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The Book of Colossians part 7 – Week 17 / April 21st
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk in Him…”
We have noted that in this second chapter Paul gets down to business by dealing with the errors that were threatening the spiritual life of the believers at Colossae. These were secular philosophy, legalism and Gnosticism. We have noted the nature of the first two and have made comment on how these present themselves to the Church today. They may go by different names but they are in fact the same errors and they always have one aim; to distract the believer’s commitment to Jesus only. They seek then to add something to faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross and thus they must, as Paul did, be resisted.
Now our attention turns to:
The Dangers of Gnosticism 2:18-20
There were some people in the early church community who were claiming special revelation in their supposed walk with God. This revelation, so they taught, made them wealthy, prosperous and fully provided for. Since the early Church had no New Testament by which to confront these heresies, Paul had to do so by epistle. This false teaching was known as Gnosticism or “special knowledge.” Essentially it taught that one had to have a certain type of knowledge in order to “ignite” the blessings of God in your favor. Having a strong personal relationship with Jesus was considered not good enough. In order to bolster their claims, and give them added authority, they also claimed angelic visitations and supernatural encounters. This error really threatened the well being of the church and, as noted, diminished the central place that Jesus should have held in their lives. It was also very attractive as everybody wants to be well, healthy and prosperous!
In Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthian Church he addresses the same error in sarcasm when he writes:
“You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us-and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!….” (1Corinthians 4:8-10)
This new breed of “wise” (Gnostic) believer having special knowledge was in it for what he could supposedly get from his relationship with Christ. Indeed this was nothing more than the sinful self centered greediness of their lives being camouflaged in spiritual language and teaching. Or, as Paul puts it in our text; they were Intruding into those things which they had not in fact seen because they were vainly puffed up by their fleshly minds (V18). It had to be resisted. Their real failure however was that were not holding onto the Head, Christ Jesus, from whom flows all spiritual life and direction to the body, the Church. (2:19)
Today this error continues to thrive in the wider Church and has, as it did of old, destabilized the faith of thousands of unsuspecting and sincere Christians. Once again it asserts that you have to have knowledge of special confessions and words in order for a loving God to help you and bless you with health, prosperity and abundance. In short it is not your real and vital relationship with God in Christ that induces God to act on your behalf but rather this special confessional knowledge. If you get the confession wrong God, who wants to help you, cannot. That’s why when the special “gnosis” fails and does not work as it should in one’s life it is said to be because of sin! This is nonsense and the error that the hyper-faith people have brought to the Church in recent years. Naturally, the message draws people in huge numbers to hear it because it appeals to our basic needs in life and goes further by promising great wealth and abundance. The Apostles did not reflect it and were even hungry and in need of clothing!! (1Corinthians 4:11) They had obviously sinned!
What God really wants is your love for Jesus and a desire to be like Him in all respects. If Jesus holds the central place in your life then He will care for you, provide for you and bless you with what is yours; even if you don’t get your confessional words right. We, unlike the first century believers, do have His word and He expects us to live within its parameters but we are not to treat it like a charm that we can “rub up” in order to produce miracles of provision. Prosperity, wealth and abundance are not our focus; Jesus is. This is not to say that God will not from time to time bless us with His wealth and abundance but it is His to give and not ours to demand (Proverbs 30:8). In his epistle to the Philippians Paul reflects this truth when he states that he has gone through times of abundance and times of great need. (Philippians 4: 11-13) His focus however was always on Jesus and only on Jesus. Ours should and must be the same.
Final Thoughts 3:20-23
Paul concludes this important section of his epistle by beginning with the word “therefore”. That is, given all that he has just written about empty philosophy, legalism and Gnosticism he wants them to know that in the end they all amount to dangerous rules and regulations. They are the” doctrines of men” as he calls them and though outwardly they can be measured and approved by men they will do nothing to really change your life from within. Only Jesus can do this. They may have the appearance of wisdom (special knowledge) and they may be religious (self imposed religion) but they will not put to death the deeds of the flesh that flow from our hearts; only Jesus can do that!
Malcolm Hedding
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
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