1. What is the very basis for every Christian's life?

2. What is the alternative that Paul warns against?

3. How might this be seen to be relationship versus rules?

C. Comment:

Already Paul has warned them against being led astray by fine sounding arguments (v.4), and so now, as a good teacher, he repeats that warning. Paul knows that in the world people come up with lots of weird and wonderful ideas, self-help methods, philosophical ideas that focus on self, and mystic ideas that dwell on unknown elements in the world. That was how it was then and that is exactly how it is today. People will come up with and bright idea focused on man rather than submit to the will of God. That's what sin is all about!

Paul reminds these believers how they started out and encourages them to go on in the same way. When they received the Gospel they received Jesus Christ as Lord, the one who would rule over their entire lives as their Redeemer-Saviour. It was a matter of relationship. That's how you started says Paul so make sure you continue like that, being built up in (your relationship with) Christ, a relationship that is based on faith and results in joy and thanksgiving. ,This is what you were called to, so make sure you don't getting led astray to anything else.

We need the same warning today. Get back to fundamentals! Get back to your relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't let any variation creep in that is based on human thinking or human origins.

D. Application:

1. Our faith is all about our relationship with God through Jesus.

2. Our faith has divine origins, not human reasoning.

Chapter: Colossians 2

Passage: Col 2:9-12

A. Find Out:

1. How is Christ first described? v.9

2. What have we been given? v.10a

3. How is Christ then described? v.10b

4. What has also happened to us? v.11

5. How have we been ‘buried' with Christ? v.12a

6. How have we been ‘raised with him'? v.12b

B. Think:

1. What do these verses tell us about Christ?

2. What do they tell us about the reality of what's happened to us?

3. How should this help us in our daily walk with God?

C. Comment:

As opposed to the foolish ways of thinking in the world, Paul now reminds us what the truth is about Christ and about ourselves. In Christ God lived in human form. Not a stunted or limited form of God, but really God! Because of that and because of what Christ achieved on the Cross, Christ is now the head over all things while he reigns until he has put all things under his feet, when he will hand it all back to the Father (1 Cor 15:24,25). This is the one who lives in us by his Spirit.

Now it's probable that some of the opposition that Paul was thinking about was from the Jewish circumcision party, so he tells us that all of us Christians HAVE been circumcised, not in a physical way but in a spiritual way, that is real circumcision. It's the cutting off of the old life that took place when we were saved. The old sinful nature is thus dead, cut off (see also Rom 6, esp. v.6,11). But it's not just a removing of the old it's also a receiving of power to live for God, to live a completely new life. When we were baptised that was a picture of us dying and being buried, the old life going, but when we were lifted up it was also a picture of the new resurrected life that we have been given by God through Christ. THAT is the power living in us today!

D. Application:

1. The old has been cut off. It has gone. Rejoice in that.

2. God's power is in us to help and change us today. Thank Him.

Chapter: Colossians 2

Passage: Col 2:13-15

A. Find Out:

1. What 2 descriptions of our past are given? v.13a

2. What 2 things has God then done? v.13b

3. What has He cancelled? v.14a

4. What had He done with it? v.14b

5. What had He done with the enemy? v.15a

6. What did He then do with them? v.15b

B. Think:

1. What was our past state?

2. How has God changed that?

3. What was His means of doing that?

C. Comment:

Paul now continues to express what he has already said, that God has set us free from the sinful nature by the work of the Cross and the power of His Spirit. Now he focuses more on the work of the Cross.

First he states WHAT WE HAD BEEN LIKE - we were spiritually dead and had no hope of a future because of the wrong things we did (our sins) and because of the sinful nature that was at our core, that drove us to do those things. But God changed this!

So then he declares WHAT GOD HAS DONE - He's made us alive and forgiven us. He has brought us life so that we have become spiritually alive and we now have an eternal future, we are now fully functioning spiritual beings. But more than that, we are not guilty, condemned spiritual beings, we are forgiven spiritual beings. The life we live we live without a haunted, hunted look, forever fearful because of our guilt. No, we're new and we're free!

Then He says HOW GOD ACHIEVED THIS - He took all the Law's requirements to obey the Law, and it's subsequent failure, and nailed it to the Cross, so all failure was paid for by Christ. Therefore He took away all grounds of accusation that the enemy might have against us, and then raised Christ as a sign of His approval of his achievement.

D. Application:

1. Christ took our guilt, shame & punishment. We're free!

2. Christ gave us his Spirit. We have new life!

Chapter: Colossians 2

Passage: Col 2:16-19

A. Find Out:

1. What were they to not let happen? v.16

2. What were these things? v.17a

3. What again were they not to let happen? v.18a

4. What does such a person do? v.18b

5. What has happened to that person? v.19a

6. What should be happening to the body? v.19b

B. Think:

1. How may behaviour be sometime, that leads us from the truth?

2. How may asceticism also lead us astray?

3. How may we overcome the temptations to these?

C. Comment:

In v.8 Paul warned against human philosophy and in v.14 he said rule keeping has been abolished as the basis for faith. Now he warns against other things that detract and lead us from the faith.

First he warns against those who would restrict us in respect of eating or drinking. Restriction on these have nothing to do with faith (greed & drunkenness are still to be avoided). Then there are those who would keep special days as if somehow doing that earns special merit. No, says Paul, where such days were prescribed in the past, they were merely a shadow of what was to come, where 365 days a year are special because of our relationship with God through Jesus.

Then there as the ascetics, who delight in false humility. The history of the church was littered with such people who tried to be humble, tried to be pious, but found it was all self and didn't work.

Finally he mentions people who claim to have a special relationship with God because they've seen angels. In all of these cases the person in question has lost contact with Jesus, the head of the body, his church. When we keep close to the rest of the body (for correction) and in direct relationships with Jesus, then we will see these things for what they truly are.

D. Application:

1. The Cross, not rule keeping is the basis of our faith.

2. “Doing things” is not what impresses God. Faith does.

Chapter: Colossians 2

Passage: Col 2:20-23

A. Find Out:

1. What HAVE we done? v.20a

2. Yet what were these believers doing? v.20b,21

3. What is the destiny of these things? v.22a

4. Why? v.22b

5. How do such regulations appear? v.23a

6. Yet what is their lack? v.23b

B. Think:

1. What sort of “Christian approach” is out according to Paul?

2. Why?

3. What place do you think rules have therefore?

C. Comment:

Throughout this chapter Paul has been arguing against the form of Christianity that focuses on “keeping the rules”. Here he sums up his opposition to rule keeping. Rule keeping he says belongs to the world. They are the ones who say “You mustn't do this or that”, but you died to their way of working when you came alive to God, so don't follow their way any longer.

Why does he say this? He gives two reasons. First because they are HUMAN commands, the product of human thinking, and as such their life is limited! Second, they are deception! They give an appearance of wisdom but in fact they have no power to restrain self-centred indulgence.

In many parts of the church rule keeping is the prevalent form of Christianity, and yet the apostle Paul was adamant that trying to always keep the rules was no good in producing a holy life. Why? Because rule keeping guarantees failure and failure quenches faith. No, the form of Christianity shown in the New Testament focuses on WHO we are rather than what we do. Rule keeping happens automatically when you know who you are and who you are related to. When your heart is filled with love for Jesus, you will live righteously.

D. Application:

1. Making rules the focus of our lives only brings failure.

2. Focus on Jesus brings release of life and righteous living.

RECAP: "Accept No Substitutes" Colossians 2:6-23

SUMMARY :

In this third group of 5 studies we have seen Paul warn against :

- being overtaken by wrong thinking (v.6-8)

- relying upon externalism - circumcision (v.9-15)

- relying on right food or drink (v.16)

- holding to special days (v.16,17)

- holding to special experiences (v.18,19)

- holding to particular rules and regulations (v.20-23)

COMMENT :

The greatest temptation for self-centred mankind is to work out a form of religion for itself that is centred on self and self-effort. Thus in Paul's day, as today, there were those who insisted on doing certain things to win God's approval: being circumcised, eating special food, holding special days, having special experiences, following certain rules. All of these Paul rejects. NONE of them are useful in obtaining God's approval, only belief in Christ!

LESSONS?

1. Personal outward appearance does not impress God.

2. Fasting or abstaining from certain foods will not impress Him.

3. Celebrating special days will not impress Him.

4. Having special experiences will not make Him love you more.

5. Keeping particular rules will not make you more spiritual.

PRAY :

Thank the Lord that it is only the work of Christ that has brought about your reconciliation to God and that He totally loves you. Thank Him that you cannot add to that love by human endeavour in whatever form it might come. Rejoice in His love.

PART 4 : "Rules for Christian Living"

In this next Part, having said that we cannot work our way into God's approval, Paul does go on to give us guidelines of how to live so that we can more fully enter into our inheritance. This is not about getting God's approval to win salvation , but how we can work that salvation out now that we have received it.