And as we look into the message that is presented to us in the second chapter of the letter to the Colossians, we are today considering several possible ways of Salvation, that is of being complete and perfect and righteous with God, that are laid out for our consideration. And they are things such as Jesus Christ plus human wisdom. Jesus Christ plus a keeping of the old covenant ceremonial law. Or Jesus Christ plus an aesthetic lifestyle that is one that denies the enjoyment of the things of this earth. Or Jesus Christ plus any collection of human traditions and human teaching. And it is against all of these things that the Message that Paul brings to the Colossians is is brought to call them back to a hope and a faith and a confidence in Jesus Christ alone as sufficient for righteousness with God and for salvation and for Completion and perfection in all things, as we saw mentioned in the previous chapter where it says that you are complete in Him. So here in the second chapter, we are presented with this exhortation along these lines, and it's helpful to us in our day and age, even though maybe the particular Doctrines that were being presented to them in that time are different from us today, but it is very likely that somewhere along the lines in your life, you will encounter someone who will come to you and they will affirm Jesus Christ, they will affirm their hope in Him, but they will present to you a necessity that to be on a higher spiritual level or to be closer to God, it is necessary for you to have some other thing in addition to Jesus Christ. Perhaps they will come to you saying that they have experienced great visions from God, where He has revealed things to them. And for you also to have a closeness with God, you also need to either follow their visions or have visions of your own. Perhaps they come to you saying that they communicate with angels and their communication with angels allows them a greater power and spiritual influence in this life. Or perhaps they'll come to you and they'll say that the teachings of the Bible are useful and helpful and Christ is helpful, but that we also need to add to it human philosophy and wisdom in order to fully live a rich and complete life before God. Or perhaps you'll encounter someone that says, yes, we profess Jesus Christ, but in order to truly walk a life in obedience to God, you have to adhere to the Old Testament ceremonial law in order to live a life truly pleasing to God and be righteous before Him. And this chapter addresses all of those types of things for us very specifically. So with that in our mind, let's dive into this text. Colossians chapter 2. For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh." This word conflict, it speaks about the struggle, the emotional turmoil that he has, the care, the concern that Paul has for all the believers, and Laodicea and Colossae, even those, and especially here in this chapter, he speaks about those that have never met him in person. He was very active in preaching among the churches of the world and evangelizing and spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But there were many believers and communities of believers that had sprung up that had never met the Apostle Paul. And yet he still had great concern and care for them. And what his desire was, and he not only himself, but he speaks in a way on behalf of the apostles and the ministers of Jesus Christ, the care, the concern, and the desire that they had for the good of God's people back in a previous chapter in verse 28. whom we preach, speaking of Christ, whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." The desire was that every believer, everyone would be perfect, complete in Christ Jesus. That we would continue to grow in wisdom, and maturity, in the faith, in our knowledge of God, in obedience to the will of Jesus Christ. That we would be complete and perfect in Him. and that's his desire for them, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. So far in Colossians, we've seen the emphasis on the preeminence of Christ, and it is reiterated and expounded here in this chapter, so that you would understand that if you have Jesus Christ, if you have salvation in Him, you truly have all things that is necessary for life and godliness. You have everything that is necessary to appear righteous and blameless before God. You have everything that is necessary for hope, not only in this life, but in the world to come. You have a hope that overcomes even death itself. If you have Jesus Christ, you have everything. You have everything. If you have Jesus Christ and everything you have in Jesus Christ is sufficient for life and for godliness and for hope. And in him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It is discernible from what Paul writes to the Colossian believers that there were the seeds of a doctrine that would come to be known as Gnosticism that was infecting the people here, that was seeking to seduce them away from the simplicity of the gospel. And this idea of Gnosticism, very complicated system of belief, but it had certain tenets that it ascribed to. One of the tenets of Gnosticism was the idea that the material things, the material world, that is the created world itself, is inherently evil. And it contrasted with the spiritual world, that the spiritual world is good, but the material world is evil. And the Christian message, the message of the gospel, ran directly contrary to this idea. because at the center of the gospel message is the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. That is God, all the fullness of the Godhead, dwells in Jesus Christ bodily. The eternal Word of God That eternal Logos, the means by which God created the world, that person who in the beginning was God and was with God, became flesh and dwelt among us. The message of the Bible, the doctrine of truth that is taught to us in God's Word, is one that the created world is created good and very good, but has been corrupted, become corrupted by sin, and is therefore in a fallen and cursed state because of the entrance of sin into the world. But the material world itself is not evil, but is good being created by God. And so the evil is not in material things in and of themselves. The evil is in the sinfulness of man's heart and man's actions. And so one of the main tenants of this Gnosticism was directly contrary to the gospel. Another idea in this Gnostic teaching was this idea that there was this kind of secret knowledge that was necessary for attaining into a higher spiritual plane, a higher spiritual existence. was necessary to have this hidden secret knowledge. That's where the word Gnosticism comes from. Gnostic or knowledge from the Greek idea of knowledge. And so there was some kind of hidden wisdom, hidden knowledge that was necessary to have. Something that was not plainly taught or disclosed, but was only attainable by those who were special enough to be inducted into the apprehension of that knowledge. And this also is directly contradicted by the preaching of the gospel. Because in the gospel message is proclaimed a message that is accessible and available to all who hear it. And the truth of it is plainly declared by Jesus Christ, by his apostles, and by all those disciples that follow after in their footsteps. and it is clearly recorded in the scriptures, preserved by God and made available and known to us. All the truth necessary to come to an understanding of God and his purpose for your life and for this world is available to us and has been made known in the preaching of the gospel and in the recorded words of scripture. And if you come to a relationship and a knowledge of Christ through faith, then you have available to you all of those things and all the wisdom that is necessary. Because in Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And he goes on, in this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. And that word beguile, it conveys the idea of either to seduce or to take captive. Don't be taken captive, don't be seduced by somebody coming along with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the Spirit, joying and beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ." Faith, here in this letter, in this chapter in God's Word, faith is set forward as of preeminence importance. Faith. That is how we have the access into the blessings of God that He has given us. They are received by faith. What is the nature of that faith? Well, faith is something that looks not to ourselves, it looks not to our own wisdom or our own understanding or our own ability, but faith is that which looks outward from ourselves, to Jesus Christ and trusts in Him as the ground and basis of all of our salvation, of our righteousness with God, of our access to spiritual blessings, of the hope that we have. So faith looks out from ourselves and it looks outward to Jesus Christ. It does not look to our own abilities to keep a particular set of requirements. It does not look to our own ability to attain a certain level of intellectual understanding. But faith trusts in that which is unseen. It's said to be the substance of things not seen, the evidence of things not seen, the substance of things hoped for as faith. And so we are called back to the faith in Jesus Christ. And he rejoiced in the steadfastness of their faith in Christ. And as he observed their faith in Christ, that they had trusted in Christ, that they had come to an experience of salvation through Jesus Christ, his exhortation to them is that as you have received Christ, so walk ye in Him." That even as you have received Christ by faith, continue to walk by faith, that is, to walk is to order our lives, our conversation, our behavior, our actions in a certain way, and that is what we are called to do so in accordance with Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. There's at least two layers to what is said here that I like to bring out. One is that the manner of your life in this world ought to be consistent with the faith that you have in Jesus Christ and that which you proclaim. So don't profess Jesus Christ, profess to be a disciple and a follower of Him, profess to be someone who has your hope and dependence on Him for salvation, and then live in a way that is contrary to that. As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. Second, it is that you have received Him. How have you received Him? You've received Him by faith, and so continue in faith. Continue to have your hope, not in yourself, but in Jesus Christ. Verse 7, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 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. What is the deception that is being warned against here? It is to be deceived by the traditions of men that are not after Christ, that are not consistent with the Word and the person of Jesus Christ as you have been taught. Do not be turned aside from the truth that you have been established in. Do not be turned aside from the person of Jesus Christ in whom your hope has been fixed. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy. Philosophy, that speaks of a love of wisdom. And there is a good kind of philosophy that is the kind of philosophy that is represented, for example, in the book of Proverbs in the Bible and in many other places in the scriptures. In the book of Proverbs, we have wisdom presented to us in many different ways, but that wisdom is a certain type of wisdom. It is a wisdom at which the foundation of that wisdom is the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. And a true knowledge, a true knowledge that draws us closer to God is a glorious and a good thing that comes from God Himself. And so there is a godly kind of philosophy of love of wisdom, that is the love of the wisdom of God and His Word. The love of the wisdom, all the treasures of wisdom that are hid in Jesus Christ, a love of God's Word and the wisdom that it reveals to us, that is consistent with how He has created the world and how He has made us. But there is another kind of philosophy. There is a philosophy that is based upon human wisdom and human understanding. That is said to be a wisdom that is after the rudiments of the world. The rudiments of the world, that speaks about the elementary principles of the world. It is the, speaking of the basic things, the basic things of this world. And you can imagine, and you can even observe this in many places in philosophy, when man attempts, through his own reasoning and his own understanding, apart from the revealed knowledge of God, to attain unto a level of understanding of the world and explanation of the world. So, an attempt to understand Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? What is the purpose for which I exist? What does it mean to live a good life? What does it mean to walk in this world in a way that is consistent with the nature of this created world? If we attempt to do that apart from the wisdom of God, apart from the knowledge of God, it will only result in vain philosophy, vain deceit, the traditions of men, the rudiments of this world, and not after Christ. And so our understanding must be grounded in Jesus Christ. Just notice the language of the verses in this chapter. Verse 6, in Him. Verse 8, after Christ. Verse 9, in Him. Verse 10, in Him. Again and again, our hope and our ground and our salvation is grounded in Jesus Christ. Verse 10, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We've already examined that. And ye are complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power. Remember that if you have Jesus Christ, in Him you are complete. You have everything that you need in Him. Now where do we go wrong? We go wrong when we do not draw upon what we have in Jesus Christ, but we walk according to our flesh in contrast to walking in accordance with Jesus Christ. And in that, we go astray. But it is no deficiency in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, you have everything that you need. If you have Him, you are complete in Him. And so, therefore, as ye have received him, so walk ye in him, ye are complete, in him which is the head of all principality and power. In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. I discern from this verse and the greater context of this chapter that the error to which the Colossians were being tempted to be led astray was one in which we see other evidence of in the New Testament. That is that Gentile believers were being told by some that were professing Christ that yes, they should believe in Christ, but for them to be right, complete and righteous before God, it was necessary for them to be circumcised in accordance with the old covenant regulations and to subject themselves to the law that was given by God through Moses. And so we see here that they have a circumcision that is of a different kind than the one that was in the old covenant law. In fact, it is one to which the old covenant circumcision was pointing forward to in its fulfillment. That is not the putting away, the cutting away of a small part of flesh, but the cutting away of the whole body of sinful flesh as we are renewed in Jesus Christ, and our old man with its sins is put away and mortified, and we are made alive in Jesus Christ unto a life of righteousness. in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." So there is a circumcision made with hands. You see that described in the Old Testament. And it was something that God gave, beginning with Abraham, as a sign of the covenant that He made with him. That is the circumcision made with hands. but it pointed forward to a fulfillment of something greater than that circumcision. That is a circumcision made without hands. That is, it's not one done to the physical body, but it is something done to every believer in Jesus Christ where the body of the sins of the flesh, the whole of the sinful flesh, is put away, is cut off, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. So it speaks here about the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ and the new life that we as believers have in Him. And so if we have that, if we have that, we already have everything that we need to be righteous with God, to serve Him in this world, to please Him. He goes on, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, He took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross. There is conveyed in this language this idea of a written notice of a debt that is against us. There's a written notice of a debt that is against us. And that is how the requirements of the law upon our lives, the Old Testament law and its requirements, are characterized here as being a written notice of a great debt that is against us. We owe a great debt. that is characterized by the written law of God, because in that law, all of our sins and the guilt that is due us is exposed and expounded upon. So consider an example. When a sacrifice under the Old Covenant was being offered, That sacrifice that was being offered, a sin offering for example, that sacrifice that was being offered was a continual reminder of the sinfulness of man. And the fact that it continually needed to be offered was a continual reminder that the sacrifice did not ultimately remove the sin, but was a continual reminder of it. Consider also the cleansings of the old covenant law, the washings that they had to do. Those washings, or all the different laws that talked about being unclean and the different things in this world that made them unclean ceremonially, they were a continual reminder of our sinfulness and our uncleanness before God. And consider the whole law and all of its requirements and the penalties for it is an ongoing testimony to every single one of us that by the demands of the law, we are guilty and unclean before God. But, in the cross of Jesus Christ, As He, as the perfect and complete atonement sacrifice for us, it says that the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, All of the record of our debt, the full record of our sins and the corresponding guilt before God was blotted out in the cross of Christ as He took it away, as He nailed it to His cross, cancelling the debt that was against us. or maybe better to say, satisfying the debt that was against us, that was contrary to us, as He in Himself met all of the righteous requirements of the law, both in His righteousness of life and in His perfect, once and for all, atonement sacrifice for sin. So that the whole list of our sins, which was against us, and our guilt, and all the requirements of the law, which we have not satisfied and not lived up to, are satisfied in Jesus Christ, and that debt is taken out of the way, blotted out through the cross of Christ. And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it, in Himself, in the cross, in what He's done. He's triumphed over the principalities and powers. He's triumphed over the elemental spirits of this world. spiritual powers in this earth, which have a certain dominion and influence and power, their power has been stripped away from them by the victory of Jesus Christ. And He's triumphed over them. And so, on the basis of this doctrine, on the basis of everything that has gone before, that is that you are complete in Jesus Christ. He's the head of all principality and power, all the angelic, uh, powers. This was another, uh, teaching of Gnosticism. They had this whole complex system of different levels of angels and things that they called emanations that were spiritual, um, elements in this world, whatever there be, whatever, spiritual powers there are in this creation, Jesus Christ is at the head and has authority over all of them. Everything is subject unto Him. Everything is subservient to Him, whatever it be. And if it is opposed to Him, if it's wicked and evil spirits that are enemies against Him, He has triumphed over them. He has conquered them. He has spoiled them and taken from them that which belonged to them. And if they are good angels, good spiritual powers in this world, then they are subject in obedience to Jesus Christ and He is the head of all of them. And so, with all these things in mind, here he continues with this exhortation. He says, let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of a new moon, or of the Sabbath days. So this is giving indication here that there were people coming along, perhaps telling them that they needed to keep the Old Testament festivals in a certain way, the new moons in a certain way, or they needed to impose upon themselves certain dietary restrictions. They needed to not eat any meat or not eat this or that thing. And he says, let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon or of the Sabbath days. Why? Which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. There were people that wanted to go back to the shadows, wanted to go back to the things that were images and pictures and foreshadowings when the fulfillment of those things had already come. It's kind of like if you had a relative that you love, a beloved relative, and they had to go away on a long journey for a great length of time so that you miss them dearly. But before they went away, they gave you a picture of themselves for you to keep and to look at and remind you of them while they were away from you. And you treasured that picture because that picture reminded you of the one that you love and you care for. But it is as if when they came back from their long journey, rather than putting the picture aside and delighting in the presence of the actual person that had returned to you, you continued to only focus on the picture of them rather than the actual person. Not a perfect parallel with what we have here, but it conveys the idea that when Jesus Christ came into the world, He fulfilled all of the old covenant types and shadows, the foreshadowings of the sacrificial system, the rites and ceremonies of the law, all of these things, He fulfilled them. And so it says, they are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels. intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up in his fleshly mind, and not holding the head from which all the body, by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increase with the increase of God." So here it speaks about somebody coming along, having a man-made kind of humility, a show of humility, but the reality is they're puffed up in their own mind. They're proud of their own humility. And they're intruding into those things which they're not seeing. They're talking about visions and angels and things that are beyond their understanding. And they're doing so in such a way that has a pretended kind of humility. But the reality is all those things are serving to puff them up. with pride in their own mind. And he says, don't be beguiled of your reward by those people. Don't be deceived out of the good things that you have received, the treasures that you have in Jesus Christ by someone who comes along and acts as if they have something greater than Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. Wherefore, he says, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? Touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using after the commandments and doctrines of men. So this is talking about someone coming along and adding things to God's Word, adding their own commandments, their own traditions about what they eat or what they drink, adding doctrines and commandments to the Word of God. He's saying, why are you being subject to these things? Why are you submitting yourselves to the traditions of men that are not after Jesus Christ? And there are countless examples of this type of thing in the present day and throughout all the history of mankind. People always inventing things, inventing things that they believe or think, or maybe they just want others to think, make them closer to God, make them on a higher spiritual level. by denying themselves certain things for the sake of attaining a certain level of spiritual attainment. So that could be neglecting to eat certain foods, or neglecting the body. There are people that have not only neglected their body, but doing things that purposely cause them physical pain and discomfort because they believe that that is somehow drawing them closer to God, or somehow attaining them a higher spiritual level. All of those things are based on human wisdom. on human understanding and human tradition, not required by God, neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh. It says in verse 23, these things, which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility. Will worship. That is, things that elevate the human will. the human attainment, and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." Or to be said another way, these things are actually useless to putting away the sinfulness of fleshly desires. They have an appearance, a show of wisdom. They have an appearance of wisdom. but they are actually powerless to help us overcome the things of the sinful flesh. And so our mind and our heart, our affections are called back to Jesus Christ. And that's just the bridge to the next chapter that If you're risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on the things of the earth. We are called to pursue Christ in all things, to walk in Him even as we have received Him. Remember that if anyone comes along seeking to turn you aside, to say that you need Jesus Christ plus something else to be complete and be righteous before God, do not let anyone deceive you, but as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.