Let me ask you to turn with me to Colossians chapter two. Colossians chapter two. From time to time since I've been here, I have dipped into this letter in our services and just delighted to reflect upon the perspective of the gospel that is presented in this letter. And this morning, as a part of preparing our hearts for the Lord's Table, we want to look at what really is the heart of this epistle of Paul. It's in the middle of Colossians chapter 2. And let me just go ahead and read for us a whole paragraph here, starting at verse 8, Colossians 2, and down to verse 15. Colossians 2.8 begins with a warning. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit. According to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him, that is in Christ, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. And you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. God made alive together with him having forgiven us all our trespasses by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him, or in it, which is a reference probably to the cross itself. Wonderful declarations here of the saving work of Christ on our behalf. There's a lot there that we won't have time today to consider, but Lord willing, be able to grasp the basic truths that the Apostle Paul is teaching us here and is encouraging us with. This week I was hearing a little bit about a baseball team whose name is The Intimidators. And that's a pretty decent name for a ball team, right off the bat. It gives the impression to your opponents that they really are something, something to be scared of, something to prepare for, and probably something to be defeated by. The Intimidators. We realize that there's a sense in which every false religion and every cult is built on intimidation. The idea that you are caused to squirm for some reason or another, that some threat or some burden or some responsibility is held upon you so that out of fear, of what might happen to you. You would keep yourself straight or you would abide by what the authority says or you would follow through with the ritual or whatever it is the demand is. In the Bible there is something legitimate called the fear of the Lord. And something that we never get away from even as Christian people. But the fear of the Lord is not the same as intimidation. God does not delight in making us squirm There is a recognition of his holiness, of his wrath against our sin, but the point of that is not to make us miserable, it's actually to drive us right back to him and to cry out for mercy, for him to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. And once we do that, although we always stand in awe of him, We don't want to do anything that would grieve him. We don't want to mar our relationship with him. We don't want to be an offense to our Savior who died for our sin. Although there is fear in those ways, it's not a life of uncertainty and panic and discomfort all the time because we're just not sure what God's posture is toward us. And yet there have been those, there have always been those who have actually twisted the scripture and used certain truths in the Bible in such a way that they actually do end up intimidating people as a matter of course and as what is at the base of their religious system. And that was the case with the false teaching that the Apostle Paul is dealing with here in Colossians. It was basically an intimidation factor at work. And it's hard to know what to call this false teaching. Actually, scholars have long debated exactly what was the background and what exactly to label this view, this combination, this really odd combination of ideas that the Apostle Paul is having to counter in the letter to the Colossians. It was a strange combination of ideas that were borrowed, some from paganism and some from Judaism. All of these things that they are propounding put together supposedly essential if a person is to be right with God. Supposedly essential if a person is to live a truly spiritual life. Supposedly essential if they're to have victory over their sinful impulses and if they're to be protected from the forces of the evil one. And what were these elements that went into this teaching? What was it that they were urging people and pressuring people to do? Well, some of it was ritualism. Some of it had to do with religious ceremonies that they were to keep, and especially the matter of circumcision borrowed from the Old Testament. Some of it we would call more mysticism, looking for supernatural experience, particularly by having contact with angels and worshiping angels and hearing from angels and somehow appeasing them so that they're on your side. And some of it we would have to call asceticism, that is, extreme forms of denying the impulses, the desires, the inclinations of your body, and particularly in the area of not eating certain foods. Certain things were prohibited from them as far as eating or even touching, Paul says. So, ritualism, mysticism, asceticism, all kind of wrapped up together in this odd false religion that was about intimidating these people that they didn't have these things that they were pursuing these things. Something was missing and they weren't quite in touch with God and they couldn't be sure that God was favorable toward them. And although Paul is dealing with that all the way through this letter, the verses that we just read actually form the essence of his response to that false teaching. You can see it summarized really in one statement as you look back at Colossians chapter 2 and verse 9. He says that in Christ, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. There's no need to be looking for something extra. from, say, angels, or from some other experience, because everything about God is contained in Christ. The full package of God's nature, of his attributes, is expressed, it adheres in Christ and in bodily form. And so you have there in verse 9 a statement of his deity and his humanity linked inseparably together. And what does that have to do with me? Well, verse 10 says, and you have been, it says in our translation here, filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. So, he has everything about God inherent in him, and if you're connected with him, everything you may need, all of the resources Whatever you need in order to be in touch with God, you have already because he has it to start with. And it's wonderful teaching that we are complete if we are connected. With Christ, actually, the word at verse 10, they are translated, you have been filled in him or translated, you are complete in him. is a pretty common word that has to do actually with filling things up, filling up containers. In fact, in Matthew chapter 14 verse 20, you remember when Jesus fed the 5,000 and there were 12 baskets full of leftover food, the word that's used to say that those baskets were full of food is the same one here. Just picture a basket and up to the brim and maybe even overflowing. There's this bread and there's this these fish and food to abundance. It has been filled up all the way. And he says, you, if you're connected with Christ, you are filled up with everything that is needed in order to have a relationship with God. And somebody asked, well, what is it that I might need? Or what are the kinds of things that are in this basket for me and that belong to me in Christ? And precisely as we go on, that's what the Apostle Paul is going to be addressing. And this morning, I'd like us to focus in on verses 11 to 15 especially. We think about being complete in Christ, being filled up with him. What is it that we're filled up with? What is it that he has supplied for us? Well, it's interesting that of the blessings that are here, each one answers to some particular problem. Some particular human problem that if it is not addressed, you really would feel afraid about. You really would be intimidated If you didn't know that this issue was covered by Christ, you would have something to be afraid of. You would be looking for a solution because these items are actually legitimate human needs. Paul says, instead of running to the ritualism, to the mysticism, to the asceticism, recognize that these things have been addressed already through the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is the first need that you have? This issue actually answers to the intimidation that you might feel because of your own depravity, the depravity of your heart, what you know about your own moral weakness, what you and I would have to confess about our will against sin. We are weak. In fact, the Bible teaches that by nature we are dead and we don't have the ability to throw off this old master called sin, to resist the forces of sin that actually reside right inside of us. Answering to the intimidation that we might feel before God because of our own depravity. One of the things that Jesus Christ fills us with is spiritual life. spiritual life. That's what verses 11-13 talk to us about. And Paul deals with that in terms of the whole ritual imagery. Let me read for us again verse 11-13. He says, In Christ also You were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him." You see there that he's talking about life. He contrasts that to our natural state of death and the fact that we were dominated by the flesh as far as the course of our lives is concerned. And he explains that in terms that would have been familiar to these people, especially in this setting. First of all, the image of circumcision. A physical ritual that God had that had ordained as a requirement externally under the old covenant people of God is a way of marking off that they belong to the people of Israel. but also as a way of expressing something of their need before God ultimately. The flesh, having these negative connotations, having these sinful connotations, and it is cut off. The Lord used that kind of imagery, even in the Old Testament, to speak of the circumcision of the heart. That actually your inner man is enveloped by sin and corruption and death that needs to be excised if you're going to have any hope of overcoming your problems, of resisting sin. There's going to have to be a break with that which is fleshly in you. And that's what Paul addresses here. He says, Don't think that some physical ritual is going to change you inside. What you need is actually a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of flesh by the circumcision of Christ. And when he speaks of the body of flesh, clearly he's not saying that our physical body actually dies when we are converted. But there is a change, even in reference to our physical bodies. This is talking about the human body as it is dominated by the authority of sin, as it is under slavery to the flesh, really unable to change itself, unable to love God, unable to resist sin, ultimately. And he says there was something spiritual that took place. And I'm going to call circumcision, spiritually speaking. And because you have been severed from the authority of sin over you, you've been given a new life. We might say you've been given with that a new lease on life, a new ability, a new direction, a new opportunity. And to develop that some more, he brings up the matter of baptism. as he goes on in verse 12, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead, and you he made alive together with him. Now, let's not think that by introducing a physical image, a physical ritual like baptism, Somehow, Paul is going to contradict what he just got done saying. I don't think the point is to replace one physical ritual with another, to say, well, no more circumcision, but now baptism plays some kind of inherent spiritual function. That was all a symbol from the beginning. There are some parallels between water baptism and physical circumcision in the New Covenant, because both of these were designed as a kind of initiation into the covenant community, and both of these were physical in nature, and both of these were actually somewhat public in nature under both covenants. So we recognize that they are parallel ideas, but what is he actually saying reference to baptism? How does this tie in with his point? We've talked about baptism at other times, and one of the points I've tried to make is that That actually baptism in the scriptures, New Testament had a lot more significance than we in our culture place on it today. That this was viewed as the visible demonstration of the break with your past life, of a new direction in life, because you are now identifying very visibly with Jesus Christ. And there is this visual message is being said that as you go down into the water, you are leaving behind that life and being cleansed and raised to a new kind of life now to move on as his disciple and under his authority. And there's even more to it than that, the way that he brings it up here, the same way he brings it up in Romans chapter six and in other places, the reality is that that moment, although there was nothing magical about the water, and although there was nothing meritorious about getting into the water, that was the way that people in the first century made their profession of faith. And so just like today, we might speak of, I walked the aisle, or I prayed a prayer. We describe our conversion in those terms. Back in the first century, they would say, I was baptized. Not because the baptism saved them, but because that was what God called upon them to do in order to express their profession of faith in Christ. And so Paul closely connects. their baptism, with their conversion, with their being delivered from the authority of sin, with their receiving their new life, because it was all wrapped up together. That was when they were saved, not by the water, but through Christ, by faith, the water was what was used to express that reliance upon the Lord. And so whether you're looking at it from a circumcision standpoint and the spiritual thing that's going on in your heart, God delivering you from the deadness of your sin, or whether you're thinking about it externally in your actual profession of faith, and what was symbolized through that ritual, both of these are ultimately saying the same thing. Both of these are saying that you've got a problem, you're dead in your sins. That problem is not going to be resolved by willpower. That problem is not going to be resolved by some religious authority. That problem is not going to be resolved by getting in contact with angels. God himself, through Christ, answers that problem. You are filled up to the full with life in Christ. If you're trusting with him, that has already been done for you. And don't let anybody make you think that you need something else in order to actually enjoy victory over sin. You have life in Christ. Number two, what Paul said in those verses, it answers to the intimidation that we might feel because of our depravity. But there's a related problem. It's not just our subjective experience of sin. There's also the problem of our objective standing with God or what we would call our guilt before God as our lawgiver and as our judge. And that's what he moves to as he continues speaking here. He says, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses. You say, I need forgiveness. I need a sense in my conscience that my guilt has been dealt with. And I'm looking around for whatever way I can to get this off of my conscience to know for sure that God isn't condemning me anymore. I need that problem addressed. Well, Paul says, if you're connected with Christ, that has already been covered. You are filled up, not just internally with life, but externally with forgiveness in the sight of God. And he's going to elaborate on that a little bit. It's interesting that this word forgiveness here is not the normal one. It's actually a term that has as its root our word grace, the word grace in Greek. I believe the point is that the reason why that word could be applied to forgiveness is to emphasize that this is not something you bargain with God for. This is not something you have to sort of come up with your own exchange of, you know, give me forgiveness and I'll do this for you. It is forgiveness by way of gift. That's the idea of this term. It is a gracious kind of forgiveness, not something you give anything in return for, not something you earn or buy. It is a gracious forgiveness, a free gift. And that, I'm sure Paul chose to put it that way in order to counter the kind of false teaching that these people were encountering. that somehow they contributed to their standing with God or had to somehow offer something to God in exchange for a declaration of being righteous. This is something you've already been filled up with as a gift. And notice how many of our trespasses have been handled that way. He said, having forgiven us all our trespasses. There is a fullness of forgiveness. It is not just some of them. It is not just the little ones, but not the big ones, or not just the big ones, but not the little ones. This is comprehensive. It is exhaustive. It is all of them as a gift have been wiped away. And in verse 14, he gives us yet another way to think about this. when he says that this happened by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He pictures our sin against God as though it were one infinite IOU. And this term that has to do with the record or the handwritten expression of our debt before God is one that was actually used in financial transactions in this day. As a kind of an IOU where you acknowledged that you owed an individual so much money and you signed your name to it to indicate that you recognize your liability for that obligation. And we, you and I, as sinful people, do have a liability. There is a debt. There is a minute record of our offenses against the Lord that make us legally condemned before Him. And if we're concerned about that, then perhaps we're prepared to appreciate the way that Paul ends verse 14 Nailing it to the cross. That's his way of saying Christ took it all. He assumed our debt upon himself. And although on paper up there on the cross, it said King of the Jews. As far as God was concerned, what it said up there was, well, just put your name up there. And everything you have ever done. in heart, in word, in thought, in deed, sins of omission, sins of commission, whatever it is. That was actually, before God, the accusation for which Jesus was hanging on the cross. He was the king of the Jews. That's not why God was bringing suffering on him. God was punishing him on that cross because of this other piece of paper that was up there with your name on it and my name on it. And through the experience of the wrath of God on the cross, it's as though the Lord took now his stamp and put it right over your signature, paid in full. And what was a piece of paper accusing you, your condemnation papers, is now your kind of receipt that this has been dealt with, that this has been paid in full. I wonder the hymn writer explained, my sin, all the bliss of this glorious thought. I say not in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Oh, my soul. That that's the sentiment of the apostle Paul here. And again, he brings it up to say, look, don't let anybody intimidate you to think that there's something more you have to do to be rid of your sin burden. There's nothing left to be wiped away. Legally, it has been already removed. And just delight in that and rest in that. Now, human beings might intimidate us about our depravity or about our guilt. But actually the greater concern that these false teachers were bringing up to these people is that the forces of evil, supernatural beings, Satan and all of his hosts might turn those things against us and oppress us with these needs and condemn us before God. and somehow keep us under their power because they are able to bring these things up against us. And the matter of fact is that Hebrews says that Satan keeps people in bondage through fear of death. And our guilt before God and our deserve death eternally before God. And even the experience of physical death, that for the lost is the gateway and all that. Satan is able to use death as one of his chief tools to keep people in fear, intimidated. And now Paul is going to say how being connected to Christ deals with that problem too. It's not just my problems with myself, It's not just my problems with God, it's also my problems with the devil as the one who kept me bound under his authority through fear. Because look at verse 15. Here is one other thing that we are filled up to the full with in Christ. Christ, verse 15, disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. Actually, Paul had begun all of this by referring to that when in verse 10 he says, You have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. Why would he bring up there the thought that Christ is sovereign over all spiritual authorities? It's because those are our enemies. They are under his rule, and now he tells us, elaborating on that in verse 15, that through his death on the cross, he took away their weapons. There are all kinds of images here. Circumcision, baptism, death, now military imagery. And here's one of these blessings that we've been filled up in the pool with. In Christ, our enemies have no weapons. What kind of enemy is that? Now, this doesn't mean Satan has no ability, no powers at all. He certainly is powerful to tempt us, and he's leading the whole world against us. But what is her ultimate concern? It is that in eternity, he would have a weapon that he could use to separate us from God forever. That weapon of guilt has been taken away from Satan. Those rulers, those authorities have been disarmed in that sense. They have been put to shame. And they have been triumphed over. This word triumph is another interesting one because it was used to describe the procession of a great military hero who was returning to his hometown. And he was coming back to celebrate his triumph with his soldiers and probably dragging some of his enemies along the way. And that is how Jesus' victory over Satan is described. You think about, even recently, the processions that you saw in the Olympics, and these athletes at the end of the games, going back through the stadium and just celebrating, especially those who have a medal, and the sense of exhortation, and, I've defeated all of my opposition. The joy in that experience. That's the feeling that Paul wants you to get here as he describes how these supernatural beings that are our enemies and the ones that condemn us and oppress us, they have been triumphed over and he is leading them before us in this triumphal procession. Today we're going to celebrate this ordinance once again. And I brought all of this up from this passage to help us have a perspective on what we're doing. When you and I take that piece of bread, when you and I drink that little bit of bread juice, among other things, here is what we ought to be contemplating and here's what we ought to be worshiping the Lord for through this ordinance. He has dealt with the problem of our depravity by giving us life, he has removed our guilt by taking it upon himself. And even though initially it seemed that he was being defeated on the cross, actually it was the crushing of his body and the pouring out of his blood that brought about victory over the forces of evil, not just for himself, But for us, if we are trusting in him, certainly want to invite through this message anybody who does not know the experience of these things. These are just a few of the blessings that God could fill your basket up to the full with, so there's no room for anything else, there's no need for anything else. And we would certainly love to speak with you after the service today, to point you to Christ, explain these things, answer your questions. You are invited to come to Christ this morning. For the rest of us, those who already know the joy of these things, may God give us more joy as we meet with him through the ordinance. Let's pray. Father, we are not empty and nobody can pressure us into seeking for something more because there is no more to be had. Everything is brought to us as a gift of your grace through Christ. May we grow in our experience of these things, even as we worship through the Lord's table. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.