have been saved. Because you are focusing on Christ so as to not be dragged away
For a believer - this is how it is.
We died with Christ.
These events essentially reversed and cancelled the effects of Adam’s sin.
• It’s not just a reminder of our death, but an indication of the effects of our death.
You have died with Christ to the elemental spirits...
Elemental spirits - the basic components of the physical universe and also the spiritual forces that sort of run them. The ESV is helpful - *elementary principles.
The reality is that you have been set free.
• You’re a slave to a new master.
It’s not that you’re no longer in the world. You obviously are. But:
• You no longer count the world as your true home
The world (the elementary principles) no longer dictate who you are or how you are to live.
2. Don’t resurrect yourself (why would you?)
Don’t be raised up and then go back to that. When you’ve been raised to walk in a new life.
Don’t raise yourself back to what you were. It’s just not rational to go back to where you were before.
why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)— according to human precepts and teachings?
Asceticism is a life of rigorous self denial
• Through our union with Christ, we are set free from man-made rules designed to promote spirituality.
To be an ascetic is to go back to a worldly system of religion - based on worldly principles.
Paul is saying - this doesn’t make sense to go back...
• When you’re captured by Christ, everything changes
There is no spiritual value in keeping human precepts and teachings.
Here’s something else to take note of:
Verse 21 – do not handle, do not taste, do not touch
The jewish requirements were not to eat. But the false teachers were adding to it.
• This “Jesus+” goes beyond what the Bible says
Men add to the Bible to create their own “get spiritual” structure.
The reason that asceticism is so appealing is that it’s easier than just trusting in Christ alone.
In the 1800s, a well-known Scottish preacher (Alexander McClaren) wrote:
Christ did it all on the cross. Why would you try to live - to live this resurrection life yourself? Why would you try to generate your own holiness when Christ has already done that?
He died to present you holy and blameless and above reproach
All of this “stuff:”
Do not handle, do not taste, to not touch... It’s a man-made checklist.
It won’t bring you spiritual maturity.
In reality - it’s a spiritual mask.
3. The Mask
The bottom line is that all of this stuff is a false humility.
Self-invented service - something a man chooses for himself to appear holy. It has no authority from God because it’s according to human precepts and teachings.
23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and
asceticism and severity to the body,
We can all easily fall into this mask trap.
• We all have a tendency toward mask-wearing
Whatever you’re doing demonstrate, to show others, to prove that you’re spiritual, that you’re holy - it’s probably a mask.
We need to be in authentic community
• We need to be fully engaged in the body
so that we can be real.
so that we don’t feel the need to wear a mask.
we’re comfortable enough to let them see the real us
so that others are involved enough in our lives that they
can easily spot it if we try to put on a mask.
Paul is saying that
• Any list or any structure or method that is not here in Scripture is human precepts and teachings and it’s a mask.
When we’re in community - involved in each other’s lives - we can do this.
John Piper says:
• Sanctification is a group project.
We cannot achieve the spiritual growth we are intended to if we are not involved, engaged, and committed to the body of Christ. A local church.
4. Ultimate Value (Substance)
they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
The ultimate value is Christ - focusing on Christ.
I’ll be saying this until the day I die. Colossians 1:28 – Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
• The fullness of the Christian life is the alternative to this false teaching.
The false teachers said: “If only you could subdue the body through this harsh treatment, you’ll be there” they say. Paul simply says: “It won’t work”
(This does not mean that what you do with your body is unimportant or irrelevant. 1 Corinthians 6:20 – for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. )
It means that these “human systems” are wrong.
Anything that seeks to add to Jesus...
• Anything “Jesus+” is actually minus Jesus.
The false teachers were elevating their rules and practices above Scripture and giving angels and other spiritual beings credit. The result is that they lost sight of Christ.
The ultimate value is Christ The substance belongs to Christ.
Self-imposed religious devotion is something man came up with and it has no real value.
• We must work from the inside out.
We must let Christ do the work because inside we are dead.
We cannot resurrect ourselves. We cannot conjure up - with some elaborate spell - life within.
Only Christ can do that.
All of this “stuff” that we come up with to do. It is of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh
• Christianity is about Christ.
I really mean that - I hope you understand what I mean
Acts 17:28 – In him we live and move and have our being
Reflection Questions
• What are you doing to be focused on Christ all throughout the day?
How are you being intentional about knowing Him more?
• Are you living in such a way that your life points to HIM?
Are you so filled up with Christ, so saturated with Him - that it rubs off on those you come into contact with?
Are you a sponge, soaking up Christ and His Word?
• Do you realize that you don’t have to sin anymore?
...well I’m not perfect.... so you give in! WHAT?!!?
The law of the Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit...
Here’s how to live according to the Spirit:
• Are you saturated in Scripture?
That’s where it begins. (remember last week’s challenge to read through Colossians daily?)
• What mask are you wearing?
In what ways are you trying to earn your salvation?
Your holiness or your sanctification?
Do you have it backward anywhere?
Are you doing anything to convince someone that you’re spiritual?
• Are you fully engaged in the Body of Christ?
Are you involved so that others can spot it when you’re wearing a mask?
Remember - Sanctification is a group project!
The ultimate value is found in Christ
Colossians 1:15-18 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
No comments:
Post a Comment