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Lane Rogers

Ancient Roman Mosaic of Paul

Colossians Lesson Two____________________

OUTLINE OF COLOSSIANS: (From Warren Weirdo’s commentary on Colossians).

Key Verse__Colossians 1:18

I. CHRIST’S PREEMINENCE DECLARED (chapter 1)

A. In the gospel message (1:1-12)

B. In redemption (1:13-14)

C. In creation (1:15-17).

D. In the Church (1: 18:23)

E. In Paul’s Ministry (1:24-29).

II. CHRIST’S PREEMINENCE DEFENDED (chapter 2)

A. Beware of empty philosophies (2:1-10).

B. Beware of religious legalism (2:11-17).

C. Beware of man-made disciplines (2:18-23).

III. CHRIST’S PREEMINENCE DEMONSTRATED (chapters 3-4)

A. In person purity (3:1-11)

B. In Christian fellowship (3:12-17)

C. In the home (3:18-21).

D. In daily work (3:22-41)

E. In Christian Testimony (4:2-6)

F. In Christian Service (4:7-18).

This Heresy has a ten-fold nature or ten distinctive characteristics.

A. It Was a Beguiling Seduction (2:4)

1. Notice the word and faulty logic is implied

2. It is a discourse that leads others into faulty logic.

B. It Was a Philosophy Rather than Religion (2:8)

1. What is a Philosophy ?

2. It is the love of wisdom___any wisdom

C. It was based on Human Traditions (2:8).".....which depends on human traditions and the basic principles of this world rather " than Christ." Jesus had already taught about the heresy of human in traditions added to the religion of the Jews in Matthew 15:3,6, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition...you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition."

D. It Turned Religion into Rule Keeping (2:20). "If you died with Christ to the basic principles of the world, as though you still belong to it, do you submit to its rules?"

E. It Issued Rules and Regulations Governing food and drink (2:16, 20-21).

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you what you eat and drink....do not submit to rules: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch! Stay away from the forbidding brethren.

F. It Issued Rules in the Observance of Special Days in Regard to Religion (2:16-17).

"Don't let anyone judge you"....with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things to come. (See Leviticus 23)

1. Religious Observances

a. The particular reference here is observing the festivals of Leviticus 23.

b. The "New Moon" aspect of these observances is a monthly observance and the Sabbath is a weekly observance.

c. Don't let anyone bind on you in a religious way any yearly celebration, monthly celebration or weekly observance of days. (i.e. Christmas and the like).

2. The Christian Sabbath.

a. Some today want us to bind Sunday as a Christian Sabbath day, a Christian rest day.

b. A fine point but worth mentioning. We do not observe a day____we keep the feast!

G. It Involved Rigid Asceticism

1. Worldly Wisdom.

Colossians 2:23___Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."

2. Asceticism. Harsh treatment of body and a forbidding of physical pleasure for religious purposes.

H. It issued in Circumcision (2:11). " In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ."

1. Characteristics number five and six can have a reference to Jewish and pagan practices.

2. This characteristic of the heresy is particularly Jewish.

3. And it has reference to the covenant sign that was given to Abraham. Christians have no such practice as fleshly circumcision.

I. It Issued in the Worship of Angels (2:18). " Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you....Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his nonspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." Paul says two things here...............

1. Those who worship angels are not spiritual.

2. Appeals to angelic messages are subject to verification.

a. Gnostic and demonic influences ( Demons and Gnostics )

One can never know for sure but the problem at Colossae may have even been a hybrid mixture of Judaism and Gnosticism.
b. The deceitfulness of Satan. This may allude to or appeal to some in Colossae, to the demon world or darker realm..."Satan himself masquerades as angel of light" (2nd Corinthians 11:4).

c. God's word comes by God's Holy Spirit. The work assigned exclusively to the Holy Spirit was the work of convicting the world of sin by preaching the gospel. The Holy Spirit came into the world to enable men to preach the saving message of God to other men.

J. It Involved Worldly Rudiments (2:8, 20). "See that no one takes you captive through...the basic principles of the world rather than on Christ...You died with Christ to the basic principles of the world..."

1. Learn and understand God's will. The destructive power of the doctrine being taught totally denies Christ's claim to have "all authority" in Matthew 28:18-19. It rejects the uniqueness ascribed to Jesus in John 1:1-14, 3:16; Philippians 2:5-9.

2. Worldly wisdom is the same today.

a. The first step in dividing Christianity is for people to reject the authority of the Bible and Jesus.

b. When men reject the authority of Scripture they permit themselves of establishing their own authority.

3. The problem exposed. This is basically the same heresy that Paul dealt with in Galatians. Judaizing teachers invaded the congregations of Galatia. They argued that in addition to Jesus and grace one must obey the law. They denied the all-sufficiency of Christ. Paul's appeal to the authority of Christ and the Word of Christ is clear. "But if even we are an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace." Galatians 1:8; 5:4. To the Galatians Paul says, "Christ is sufficient." We need nothing by Christ and His righteousness given at calvary and if we add anything to that falling from grace is the results.

A. The Supremacy of Christ (1:15-22)

1. The image of the invisible God (v.15).

2. The firstborn over all creation (v.15).

3. All things were created by Him and for Him (v.16)

4. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together (v.17).

5. He is the head of the body (the Church) (vs. 18).

6. He is the firstborn among the dead ((v.18).

7. All of God's fullness dwells in Him (v.19)

8. Through Christ God reconciles all things to Himself (v.20).

9. He presents you holy, without blemish and free from accusation (v.22).

a. Solutions to the problem.

1:27 "To the Saints God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of the mystery, which Christ IN YOU the hope of glory." This is the summation of God's purpose.

b. All you need is Christ.

If you have Jesus you have all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, because it is in Jesus and not in these false teachers. All the fullness of deity dwells in Jesus.

B. Paul's Answer to the Heresy

Paul's answer to this heresy is twofold.

1. The all inclusiveness of the gospel.

The gospel is for all men (1:28). "We proclaim him, teaching everyone with All wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ."

2. You need nothing but Christ.

He is all-sufficient. You cannot improve on what Jesus has done by adding any of these heresies.

Conclusion:

Everyman can know God for Himself. That is the essence of the New Covenant. "Everyman shall know me from the least to the greatest says the Lord."(Jeremiah 31:34). No one person is more important than the next. If you came to Christ this morning, you are the least and if you have served the Lord for 50 years you and the new Christian have Jesus in common.

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