If you'll turn with me in your Bibles
to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. Rick Williams and I were talking
before the service, and I was sharing with him a little bit
about what this chapter is of, and his comment was, things haven't
changed, have they? They're still the same, and they
certainly are. The error that the Apostle Paul
is addressing in this entire epistle is that which says Christ
is necessary, but he's not sufficient. There were those who believed
that some personal discipline on our part would somehow improve
our position with God or aid in redeeming our souls. There
were those who thought that some sort of Greek philosophy of higher
powers or some sort of achievement of higher knowledge through personal
effort and through superstitious beliefs would add to what Christ
had accomplished for his people. And in short, it's really the
error of mixing works with grace. And those two can't be mixed. Paul made it clear in Romans,
he said, if it's of works, it's no longer of grace. Otherwise,
grace is not grace. And if it's of grace, it can't
be of works. You just can't mix these two
things. And yet, we're all prone to look
away from Christ, and the church has always been plagued with
this subtle yet deadly heresy of infecting and destroying the
gospel with the works of man. And so that's the that's the
issue that is being addressed and it's not a lesson for them
out there. It's a lesson for us. who do
believe by faith that grace is the only means of salvation and
that there can be no mixture of works. And yet, in our own
personal experience, how oftentimes we are prone to wander. We're
prone to look away from Christ. And so I pray that the Lord will
remind his children this morning of this very, very central truth. Let's begin reading in Colossians
chapter two at verse one. Paul says, for I know. Or for
I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you and for
them at Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my flesh in
the foot in the foot in the my face in the flesh. The word conflict here is a word
that was used in the Greek language to describe a sporting event
in an arena or stadium. Paul's expression, expressing
this wrestling that he has within him for the well-being of the
church in Colossae. Certainly, we can all relate
to the experience of our conflicts that we have in the spirit warring
against the flesh. And we have many adversaries
that would distract us from faith in Christ. The weakness of our
flesh keeps us from being what we would desire to be. In the warfare between the flesh
and the spirit, we oftentimes get tired, and though it is a
strenuous exercise, by God's grace and power that works in
us, effectually, he keeps us in this battle, and he gives
us the victory in the end. Look what he says. He says in
verse. In verse two, he says that their
hearts. Might be comforted. Being knit
together in love and to all the riches of the full assurance
of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of
the Father and of Christ, he says my concern for you is for
the well being of your souls. And I pray that you would be
comforted. How is it that God's people are comforted? Well, Isaiah
makes that clear, doesn't he? In Isaiah chapter 40, when the
Lord speaks to him and says, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
speak ye comfortably unto Jerusalem and tell them what? Tell them
their warfare is accomplished and their iniquity is pardoned
and they have received The double blessing. They received the double
blessing. That double blessing is the is
the imputation of our sin to Christ and the imputation of
his righteousness to us. You see, it's got to go both
ways, doesn't it? And so there is the comfort. He says, knit
together in love. It is the scarlet thread of love
and redemption that has knit together. the fabric of God's
church into a beautiful tapestry of grace. That's what Paul prayed for and
that's the prayer of every believer for every assembly of God's people
that the riches of his grace and peace would lead to a full
assurance of understanding As we learn more and more of the
gospel and as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ,
we become more and more sure, don't we? Redemption, regeneration,
conversion, salvation is all or nothing, isn't it? I mean,
we're either in Christ or we're out of Christ. We're either alive
or we're dead. We either see or we're blind.
There's no middle ground when it comes to that. There's no
amount of degrees when it comes to that. But assurance is another
issue, isn't it? Assurance of salvation is a matter
of degrees. And as we grow in grace, we become
more and more sure that Christ is all and that we have nothing
to bring to the table of salvation. And that's what Paul prays for.
I pray that You would be knit together in love and the riches
of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the
mystery of God. This mystery that was hid from
men. This truth that cannot be understood
by human effort is made known through the preaching of the
gospel. Paul's prayer is that they would
they would come to understand this mystery. This mystery that
man can't conceive on his own. The mystery of God, speaking
of the triune God, this mystery of the work of the father, the
son and the Holy Spirit, the father who elected the people
before the world began, the son who purchased their souls through
the precious blood shed on Calvary in redeeming us and the spirit
of God who works effectually in the hearts of his people,
calling them out, regenerating them and giving them as the first
measure of grace, the gift of faith. And so that's the that's
the knowledge meant of the mystery of God and of the father. Who formed this whole plan? and of Christ, and of Christ
in whom, speaking of Christ now, verse 3, in whom are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, the unsearchable riches of all
of God's love and all of God's grace are in Christ, the infinite
treasure of all wisdom, the perfection of all righteousness, the fullness
of all deity is found in Christ. That's the point that he's making.
Don't look anywhere other than to Christ. The unknowable depths and heights
of true holiness are found in Christ. Men want to believe that
somehow they can become more sanctified through their own
efforts. They can become more acceptable,
more holy. But God has made him to be for
us our sanctification. Everything needed for the salvation
of sinners to stand in the presence of a holy God is found in Christ
Jesus. That's what he's saying. In whom,
verse 3, Or he had all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Look
at verse four. And this I say, lest any man
should beguile you with enticing words. Don't be distracted from
Christ, regardless of how clever it is or how it might sound. These enticing words of pride
and unbelief that would cause us to look somewhere else. men who might come with persuasive
speech or what appears to be sound logic. If it leads us away
from Christ, it's well, it's not only erroneous, but it's
ultimately soul damning. That's the point that he's making.
This is a. This is this is an essential issue. Oftentimes, creatures deliver
messages with Persuasive tones and enticing words, but he says
if it's not consistent with the gospel of any man come unto you
if an angel of heaven come to you preaching any other gospel
than the one I preached to you. Let him be accursed. There is
but one faith. One Lord. There's one gospel. There's one church. There's one
baptism. That's always what it boils down
to in the end, isn't it? Discuss these things with unbelievers,
particularly religious folk. The question always boils down
to, well, what exactly is the gospel? What's the gospel? And what Paul's saying is the
gospel is found only in Christ. Be on guard is what he's saying. Satan is very subtle. He is, as the scripture says,
a wolf in sheep's clothing. He comes as an angel of light,
doesn't he? He tries to, oh well, a little
bit of leaven, leaveneth the whole lump, doesn't it? If we
interject the works of man at any point in the gospel of God's
grace, then we destroy that gospel. I'm so thankful for your pastors.
heart and ministry for the brethren in Santa Domingo Dominican Republic. I know Reynoldo's been here with
his family and they are dear dear friends of ours. I had an
opportunity to visit there as well and your pastor will confirm
this first time I went down there staying in the hotel. I didn't
know I just you know didn't think about it just drank water right
out of the Well, I learned a lesson real quick. If that water is
not confined in the sealed bottle of bought water, you don't drink
it. It looks the same. It looks the
same. That water coming out of the
tap looks just like the water you buy in a bottle. But there's
something in that water in the tap that will cause you to lose
even what you have if you drink it. You know, that's the way the
false gospel is, isn't it? It looks the same. Oftentimes,
it's it's undetectable, but if you drink it, it'll do you more
harm in the end. It doesn't. You know, it is. It has to be confined in the
limits of grace in order for it to be salvific. in order for
it to be good for our souls. And so, that's what he's saying.
Don't let any man beguile you with enticing words. Verse 5,
For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the
spirit, joying and beholding your order in the steadfastness
of your faith in Christ. Now, the Apostle had some special
order of things as they were. in Colossus, and he was encouraged
to see that they were doing things decently and in order and as
they ought to be done and how they were steadfast in Christ,
in spite of the fact that there were those who were trying to
water down the gospel or pervert the gospel, destroy the gospel.
Look at verse six. As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus, The Lord, so walk ye in him. How did we receive
the Lord Jesus Christ? We receive him as dead dog centers,
don't we? We receive him by faith. We don't
bring anything to God. In my hand, nothing I bring only
to the cross I cling. We can't come to God and offer
to him anything. We look to Christ alone, and
yet This this error that is so pervasive that would say we come
to Christ by faith salvation is a unilateral act of God apart
from any works of man and yet sanctification on the other hand
is bilateral. We have to contribute something
that's exactly what he's speaking against here is you walk the
same way you can. Remain in faith, we don't we
don't walk by sight. We don't we don't monitor the
progress of our faith by measuring ourselves up against the law
and somehow deceiving ourselves into thinking that we're getting
better and better. You see, that's what they were
doing. And that's what we're so prone to do to look away from
Christ. He says you walk the same way
you came. Verse seven. rooted as using
the analogy of the tree here. The scripture refers to believers
as trees of righteousness, the plantings of the Lord. That song
you just read spoke of those trees. I thought of that when
we read that song, Paul. Job said the root of the matter
is in me. These trees are the planting
of God, and we are rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ, and then
he says built up. Now he's using the analogy of
a building. He goes from a tree to a building,
and the church is God's building, isn't it? Living stones placed
upon that cornerstone and built up in him. In the faith, not tossed about
by every wind of doctrine, not being like children, but established,
steadfast in the faith. As, verse 7, you have been taught. If it's new or different or clever,
unique, it's not true. As you've been taught. Tell me
the old, old story. Just keep it simple. Keep it
plain. That's what believers want. Abounding
therein with thanksgiving. The truth is that grace is the
only thing that inspires thanksgiving. If we believe that we contributed
something to our salvation at any point, then we have nothing
at that point to be thankful for, do we? But if we believe
that God did it all, All that will inspire the heart to bow
in worship and to express gratitude for his work. Verse 8. Beware, lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of men. After the rudiments of the world
and not after Christ. Don't busy yourself with intellectual
speculations, trying to refine the law into some particular
application that would lead you away from Christ. It is vain
deceit, empty. It promises wisdom, but it can't
deliver. The traditions of man, men love
to add to what God has said, don't they? They love to add
their traditions. They're not able to keep God's
law by faith, so they comfort themselves in believing that
the laws they've made up and that they've kept are somehow
improving their position with God. No, we don't follow after
the traditions of men. We follow after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Everything that can be known
about or pleasing to God is found in Christ. God loves righteousness
and he hates iniquity. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. He has a very particular
love, doesn't he? Everything that we need is found
in Christ, and so in him dwells the fullness, all the nature
of God, all the attributes of God. The Lord Jesus said, if
you've seen me, you've seen the Father. God had spoken to us
in the past through our fathers in divers ways and manners, but
now in these last days, he's spoken to us by his son. He has
come himself in the fullness of all deity and revealed himself
to us. Verse 10, and you are complete
in him which is the head of all principality and power. Now here's
the summary of the whole book, isn't it? Complete in him, filled
All of our righteousness, all of our holiness, all of our justification,
all of our redemption, all of our wisdom, all of our sanctification,
everything necessary for this life and the next is found in
Him. And we are complete in Him. Everything God requires is found
in Christ. he is the head of all principalities
in power, verse eleven, in whom also you are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hands in the putting off of the
body of sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. This
is a spiritual work of grace that takes place in the heart.
This is what the prophet spoke of when he said, In those days,
no man will have to say to his brother, know the Lord, know
the Lord, for they will all know me from the least of them unto
the greatest. For I will come and I'll take
out their heart of stone and I'll put in a heart of flesh.
This is that spiritual circumcision of faith where God regenerates
a dead center and gives them life. And then he says in this
circumcision, we put off the body of sin reckon that your
cell indeed to be dead on the. Consider it to be so why because
God said it's. It's not. It's not important
how we see ourselves it's not important how we see one another
most things that the famous importance of God. God sees us in Christ
and he sees us righteous he sees us holy he sees us justified. The old man crucified with Christ,
putting off this filthy garment, like old blind Bartimaeus, when
the Lord called him, said, Be of good cheer. The Lord called
a few Bartimaeus, and what's the first thing he did? He took
off his coat. He laid it down, and he followed
after Christ. Filthy garments. rags of self-righteousness
are replaced with the robe of righteousness. That seamless
robe of the Lord Jesus Christ that he puts on his children. That wedding garment that makes
us acceptable before God. The perfect righteousness of
the Lord Jesus Christ. By the circumcision notice the
last part of verse eleven by the circumcision of Christ when
was Christ circumcised. Well obviously in keeping with
the law he was circumcised on the eighth day physically but
he was circumcised spiritually when he was cut off. When he
was cut off from God when he was cut off from the land of
the living when he was put outside the camp. At the cross. When the Lord Jesus Christ bore
the full wrath of God's justice for our sins, that's when he
was circumcised. And that's when we're circumcised
spiritually, too. In him, by the circumcision of
Christ, verse 12, buried with him in baptism, the Lord Jesus
said, I have a baptism. that you know not of. He was
speaking of his death. You see, everything goes back
to what Christ did for his people on the cross. And we are buried
with him. We symbolically identify with
that burial when we profess him publicly through water baptism.
It's not our baptism that does anything to secure our soul for
heaven, but it's his. And we profess our faith in that
baptism When we're baptized, don't we? And so he says, we're
buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through
the faith of the operation. This is the work. This is the
word work. This word operation. The original
language is the word Ergon from which we get our word energy
or power. And it means the work, it's the. It's the it's God's work. This
is it. This is the whole summary of
the gospel. God did it. He performed it. He worked it
out. It's the operation of God who
have raised Christ from the dead, he would not allow his holy one
to see corruption. Once the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied
the demands of God for righteousness through his life of obedience.
Once he satisfied God's demands for justice through his atoning
death. Then he met all the requirements
and at that point God could not allow him to remain in the grave.
He raised him up and he became the firstborn among many brethren. Verse thirteen, and you being
dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all your trespasses? That's pretty clear, isn't it?
Pretty clear. Not much comment that has to
be made on that. We're quickened with Christ.
When he was risen from the dead, we were risen from the dead.
That's the power of his resurrection. This goes back to the power of
his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering, and I remind
you again that Paul said, oh, but I might know that. Paul was
a believer, had matured much in the grace of God, and yet
he was still, he was still wanting to know better and better of
his identification with Christ, because therein he found the
hope of his salvation. Verse fourteen, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us. This is the law of God, which
serves to condemn us as sinners and took it out of the way, nailing
it to the cross. All those laws that condemned
us as sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ. nailed
them to the cross, so that now in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. No condemnation, no judgment
of God against one for whom Christ died. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly triumphing over them
in it. You know, there are those who
talk about having a victorious Christian life. As if some sort
of personal effort on their part secured them the victory over
the devil. That's that's contrary to everything
that we're reading here. That's exactly what Paul speaking
against. He's saying here that our victory
is in Christ Jesus and that in Christ we are more than conquered. We are victorious in our substitute. He went against Satan. And he
won the victory. The summarization of that is
found in the temptations of our Lord in the wilderness, isn't
it? When the Lord Jesus went up against the devil in the wilderness.
He accomplished for us during his weakest hour in the flesh
in the harshest environment What Adam could not accomplish in
his strongest moment and in the most perfect environment. The Lord Jesus as the last. Defeated
the temptations of Satan. He was tempted in all points
as we are, and yet he was without sin. And the and you know those
three temptations summarize everything that the Scripture says about
sin. The first one was that he would
in his hour of physical hunger after having been tempted for
forty days and forty days is a symbolic number of a generation
in the scriptures and so it's a picture our Lord spending forty
days. In the wilderness is a picture
of God's people in the wilderness of this world during their entire
life. And he was victorious over Satan. Turn those stones into bread,
and the Lord Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. You
see, that's the lust of the flesh, isn't it? When Eve back there
in the garden looked at that fruit on the forbidden tree and
And she said, and she said that it was good for food. How oftentimes
we've been tempted to pleasure, to gratify the desires of our
flesh, and we failed. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
fail. He won the victory and he did it as our substitute.
The second temptation was that he was taken up on the pinnacle
of the temple. And Satan said to him, cast yourself
off. And in perverting the word of
God, he said, the angels won't allow you. They'll catch you
before you. Right down there in the kindred valley, the main
thoroughfare coming into the city of Jerusalem, where all
the people were. Why they will all see this wonderful,
miraculous feats and they'll follow you as the Messiah. Lust of the eyes. When he looked
At that fruit, she said it was pleasant to the eyes. See, if
the first temptation is for pleasure, the second one is for popularity.
The truth is that we all desire the attention of others, don't
we? We all desire the approval of men. The Lord Jesus was tempted
infinitely at that point, and he won the victory for his people. The third temptation was that
he would bow down. That the Lord Jesus would bow
down to Satan and that Satan promised to give him all the
nations of the world. Power, what great power. How
often we've been tempted for pleasure, for popularity, for
power, and we've failed. Does that mean we're not victorious?
Ought we to resist the devil that he might flee from us? But
is our resisting in any way make us acceptable to God? No. It's what he did for us as our
substitute. He said, You shall worship the
Lord thy God and him only shall I serve. And when John spoke
of the sins, he said the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes and the pride of life. When Eve spoke of that fruit,
she said it was good for food, pleasant to the eye and desire
to make one wise. You see, this is the summarization
of the Lord Jesus triumphing over Satan for us. He defeated
Satan in all the areas where we are much too often defeated. Let no man, verse 16, therefore
judge you in meat or in drink on the respect of a holy day
or of a new moon or of a Sabbath day. which are shadows of things
to come, but the body is of Christ. If anybody wants to see a picture
of my granddaughter, I'd be more than happy to show her to you.
I've pulled her out a couple times since I've been here, and
I've looked at her a few times. But you know what? When I get
home and I see her and hold her, I won't be pulling out the picture.
I won't be pulling out pictures, looking at the picture. I'll
have her in the flesh. That's what he's saying here.
types and we're just that they were pictures in the Old Testament,
but when you have the reality, when you have the body, which
is in Christ, then you have no need for those things. They've
been those rudiments, those laws. They've been nailed to the cross.
We have the reality of the living Christ. Now they were the shadows
of the things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no man
beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility or worshiping
of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen,
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind." Men like to pretend that
they've had religious experiences with God that they've never had. They're just lying, satisfying
their own guilt and conscience and trying to impress men and
trying to improve their position with God. But it's all a lie. Because they're not, verse 19,
holding the head. They're not holding on to Christ. From which all the body, by joints
and bands, that word bands is a word for ligaments, it's the
whole, it's what holds the body together, having nourishment,
ministered and knit together, increased with the increase of
God, from faith to faith. That's how we grow. We begin
by faith, we walk by faith, and faith matures. Lord, I believe,
help thou mine unbelief. Give me more faith. Increase
my faith. Enable me to look more closely
and singularly to the Lord Jesus Christ as my only hope. Wherefore, verse 20, if you be
dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though
living in the world, are you subject to ordinances? This religion
of touch, not taste, not handle, not which are all to perish with
the using. Todd and I were talking about
this morning, he said, Yeah, I think this means if this is
our religion, if our religion is to taste, not handle, not
then that religion is going to perish and will perish with it.
All these things in the world are temporal. After the commandments and doctrines
of men, the things that men make up, which things have indeed
a show of wisdom in will, worship and humility and neglecting of
the body. You know that all that men who
aren't believe, you know, believers aren't impressed by this stuff.
We're offended by it. But men in religion are real
impressed by. It has a it has a show of wisdom. But notice this last verse, but
not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. In fact, these
things don't do anything. They don't do anything to control
the flesh. Or to or to prepare us for glory. That can only be in Christ. Christ
is all. Alright, thank the Lord. Let's
take ten minutes. Ten minute break. Okay.