What Can Take us from Jesus
Colossians: A Letter from Jail
What Can Take us from Jesus
Colossians 2:16-23
Let’s turn to Colossians chapter 2, verse 16. If you need a Bible go ahead and raise your hand and one of the ushers will bring a Bible to you. Colossians 2 is on page 984 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Last week we saw in chapter 2, verse 6 that Paul calls the believers in Colossae, and all of us, to walk with Jesus. The Christian life means walking with Jesus. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, who came to earth, died on the Cross to pay for our sins and to set us free from sin. And then he rose again, showing that everything he said was true. And then he ascended to heaven.
And now, when we repent of our sins, and trust our lives to Him, something astonishing happens. God the Father gives us Jesus to come and live inside us. And because He comes to live inside us, we can walk with Him – in conscious fellowship with Him, dependence on Him, relationship with Him, love for Him.
And then in vv.9-15 he explains why we should walk with Jesus, and the reason is because all spiritual life is found in Jesus, and only in Jesus.
In v.9 Paul says that all of the fullness of deity dwells in Jesus, which means that the fullest experience of God is found only in knowing Jesus. So when you walk with Jesus you are walking with all of God.
In v.11 Paul says that our sin nature, what he calls the body of the flesh, is put off – broken -- by Jesus’ power as we trust Him. So when you walk with Jesus the power of sin in you is progressively broken.
In v.13 Paul says that God gives us spiritual life – faith and joy and peace – through Jesus. So when you walk with Jesus you will feel faith in Him growing, along with increasing peace and joy in Him.
In v.14 Paul says that payment for all of our sins is found only in Jesus – in His death on the Cross. So when you walk with Jesus you will be forgiven for all of your sin.
And in v.15 Paul says that complete power over demons is found only in trusting Jesus. So when you walk with Jesus demons can have no ultimate power over you.
That’s why we should walk with Jesus, because all spiritual life is found in Jesus, and only in Jesus.
But Paul heard that the Colossian believers were being urged to turn to things not connected to Jesus. False teachers said something like this: “It’s good that you are walking in Jesus. But there’s more. To really experience God, freedom from sin, spiritual life, power over demons, you need something more.”
And so in today’s passage Paul goes head to head with those false teachers, and urges the Colossian believers not to turn to things being pushed on them by the false teachers.
So let’s look at what Paul says – and as we are looking at what Paul says – be thinking about ways in our culture that we face similar temptations. Because after we work through this passage, I want us to work together as a community to see if we can come up with ways we face this.
So, first, Paul says don’t turn to commands not connected to Jesus. Look at what he says in v.16 --
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.
So the false teachers were telling them that they should turn to certain commands – specifically, Old Testament commands annulled by Jesus. In the Old Testament God commanded His people to keep various food laws, like not eating pork. He also commanded His people to worship on certain days – festivals, new moon, and Sabbath. And Paul explains the purpose of these Old Testament commands in v.17:
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
So these commands were only a shadow of the spiritual reality we would experience in Christ, once he came. And so Jesus taught that now that we have Him, who is the reality pictured by those commands, we no longer need to keep these laws concerning food and drink and festival and new moon and Sabbath (Mark 7:18-19; Mark 2:28; etc.).
So imagine that you are a Colossian believer – who at any time can connect with Jesus by faith and receive everything he needs. But now feel how tragic it would be to turn to commands not connected to Jesus, which means that in following them you won’t be connected with Jesus. So you would turn from Jesus, and turn to not eating pork; you would turn from Jesus, and turn to keeping the Sabbath.
How much spiritual life would you receive from that? None. And what would you lose? Everything – because all spiritual life is found only by walking with Jesus. That’s why Paul says – don’t turn to commands not connected to Jesus.
Then second, Paul says don’t turn to practices not connected to Jesus. You can see this in vv.18-19 –
18 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,
19 and not holding fast to the Head [not holding fast to Jesus], from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
In v.18 Paul lists certain spiritual practices which the Colossians were encouraged to pursue.
He mentions asceticism. This is where you deny yourself some physical desire or comfort. But doesn’t Jesus encourage us to go without food – fast –for the purpose of prayer? Yes, he does. The fasting he encourages is a fasting that connects us with Him by faith. But you can see from v.19 that this fasting, this asceticism, did not involve holding fast to the Head – to Jesus. This was fasting, asceticism, pursued apart from Jesus.
Then Paul mentions worship of angels. God the Father has called us to worship Jesus His Son by the power of the Spirit. If you are worshiping angels you clearly are not worshiping Jesus. And in v.19 we can see that’s the problem – when you worship angels you’re not holding fast to the Head – to Jesus.
Then Paul mentions going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind. Now there is a place for earnest pursuit of spiritual gifts. But v.19 makes it clear that what’s going on here is the pursuit of spiritual gifts and spiritual experiences apart from Jesus Christ – in ways not commanded by Jesus Christ.
So imagine that you are a Colossian believer. On Monday you go through the day walking in Jesus – and you experience forgiveness and spiritual life and power over demons and God’s very presence.
But then Tuesday someone tells you that Jesus is fine – but if you really want spiritual life you will pursue asceticism, angel-worship, and visions. So Wednesday you whip yourself like the monk in the Da Vinci Code movie, or you take some time to worship Michael the archangel, or you get all caught up in someone’s description of a vision he has seen. What will happen?
Because you are not connecting with Jesus, you won’t experience forgiveness, spiritual life, power over demons, God’s presence. That’s the danger the Colossians faced.
Then third, Paul says don’t turn to prohibitions not connected with Jesus. You can see this in vv.20-23. This one’s a little harder to explain. So let’s go through these verses slowly – and I’ll explain what I think makes the most sense --
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world,
When you repented of your sins and trusted Jesus, you died to demonic spirits. You no longer could be controlled by demonic spirits. So Paul is talking about something having to do with demonic spirits. Keep going --
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, [why, as if you were still able to be controlled by spirits] do you submit to regulations—
21 "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch"
Now what regulations is Paul talking about? In v.20 we know they have to do with demonic powers, and in v.21 we know they have to do with eating food. So it seems to me that Paul is talking about regulations saying we should not eat food offered to idols. In that culture people would offer meat to idols, and then since the idols didn’t eat it, they would sell it at a discount. So you could buy a really nice flank steak for a discount.
But some people were saying – “Don’t eat food offered to idols, because if you do, demonic spirits can gain power over you.” But Paul says – no. One reason he’s already given in v.20 – because when you are in Christ, when you are rooted in Christ, you are free from demonic powers. And he gives more reasons in v.22:
(referring to things that all perish as they are used) --according to human precepts and teachings?
In other words, when you eat meat that has been offered to idols, and it goes into your stomach and is digested, that meat perishes. It, along with any demons it was offered to, has no effect on you. And not only that, but Jesus or the apostles never said we need to fear eating meat offered to idols – that’s human teaching.
Then Paul gives one last reason in v.23 --
These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
It seems that some were teaching that if you did abstain from food offered to idols, somehow that, along with asceticism and severity to the body, would break the power of sin in you.
Now don’t misunderstand. Jesus and His apostles have given us prohibitions, like “do not commit adultery.” And when we see that as from Jesus, and obey that as we walk with Jesus, that will bring us tremendous spiritual life and keep us from spiritual death. So it’s crucial to obey prohibitions given by Jesus.
But these prohibitions were not given by Jesus or His apostles. These were extra. And the Colossians were told that they would gain even more spiritual life by keeping these extra prohibitions.
So imagine a Colossian believer at the meat-market – carefully avoiding the meat offered to idols. Because that was not commanded by Jesus – he’s not doing this from faith in Jesus, he’s not doing this connected with Jesus. He’s disconnected from Jesus. So he not only doesn’t get more spiritual life by doing this – he also gives up whatever spiritual life he had in Jesus.
So what Paul is saying to them – and to us – is this: every spiritual benefit is found in Jesus and only in Jesus. You experience this by walking with Jesus. So don’t turn to commands or practices or prohibitions not connected to Jesus. If you do that, you won’t be connected with Jesus, so you won’t gain any spiritual life, and you could lose whatever spiritual life you had.
What this means for us.
Today we are not tempted to worship angels, or to avoid meat offered to idols. But there are other ways we are tempted to seek spiritual life with commands or practices or prohibitions not connected to Jesus.
So let’s talk about this together to see if we can figure out ways this happens in our culture today.
What if you see an image of Jesus burned into your toast tomorrow morning? Should we all come over to your house and try to connect with that burnt toast Jesus? Should we bring it here next Sunday and put it here on the stage? No. That’s a practice never encouraged by Jesus.
How many of you have heard that speaking in tongues gives you a really direct channel of communication with God? Nowhere does the Bible say that. Tongues is a wonderful gift. I would encourage you to pray for this gift, along with every other spiritual gift. But tongues doesn’t give you a greater connection with God. But the greatest connection with God comes by walking with Jesus, being rooted in Jesus, trusting Jesus.
What about praying to Mary or angels or saints? Jesus never told us to do that. And if you are praying to anything besides Jesus, then you not only don’t get any more spiritual benefit, you lose what you had, because you are not praying to Jesus.
How about the idea that if you can fall down under the power of the Spirit that will raise your spiritual life up to a whole new level? Wrong. All spiritual benefit comes to you only through Jesus Christ – walking in Jesus, being rooted in Jesus, trusting in Jesus.
What about the idea that spending a couple of days in complete silence will bring your spiritual life to a whole new dimension? If you spend those days with Jesus – maybe there will be some benefit. But Jesus never said there was any benefit in being silent.
Can you see how subtle this is? And there’s probably dozens more. But here’s the point. Don’t do anything that doesn’t connect you to the living Jesus as He is revealed in God’s Word. Don’t pursue spiritual life through commands, practices, or prohibitions not connected to Jesus. All spiritual life is found most fully in Jesus, and only in Jesus.
So don’t let anything distract you from walking with Jesus. He is the only way to know God, be freed from sin’s power, experience spiritual life, be forgiven for all your sins, and be protected from demons. So don’t turn to anything that’s not connected with Jesus. Walk with Jesus.
And this week in your home groups talk about ways you are tempted to turn from Jesus, and talk about how it’s going as you work on walking with Jesus throughout the day.