COLOSSIANS LESSON 3

     We will begin the lesson in Colossians 2:1 "For I would that ye
knew what great conflict I have for you, and [for] them at Laodicea,
and [for] as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;"

     We see in this verse, that Paul had sent some of his people who
actually did the founding of the church. It was at Paul's direction,
so in a sense Paul did start this church. Paul had not actually been
with them in person, because we see that they had not seen Paul's
face. In the first lesson, we had discussed that Paul started the
church, and he did, because he had sent men that he had trained here.
The persons who worked with Paul had been trained by him, and they
were actually working under his supervision. Paul's concern for them
was the same as for the churches he physically started, because he
felt responsible for what had been taught them at the first.

     Colossians 2:2 "That their hearts might be comforted, being knit
together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of
understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of
the Father, and of Christ;"

     Paul is trying to do what he can to put them at ease. Paul is
trying to emphasize the bond that should be between all believers in
Christ. The heart of man is what he really is. Whatever we believe in
our heart determines what we really are. The following Scriptures have
a great deal toward the explanation of the mystery. Matthew 11:25  "At
that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes."  Matthew 11:26 "Even so,
Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight." Matthew 11:27 "All things
are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and [he]
to whomsoever the Son will reveal [him]." One of the most important
parts of our salvation is found in Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
We may not fully understand how salvation is accomplished. We must
believe that Jesus paid the price for our salvation, and that He rose
from the dead. This must not be a surface confession of this, we must
truly believe in our heart.

     Colossians 2:3 "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge."

     All wisdom and knowledge are of God. Wisdom, that we have, is a
gift from God. The treasure of knowledge can be ours by the study of
the Bible. The Holy Spirit reveals to us exactly what it is saying.

     Colossians 2:4 "And this I say, lest any man should beguile you
with enticing words."

     Man's knowledge and wisdom gotten from the world are not truth.
God is Truth. From the very beginning, there had been false teachers
who were there to try to separate the new converts from the realities
of God. One thing that should have triggered them, and should trigger
us, that something is false, is if it appeals to the flesh.

     Colossians 2:5 "For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I
with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the
stedfastness of your faith in Christ."

     This appears, to me, to be very much like many of the churches of
our day. They really are Christians, and really do want to do the will
of God. They have just listened to some teachers who have confused
them in certain areas. They were caught up in knowledge and the power
of the mind. Unknowingly, they had been  deceived. They had great
faith in Christ. Paul had discerned their problem in his spirit, since
he was not there in person. He rejoiced over their faith in Christ
being firm, but wanted them to be careful not to get into mind
control.

     Colossians 2:6 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, [so] walk ye in him:"

     This is just saying, walk every day with Christ in you making
your decisions. Depend on His power within you, and not on your own
power.

     Colossians 2:7 "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the
faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."

     Paul is saying, let your roots be in Jesus Christ. Base
everything on Jesus, your rock of foundation. Keep the faith in Jesus
Christ. Be like an old oak tree that wind cannot easily move. When
winds of false doctrine come you will not be shaken, because you have
your roots in Jesus. Have faith. Without faith, it is impossible to
please God. Think back on the teaching that brought you to the Lord in
the first place. Be thankful to God for all things.

     Colossians 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of
the world, and not after Christ."

     Paul is trying to remind them that it was not their great
knowledge that brought them to Christ, but simple faith. The worldly
education of man builds up the man. This brings vanity and pride,
which God is opposed to. The Jews had followed the traditions of men,
and they had missed God. Paul is saying, fix your thoughts and faith
in Christ. Philosophy, many times, questions God. Have faith, do not
question God's purposes.

     Colossians 2:9 "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily."

     When Jesus came to this earth to minister and save the lost, it
was the will, of not only Himself, but the Father and the Holy Ghost,
as well. John 14:10 "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and
the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of
myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." The
fulness of the Godhead bodily means that God the Father, God the Word
{Jesus}, and God the Holy Spirit, all are Spirit, and the fulness of
the Spirit of God dwelled in the body of Jesus on this earth. The
fulness of the Power, goodness, wisdom, etc. was in the flesh of
Jesus. The power in the body of Jesus was without measure. He was
actually God with us "Emmanuel". He was the Spirit of God made real in
the flesh.

     Colossians 2:10 "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of
all principality and power:"

     The key words in this Scripture is {in Him}. We are hid in
Christ, if we are Christians. It is actually the shed blood of Jesus
covering the Christian which hides us from the enemy. Even the
principalities and powers are all subject unto Him. Philippians 2:10
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in
heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;"

     Colossians 2:11 "In whom also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins
of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:"

     This is speaking of the circumcision of the heart which occurs
when we receive Jesus as our Saviour. Jesus spiritually cuts away all
the flesh away from the heart, and gives us a heart stayed upon Him.
Romans 2:29 "But he [is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and
circumcision [is that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the
letter; whose praise [is] not of men, but of God."  This heart is what
makes us a new creature in Christ.  This new body desires to please
God. We are no longer a flesh man, but a spiritual man. Our sins were
nailed to the cross. We have now been quickened by the Spirit through
faith in Jesus Christ.

     Colossians 2:12 "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are
risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead."

     When we are baptized, we bury this body of flesh in the water and
rise to new life in Him. We are then a new creature in Christ. Romans
6:3 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death?" Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised
up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life." Romans 6:5 "For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the
likeness] of [his] resurrection:"

     Colossians 2:13 "And you, being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
having forgiven you all trespasses;"

     The penalty for sin is death. We were condemned to eternal death
before we received life in Jesus Christ. I love the word "all" in the
verse above. When He took our sin on His body on the cross, it
abolished all of our sin. When He rose on the third day, it gave all
believers in Christ the hope that they would rise, also. Jesus is the
quickening Spirit. He is life. When we receive Him, we receive Life.
We are justified {just as if we had never sinned}, because Jesus
destroyed our sin.

     Colossians 2:14 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that
was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross;"

     The word "blotting" means that they were done away with forever.
Our sin was not covered, it was blotted out. Our sin is gone. Our sin
died on the body of Jesus on the cross. Acts 3:19  "Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when
the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;"
Jesus fulfilled the law, when He was our perfect sacrifice on the
cross. He was, in fact, our Substitute.

     Colossians 2:15  "[And] having spoiled principalities and powers,
he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

     Sin was a terrible power over all of us, before we were saved.
The penalty of sin {death} was a constant threat. Usually
principalities and powers are speaking of the power of darkness. It
was Satan, who Jesus destroyed on the cross. Satan was defeated. He
even lost the keys to hell. Jesus took them away from him. Jesus went
into hell, and took the keys, and brought out many captives with Him.

     Colossians 2:16 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in
drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the
sabbath [days]:"

     The only Judge that Christians should be concerned with is Jesus.
Jesus has placed His law in the heart of the Christian. We call it
conscience. If you do not feel guilty for not keeping these specified
days, it is because you have a clear conscience. The men spoken of,
here, are those who would put you back under the law. You can not
please men. Stop trying. Just please God.

     Colossians 2:17 "Which are a shadow of things to come; but the
body [is] of Christ."

     If we are the body of Christ and He is the Head, we should do as
the Head instructs us. He controls us.

     Colossians 2:18 "Let no man beguile you of your reward in a
voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those
things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,"

     Angels are part of the creation. They are not the Creator. We
should worship and serve only God. This is the mistake that 1/3 of the
angels made when they followed the archangel Lucifer. The best advice
is worship the Creator and not any of His creation.

     Colossians 2:19 "And not holding the Head, from which all the
body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit
together, increaseth with the increase of God."

     All Christians, who make up the body of Christ, should grow by
letting the Head {Jesus Christ} direct them in all they do. The body
can only function properly when the head gives the signals to each
part of the body. In a human, the brain sends impulses to the arms and
legs and other parts of the body for them to function properly. If the
signals are not received from the brain, the other parts of the body
do not function properly. It is the same thing in the spiritual sense.
Let the Head control the body, or else the body will not function
properly.

     Colossians 2:20 "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the
rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye
subject to ordinances,"

     When you are dead, you do not have to follow ordinances. You do
not have to pay taxes when you are dead. This is just saying, that to
be dead in Christ took care of all of the fulfillment of ordinances.
When you are in Christ, He makes the decisions. It is no longer
necessary to have a set of rules to go by. Christ breaks no spiritual
laws. The verse above is showing that true Christianity makes you one
with Christ. There is no law against the activities of Christ.

     Colossians 2:21 "(Touch not; taste not; handle not;"

     This was one of the things that made the Pharisees so angry with
Jesus. He did all of the above. We know that the Jews were very
careful to keep all of the ordinances. Jesus fulfilled these
ordinances on the cross.

     Colossians 2:22 "Which all are to perish with the using;) after
the commandments and doctrines of men?"

     What you touch, or put into the mouth, does not defile you. The
two following Scriptures say it best. Matthew 15:20 "These are [the
things] which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth
not a man." Mark 7:15 "There is nothing from without a man, that
entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of
him, those are they that defile the man."

     Colossians 2:23 "Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in
will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any
honour to the satisfying of the flesh."

     In this, Paul is still reminding them that many things that
appear to be wise to the flesh of man, are not necessarily wise in
God's sight. It is good to crucify your flesh, but if it is done to
prove something to the world, it is wrong. Our salvation lies in
Christ alone, not in any will worship on our part.
                        Colossians 3 Questions


1.  What does verse 1 reveal about the founding of this church?
2.  How, then, did Paul found this church?
3.  What is Paul trying to emphasize in verse 2?
4.  What shows us what a man really is?
5.  Quote Matthew chapter 11 verse 25.
6.  What is the most important thing that brings us salvation?
7.  All wisdom and knowledge are of ____.
8.  How can the treasure of knowledge be ours?
9.  How were they trying to beguile these Christians?
10. What is one thing that should make us know a teaching is false?
11. Paul was not with them in person, but in what?
12. What does verse 6 mean by "walk ye in Him"?
13. What is Paul saying in verse 7?
14. Beware lest any man spoil you through ____________.
15. What had brought them to Christ?
16. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the _________ ________.
17. Quote John chapter 14 verse 10.
18. What does "Emmanuel" mean?
19. What is the key word in verse 10?
20. What hides us from the enemy, if we are Christians?
21. Quote Philippians chapter 2 verse 10.
22. When is the heart circumcised?
23. We are no longer a flesh man, but a ____________ man.
24. We have now been quickened by the Spirit through _____ in ______
    _______.
25. Describe what happens to us when we are baptized.
26. Quote Romans chapter 6 verses 3 through 5.
27. The penalty for sin is ________.
28. When was our sin abolished?
29. Who is the quickening Spirit?
30. What has Jesus done with the handwriting of ordinances?
31. Who, specifically, did Jesus defeat on the cross?
32. How many of the angels followed Lucifer out of heaven?
33. What causes the body to function properly?
34. True Christianity makes you one with _______.
35. Quote Mark chapter 7 verse 15.