Colossians 2:3-6by Dr. Grant C. RichisonTo: Colossians Main Menu To: Grace Notes Home Page Colossians 2:3"in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."---------- "in whom are hidden" The "whom" here is the Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity is essentially a relationship with a person. The wealth of Christianity revolves around that person. This is a truth not known in the Old Testament (1:26). ---------- "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" The word "treasures" means stored up. It is the word from which we get our word thesaurus. A thesaurus is a treasury of words stored up to compare with one another. God begins to give a catalogue of treasures at salvation and they continue throughout the Christian experience until and including death. The entire plan of God revolves around the person and work of Jesus Christ. God provides our initial salvation by forgiveness of sins in Christ. God gives us divine operating assets while we live life in time. God saves us eternally at physical death. That is an outline of God's thesaurus. Note that "all" the treasures are hidden in him. They will always be in him. Jesus is the treasure of God. The wonderful thing about the "hidden treasures" in Christ is that we discover them by personally accepting him as our Savior. We do that by believing that his death on the cross forgives us of our sins. Wisdom is the appropriation of truth to experience, 1:9. If we know truth we will be able to apply it properly to our situation. This is spiritual insight into who Jesus is. Knowledge is the catalogue of truth, the power to apprehend truth. We must first grasp truth before we can apply it. We cannot apply truth that we do not know. Once we grasp truth, we can give an answer for our faith. We find both "wisdom" and "knowledge" in Christ (Rom. 11:33; I Cor. 12:8). PRINCIPLE: The Lord Jesus Christ is the key that unlocks God's treasure. APPLICATION: We can obtain knowledge in school but not wisdom. Spiritual wisdom comes from personal knowledge and fellowship with the Lord Jesus. He is the key to wisdom and knowledge (I Cor. 1:23,24). He is the mind and might of God; the brains and brawn of God. I Corinthians states that we have the "mind of Christ." Where do we have the mind of Christ? God has put it in writing -- the Word of God, the unabridged revelation of God. We cannot understand the Word of God without first knowing the Son of God (Rom. 8:7,8; I Cor. 2:14). We cannot know the Son of God without first knowing the Word of God. Everything that God wants us to know is in the Bible. The unique difference about Jesus Christ from all other religious leaders is that he is alive today. All other religious leaders are all dead and buried but Jesus Christ is alive! A dead Confucius or Buddha cannot give eternal life. They died themselves. Jesus rose from the dead. I would like to invite you to know the Son of God. If you accept the fact that he paid for all your sins upon the cross by faith, you will have eternal life. The Bible presents no other solution. The Bible guarantees no other answer for owning eternal life. Colossians 2:4"Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words."---------- "Now this I say" "This" refers to the "full knowledge" of verse three. Paul has just presented the sufficiency of Christ. Full knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ protects the believer from deception. Mature believers protect themselves from deception by their full knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. ---------- "lest anyone should deceive you" Paul now briefs them on why they could not discern truth from error. We learn from our mistakes. We can probably learn more from our failures than from our successes. The word "lest" introduces a purpose clause. God does not want us to repeat the mistakes of the past. Satan convinces people by beguiling them (II Cor. 11:3). If we do not know the truth sufficiently, we leave ourselves open to undermining what we believe. The Colossians let themselves open to the false teachers of the Lycus Valley because they did not sufficiently know the Word of God. The word "deceive" means to reason aside. It came to mean to "lead astray" or "delude." It means to deceive by false reasoning, by false logic, by a system that sounds logical but is not sound reasoning. There are plenty of people out there who want to distort the pure Word of God. In the Greek Old Testament this word was used by Jacob when he reproached Laban for refusing to live up to his side of the bargain of giving Rachel for his wife (Gen. 29:25, LXX). ---------- "with persuasive words" The terms "persuasive words" are used of a lawyer who argues that his guilty client is not culpable. It carries the idea of our idiom: "To talk someone into something." It is the appearance of logic. This is a person who has the power to influence an audience toward an unjust verdict. Recent legal cases in North America patently demonstrate how lawyers can talk a jury off just punishment. We must not surrender to glib and sometimes convincing arguments of false teachers. The ignorant and unwary in our day still fall to specious arguments because they are ignorant of God's Word. False arguments that sound plausible can deceive. Persuasion and truth are not necessarily the same thing. False teachers can be very persuasive (Rom. 16:18). They need to cheat in order to ruin us. It is impossible for them to deceive and cheat, if it was not for our own ignorance of truth. PRINCIPLE: The true Christian should have such a grip on truth that he or she will not listen to specious and seductive arguments. APPLICATION: Glib talkers can rattle off philosophical sophistry. There are many religious tricksters on the loose. They will try to "con" Christians by enticing words. They throw kisses at the Lord Jesus Christ. They say nice things about him. That gives them credibility. It is amazing how many Christians become sucked into aberrant religious systems because they do not know enough of the Word of God to discern the true from the false (II Cor 11:3). The Devil will make a play for our heads. If believers fortify themselves behind the defense perimeter of verse two, then they will be able to withstand people who talk them off from truth. If they have an edification complex in their soul from the Word of God, they will have stability of soul. Satan attacks the soul who has a vacuum of truth in his soul (Eph. 4:17). People with little truth open themselves up to negatively view the unadulterated truth of the Bible. They are susceptible to a "fifth column" to come in and undermine truth. Are you vulnerable to being talked into false doctrine? Colossians 2:5"For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ."There was an insidious error at work in Colosse. False teachers were attempting to teach that other avenues of information about God were possible other than the Bible. ---------- "For though I am absent in the flesh" Paul never visited the church at Colosse. Even though he was not physically present with them, he was with them in spirit. ---------- "yet I am with you in spirit" Paul identified with the Colossian church spiritually. Though he was not physically present, he was able to deal with an assault upon their faith by writing to them. ---------- "rejoicing to see your good order" The words "order" and "steadfastness" are military metaphors. They both describe an army set for battle. This is the attitude believers must adopt if they are to stand against false doctrine. The word "order" refers to solders in orderly rank. It means to form an army in battle array. Soldiers are to line up in battle order. No soldier should break rank and run. Panic will destroy any army. General Jesus orders his Christian troops in military array. The Christian church should march like an army, rank upon rank, with every man in his appointed place. Jesus Christ himself arranges the disposition of this Christian army. Every Christian should be ready to take commands from General Jesus and go to doctrinal battle for him. The manual for battle is the Word of God. When it comes to spiritual war, the Christian needs to fight the battle on God's terms. In chemistry, certain laws are crucial to follow if we do not want to meet with a violent result. There is no latitude in the multiplication table. So the Christian life operates on principles that carry the Christian warrior in spiritual warfare. PRINCIPLE: Christians are to display orderly rank and solid discipline as troops of Jesus Christ. APPLICATION: Christians need both unity and solid understanding of the Word of God in the face of slick-tongued heretics. A soldier's discipline for order and steadfastness in the Word of God is necessary for a Christian walk. ---------- "and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ" The word "steadfast" is from the military term "phalanx". A phalanx was an ancient Greek formation of infantry. Soldiers were arrayed in rows of eight to sixteen rows making a solid block. This block could sweep through the more dispersed enemy. The phalanx was originally deployed by the Spartans. It was developed by Epaminondas of Thebes (362 B.C.). This method of war reached its apex under Alexander the Great. He used the Macedonian Phalanx (16 soldiers deep armed with a 24' spear). He conquered all of Greece and the Near East with this system of warfare. The Christian is to be an immovable phalanx in the Word. The Christian phalanx is an unbreakable square. It stands solid against the charge of the enemy. The true church holds fast to it's phalanx of faith. A true faith refuses to yield to opposing influences. This is not a frozen orthodoxy where all change and adventure of thinking are heresy. PRINCIPLE: Christians are to display orderly rank and solid discipline as troops of Jesus Christ. APPLICATION: How solidly do you adhere to the allegiance of your faith -- Jesus Christ? Does your love never waver from him? No Christian is free from the authority of Jesus Christ. When we reject his authority, we reject what is best for our soul. Then we substitute drugs and alcohol for the vacuum in our souls. When we substitute other answers for Jesus Christ, we break rank with him. Are you the kind of soldier who stays in rank with the Word of God? Colossians 2:6"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him"This verse begins a practical antitoxin to deal with seducers. It is not enough to warn against desertion from Christ; the Christian must advance in his daily life of faith. ---------- "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord" The word "therefore" marks the transition from the doctrinal to the practical. "Received" means to welcome what is brought or delivered by others. It means to receive truth by transmission from someone else. It is the Word of God that transmits truth about Christ. When we became a Christian, we welcomed the doctrine of Christ; we took Jesus in every relation and capacity; we received the person himself. The doctrine concerning Christ is sufficient to meet any contingency in the Christian life. Our full reception of the doctrine of Christ is the only true safeguard against deceit. This is an exhortation to persist in the truth. PRINCIPLE: We become a Christian by faith in Christ's death to forgive us for our sins. APPLICATION: Has there been a time in your life when you personally welcomed Christ as your Savior? You may say, "Well, I do not know whether I have or not." We cannot marry and not know it! We either have received Christ or we have not. We cannot receive Christ and not know it. Many people say, "I suppose I'm a Christian, I hope I am." Do you know for sure that you have made a decision to receive Christ? No one in their right mind would say, "I think I'm married, I hope I'm married, I suppose I'm married, I don't really know." If someone where to ask you, "Have you received Jesus Christ's death to forgive your sins?" you may say, "I am not sure." Then you are not a Christian. When the minister asks, "Will you have his man to be your husband?", you answer, "I do." When someone asks you, "Will you have this Man Christ Jesus to be your personal Savior?", you either say, "I do" or "I won't." If you say, "I do," he will forgive you immediately of all sin, past, present or future. Titles of the Lord Jesus are very informative. They reveal nuances the author intends in a given context. This is what we find in this verse. ---------- "Christ Jesus the Lord" The Greek says, "the Christ Jesus, the Lord." Note the two definite articles. This is the full title of our Lord. Note the title "Lord." When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we get more than a Savior; we get a Lord. When we married our wife, we did not say, "I take you as my partner in business." No, we took her as our wife. Partnership in business may involve an aspect of marriage. When we receive Christ, we get more than that for which we bargained. We did not know much about our salvation when we began a Christ, but we need to find out that he is Lord as soon as possible. He is Lord (II Cor. 4:5). That makes us a slave. We need to learn that we are no longer our own. Our Savior and Lord bought, ransomed and redeemed us. PRINCIPLE: Jesus Christ is more than a Savior; he is our Lord. APPLICATION: We need to recognize that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives. That recognition will change how we live. Simple volition cannot execute the Christian life. When we lose consciousness of willing to do something, we sin and fail. Therefore, it is not will itself that delivers us, it is the object of our will that makes the difference, the Word of God that reveals Jesus the Lord. Is the Lord Jesus Christ the object of our choices? If we appropriate the person and work of Christ to our lives by many choices, the sovereign Lord will strengthen us to execute the Christian life. When we recognize the sovereign Lord as Lord, God will enable us to live the kind of life he wants for us. The "as" refers to the point when we received Christ as our Savior. The "so" refers to continued trust in the ongoing principles of Scripture for our daily walk with God. Spiritual life begins with faith and it continues by faith. ---------- "so walk in Him" The point of this verse revolves around two monosyllables -- "as" and "so." The point of the "as...so" clause is comparison. The "as" refers to the point when we received Christ as our Savior (John 1:11,12). The "as" refers to the truth that we receive Jesus Christ's death for our sin by faith. The "so" refers to continued trust in the ongoing principles of Scripture for our daily walk with God. Spiritual life begins with faith and it continues on faith. The comparison between becoming a Christian and continuing as a Christian is faith. "Walk" means live. It means the whole round of activities of the individual life. The word "walk" comes from two words, "to walk" and "around," "to walk around." This word conveys the idea to live as a course of life. We are to live the entire course of the Christian life by faith. Conduct must accord with the truths of our faith. As we have received him by faith when we became a Christian, so we need to walk day by day by faith. II Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." The Christian life rotates around faith. That is how it begins; that is how it continues. By faith God delivers us day by day from the power of sin. Faith, not feeling, is the basis of victory. Some folk verify their walk with God by feeling. We are a Christian as much when we do not feel like a Christian as when we do feel like it. We live the Christian life by faith whether we feel like it or not. Our feelings have nothing to do with it. I am still married whether I feel like it or not! The Exodus generation in the Old Testament failed to mix the promises with faith (Heb. 3:7-4:16). We cannot live the Christian life if we do not claim the promises by which we live it. If we do not know the promises, how can we claim them? The Exodus generation had a great future, a land flowing with milk and honey. For forty years they wandered in the desert of carnality because they did not apply enough of God's Word to seize the future God promised them. PRINCIPLE: We utilize the same faith by which we became a Christian to live daily before God. A growing faith staves off retrogression. APPLICATION: Feelings are fickle. They can lead us astray. Some people say, "I read the Bible and I do not feel anything." When we read a letter from a loved one, some things we may feel and others we may not. Some components of the letter may state simple fact. Other aspects of the letter may involve emotion. That does not mean that the parts of the letter that contain emotion are the only valid part of the letter. When we read the Bible, at times we may feel something and other times we may not. Feelings are not the issue. When we read the Bible we read a communication from our Heavenly Father. We welcome ("received") what he wants us to know. As we appropriate the provisions of God by faith, God's Word becomes a part of us. It is through our choices about the Word that the Word assimilates into our lifestyle. The Christian grows one day at a time. 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