Most Bible scholars agree that there was a dangerous heresy which had begun to surface in the Colossians church which had been reported by Epaphras to Paul, and was thus the reason for Paul writing this epistle. Though Paul had not ever visited Colossae that we know of, yet as the apostle to the Gentiles he was nevertheless concerned about them, and no doubt felt a certain responsibility for them.
Theologians may agree that there was a dangerous heresy in the church, but they are not in agreement as to exactly what it was. Last time, I used the term Gnostic Judaism to describe it, which obviously tries to tie certain elements of Gnosticism with Judaism. It would seem to include a mixture of the worship of angels, a generous measure of philosophy, and a certain measure of asceticism which stemmed from certain Jewish requirements regarding the law.
There is a term for the blending such disparate components together which is called synergism. It’s the belief that two or more components blended or working together produce a sum that is greater than their individual parts. That term seems to sum up the thinking of the Colossians. Simply stated, they thought that Christianity alone was not sufficient. They believed the gospel needed human philosophy and a measure of spiritualism added to it to make it more effective, and more palatable.
So at the root of this heresy is human philosophy. Philosophy refers to any body of knowledge. And in this sense, philosophy was closely related to the subjects of religion, reality, natural science, and existence. Philosophia is the Greek term that means a love of wisdom. And the Greeks loved what they perceived to be the pursuit of wisdom. Paul warned in vs 8; “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” So philosophy was the dangerous heresy confronting the church.
As I’m sure you know, Greece is the birthplace for philosophy and it had become popular long before Christ came on the scene in Israel. Socrates was the father of philosophy and Plato and Aristotle his disciples. And so being a Greek city of some standing there was a great appetite in Colossae and the surrounding areas for this higher knowledge that they thought helped to complete what was lacking in the gospel. And so Paul is writing to refute this type of thinking and the dangerous teaching that was finding it’s way into the church.
Now this false teaching was not just a particular failing of the church at Colossae, but it has become prevalent in the church today. The church at large doesn’t think that the gospel alone is sufficient and so they add to it a mix of science and human philosophy. Man’s wisdom, knowledge, psychology, and philosophy has so pervaded Christian teaching so that it has become virtually indistinguishable from the truth of the gospel. The modern Christian accepts Christian doctrine as long as it is compatible with their philosophy. And so he calls himself a Christian. But in his thinking his philosophy is central and Christ is subjected to being a shadow in the background.
Now if you look carefully at this epistle, you can’t help but notice the emphasis on this philosophy and false knowledge and worldly wisdom in Paul’s writing. In some cases, he is using a play on words, taking terms that were associated with their teaching and applying them to the gospel. But I want you to just notice the frequency of such terms, so that you understand what Paul is talking about.
Starting in chapter 1, vs 5 and 6, Paul speaks of the word of God as truth, which is the gospel. And from that foundation of truth, they are to be “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” Now in contrast to Gnosticism, which professed to achieve spiritualness apart from the body, Paul says this knowledge and wisdom from God produces fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Gnosticism, this false knowledge and wisdom promised that you could reach a spiritual plane apart from the physical. It taught that you could attain knowledge and wisdom from spiritual beings apart from the word of God. It taught that you could spiritually live in a plane above sin, and even though sin was alive in your body it did not affect you spiritually. But Paul is saying that real spirituality comes from true knowledge of God through Christ, and true knowledge produces practical godliness.
You hear a lot today about people who claim to be spiritual, but have little regard for the church, and little regard even for the word of God. They claim all sorts of spiritual revelation for some mysterious spiritual connection to God. In a similar way, Gnosticism considered their false brand of spiritualism as a mystery, some sort of deeper knowledge gained through the intercession of angels, or spirits, and through the wisdom of philosophy. But Paul relates the true wisdom in vs 27 and 28 as being found in Christ through the preaching of the gospel.
Then at the end of chapter one Paul says he is laboring or striving for the purpose of being able to present the church to Christ as complete. Not just enlightened spiritually, but a complete in their salvation from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and the presence of sin. To be complete in the sense that they were in practice what they claimed by profession. Paul is saying that is the point of his labor, and he is striving mightily to accomplish that in the church.
Now as we look at chapter 2, Paul takes this idea further of laboring or striving on their behalf and says he is wrestling, or struggling on the behalf of the Colossians. He uses a word there which can mean a fight or a contest, but it particularly was used in the context of the Greek games, as a contest in front of an arena of spectators.
I think Paul is thinking of spiritual warfare, in the arena of the church and witnessed by heaven. I can’t help but think of his statement in Eph 6:12 which says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].”
So Paul was spiritually contending for the faith among the church at Colossae, and also he says for the church at Laodicea. Laodicea was a neighboring city about 10 miles away. It would be comparable to the relationship between Bethany and Rehoboth. Now today with cars that is not such a great distance, but when the primary transport was by foot, it was a good half day’s journey. And in vs 1, Paul indicates that he had not visited neither town, nor probably even that region, and so no one had seen his face. They knew him by reputation, by position as an apostle, but not in person.
So how did Paul contend for the spiritual maturity of the churches there then if he had never visited them? The answer is that he fought for them in prayer. You go back to Ephesians six which we just quoted from concerning spiritual warfare, and you will see that prayer is the means of conducting our warfare. After listing the armor of God, Paul says in vs18 “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and [pray] on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”
You know, we talked recently about the ministry of reconciliation which is assigned to all of us. We talked about what your ministry should be as a member of Christ’s church. We often look for ministry opportunities which we think are appropriate to our talents or our skill set. And of course, we all think we have worthy talents that will really help God out and that he can magnify and use. But the ministry of prayer is one that I suggest we have all been given, and yet for the most part we have sorely neglected. Perhaps because it is not a ministry that many people are going to see us do. And also, because intercessory prayer is hard labor. I think that is what Paul is referring to here. Laboring, striving, wrestling, fighting in prayer for the Colossian church. And it’s something that we should be doing as well. It is our ministry, our responsibility. It doesn’t take a lot of talent, just hard work. It takes time, time spent on your knees in prayer for someone, laboring in prayer for them. Wrestling with angelic principalities through prayer on the behalf of the church.
Now look at what Paul was praying for; vs 2, “that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and [attaining] to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, [resulting] in a true knowledge of God's mystery, [that is,] Christ [Himself,] in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
It’s amazing isn’t it, how Paul manages to rebuke their false knowledge in such a positive way. He doesn’t just flat out condemn them for their heresy, but he manages to state it in a positive way, while at the same time addressing what was in error. Proverbs says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” So Paul is concerned that their hearts are encouraged. The heart is the source of our will, our emotions and our intellect. If the people at Colossae are going to live their lives in obedience to the truth then it’s important that it starts in the heart. If their heart is right, then their behavior will be right.
Jesus said in Matt. 15:18-19 "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” That’s why David cried out, “Create in me a clean heart O Lord, and renew a right spirit in me.” A clean heart produces a right spirit, which produces right behavior.
Paul prays that their hearts may be encouraged. But that word in the Greek means more than what we typically think of when we think of encouraged. It is also used for implore, to comfort, to strengthen, to teach. Perhaps you might say, that their hearts may be exhorted. Exhortation has to do with the will of man. It’s a call to action. It’s not just a theoretical or ephemeral condition only, but a call to action. Exhortation is not just to produce intellectual assent, but to prod into action.
And what is Paul calling them to action to do? To love one another. “Having been knit together in love.” Love is the tie that binds Christians together. Christian love is the glue of the church. But as we have often discussed, Christian love does not refer to affection, or sentimentality. But it refers to a sacrificial commitment to put another’s needs and benefit ahead of your own.
As I have said repeatedly, the church is not just a place to have your own needs met, or even just to be “fed”, as we often hear people claim. But the church assembles to serve one another, to love one another, to encourage one another. And let me tell you something. It doesn’t take much to encourage one another or to discourage one another. Just showing up is a means of encouraging others. When you come together as an assembly you identify with one another. When you see one another at church you recognize that you share in some way with them. They feel connected with you because you are there. And that’s an encouragement to them. I saw that yesterday some people from our church went to the MAGA rally in DC. When you attend something like that you identify with others who share your interests. You feel connected with them even if you don’t know the people attending. And the same is true in church. And if you take it a step further and speak to someone and shake their hand or give them a hug, that can be an incredible encouragement to someone. And we can do so much more than that. For instance, as I said earlier, we can begin to pray for one another. Really labor in prayer for someone else can be the source of tremendous blessing not only for them, but also for you. But if we at least show up, assemble together as a church, that alone can be an immense encouragement to someone.
And then the other blessing that comes from assembling together as a church, provided you are being taught the word of God, is, as Paul says in vs 2, “attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
The false knowledge and wisdom of the Gnostics led to spiritual bankruptcy. But Paul says that the true knowledge and understanding, or wisdom, is akin to wealth. He is talking about spiritual riches. Being filled, being complete. Wealth in an agrarian culture was correlated to your crops bearing fruit, or your cattle bearing fruit. And in human terms, bearing fruit 30 fold, or 60 fold, or 100 fold comes from true knowledge of God’s mystery. Paul loves to use that word mystery. It simply means something that was hidden that is now been revealed. And he says the mystery of God is Christ himself. The mystery of God was manifested in Christ.
The Gnostic Judaiser false teachers at Colossae were all about mysteries. They professed to have secret knowledge of spiritual matters which they could teach you to understand if you conformed to their doctrines. Paul uses similar language in 1 Corinthians 13 and 14 to talk about speaking in tongues (secret languages) or word of knowledge which were gained through some spiritual experience. That same emphasis is happening a lot of charismatic churches today. Having some sort of mysterious spiritual experience which supersedes knowing God through the truth of the gospel. Notice how Paul repeatedly takes this pet word of the Gnostics, and uses it to describe the truth of God which is revealed in Christ. Back in chapter one vs 27 Paul talked about the mystery, which he said is Christ in you, the hope of glory. That salvation provides the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ in us now, who is the deposit of our future hope of glory, where we will one day see Him face to face in our glorification.
Now Paul elaborates on that mystery, saying it is Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In other words, knowledge and wisdom are not to be sought from philosophy or some spiritual experience, but it is understood as we come to know Christ. I would also say that knowledge is different from wisdom in the sense that wisdom is knowledge applied. Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, but wisdom is the practical application of those facts. And that again addresses the problem with Gnosticism. They claimed heavenly knowledge, but it did them no earthly good. Because they did not apply it to godly living, but only cerebrally.
But when we are conformed to the image of Christ, then we become complete in body, soul and spirit. In 1Thess. 5:23 Paul ties sanctification to completeness. Not just our spirit, but all three; spirit, soul and body. He says, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sanctification is a progressive state for the Christian. It is daily dying to sin, growing in knowledge, growing in wisdom, growing in the word, growing in likeness to Christ. It’s the part of our salvation. but a part that is sadly overlooked and under taught.
The grace of God in justification never fails to be taught in most churches, be they fundamental or ultra liberal. And the hope of glorification in heaven never fails to be taught. But sanctification is what we do and how we live in the middle between justification and glorification. It’s how we live in the here and now. And that is to be growing in conformity to Jesus Christ. Growing in likeness of Jesus Chris. Letting Him live in me, and dying to self. And to do that, I must grow in knowledge of Him, and in wisdom apply that doctrine in practical living.
So on this subject of the ethereal quality of knowledge and mysteries that the Colossians were starting to pay attention to, Paul figuratively dumps a bucket of the water. He says in vs 4 “I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.” There is a reason that such arguments may be persuasive. And that’s because we find them appealing to begin with. They appeal to our baser instincts. These false doctrines appeal to our flesh, to the lusts of the flesh. All of us like things that appeal to our baser natures. We like what makes us feel good, what makes us look good. All you have to do to know that is true is to examine how much money people spend on health and beauty products. In 2019 it was 90 billion dollars that was spent on beauty products. And it not’s just women either. Actually, I understand that one of the fastest growing segments of the make up industry is men’s beauty treatments. Men are just as into what feels good and makes them look good as women, I suppose. It’s endemic to the human race.
And philosophy and deceptive spiritual doctrines play to those desires. They appeal to our baser nature. It’s appealing because we want to believe we can have our cake and eat it too. We want spirituality, we want some heavenly knowledge to assure us of our salvation, our security, but we don’t want to have to sacrifice anything enjoyable on earth in order to have it. And any false teacher who can claim that you can have both will certainly be a popular teacher.
Paul reminds them of the truth of the gospel so that they would not be deceived. So they would not be deluded by persuasive arguments. Paul said in 1Cor. 2:2 “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” Our protection against such false teaching is to focus on Christ alone, and His crucifixion. In that, we have all the wisdom that we need.
Then in vs 5, Paul alludes to the fact that even though he is not with them in person, yet he is able to contend for them in spirit, to protect them from false teaching which threatens to undermine the church. He says “For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.” Once again, Paul manages to couch correction in a positive tone. He is confident His prayers will prevail for their benefit. And of course, he adds to his prayers the writing of this epistle, which will be read as a sermon to the church, and which is the inspired word of God which is the only reliable source of wisdom and knowledge.
Paul says he rejoices to see their good discipline and stability of their faith in Christ. One has to wonder if Paul isn’t using flattery as a means of inducing them to do what he wants them to do. But he also just said that he was warning them so they wouldn’t be deluded by persuasive arguments. And so we can assume that they had not swallowed the hook yet, but perhaps had just been tasting the lure.
What is important from Paul’s perspective is that they have a firm foundation in their faith. That they are not tossed here and there by every wind of doctrine. As he said to the Ephesian church in Eph 4:14-16 “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into Him who is the head, [even] Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
Growing up, that’s where the discipline part comes in. As part of our growing up, after our new birth, our heavenly Father disciplines us. And we discipline ourselves in holiness lest we become a castaway or become shipwrecked in our faith. A great passage on discipline is found in Heb 12:6-14 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom [his] father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He [disciplines us] for [our] good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that [the limb] which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”
If we are children of God, then He will raise us up to be like Christ, which is the process of sanctification. And He will discipline us to correct us, and conform us. But the goal is not to punish us, but to perfect us. So we can rejoice in discipline, because it assures us of our sonship and that God loves us, and will complete in us what He has begun. And we also need self discipline so that we don’t fall under the judgment of God. As Paul said in 1Co 11:31 “But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.”
I pray that you may be found complete in Christ, that all may see your good discipline and the stability of your faith as you apply the knowledge of God in all wisdom and understanding.
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