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Colossians 2:6-15

Theme: Though once dead in sin, you were raised with Christ being made alive with God, who has forgiven all our sins by the cross.

Aim: Focus on Christ, so as to not fall prey to false teaching, and live lives grounded in him, filled with thanksgiving.

Study

  1. What/who do you look to for fulfilment?
    • Maybe will change this to “When you introduce yourself to someone,what are the first things you say?”
    • Socialising and my friends
    • Movies/TV or video games
    • Doing well at uni
    • Parents’ approval
  2. Recap of what we’ve seen so far.
  3. Where does Paul remind the Colossians their identity comes from? (Previous passages as well, leads off of recap)
    • They are “saints and faithful brothers in Christ” (1:2)
    • God has “delivered [them] from the domain of darkness and transferred [them] to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (1:13)
    • They are “reconciled” to God, to be presented “holy and blameless and above reproach” (1:20, 22)
    • They have been “filled in [Jesus]” (2:10)
    • They have been “made alive together with [Jesus]” (2:13)
  4. In light of this, what does Paul command them to do? (2 main things)
    • “walk in [Christ]” (2:6)
    1. What does it mean/look like for the Colossians to do this?
      • Grow in the faith, from “built up in him” (2:7)
      • Continue “bearing fruit and increasing” (1:6)
      • Be thankful, from “abounding in thanksgiving” (2:7)
      • Be active in the faith, from connotations of “walk” (2:6) and “abound” (2:7)
    • Don’t let anyone “[take] you captive” (2:8)
    1. Taken captive by what exactly?
      • Worldly views, from “philosophy and empty deceit”, “human tradition” (2:8)
      • False teaching, not explicit what the teaching is but it is “not according to Christ” (2:8), contrary to the gospel they have heard.
      • Teachings passed down from possibly pagan religions, from “human tradition” (2:8)
      • “empty” (2:8), meaning there is no truth of fulfilment to be found in this teaching.
      • “deceit” (2:8), meaning that it is outrightly false, can lead away from the Truth, i.e. Christ.
  5. What reasons does Paul give for this?
    • Filled in Christ: (9–10)
    1. What are the implications of these verses?
      • In Jesus, “the whole fullness of deity dwells” meaning that he is God in the flesh, and so he is all they need to know God.
      • Moreover, the Colossians have “been filled in him”, meaning that they have a union with Christ and have been made complete in him. Note, they already have this.
      • Jesus is the “head of all rule and authority”, meaning that there is no power greater than him.
    • Marked out: (11–13)
    1. What does Paul mean when he writes about “the circumcision ofChrist”?
      • Paul compares physical circumcision to the spiritual action of “putting off the body of the flesh”. The believers no longer live according to the flesh, (see Galatians 5:24) but now live in the kingdom of Christ. (1:13)
      • The Colossians don’t need to look elsewhere for spiritual markers, since they already have been marked out by baptism.
      • Baptism represents the death to their sin and then the new life they have in Christ. It’s a mirroring of Christ’s death in their place on the cross and subsequent victory over death and sin in his resurrection, calling the believers to imitate Christ’s behaviour in their own lives.
    • Made alive in Christ: (13–15)
    1. How does the resurrection of Jesus encourage us/them to walk in Christ?
      • Paul assures them that they need no extra method of removing sin, it has been fully dealt with by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross: “forgiven us all our trespasses”, “cancelling the record of debt”, “nailing it to the cross”
      • Additionally, Jesus has triumphed over all “rulers and authorities” and so the Colossians need look no further for security against demonic powers since Christ has “disarmed” them and “put them to open shame”.
      • Having been made alive in Christ with their sins forgiven, the Colossians shouldn’t go back to their evil ways, instead seeking to live in a way which pleases and honours God.
  6. Paul makes it clear that all Christians are united to Christ (1:18). What does it look like for us to walk in Christ?
    • Paul makes clear that the key to spiritual growth is to remain in Christ and live like him, and so we also should seek to be “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith”. How?
      • As a life group, remind each other of the sufficiency of Christ, especially when we are struggling.
      • Maintain an active prayer and devotional routine.
      • “Continue steadfastly in prayer” (4:2)
      • “Set your minds on things that are above” (3:2)
      • “Put to death therefore what is earthy in you” (3:5)
  7. What are some of the tempting alternatives to Christ/‘Jesus+’ we might see in St Andrews today?
    • False teachers don’t come and announce themselves but come more subtly. We should be wary of anyone who presents an alternate program from Christ.
    • Some ways we can be lead into false teaching is by people saying “Oh, you’re not a proper Christian unless you:
      • Go to church twice a week, and go to the prayer meeting.
      • Speak in tongues.
      • Don’t drink or smoke.
      • Have a “Damascus road” experience.
      • Have a devotion at least x minutes long.
      • Know about big theological words/concepts.
      • Memorise apologetics.
    1. How is Jesus better than these?
  8. According to these verses, what did Jesus achieve on the cross and how do we benefit from his work on our behalf?
    • Gives us a ‘circumcision of the spirit’ (2:11)
    • God raised Jesus from the grave and raises us ‘with him through faith’ (2:12)
    • “made alive together with [Jesus]” (2:13)
    • Forgives “all our trespasses” (2:13)
    • Cancelled “the record of debt that stood against us” (2:14), i.e. our sins
    • Triumphed “over [the rulers and authorities]” (2:15)