Colossians 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not s

Col. 2

3/4/2007

“See to It that No One Takes You Captive”

In our passage we begin to see some of the concerns Paul had for the wellbeing of the Colossian saints. Thankfully Paul was not dealing with a problem that had already set in and plagued the young congregation. He was able to rejoice in seeing the church still in good order and firm in its faith in Christ (v. 5). The Colossian church was a young church, vibrant with the newness of life, bearing fruit and growing (1:6). In its pristine beauty and untainted purity, it was like a delicate orchid growing in the safety of a greenhouse. But it could not stay in that condition for too long--Paul knew that all too well. For the church of Jesus Christ in this age is the church militant, not the church triumphant: its victory is inevitable but its battle is not yet over.

When we say “church militant”, we do not mean that the church’s goal is to take up arms and fight military battles to take over our government and other countries. Ours is a spiritual war. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil. Therefore, the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but of the Spirit. We fight with the armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace as the shoes, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and prayer. The designation, “church militant”, tells us that the time of battle is not over. As long as we live in the world that opposes God and His kingdom, we are engaged in a spiritual battle to defend and advance the kingdom of God with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As the church finds itself in the midst of the world, it cannot be free of conflicts and clashes, trials and tribulations.

As a church militant the Colossian church was not so insulated that it knew nothing of trials: the threat of persecution was always there even as many other churches faced actual persecution. But the danger of external persecution was nothing compared to the danger from within in its devastating effects. And it was against such internal danger that Paul wanted to issue his warning. For the trouble was already brewing. We read in vv. 20, 21, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations--‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’?” The pattern was starting up all over again. Almost without fail, it did not take too long before a newly established church was invaded by false teachers, who came in and stirred up troubles in the church with their wrong doctrines.

Who were these false teachers? There must have been different kinds of false teachers at different churches. But when we examine Paul’s letters, they all seem to have one common and dominant characteristic: they all wanted to impose some form of Jewish laws upon the newly established Christian churches, particularly the Jewish ceremonial laws. The ceremonial laws were that branch of the Mosaic Law, which dealt specifically with the distinction between the sacred and common, the clean and unclean. They probably got their name from the sacred rituals and ceremonies that they were mainly concerned with. But they dealt with more than just the laws concerning sacred rituals, such as temple worship, sacrifices and priests. Included also in these laws were the laws concerning circumcision, clean and unclean foods, animals and clothes, etc. These false teachers were not the traditional Jews holding on to Judaism. They probably recognized Jesus to be the expected Messiah. However, they insisted that the Gentile converts could not be true Christians without first becoming ceremonial Jews. You can see why they still held on to the legitimacy of the ceremonial laws--most likely not all but at least some, such as the requirement of circumcision. We call such people “Judaizers”.

Was this true even in the case of the Colossian church? Let us examine then what kind of false teaching that the Colossian church faced. We can deduce it from the instructions that Paul gave in his letter.

After giving a summary command in v. 6--to walk in Christ Jesus--Paul gives three more specific commands concerning what it means to walk in Christ, what the Colossians must watch out for: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit…” (v. 8); “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath” (v. 16); “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…” (v. 18).

You can already detect the presence of the Judaizers’ teaching. He urges the Colossians not to let anyone pass judgment on them concerning food or drink or Jewish holidays (v. 16)--the very subjects of the ceremonial laws. And his example of the false teaching in v. 21--“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”--seems to be a summary of the Jewish ceremonial laws regarding unclean foods and things. He also hints at the issue of circumcision when he assures the Colossians that they were “circumcised with a circumcision made without hands” (v. 11). These words suggest that it was indeed the Judaizers who were stirring up troubles in the Colossian church.

But what about Paul’s other characterizations of the false teaching? He refers to the false teaching as “philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world” (v. 8). Are these appropriate descriptions of the laws of God--“philosophy”, “empty deceit”, “human tradition”, and “the elemental spirits of the world”? Paul also mentions “asceticism and worship of the angels” in v. 18. These sound more like pagan religions than Judaism, don’t they?

There are different scholarly proposals concerning the true identity of the false teaching at Colossae. Was it simply from the Judaizers or was there also some influence of pagan religions? We have seen some clear indications of the Judaizers’ teaching (especially in vv. 11-12, 16). But it is not difficult to imagine the insidious impact of the pagan religions on that young Christian church at Colossae. After all, the church was in the midst of a pagan world. What is more, most of its members came from those pagan religions and they might not have completely shaken off certain aspects of those religions in their thinking and practice.

Regardless, we must observe something very important that Paul does in our passage. After issuing the three specific commands, he wraps them up in a final appeal. This last appeal begins in v. 20: “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations, such as…?” Although this appeal comes after the third command (vv. 18-19), we know that it has in view all three commands (vv. 8-19), not just the third. How do we know that? This final appeal has the same phrase as the one used in the first command: “the elemental spirits of the world” (vv. 8, 20). This final appeal reaches all the way back to the first command. Thus Paul indicates that this final appeal is for all three preceding commands--that is, this final appeal is the summation of all three preceding commands.

So then, when this final appeal says, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world…” (v. 20), “the elemental spirits of the world” (the phrase) includes Judaism--particularly the ceremonial laws of the Mosaic Law. For the word translated here as “the elemental spirits”, stoicheion, can mean other things, such as, the basic elements of the natural world, or the celestial constellations, or elementary principles (BDAG). And it seems like the phrase in v. 20 is best translated as “the elementary principles” rather than “the elementary spirits” (as in local deities): in this context, Paul relates them to certain religious, moral dictates, such as, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch.” It is quite clear that Paul includes Judaism in the elementary principles of the world: he lumps Judaism together with all other religions and philosophies of the world. How shocking!

This is not to say, of course, that Paul was denying the divine origin of Judaism and its Law, including the ceremonial laws. As a Jew how could he ever deny that it was God who gave the Law at Mount Sinai? His whole life as a Pharisee had been consumed with obeying the law of God in its every detail. But do you see? Everything changed when Christ came. Not that any truth about the Law of God had changed. It was still the divine Law given by God at Mount Sinai. But a veil had lain over Paul’s heart, as it were, and he could not see the Law for what it really was! The veil had to be removed for Paul to see the Law as it really was. Then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. The dazzling brilliance of Christ’s glory blinded him. By the truth of Christ Paul’s true condition, his spiritual blindness, was thus exposed in his physical blindness upon encountering Christ. He regained his sight only three days later, when Ananias came to him and spoke the words of Christ: something like scales fell from his eyes and he was again able to see. The veil had been removed by the words of Christ. And when he saw again, when he turned to the Lord, the veil that had lain over his heart was also removed.

And oh what things he was able to see in the light of Christ! The glory of God’s Law did not change or diminish. It was just that the brilliance of its glory was outshone by something far more radiant, far beyond comparison! For something much more glorious than the Law of God came in Jesus Christ! So what does Paul say in v. 17 regarding the (ceremonial) rules and regulations of the Mosaic Law? “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” There can be no shadow apart from an object. The shadow does not exist on its own. The shadow points to the object, in whose image it is cast. If a shadow frightens you, it is because it belongs to your blood-thirsty enemy. If a shadow gladdens your heart, it is because it heralds the long-expected arrival of your beloved. If the shadow moves, it is because the object moved.

When the veil was removed, Paul saw that the Law of God was given not as a means of salvation. It certainly exposed our sinfulness (the first use of the Law). It is true that the dread of God’s judgment in it might have curtailed the full, unbridled expression of our depravity in total chaos and lawlessness (the second use of the Law). But the rigorous demand of the Law made it quite clear that we could never fully satisfy it so as to earn our salvation with our own merit. The Law was given ultimately as a signpost to point us to the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. The Law, which exposed our sinfulness, now displays the perfect righteousness of Christ. The Law, which threatened us with God’s divine judgment for our sins, now assures us with God’s blessings on account of Christ’s perfect obedience on our behalf. And the Law now shows us how we ought to live as those who have died and been raised with Christ into the kingdom of God (the third use of the Law).

So what happens when people hold on to the Law while rejecting Christ? What happens to the Law then? In essence it becomes no different from other religions and moral philosophies of the world; it is relegated to one of the elementary principles of the world. What a shocking statement! But is this too difficult to accept? No matter how noble and lofty the Law may be, what good is it really for sinners who are corrupted from within? As Paul says in Rom. 7:5, “For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death….”

Do we not know this to be so true in our own experiences? Just make something forbidden and instantly it becomes doubly attractive to our sinful hearts. The forbidden fruit becomes all the more desirable in our eyes than everything else within our grasp. The grass is greener on the other side. Curiosity quickly turns into obsession and drives us mad until we cross the line. So covetousness turns into theft and fantasy gives birth to adultery. And when we do cross the boundary, oh what disasters come crashing down! Guilt bites our conscience with an unexpected pungency. And we are thrust into the mire of fatal consequences, losing whatever was good in our life. Yet we would flirt with the forbidden fruit again and again. But come to think of it, what else could be expected from the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve? The Law cannot uproot the wickedness seated deep in our soul. The Law, even the Law of God, is of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh (v. 23). Doesn’t the history of Israel prove this point? What about our personal history? Why can’t we quit our bad habits? Certainly it is not because we don’t know what is good and what is bad for us!

So then, even the Law of God is no more than a shadow without its substance if it is without Christ; it is a bow without the string, a body without the soul. For it cannot lead us unto salvation. In this sense, the Law without Christ is no different from other religions and philosophies of the world.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that the church of Jesus Christ has no law! Just take a look at the next chapter: it is filled with commands that show us how we ought to live as God’s people. Let us remember that Christ came to fulfill the Law. This doesn’t mean that He came to abolish the Law. As He said, He came to fulfill, not to abolish, the Law. But for Christ to fulfill the Law means more than simply keeping the Law perfectly. Let us not forget that He, who came to fulfill the Law, is also the Lord of the new covenant, who issues the Law of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5-7)! As God gave the Law to Israel at Mount Sinai, so Christ, the Lord of the new covenant, gives the Law to the new covenant people of God at “the mountain”. As we are made members of the new covenant in Jesus Christ, our relationship to the Law has been radically changed. The sting of its condemnation has been taken out. The threat of judgment not only convicts our hearts of our sins but also points us to Christ’s all-sufficient atonement for our sins, gladdening our hearts. Its promise of blessings no longer seem too distant for our attainment; rather, they assure us that they are ours in Christ Jesus, the righteous One. If anybody, we are the ones who can truly delight in the law of God because of Christ.

What is more, in Jesus Christ the Law itself is brought out of the limitations imposed by an earthly theocracy, the theocracy of Israel which did not receive the full bestowment of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. In Him, who ushered in the kingdom of heaven, the Law itself is finally given the full expression as the law of the kingdom of heaven, no longer as the law of an earthly theocracy!

This is true even of the ceremonial laws of the Mosaic Law. Take, for example, the ceremonial institution of circumcision. Read v. 11: “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ….” Circumcision was abolished in the sense that we no longer perform the circumcision made with hands. But the law of circumcision is fulfilled as we receive a circumcision made without hands in Christ Jesus! Circumcision was not just abolished; it was fulfilled through Christ in our circumcision without hands. More on this in our next message.

What needs to be noted here, though only briefly, is the nature of the Law of God for the people of the new covenant. This is clearly indicated by the first two verses of the next chapter: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (3:1, 2). Do you see? Paul presents two contrasting principles of life: the heavenly principles and the earthly principles. What distinguishes the Law of the new covenant from all others is this heavenly orientation. Even the old covenant law, if separated from Christ, is no different from the elementary principles of the world. For Christ is the One, who has been raised from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God in order that we too may be raised with Him and seated in the heavenly places. The Law cannot do that for us.

As the church of Jesus Christ, we must never forget this heavenly orientation of our Christian ethic. Christianity is not just a set of morals, not even the best one among all others. Our Christian ethic is dictated by the reality of the kingdom of heaven, to which we belong in Christ. It is the ethic of those, who have died to the elementary principles of the world and been raised up with Christ into the kingdom of heaven. We breathe a different air, the heavenly air. We eat a different food, the heavenly food. We have a different hope that energizes us, the heavenly hope. We look for a different inheritance, the heavenly inheritance. We live by a different standard, the heavenly law.

We must take care that we do not allow the elementary principles of the world to penetrate and settle in our church as the law and norm of our congregation. We should not be motivated by selfish ambition, by hunger for power and dominance, by jealousy and envy, by divisive spirits and factions. We must be all the more careful because our church too is in the midst of the world as a church militant. One implication of all this is that the church militant, as it is exposed to all kinds of attack from the enemies, is no perfect church. We cannot expect our church to be free of trouble, free of enemy attacks. At times the attack will be severe, wreaking havoc in the church. But we must be careful not to be so put off by a mere sight of troubles in the church, as if having troubles is a sign of a bad church. It may be the growing pains that the church needs to go through to reach greater maturity. It may be a testing from God to purify the church. Yet people move from one church to another, constantly looking for that “right” church. They say that they know there is no “perfect” church. But the “right” church they chose is no longer right as soon as they see or experience trouble in the church. So then, while denying, they look for a perfect church, free of trouble, free of problems. Once Charles Spurgeon said, “If you wait for a perfect church, you must wait until you get to heaven; and even if you could find a perfect church on earth, I am sure they would not admit you to their fellowship, for you yourself are not perfect” (“Building the Church”).

I believe that many wonderful things are happening in our congregation as we see more people getting involved in the work of the church in various ways and capacities. But as we work together more closely, we can expect more frictions between people--different personalities, different opinions, different ways of doing things clashing against one another. Is that bad? No! God is calling us to a greater, deeper knowledge of one another beyond superficial impressions. We are called to work through our differences and conflicts. We may disagree. We may argue. We may clash, even. We may be surprised, even shocked, by the others’ weaknesses and blind spots as we surprise and shock others with our own. But we must go through that process, don’t we? How can we say that our mutual acceptance is strong and true if it is not based on our true and realistic knowledge of one another? And it is precisely as we discover truths about one another, even the things that disappoint us, that we are called to affirm and reaffirm our unity in Christ Jesus. We must not give up on one another--how can we if we have been sealed by God with the Holy Spirit?

The victory of the church militant does not consist in being trouble-free. Rather, it lies in overcoming our troubles in the strength of Christ. Let us not be led astray by the elementary principles of the world! Let us stay true to our heavenly call and preserve our unity in our heavenly hope! Let us love one another with the love of Jesus Christ in encouraging and caring for one another, in forgiving and seeking reconciliation with one another even when personal conflicts arise, all for the sake of Christ! Though this may be hard at times, let us not grow weary and lose hope. For the day will come when the church militant will be the church triumphant! When that day shall arrive, our battle will come to an end and we will be completely free from the troubles and trials of the world. The great Shalom of God will be among us through all eternity. And we shall behold one another with pure, unreserved love. May that glorious future cause us to set our minds on the things that are above! May that glorious future compel us to love one another all the more, to grow to greater maturity in the unity of our faith in our most glorious God and Savior Jesus Christ!