Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.
Philosophy and Christianity are both concerned with matters of truth, so they often overlap. But for many philosophical arguments, there’s an equal and opposite philosophical argument, so one person’s truth is another person’s fallacy. This makes philosophy an uncertain way of arriving at truth. What we really need is a word from God.
If you saw a picture of a man breaking into a house in the middle of the night, you might assume he was a burglar. But if you saw the picture from a wider angle, you’d see flames coming out of the roof, and a firetruck parked on the street. Then you’d understand the man was not a burglar, but a fireman.
We must understand that the big picture determines the meaning of the little picture. Only God has the big picture of reality, so only God is in a position to say what is true. Don’t be taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy. Just believe what God has said in his word. That’s what Jesus did, and we are his disciples.
Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.
It’s common today for people to believe that Jesus was truly human, but not truly divine. But an early heresy taught that Jesus was truly divine, but not truly human. This followed from the false idea that our bodies are evil. Since God wouldn’t dwell in an evil body, Christ’s body only seemed to be human, but wasn’t truly human, they taught.
The biblical understanding of Christ is not someone who’s truly human or truly divine, but truly human and truly divine. If Jesus wasn’t truly human, he couldn’t have died for the sins of humankind. And if he wasn’t truly divine, his death wouldn’t have been sufficient for the sins of humankind. So God took on our humanity in Christ, never to put it off. He is truly human and truly divine, forever (Hebrews 7:17).
Colossians 2:10 [I]n Christ you have been brought to fullness.
There’s no such thing as a fulfilled person apart from Jesus Christ. All our possessions, pleasures, achievements and relationships are not enough to fill us up. There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ (Blaise Pascal, paraphrased).
A young man found a trombone case but didn’t know what it was for. He used it as a lunch box, but that didn’t work very well. Then he used it as a tackle box, but that didn’t work very well either. Then he used it as a tool box, but that didn’t work very well either. One day he went to a garage sale, where he saw a trombone, and bought it on a hunch. He put it in the case and, to his delight, it filled every crevice. Until people find God, they’ll put all kinds of things into their souls, but none will fill them up.
But even Christians aren’t fulfilled all the time, or as much as they would like to be. False teachers in Colossae took advantage of this by offering Christians something more. But, whenever we feel empty, what we really need is more of Christ. In Christ we are brought to fullness.
Colossians 2:11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when God required him, and his posterity, to be circumcised (Genesis 17:1, 10-14). This symbolized the covenant between Abraham and God, like a wedding band symbolizes the covenant between a husband and wife.
But symbols have a problem. They can become a substitute for what they were meant to symbolize. It’s easier to wear a wedding band than to be a faithful spouse. It’s easier to wear a cross than to follow Jesus Christ. And it was easier to be circumcised than to live in a covenant relationship with God. That’s why Moses said, The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts . . . so that you may love him with all your heart (Deuteronomy 30:6).
Physical circumcision has now been replaced by circumcision of the heart: the indwelling Spirit who marks us as children of God (Ephesians 1:13). Physical circumcision is no longer required since, in Christ, we are circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.
Colossians 2:13 He forgave us all our sins.
Sin is so common that we underestimate its criminality as well as its consequences. We think of sin as a minor lapse from our normally good behavior when, in fact, it’s treason against the Most High God to whom we owe everything. Our greatest need at any moment isn’t oxygen, but forgiveness.
We learn from God’s word that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), followed by eternal fire (Matthew 18:8). So the best news we can ever receive is that we’ve been forgiven. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t that God has forgiven some of our sins, or most of our sins, but that He forgave us all our sins.
When my daughter was in the fourth grade, she came home from school distraught, because she failed a math quiz. She was a conscientious child, and feared she might not make it to the next grade. The following day she talked to her teacher, and learned that her teacher’s policy was to throw out the lowest quiz before calculating the final grade. With great excitement she exclaimed, It’s deleted, Dad! It’s completely deleted! Likewise, He forgave us all our sins.
Reflection and Review
How are philosophy and Christianity different?
Why did Jesus have to be truly human and truly divine?
Why is sin so serious?
Philosophy and Christianity are both concerned with matters of truth, so they often overlap. But for many philosophical arguments, there’s an equal and opposite philosophical argument, so one person’s truth is another person’s fallacy. This makes philosophy an uncertain way of arriving at truth. What we really need is a word from God.
If you saw a picture of a man breaking into a house in the middle of the night, you might assume he was a burglar. But if you saw the picture from a wider angle, you’d see flames coming out of the roof, and a firetruck parked on the street. Then you’d understand the man was not a burglar, but a fireman.
We must understand that the big picture determines the meaning of the little picture. Only God has the big picture of reality, so only God is in a position to say what is true. Don’t be taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy. Just believe what God has said in his word. That’s what Jesus did, and we are his disciples.
Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.
It’s common today for people to believe that Jesus was truly human, but not truly divine. But an early heresy taught that Jesus was truly divine, but not truly human. This followed from the false idea that our bodies are evil. Since God wouldn’t dwell in an evil body, Christ’s body only seemed to be human, but wasn’t truly human, they taught.
The biblical understanding of Christ is not someone who’s truly human or truly divine, but truly human and truly divine. If Jesus wasn’t truly human, he couldn’t have died for the sins of humankind. And if he wasn’t truly divine, his death wouldn’t have been sufficient for the sins of humankind. So God took on our humanity in Christ, never to put it off. He is truly human and truly divine, forever (Hebrews 7:17).
Colossians 2:10 [I]n Christ you have been brought to fullness.
There’s no such thing as a fulfilled person apart from Jesus Christ. All our possessions, pleasures, achievements and relationships are not enough to fill us up. There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ (Blaise Pascal, paraphrased).
A young man found a trombone case but didn’t know what it was for. He used it as a lunch box, but that didn’t work very well. Then he used it as a tackle box, but that didn’t work very well either. Then he used it as a tool box, but that didn’t work very well either. One day he went to a garage sale, where he saw a trombone, and bought it on a hunch. He put it in the case and, to his delight, it filled every crevice. Until people find God, they’ll put all kinds of things into their souls, but none will fill them up.
But even Christians aren’t fulfilled all the time, or as much as they would like to be. False teachers in Colossae took advantage of this by offering Christians something more. But, whenever we feel empty, what we really need is more of Christ. In Christ we are brought to fullness.
Colossians 2:11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when God required him, and his posterity, to be circumcised (Genesis 17:1, 10-14). This symbolized the covenant between Abraham and God, like a wedding band symbolizes the covenant between a husband and wife.
But symbols have a problem. They can become a substitute for what they were meant to symbolize. It’s easier to wear a wedding band than to be a faithful spouse. It’s easier to wear a cross than to follow Jesus Christ. And it was easier to be circumcised than to live in a covenant relationship with God. That’s why Moses said, The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts . . . so that you may love him with all your heart (Deuteronomy 30:6).
Physical circumcision has now been replaced by circumcision of the heart: the indwelling Spirit who marks us as children of God (Ephesians 1:13). Physical circumcision is no longer required since, in Christ, we are circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.
Colossians 2:13 He forgave us all our sins.
Sin is so common that we underestimate its criminality as well as its consequences. We think of sin as a minor lapse from our normally good behavior when, in fact, it’s treason against the Most High God to whom we owe everything. Our greatest need at any moment isn’t oxygen, but forgiveness.
We learn from God’s word that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), followed by eternal fire (Matthew 18:8). So the best news we can ever receive is that we’ve been forgiven. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t that God has forgiven some of our sins, or most of our sins, but that He forgave us all our sins.
When my daughter was in the fourth grade, she came home from school distraught, because she failed a math quiz. She was a conscientious child, and feared she might not make it to the next grade. The following day she talked to her teacher, and learned that her teacher’s policy was to throw out the lowest quiz before calculating the final grade. With great excitement she exclaimed, It’s deleted, Dad! It’s completely deleted! Likewise, He forgave us all our sins.
Reflection and Review
How are philosophy and Christianity different?
Why did Jesus have to be truly human and truly divine?
Why is sin so serious?