The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
Commentary by Nick Boork
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October 6 – Colossians 2:8-23
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
Paul starts this portion of his letter with a solemn warning not to embrace any philosophy other than Christ. A philosophy is an attitude or outlook on life. For example a philosophy could be treating others the way you want to be treated. Now this is a good philosophy because it’s origin is the teaching of Christ himself as it’s written in Matthew 7:12 “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” However, embracing a philosophy can’t save you as morally good as it may be. Paul adds the traditions of men as another thing to beware of embracing as the focus of one’s life. Traditions also can have a morally upright principle but does not have the power to save and transform anyone because they are outwardly observed and created by men. Paul says that Christ is the fullness of God and that we are made complete in him apart from any philosophy or tradition of men.
Rather than trying to make ourselves better through philosophy and traditions of men, by faith we are joined together with Christ and he does a deep spiritual work on the inside of us and this is what Paul was talking about when he said that we have been circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. By faith we are joined together with Christ believing in his death, burial and resurrection and spiritually we are raised up to newness of life in Christ. All of our sins have been taken away being nailed to the cross with Christ and this is what sets us free from condemnation and the bondage to our sinful desires. All of the written law of Moses that none of us could keep Christ perfectly fulfilled in obedience to the father and then allowed himself to be our substitutionary sacrifice paying the price of sin with his own death on the cross. This completely and 100% erases all of our guilt and sets us free from the bondage of sin through faith in Christ. On the cross, Jesus defeated the devil and took away his power to accuse us because he himself paid for all of our sins with his own blood.
This is why Paul says in verse 16 that we should never allow anyone to judge us according to the observances to the Mosaic law because Christ completely fulfilled all of the requirements of the law including all of the required Jewish festivals that go along with it. These holidays were only a shadow of the realities we now have in Christ. This applied especially to Jewish believers that came to faith in Jesus Christ because they were tempted to go back and try to live out the righteousness of the law which Christ already fulfilled! So our righteousness is not based on our self-effort and what we can achieve by adhering to the law of Moses but rather we have obtained righteousness by faith in Christ alone as our savior. Verse19 talks about holding fast to the head of the body the Lord Jesus Christ and that is it only from him that each of us receives spiritual nourishment and through Him the church, the body of Christ is unified and strengthened through the work of the Holy Spirit. The spiritual growth that we experience as Christians comes by being joined together with Christ by faith and God causes all of us to grow up as we trust in the Lord and not ourselves.
Apparently there were some believers in this particular church, that although they had believed in Christ were now trying to go back and live according to the traditions of the Jews and doctrines taught by men which forbade us to touch, taste or handle things that they considered as unclean but Paul says that these kinds of traditions are only an outward conformance to regulations that really do not have any power to cause us to stop sinning in our flesh. This is why someone can appear to be very pious and godly because they abstain from certain foods and try to adhere to all kinds of religious regulations but in reality only Christ can save us and transform us from the inside out. This is what the apostle Paul was concerned about that these believers keep their focus on Jesus Christ and not go back to trying to become righteous by observing the law of Moses and the traditions of men. In our modern-day Christianity it’s easy for us to gravitate to all kinds of self-imposed regulations but Paul said they really have no value or power to change us or set us free, no this only comes through faith in Christ as we learn to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:12-14 says “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) Be careful not to follow philosophies and traditions of men but rather put your faith in Christ.
2) Jesus Christ alone is our righteousness that we receive by faith and this is the true grace of God which is in contrast to all of our self-effort’s to live according to the law of Moses and self-imposed religious traditions.
3) For believers, the deeper work of Jesus Christ is the circumcision that he performs spiritually in cutting away our flesh by being join together with him and his death, burial and resurrection to newness of life.
4) When Jesus Christ died on the cross he disarmed all of the devils power to accuse us of sins because he paid for all of our sins with his own blood and now we are in Christ as new creatures, old things have passed away and all things are become new!
5) It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can truly overcome the bandage of sin and by faith learn to yield ourselves to his leading and this pleases the father.
6) Philosophies and the traditions of men can never transform us on the inside. Only the Holy Spirit can do this and cause us to walk in a new life in Christ.
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute.
Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. 18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
Paul starts this portion of his letter with a solemn warning not to embrace any philosophy other than Christ. A philosophy is an attitude or outlook on life. For example a philosophy could be treating others the way you want to be treated. Now this is a good philosophy because it’s origin is the teaching of Christ himself as it’s written in Matthew 7:12 “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” However, embracing a philosophy can’t save you as morally good as it may be. Paul adds the traditions of men as another thing to beware of embracing as the focus of one’s life. Traditions also can have a morally upright principle but does not have the power to save and transform anyone because they are outwardly observed and created by men. Paul says that Christ is the fullness of God and that we are made complete in him apart from any philosophy or tradition of men.
Rather than trying to make ourselves better through philosophy and traditions of men, by faith we are joined together with Christ and he does a deep spiritual work on the inside of us and this is what Paul was talking about when he said that we have been circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. By faith we are joined together with Christ believing in his death, burial and resurrection and spiritually we are raised up to newness of life in Christ. All of our sins have been taken away being nailed to the cross with Christ and this is what sets us free from condemnation and the bondage to our sinful desires. All of the written law of Moses that none of us could keep Christ perfectly fulfilled in obedience to the father and then allowed himself to be our substitutionary sacrifice paying the price of sin with his own death on the cross. This completely and 100% erases all of our guilt and sets us free from the bondage of sin through faith in Christ. On the cross, Jesus defeated the devil and took away his power to accuse us because he himself paid for all of our sins with his own blood.
This is why Paul says in verse 16 that we should never allow anyone to judge us according to the observances to the Mosaic law because Christ completely fulfilled all of the requirements of the law including all of the required Jewish festivals that go along with it. These holidays were only a shadow of the realities we now have in Christ. This applied especially to Jewish believers that came to faith in Jesus Christ because they were tempted to go back and try to live out the righteousness of the law which Christ already fulfilled! So our righteousness is not based on our self-effort and what we can achieve by adhering to the law of Moses but rather we have obtained righteousness by faith in Christ alone as our savior. Verse19 talks about holding fast to the head of the body the Lord Jesus Christ and that is it only from him that each of us receives spiritual nourishment and through Him the church, the body of Christ is unified and strengthened through the work of the Holy Spirit. The spiritual growth that we experience as Christians comes by being joined together with Christ by faith and God causes all of us to grow up as we trust in the Lord and not ourselves.
Apparently there were some believers in this particular church, that although they had believed in Christ were now trying to go back and live according to the traditions of the Jews and doctrines taught by men which forbade us to touch, taste or handle things that they considered as unclean but Paul says that these kinds of traditions are only an outward conformance to regulations that really do not have any power to cause us to stop sinning in our flesh. This is why someone can appear to be very pious and godly because they abstain from certain foods and try to adhere to all kinds of religious regulations but in reality only Christ can save us and transform us from the inside out. This is what the apostle Paul was concerned about that these believers keep their focus on Jesus Christ and not go back to trying to become righteous by observing the law of Moses and the traditions of men. In our modern-day Christianity it’s easy for us to gravitate to all kinds of self-imposed regulations but Paul said they really have no value or power to change us or set us free, no this only comes through faith in Christ as we learn to yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:12-14 says “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) Be careful not to follow philosophies and traditions of men but rather put your faith in Christ.
2) Jesus Christ alone is our righteousness that we receive by faith and this is the true grace of God which is in contrast to all of our self-effort’s to live according to the law of Moses and self-imposed religious traditions.
3) For believers, the deeper work of Jesus Christ is the circumcision that he performs spiritually in cutting away our flesh by being join together with him and his death, burial and resurrection to newness of life.
4) When Jesus Christ died on the cross he disarmed all of the devils power to accuse us of sins because he paid for all of our sins with his own blood and now we are in Christ as new creatures, old things have passed away and all things are become new!
5) It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can truly overcome the bandage of sin and by faith learn to yield ourselves to his leading and this pleases the father.
6) Philosophies and the traditions of men can never transform us on the inside. Only the Holy Spirit can do this and cause us to walk in a new life in Christ.
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute.
Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
