Dying to the old nature, Colossians 3:1-11

In chapters one and two, Paul has expressed a litany of doctrinal principles of our salvation that are true in Christ.  He then expressed warnings about false doctrines that were permeating the church.  But now in chapter three we see a change in his approach.  His concern now is not so much doctrinal as it is practical.  Not that doctrine isn’t practical. It is very much so.  But  the application of doctrine  is what we mean by practical.  

Now as we look at this first verse, we notice that it begins with the word “if.”  In this case that word does not indicate something  questionable, but it would be better if it were translated “since.”  All the doctrine which has been stated previously in Colossians up to this point has established the fact of our salvation.  So Paul isn’t now questioning our salvation with the word “if”, but he is going to build on that fact, and so he begins with “since.”   

Vs 1 then says, “Therefore ( since) you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”  Now to understand what is meant here, we need to flip back to the previous chapter and look at verse 20 which starts in a very similar fashion;  “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”

We can apply the same translation of the word “if” to “since” in this verse as well. So notice then what Paul is saying.  He says in 2:20, “since you have died with Christ…” And now in 3:1 he says “since you have been raised up with Christ…”  Now that should help us to understand what he’s talking about in vs 1.  He is speaking of our conversion, our death to the old man and spiritual resurrection to new life through our representative Jesus Christ.

Perhaps we can get another perspective of what he is talking about by looking at Rom 6:2-11 “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?  Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with [Him] in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection,  knowing this, that our old self was crucified with [Him,] in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;  for he who has died is freed from sin.  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

So it should be clear that Paul is referencing our salvation, illustrated by baptism - the fact that we have died with Christ, died to the old sin nature, and in effect buried with Him.  Now that we have died with Christ, the sin nature no longer has control over us.  We are made a new creation. We are raised from death to a new life in Christ. 

So since we have died with Christ, we have also been raised with Him to live a new life.  Baptism symbolizes dying, being buried,  and being raised to new life. It’s an outward illustration of what has transpired inwardly.  If we have died with Him, then we are raised with Him to newness of life.  So that we walk in newness of life.  We walk by the spirit and not according to the flesh.  Our focus isn’t on temporal things, but our focus is on eternal things.

And that’s exactly what Paul indicates here in vs 1. “Since you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”  So now that we have been converted from death to life, Paul says we are to keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  We have a new outlook, a heavenly perspective.  It’s a spiritual perspective. It’s a Christ centered perspective.

Notice a couple of things that Paul says of Christ. Christ is in heaven with God. He is living, eternal in the heavens. He is seated; that indicates that His work is finished. His work of atonement is finished.  And at the right hand of God indicates the place of honor and privilege.  It indicates the place of intercession. 

Consider what Hebrews 7:24-27 says, “but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently.  Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.  For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the [sins] of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

I like that phrase; “he is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him.” Our eternal security rests in the eternal Son who lives forever, who is above all rule and authority, having paid the price for our sins, who was the perfect, complete and final sacrifice so that we might be made complete and perfect in Him. And He intercedes on our behalf at the right hand of God.  The favored, privileged position whereby He is able to save us forever by His power, and by His righteousness. 

So since you have been raised up with Christ, since you have been reconciled, redeemed, justified, sanctified, cleansed, made new, forgiven, given new life in Christ, then keep looking to Christ as our example, as our Help, as our Comforter, as our Guide, as our Shepherd.  He is our Master.  He is our Lord.  Keep looking to Him for everything relating to this new life. Keep pursuing Christ, keep following Christ.  Keep seeking Christ. 

Now how do we do that in practical ways?  Paul says in vs 2, “[by setting] your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  The KJV says, “Set your affection on things above, not on things that are on the earth.”  I like that word affection because it indicates this is a matter of the heart.  Now the mind is a part of what is referred to as the heart, but affection indicates what you desire, what you admire, what you like or don’t like.  As Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” So you can think with your heart. The natural man is ruled by his heart, he is ruled by his affections. The heart by the way refers to the seat of your emotions, your will and your intellect. And the result of our salvation experience is that we have a change of heart.  We are given a new heart.  Our heart is cleansed.

In Ezekiel 36:25-27 in speaking prophetically of this conversion  God says,  "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  So if we are given a new heart then we will have new desires, new affections and a new mind.

So let us focus our affections, our hearts, our minds, on things above. I have a dog at my house named Jackson, a  Siberian Husky. When I sit down to eat at the dinner table, he usually sits up on his haunches with his ears erect, and his gaze fixed resolutely on me.  He isn’t distracted by anything else, he watches me intently.  I sometimes can’t help but think God created dogs to teach us how we are to act in our relationship with Him.

Dogs don’t understand everything we humans are doing.  But they depend on us to feed them, to water them, to take them for a walk.  They are totally dependent upon us whether they realize it or not.  And when it comes to food, they want to sit where they can get an uninterrupted, unobstructed view of everything we are doing. 

Perhaps that’s sort of the idea of how we should set our attention on Christ. Christ is the source of our new life and supplier of every need and so we should be looking to Him for our satisfaction.  Paul understands though that our affections can turn back to the things of the world.  And our love of the world keeps us from unaffected love of God.  Jesus said in Luke 12:34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I’m reminded of Lot’s wife.  Remember how the angel of the Lord told them as he was delivering them from the impending destruction, to not look back.  But Lot’s wife did look back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.  That serves as a great lesson to not look back at the former things of the old life.  To look back with affection on the things of the world leads to destruction.  But now that we have a new life, we have  a new purpose, a new perspective, new desires.  And we need to seek those things which are above, not the things of earth.

That  doesn’t mean that we have to go live in a monastery or something and forego all earthly necessities, or earthly pleasures that God has given us to enjoy like marriage and children or even the work of our hands.  But what it means is those things are not the focus of our lives now.  We are no longer wrapped up in our careers, focused on society, or even all wrapped up in our family or those we love.  We have a higher calling, a higher purpose, and consequently, a spiritual perspective. We look beyond the immediate to the eternal.  We have  a new heart with different affections.  And our supreme affection is for Christ.

Vs 3 says, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”  Now we have already discussed this aspect of dying with Christ.  But what does it mean our new life is hidden with Christ? I think it means that the new life is spiritual, and not physical.  Our spirit is made alive, is made new when we are born again. It was made new in Christ.  As He was raised from the dead, so are we.  But from outward appearances, there is very little physically to suggest that.  It’s an inward transformation, not a physical one per se.  Certainly, there will be behavior differences between the old and the new life, but as far as appearances go, there is very little.

But also the word hidden indicates our spiritual union with Christ.  We are now part of His body, the church. He is in us, and we are in Him.  Furthermore the word hidden also indicates security.  We are hidden in Him means that we are safe in Him, we are secure in Him, we are protected in Him. It is a common theme in the Psalms to speak of being under His wings. It’s a place of refuge from danger.  So whatever danger that may lie in  wait for us, we find refuge under His wings,  and we are hidden in Him. In a manner of speaking, we are born again and like the offspring of an eagle who provides for and protects her young until they are mature, so we are kept hidden in Christ, protected, provided for,  until the day of our completion.

In that day we will no longer stay hidden.  In vs 4 Paul says, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  There will be a day when Christ will come to earth again, visibly, physically.  He will come in power.  He will come to claim HIs kingdom.  And in that day we that are saved will also be revealed physically in a new body.  

1John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”  When Jesus returns, the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to be with the Lord.  And this old body will be changed incorruptible and undefiled, and this mortal will put on immortality.. Then we will be revealed in all our glory, for we shall be like Him and share in His glory.

So since this is who we are, and who we will be revealed to be, let us act like the people that Christ has redeemed for His own.  Let us behave as children of God. Let us live the kind of lifestyle that comes as a result of our new life in Christ.  

Let’s look at it this way.  You were dead in your sins.  You were by nature corrupt and vile. But , now you have been washed, cleansed, regenerated.  You are made new.  It’s like when my mother made me take a bath when I was little, and then said, “Son, you have just taken a bath, now don’t you dare put those old dirty clothes back on. Put on some fresh, clean clothes.”  That’s basically what Paul is saying in the remainder of this chapter.  You have been given a bath spiritually.  Now first of all put away the old dirty clothes of the past, and then put on these new clean clothes of righteousness. 

Unfortunately, we are only going to have the time today to talk about what you need to put off.  Next week we will look at what you need to put on.  Here then in vs 5, is what Paul says we need to put to death. “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

Have you ever gotten your clothes so filthy that there was nothing left to do but throw them away? That’s how Paul describes these sins.  They need to be put to death. Put to death the sinful way of life which belongs to your old nature.  And the first one that you must put to death is immorality.  That word refers to all forms of sexual intercourse outside of God honored marriage. It’s what is called "fornication" elsewhere in Scripture; or adultery, which is sexual misbehavior by a married person with someone other than his or her mate. This is to be "put to death” by all Christians. The Word of God is absolutely clear on this. Eph. 5:5 says, “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” Anything having to do with fornication outside of marriage cannot be something we engage in in this new life.

I believe all these words that follow immorality in vs 5 are actually just embellishments or variations on the sin of immorality. The second on this list is "impurity." It is the word for "uncleanness." It refers to being corrupted, depraved, indecent.  Then he says put off passion.  Passion is being inflamed with desire for something. The Bible speaks of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Passion is speaking of lust.  Lust consumes, and it is never satisfied. It only craves more and more, often leading to the destruction of that individual.

Evil desire is a lust for evil. Lust leads to even more vileness, which is a desire for evil. And then Paul mentions greed. Greed is covetousness.  Greed is desiring more than what you have, more than what God has given to you.  Ambition is one thing, in your career, or in your business dealings it’s ok to have ambition. But greed is evil desire.  It’s wanting more than is right.  It’s wanting what someone else has.  Its’ wanting something that doesn’t rightfully belong to you. And Paul says all of this immorality is idolatry.  Idolatry is worshipping something evil. 

But as Christians we too often tend to accept those that are immoral or to excuse or overlook the sin of those who fall into it.But Paul says there are two things wrong with that acceptance. First, he says in vs 6, “For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience.”

The wrath of God is the judicial response of God to sin.  In many cases, it is the inherent destruction that such sins carry with them.  If you get drunk, for instance, there is an inherent judgment that is a part of drunkenness.  It might mean that you wreck your car, or lose your life in some drunken accident, or you lose your family.  It’s not always the same thing in every case, but all sin is destructive, and there are inherent consequences to sin that are part of the wrath of God.

But as a child of God, should you revert to your old desires and fall back into sin, then you can expect God to discipline you as a son.  And that too is a part of the wrath of God. The author of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12:6 “FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”  If you’re a child of God and you continue in sin, you can expect Him to discipline you. You will face the wrath of God.

The second reason Paul gives is stated in verse 7: “and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.”   That kind of sinful lifestyle is what God delivered you from.  It’s a part of the past life.  And that past life is one that brings destruction and it caused the death penalty to be placed upon us.  It’s not who we are made to be in Christ.  We are a new creation.  2Cor. 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We are no longer walking the old paths, but walk in a new way, the way of Christ.

Peter said in 1Peter 4:3 “For the time already past is sufficient [for you] to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.” That time past should have been sufficient for you to realize the end of that life is destructive, and damning.  After being washed and cleaned up and given a new life why would you want to put back on those filthy clothes? You have a new resource, a new power, a new life, a Savior who will help you in every moment of temptation, and by His power you can put that old lifestyle away.  You can put it to death.

Then Paul tells us to die to the sins of our speech, in  Vs 8, “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, [and] abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its [evil] practices,  and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—“

So Paul gives us a list of speech patterns to renounce. First, he says  we no longer are to give way to anger. Anger is contrary to acting in love.  As believers, we must not speak in anger any more. We must not give way to anger. The Lord said to Cain, “why are you angry?” “Sin is crouching at the door, and it’s desire is for you, but you must master it.” Put anger away. It leads to sin.

The second word is "wrath." This refers to rage. It’s taking your anger to another level. And wrath is closely related to the next word, malice. Malice is the hidden hatred of the heart.  It’s acting in spite. Then related to that is slander.  Slander is speaking ill of someone to injure them.  I think we are guilty of all these sins of the tongue more than we would like to admit.  James says in James 3:6 “And the tongue is a fire, the [very] world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of [our] life, and is set on fire by hell.” What comes out of the mouth reveals the heart.

The next phrase is abusive speech.  I  think that covers a lot of territory. It’s not just cursing.  It’s demeaning someone.  It’s talking down to someone. It’s abusing your authority over someone by what you say to them.  Your words can wound deeper than any sword. 

And then lying. Lying is bearing false witness.  It’s one of the 10 commandments.  It’s representing something falsely.  How often do we do that?  I think we do it without thinking sometimes.  We may even excuse it as a means of trying to protect someone. But as Christians we are to be the ambassadors of truth.  What we say must be trustworthy. We must be able to be believed, because we speak for God. So false witness, lying is something we must put off, and ultimately put to death.

And Paul speaks of that change in a positive way saying, “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its [evil] practices,  and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—“  Notice the conjunctive “Since” you laid aside the old self.  I pray that is true in your life.  That you have died to the old man with Christ.  You have laid it aside.  You no longer carry with you the remnants of that old nature.  Put it to death.  God has given us a new life, put it on.  He has clothed you in righteousness, wear it.  Practice righteousness.  Practice holiness.  Practice walking in His example day by day, hour by hour.  Keeping your gaze fixed on Him who will keep you, and sustain you, and hold you as you follow Him.

Notice Paul speaks of this new life as a renewal to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. As we look at Christ, we learn how we can be conformed to His image.  We learn to be like Christ by looking at Christ.  And then in our daily walk we practice what we have learned.  We walk in HIs footsteps. 

Peter said in 1Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.”  That is what this new life is all about.  Christ has called us, saved us out of the life we once lived, the life enslaved to sin, by evil passions and attitudes.  And now by faith in Him we have been washed, we have been cleansed, made new, and like children we walk in HIs footsteps, follow in His example in our actions and in our attitudes.  

Next week we will see more specifically those things we are to put on in this walk of faith in Christ.  But for now, I hope it’s sufficient to repent of those sins of the past life that need to be put off and put to death, in light of who we are in Christ.   He is our life. He is our affection. He is our example. He is our Lord.

I trust that you are a new creation in Christ.  I hope that He is your Savior and Lord.  Faith in Him is the beginning of this new life.  He has made salvation available to all who believe in Him and confess Him as Lord.  You can have that eternal life in Christ today.  

False spirituality, Colossians 2:16-23

Last week in the previous passage we looked at what Paul describes as the fullness of our salvation.  We said that in Christ we have all the benefits of our salvation complete.  There is no need to seek some sort of higher knowledge, or add some philosophy or secondary experience in order to have all that need.  We are  completely saved in Christ.

This week, we’re looking at the remainder of this chapter in which Paul continues with that line of thought, but he now is going to counter specific false doctrines which were being circulated in the church of Colossae.  In these last eight verses, Paul  gives us three areas of false teaching that were pervasive in the Colossian church, and I believe are still in effect in the 21st century church as well. 

These three areas of false teaching Paul addresses are legalism, spiritualism or mysticism, and asceticism. And I hope to explain what those doctrines look like as we go through this passage. There is an ancient Chinese proverb which says, “Know thy enemy.”  And I think it is very helpful to us to unmask these false doctrines so that we might know better how to defend our faith against the deception and attacks of the enemy. 

So first of all, Paul warns against what we may call legalism.  He says in vs 16, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—“  Now as we have always been taught to do, we must look back to see what “therefore” refers to.  Because what he says after “therefore” is contingent on what he said previously.  And as I said a moment ago, “therefore” refers to the fullness of salvation which we have in Christ.  Our salvation needs nothing other than what Christ has procured for us through His death and resurrection.  We don’t need Christ plus mysticism or Christ plus legalism, or Christ plus asceticism.  Christ alone is sufficient for all our spiritual needs.

But Paul wants to address some specific false docctrines that were being taught at the church in Colossae. And the first one is that of legalism. In previous messages we have called the false teaching that was being offered in the Colossian church Gnostic Judaism.  Gnostic Judaism refers to the early Jewish mystical traditions that paralleled the development of ancient Gnosticism  during the rise of Christianity. It seems that Paul’s emphasis on the worship of angels and the subject of spirituality indicates that the roots of Gnosticism had already begun infiltrating the church at Colossae. 

Judaism of course refers to the religion of the Pharisees - Jews that put a great deal of emphasis on the outward appearance of things in relation to the law, but of whom Jesus said they were like whitewashed tombs  - clean and white on the outside, but rotten and corrupted on the inside. But the system of Judaism claimed spirituality based on keeping the law and ceremonies, as well as certain traditions passed down from their leaders.

So combining those two false teachings produced what we call Gnostic Judaism.  Paul first describes those areas which we might term as legalism.  They have to do with the law, or the keeping of the law.  It would seem that they refer to Judaism and the practices of eating only certain foods and drink. 

Some of those restrictions on diet had been given to the Jews in the Mosaic law.  The reason God established them was either to create a unique social situation or to keep them from eating something that would be harmful to them physically or nutritionally. But primarily the issue in the old covenant was that God wanted a peculiar people. God wanted a people set apart from the rest of the world, and one of the ways He did that was by prescribing a different diet. Because of their diet, the Jews were socially distanced from the people of the country they were living in because they couldn’t eat together. And that was the plan of God for them. He didn’t want them to intermingle. He wanted them to be separate from the pagan world. 

So God gave these laws to the Jews, but in the new covenant, those laws were set aside.  In Acts 10, there is the account of Peter on the rooftop when God gave him a vision of all sorts of clean and unclean animals and God told him to kill and eat, and that all meat was declared clean.  Then in Acts 15 that principle is elaborated upon by the apostles in Jerusalem to say that none of the old dietary restrictions were to be put upon the Gentile church. And that principle is echoed repeatedly in the New Testament.  For instance, Romans 14:17 says, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

But as you probably are aware, the Jews didn’t stop with just restrictions on food, but they had added all types of traditions to the law, very often with elaborate ceremonies like hand washing which were not dictated by the commandments. And it would seem that sort of thing was being advocated in Colossae. 

So to paraphrase Paul, he says, “Don’t be deceived; don’t be tricked. Don’t let anybody judge you on the basis of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anybody evaluate your spirituality on that basis.”  And you know the same thing happens in Christianity today in many circles. Some sects teach that you must keep the dietary laws of the Jews.  Others teach you must be vegetarian. There will always be people who want to judge everyone’s spirituality by what they do externally: how they eat, what they eat or drink, whether they keep certain rituals and requirements which they think are necessary to be spiritual.  

But the problem with that kind of spiritual evaluation is this: that somebody who isn’t a true Christian can think they qualify on the basis of their works.  So as a test of your Christianity, it produces a false positive, so to speak.  It’s not that real Christians won’t manifest a different behavior than the world, but the problem is that those who aren’t  can always conform to some external standard. And so conforming to that type of standard doesn’t produce true spirituality.

Galatians 5:1 speaks to this principle, saying,  “For freedom, Christ has set us free; therefore, stand fast and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Christ set you free to live as free; so don’t go back to legalism. That’s the yoke of bondage which Peter said neither they nor the patriarchs had been able to bear.

And then Paul adds in vs 16, “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—” - don’t let these false teachers try to define your spirituality by whether you observe the Passover, or Pentecost, or the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Lights, or any of those ceremonies and holy days which were prescribed by the law – “or a new moon” – Numbers 28 tells us that the sacrifice was made on the first day of the month of the new moon – “or of a Sabbath day.”

So you have annual observances, and monthly observances and weekly observances. Rituals, ceremonies, which were called holy days.  That’s where we get our word holiday, by the way, from holy days.  There are a number of various groups through the church age who have advocated either a return to the Jewish Sabbath, which is Saturday, or they want to ascribe Sabbath restrictions to Sunday, as the Sunday Sabbath. But the scripture doesn’t teach either  of those positions.

I remember a time back in my twenties when I was not living for the Lord.  And I came under the influence of someone who was a Seventh Day Adventist.  I had never given much thought to the Sabbath before that time.  But because I was introduced to Seventh Adventist teachings I became really confused about whether or not it was necessary to keep the Sabbath and return to Saturday observance.  And a strict reading of only the Old Testament leads one to believe that to be true.

But this passage here makes it clear that no one is to be your judge in regards to keeping the Sabbath.  Romans 14 says “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.”  And in the early days of the church there were people who were being converted out of Judaism, and their conscience bothered them concerning the Sabbath.  Paul allowed such to do as their conscience dictated.  But it was never ok to be taught that that keeping the Sabbath is a necessary requirement for salvation, or to achieve some higher spiritual plane. 

The Sabbath is a ceremony that speaks of a future fulfillment in Christ.  Hebrews 4:9 teaches that the Sabbath rest is fulfilled in Christ for us,  having accomplished His finished work on the cross, having sat down at the Father’s right hand. So as was the practice of the early church, we worship on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, which is Sunday. And we have been set free from the restrictions of the Sabbath.

The same error was going on in the Galatian church.  Paul said in Gal. 4 that he was concerned about them, because they observed days and months and seasons and years. “I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”

Now the rebuttal to all these legalistic doctrines is found in vs 17. [These] “things which are a [mere] shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”  These ceremonial, ritualistic things prescribed in the law were a foreshadowing of what was to come. But the reality, the fulfillment is Christ. All these laws and all these legalistic things, they were just shadow. A shadow just anticipates the arrival of somebody, and when He comes, and you no longer need the shadow. Or another way of saying it, they were pictures, and when you have the reality, you no longer need the picture. 

Here’s the principle. Spirituality is not a matter of adding some external ritual or ceremony, but  its’a matter of the invisible attributes, a matter of the heart and your relationship with Jesus Christ.   So Paul is saying don’t let anybody intimidate you by the fact that if don’t do something, therefore you’re not spiritual.” It’s a matter of the heart, not external rituals.

Now the second area of concern in this false teaching in Colossae is what I am calling spiritualism or mysticism.  And we find Paul’s admonition concerning that in vs 18 and 19. “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on [visions] he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,  and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”

Now don’t be confused, we are to be spiritual, but spiritualism is not spiritual.  It’s perhaps better called mysticism. Well, what is mysticism?” Mysticism is a deeper or higher experience which one believes gives them an exalted knowledge of God or the mysteries of God. It’s like saying, “Well, I’ve had an experience that I can’t define, but I’ve touched God, or have come to understand something from God.”

Now what Paul says is that kind of thing can make you believe you have missed out on all that God has for you because you haven’t had a particular experience. He says that teaching defrauds you of the prize.  What is the prize?  It’s a full, complete, relationship with Jesus Christ.  It’s knowing all that He has for you and being content in that knowledge. It’s peace with God.  It’s assurance.  And as Paul indicates in this statement about the growth of the body it’s spiritual maturity. You cannot have spiritual maturity if you think that it comes from a false source rather than from following Christ completely.  If you’re seeking spiritual maturity from some sort of fake mystical experience then you’re going to miss out on the real prize of spiritual maturity.

Now Paul gives some examples of mysticism, or false spirituality which were being promoted in the church.  “Delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.” 

Delighting in self-abasement is another way of saying they delight in humility.  I would suggest he’s talking about fake humility.  It’s humility on parade.  The Pharisees loved to be seen fasting and wearing sack cloth and ashes.  That’s a false humility on parade.  I’m afraid we see a version of that today often times at Lent, with people advertising that they are fasting by going around with ashes on their face. 

Another way that is done is through restrictions in dress, by only wearing certain somber colors, or not allowing cosmetics or jewelry, or even avoiding hygienic practices. A look at church history reveals many things like that in practice from time to time. But whatever means by which it occurs, they were advocating some sort of self abasement by which they thought they achieved spirituality. 

And next, Paul says they worshipped angels, verse 18. What does that mean? This is where the Gnostic influence comes in, by the worship of angels.  They believed that they could achieve higher knowledge through the angels.  But the scripture says that there is one mediator between God and man. And who is that? Jesus Christ. But they were being urged to worship angels, or to seek the mediation of angels, and in effect denying the one mediator between God and man who is Christ Jesus.

There is ample evidence at this particular time in Colossae that angel worship was very prevalent. But the scripture tells us that angel worship is forbidden. In Revelation, when John tried to worship an angel, twice the angel said, “Get up, do not worship me; I am a fellow servant of yours. Worship God.” Even the angels forbid us to worship them, unless, of course, they are fallen angels.  And I think that perhaps a lot of angel worship is really worship of fallen angels who have disguised themselves as angels of light.

The next example he gives of false humility is those that take their stand on visions they have seen. You know, it’s funny but  I’ve never had a vision. In 67 years I’ve never seen anything. But these people who want to tell you the latest dream they had, the latest vision, the word that God spoke to them can be sort of intimidating. They are typically super pious, self-humiliating, having talked with angels, seen visions, received special revelations, claiming all sorts of amazing stuff. But the rest of us poor folks, we’re left to sit around at Bible study, just trying to understand what it says on the page.

And that indicates the heart of the problem.  Rather than the word of God being sufficient, these people seek another revelation, a more distinctly personal word from God, a special vision from God.  And that serves to undermine the authority and sufficiency of scripture.  They dare not say that God’s word is not authoritative, but in practice they reveal it’s not enough, they want God to speak directly to them.  I can’t tell you the number of people that I have talked to that claim that God has verbally, distinctly spoken to them in an audible way.  And when those people say that sort of thing, there is nothing you can really say in return, other than “that’s nice.”  But in my mind I want to say, “why you?”  

I mean, the prophets in the Bible record may have only heard from God once in their lifetime or not at all, and there are hundreds of years in biblical history when there is no record that anyone  heard a word from God, and yet God seems to speak to these people frequently, and about the most mundane subjects, like where to find a parking space at the mall.  It’s amazing.  It’s false spirituality.  It’s false humility.  But as Peter said, we have the prophetic word made more sure.  We have God’s word written down for us.  And it is more than sufficient for every need.

2Tim. 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;  so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Everything for life and godliness is found in the word of God.

The last example may just be more of summary of their attitude, rather than a false doctrine, per se.  Paul says they are “inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.”  In other words, they have a big ego, but they have no basis for it. A big ego is a person that is prideful. Paul says they have nothing to be prideful about. They are fleshly.  That’s the opposite of spiritual.  They think they are spiritual, but they are fleshly. I see that every time I turn on TBN.  I try not to turn that stuff on.  About the only time I ever see it is when I’m in a hotel room and I turn on the TV.  But these people parading around as super spiritual, claiming all sorts of special powers, hearing from God, naming and claiming all sorts of things, and yet their lifestyle reveals that they are all about the flesh.  They are all about money.  And they fly private jets and live in lavish houses and so forth.  Inflated without cause in their fleshly minds.

Against that false spirituality Paul gives the correct principle in vs19 “and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.”  Spiritual maturity, spiritual growth, comes from holding fast to the head.  And the head of the body is Christ.  It’s not Christ plus something else.  It’s just Christ.  He is sufficient. His word is sufficient. Obedience to Christ produces spiritual maturity.  It’s very notable that those who want to claim all these experiences usually tend to put a very low value on obedience.  They value experience, but they don’t value obedience.  But spiritual experience does’t produce spiritual maturity, it only produces mysticism, which is the devil’s duplication of the real thing.

The third area of false teaching pervading the church of the Colossians is asceticism. The dictionary defines an ascetic as somebody who lives a life of rigorous self-denial. An ascetic is somebody who sells everything and goes and lives in a monastery. Self imposed discipline and abstention.  The idea that the only way to be truly spiritual people  is to become monks or nuns and go live in a monastery. Or the only truly spiritual people are the people who have nothing, sell everything and live in absolute, abject poverty.

Paul speaks to that false teaching in vs 20-23;  “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,  "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all [refer] [to] things destined to perish with use)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, [but are] of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Paul says if Christ is your representative, and you are in Christ, then you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world. Things like eating, drinking, being consumed with bodily functions, with the basic principles of living.  With Christ we have died to the natural man, and now we live in the spirit.  That doesn’t mean we stop eating or sleeping or working, etc.  But those things are no longer the primary focus of our life.  We have a higher purpose. And since these elementary things no longer control us, neither does neglecting them or depriving yourself of them lead to a higher spirituality. 

Spiritual purity, holiness is not found in denial of the body.  The ascetics of the past have thought that the path to holiness was to deny any bodily pleasure, to eat only bread and water, to forego sex in marriage, to go live on a mountain alone, to go without washing, or living without basic human necessities.  But Paul is saying if we are saved, then the body has already died with Christ.  Those things do not rule us.  But we now live in the Spirit.  And to deny these things of the flesh does not affect our spirituality.

Look at vs 21, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” You can almost hear the super pious tone in which someone might say that.  As if denying such things invoked a higher spiritual quality. He says saying such things refer to things destined to perish with use. The question then is why are you attributing eternal value to that which is passing away? 

Now when he says “in accordance to the commandments and teaching of men”  I think Paul is referring here to the commandments and the traditions of the Jews which had the semblance of holiness, but in fact were not a means of holiness.  They were for a time and a particular people, to be a picture of what was to be true in Christ.  I think this is further evidence of the Gnostic Judaism type of false doctrine that was pervasive in the church.  It somehow incorporated these ascetic restrictions on food and handling and touching of various things which were considered unclean. 

Paul gives his rebuttal to this false teaching in Vs23, “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

On the outside, it looks like you are holy because of these restrictions you have.  But Paul says that these outward manifestations are of no real value when it comes to indulging in the lusts of the flesh. 

So how do we guard against fleshly indulgence? Gal 5:16 tells us, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”  Walk by the Spirit is not worshipping angels, or seeing visions, or having so called spiritual experiences, it’s simply living according to the word of God which is authored by the Holy Spirit.  There is nothing mystical about it.  There is no mystical bypass around the spiritual discipline which produces spiritual maturity.  Just walk in the footsteps of Jesus, following His example. As Jesus said, “you are my disciples if you do what I command you.”  God has given us His word that we might know all that He has for us, and all that He requires of us.  Let us devote ourselves to that, and do not let anyone mislead us to think that we can achieve spirituality apart from clinging only to Christ.

The only way to be spiritual is to be born again in the spirit. Jesus said, You must be born again. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  How can one be born again by the Spirit? By an appeal to God to save you and give you eternal life, which is spiritual life. And we do that through faith in Jesus Christ.

Rom 10:9-10  “if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”