COLOSSIANS 2

Colossians 2:8-23

I may talk around these verses rather than addressing them directly today. That is so we can concentrate

 on a question found in our quarterly: “Would you be able to identify a false teaching about Jesus if you

 heard one?” We can generalize that question to refer to discernment on any teachings on spiritual

 subjects. One problem with those who have been attending a good church for years is that you may be

 surrounded by very trustworthy sources (pastors and S.S. teachers) so that you can start to lose the

 ability to weigh ideas for ourselves by going back to the source. Warning—I'm not one of those

 trustworthy sources. This morning I will expose you to some ideas that are probably true, some that

 may or may not be, and some that are definitely false. Put up your antennas and use your discernment

 to decide for yourself whether these are from God or not.

False teaching comes from one basic source, Satan. And it usually manifests itself in one of two ways:

 (1) misinterpreting or twisting the Scriptures themselves or

(2) relying on a source outside the Bible as authoritative. This seems to be the main problem with the

 Colossians.

In approaching this book, one problem to face right off the bat is that the natural paragraph divisions

 don't really match up with the chapter divisions in our modern Bibles. That is not a problem with the 

inspiration of the Bible, merely a reflection on the archbishop of Canterbury in 1227 AD who came up

 with those divisions.

Another problem comes from a perceived (1) lack of clear logical order to the book, (2) often a lack of

 chronological progression, (3) unnecessary repetitions, and (4) taking up subjects, interrupting with

 other material and then resuming subject. All of this has led to a THEORY of multiple sources, long

 periods of time for its creation, and a series of editors.

Schools of form criticism, source criticism, historical criticism, literary criticism, linguistic criticism.

There is nothing wrong with the word criticism (it just means careful investigation). But these schools 

of thought were driven by highly skeptical scholars using some very dubious assumptions, which leads

 to destroying any credibility one might have in the Word as inspired. But some of the particular 

phenomena they point out can't be denied.

About 25 years ago a trend began, especially among more conservative Bible scholars—schools of 

thought known as canonical criticism or new literary criticism. They said, let's start with the Bible in 

the form it is now and assume that a single intelligence is behind each book. Maybe the problem isn't 

with the books themselves, but in our inability to fully understand how they were composed. The key

 was the realization that a basic principle of all scripture is repetition. Important ideas and events are

 almost never given just once, but usually are repeated, often in a very regular manner. As a simple 

example, just consider Biblical poetry.

Here is one randomly chosen example:

    The LORD will keep you from all evil;

    He will keep your life. Ps. 121:7

Note that the same basic thought in the first line is repeated in the second line with minor variations.

And this same format appears throughout the Bible in even more complicated variations.

Here is one way to diagram the book of Colossians with the similar Roman numerals and indentation 

indicating the presence of parallel thoughts and wording.

 

The Structure of Colossians

I. Opening Greetings (1:1-2)

II. Fruit of the Gospel and Prayer (1:3-14)

III. God the Reconciler (1:15-20)

IV. Our Holiness (1:21-23)

V. Christ in You (1:24-2:7)

                                                                    VI. False Teachings (2:8-23)

                                                            V'. Raised with Christ (3:1-4)

IV'. The Old and New Natures (3:5-17)

III'. Transformed Relationships (3:18-4:1)

II'. Living the Christian Life in Prayer (4:2-6)

I'. Final Greetings (4:7-18)

Today's lesson (Section VI), with its warnings against false teachings, comprises the important, central composition in the letter, and is quite different in tone from the rest of the epistle. This section can itself be seen to possess a symmetry of its own.

Structure of Section VI

A. Christ vs. Elemental Spirits (2:8)

    B. The Fullness of Christ (2:9-10)

        C. Our Identification with Christ (2:11-12)

        C'. Our Identification with Christ (2:13-14)

    B'. The Fullness of Christ (2:15-19)

A'. Christ vs. Elemental Spirits (2:20-23)

In A and A', Paul takes potshots at:

Philosophy = intellectual Gentile exercises; Human tradition=Jewish traditions. In either case, human

 ideas = not divine revelation.

There is an interesting Greek word (stoicheia) translated as “basic principles of the world” or

 “elemental spirits.” Any other translations?:

(1) a basic element (Read 2 Peter 3:10—But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the

 heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire..”). Therefore,

 paying more attention to the creation rather than the creator.

2. Evil spirits or demons described in Gal. 4:8-9—“Formerly, when you did not

    know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. Now,

    however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God

    how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits?”

3. Stoicheia may also be translated as a first step, the ABC's. Thus, Paul may be

    referring to the Old Testament laws and customs, which have been fulfilled or

    superceded by Christ's coming.

Regarding vs. 23, we recently had the season of Lent, which many Christians observe. Does strict

 observance of Lent curb the fleshly appetites if it is preceded every year by observance of Mardi Gras?

Sections B and B'

v. 9 “Fullness of the Deity” states that Jesus is wholly God while “bodily” indicates that he was wholly

 man. Anything less than this is heresy. Interestingly, Jehovah Witnesses will say that Jesus is deity, but

 not God.

v. 10 We are not divine like Christ, but our salvation in Him is lacking nothing.

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v. 15 One aspect of Christ's work on the cross: disarming all the powers of evil.

Sections C and C'

vv. 11-12 This is the only place in the Bible where baptism and circumcision appear together, and they

 are contrasted rather than equated (contra those who use the analogy of circumcision to teach infant

 baptism). Inner circumcision by God who cuts out our old heart.

vv. 13-14 Second aspect of Christ's work on the cross: saving us from our sins.

vv. 14 Picture is one of an IOU being torn up.

But what about those who believe in other authoritative sources of spiritual truth outside the Bible. Let's

 try an interesting exercise to help put yourself in the mindset of early Christians in the first century AD

 who did not have a universally recognized canon of writings called the Bible. I will read a number of 

passages from various sources, and I would like you to give me your comments regarding their

 teachings. We will see if you have the gift of discernment.

Didache, The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles (100AD)

“Thus shall you baptize: baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in

 running water. But if you do not have running water, then baptize in still water; and if you are not able

 to baptize in cold water, then use warm water. But if you have neither, then pour water on the head

 three times in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let

 him that baptizes and him who is baptized and any others also who are able fast... for a day or two

 beforehand.”

Gospel of Thomas (130-150AD)

“The harvest is indeed great, but the laborers are few, but pray the Lord to send laborers into the

 harvest.”

(same as Luke 10:2)

“A city built upon a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden.”

(similar to Matt. 5:14b)

“This heaven shall pass away and the one above it shall pass away and the dead are not alive and the

 living shall not die. In the days when you devoured the dead, you made it alive; when you come into

 light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you have 

 two, what will you do?” (not at all in the NT, similar to Gnostic teachings)

Psalm 151 (Arab version; This psalm is accepted by the Orthodox Church as being authentic) “I went

 out to meet the Philistine, and he cursed me by his idols. In the strength of the LORD, I cast three

 stones at him. I smote him in the forehead and felled him to the earth. But I drew his own sword and

 beheaded him.” (Not in typical Hebrew poetic format, and contradicted by I Sam. 17—took five stones

 but only threw one)

Infancy Gospel I (several from 2nd-5^th Cent. AD)

And Joseph, wherever he went in the city, took the Lord Jesus with him, when he was sent for to make

 gates, or milk pails or sieves or boxes. And as often as Joseph had anything in his work that needed to

 be longer or shorter or wider or narrower, the Lord Jesus would stretch his hand toward it. And

 immediately it became as Joseph wanted it. So that Joseph had no need to finish anything with his 

 hands, for he was not very skillful at his carpenter's trade. (total fabricated nonsense)

2 Esdras 6:42 (part of the Apocrypha, later excluded from the Catholic canon, 80-100AD)

Ezra praying to God, “On the third day you did command the waters to be gathered together in the

 seventh part of the earth; six parts you did dry up and keep so that some of them might be planted and 

cultivated and be of service before you.” Columbus used this passage in arguing to Ferdinand and 

Isabella that the trip to India would be a short one.

Tobit (2^nd cent. BC book in the Apocrypha referring to 7^th cent. events) contains poltergeists and

 magic potions.

Advice from the arch-angel Raphael: “Do good and evil shall not touch you. Better prayer with

 sincerity, and almsgiving with righteousness, than wealth with wickedness... Almsgiving preserves a

 man from death and wipes out all sin.” (12:8-9) This passage was used to justify the selling of 

indulgences, which helped bring about the Reformation in Germany.

“These signs will accompany those who believe; by using my name they will cast out demons; they

 will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it

 will not hurt them.” Mark 16:17-18a These verses are not in the oldest copies of Mark's Gospel, see 

 modern translations.

Fourth Maccabees (80-120AD) : accepted by Greek Orthodox Church as part of the canon.

And when the guards said to him, “Consent to eat, so that you may be released from your tortures,” he

 said to them, “Your method, O miserable minions, is not strong enough to lead captive my reason. Cut

 off my limbs, and burn my flesh, and twist my joints; through all the torments I will show you that in

 behalf of virtue the sons of the Hebrews alone are unconquerable.” As he thus spoke, they set hot coals

 upon him besides, and intensifying the torture strained him yet tighter on the wheel. And all the wheel

 was besmeared with his blood, and the heaped coals were quenched by the humours of his body 

dropping down, and the rent flesh ran round the axles of the machine....he groaned not at all but nobly

 endured the torment, saying: “Follow my example, O brothers. Do not desert me, and forswear not our

 brotherhood in nobility of soul. War a holy and honorable warfare on behalf of righteousness, etc, etc.”

Jude 14-15 (from Book of Enoch)

See, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict

 everyone of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all

 the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. A non-canonical book is quoted in a NT

 book. Does that mean that everything in that book is the truth? Read Enoch some time and decide for

 yourself.