Readings
Colossians 2:16-23Jeremiah 31:31-34
Introduction – an Aside on Theology
The passage we are looking at today begins, in the New International Version, with the word therefore. This implies that what Paul has told us before this point has bearing on what he is about to tell us. He's telling the Colossians, “In the light of everything I've just told you, take this stance; do these things.”I've said before that Colossians has a strong theological content to begin with and goes on to provide strong practical application. I've also pointed out that Paul was writing to counter false teaching and practices that the Colossians were being subjected to. Paul did that by explaining what God has done for them through Christ, exactly who this Christ is, and what God wants them to experience. It's important for them to know these things in order to live right.
It's important for us to know those things too. If we don't know what's true, we could go off in any old direction, making it up as we go along, or being deflected by people who seem to have some impressive understanding of spiritual things.
So, when we encounter the word, therefore, as we do in verse 16, we should look back to see what we've learnt, and then look forward to see how to apply it.
So, what have we learnt so far?
We've learnt
- that the gospel is producing fruit all over the world;
- that we can know God's will so we can live to please him;
- that God's sustaining power is available to help us persevere;
- (and here's a key truth) that we've been rescued from the dominion of darkness and placed in a new kingdom under the reign and rule of Christ where we can know that we are redeemed and forgiven;
- that Christ is absolutely supreme over all creation and over the new order that he's brought into being;
- that we've been reconciled to God through Christ and his death for us;
- that Christ is among us and within us, and he is our hope of glory;
- that spiritual maturity is attainable for all of us;
- that, in Christ, we have everything we need;
- that our old selves have been cut away, and we have new lives, free from condemnation;
- that the dark forces that held us captive have been defeated at the cross.
These are facts that form the basis for Christian living.
We finished last time with Paul's exhortation to live with Christ as Lord, to put down good roots in Christ, and to build strong foundations. I wonder if you've thought about these things … I wonder if you've done anything about them …
So, that's what lies before the therefore. Now we're starting into what lies after it. In our passage, we can see depictions of two ways of living:
- The Human way
- The Godly Way
The Human Way
It seems that the Colossian believers were being influenced by Jews who insisted that they adopt Jewish practices and customs. Paul mentions what we might understand as the kosher laws about food and drink, and festivals and Sabbaths. But he says these things are only shadows of things that were to come. He doesn't say that participation is wrong, only that they shouldn't listen to those who want to exclude them on the basis of non-participation.Living in Shadows
Why did Paul describe these things as shadows? Almost all the Jewish festivals are commemorations of God stepping in to deliver their ancestors from evil rulers.If we think about the Passover, that festival looks back to the time when Israel was oppressed and held captive by the Egyptian Pharaoh. God sent plagues to convince Pharaoh to let God's people go. The last plague was the visitation from the angel of death. The Israelites sacrificed a lamb and smeared its blood on the door posts and lintels of their homes to ward off the angel of death—a protection the Egyptians didn't have. In consequence, the Israelites were set free, but pursued by Pharaoh's army, and then saved through the parting of the Red Sea and the subsequent drowning of Pharaoh's army; then they set off for their promised land.
When we think of the Last Supper, we see Jesus refocussing his disciples' attention so they can understand what he was doing. “Do this in remembrance of me,” he said. He came to deliver his people from evil, to be their sacrifice, to rescue them from death and lead them into the kingdom of God. The Passover festival was a shadow of what was to come, Christ brought about the eternal reality.
Making a Show
Then there were those among the Colossians who seemed to be imposing rigid styles of worship on people and making a show of humility. As a modern example, I think of the “Heavy Shepherding” movement of the late 70s, where church leaders demanded and expected obedience from their flock.Some of the people in Colossae may have come from religious backgrounds with tough, ascetic regimes. Mystery religions depicted matter as evil, so it's no surprise they should want to treat their bodies harshly. The kind of fasting they practised would have induced hallucinations, hence they could “go into great detail about what they [had] seen.”
Some Native-American tribes still send their young men who are coming of age on a vision quest. As part of that, they are sent alone to a sacred place in nature to fast completely for four days and nights, and to cry out to the Great Spirit for visions to guide them—and they see things!
All this harsh discipline looks very pious, but Paul says that people doing these things are not connected to Christ. And the things they do serve only to indulge their sinful nature—these things can't transform their living: only Christ can do that!
Abstinence
Then there were those who had rules about what the Colossians shouldn't be doing: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” We could think again about Jewish kosher rules, and all the rules the Jews had, and still have, that explained how to avoid breaking God's law.As an example, when my father-in-law spent some time in hospital in Jerusalem, he discovered that taps were left running for the whole of the Sabbath so that people could get a drink of water without having to do the work of turning the tap on and off! How silly is that? Especially in a land where water is a precious commodity!
Imagine joining a church and then being told that you had to adopt all these life-limiting practices! In my early Christian days, there were unwritten rules I learnt to follow, very much of the “Do not touch!” variety. We didn't drink, didn't go to the cinema, didn't dance, to mention a few.
These were all human rules and expectations, as were the extra-biblical Jewish teachings. Paul mentions “the elemental spiritual forces of this world” which makes me wonder if he perceived something even more sinister behind these false teachers pushing ideas to keep people bound up in pointless and useless religion.
At least one commentator believes that all these pressures came from Jewish influencers, others say that some of Paul words would have resonated with people from pagan backgrounds. Whatever the source, they were pushing practices that were only than human rules.
All these rules were imposed from the outside to contain peoples' lives within “safe” boundaries (and perhaps to take power and control over them). As such, they had no real “value in restraining sensual indulgence,” as Paul puts it.
For example, think about your favourite snack. Now, try not eating it for a whole week, and see what your mind keeps turning to! Some of you may already have experienced this during Lent!
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the disciples and the crowd that was listening that, “unless [their] righteousness [surpassed] that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, [they would] certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Why, and how? Because their righteousness was imposed from the outside but what God wants is transformation on the inside!
The Godly Way
Now, what we have here in today's passage is only the beginning of this, and our remaining studies in Colossians will continue to explore the Godly way.Living with Reality
We thought earlier of how Christ brought reality to what was depicted in the Jewish Passover. Through Christ, “[God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”I hope all of us here know that we have been rescued, and know that we belong to God's kingdom, know that we are redeemed, and know that our sins are forgiven.
In the Jewish mind of Christ's time on earth, the kingdom of God was the temple, the place where heaven intersected with earth. Christ came and took the kingdom out to where the people were: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” was his message.
The kingdom of God is still at hand, because “Christ [is] in [us], the hope of glory.” Christ is among us and we are to show the kingdom of God to the world.
Christ has real power to change the course of our lives.
Dying with Christ
The change begins, intriguingly enough, with our death! I don't mean you have to wait until you leave this world and go to heaven. Paul writes, “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world...”In baptism, we are buried with Christ and raised to new life with him. On our declaration that Jesus is Lord we're included in Christ and his death becomes ours, and his life becomes ours. The evil powers behind this world of humanity lose their grip on us; we no longer have to follow their dictates because Christ sets us free to follow him.
To quote a Charles Wesley hymn,
Let nothing now my heart divide;
Since with thee I am crucified,
And live to God in thee.
Dead to the world and all its toys,
Its idle pomp, and fading joys,
Jesus, my glory be!
We become participants in God's new covenant. Remember our reading from Jeremiah? God puts his laws in our minds and writes them on our hearts so that we can live them out from within, not have them imposed from without.
Head and Body
In chapter one, Paul told us that “… [Christ] is the head of the body, the church,” (1:18) and in today's passage he emphasises that we are to take our instruction from Christ, our head.Paul uses the body as a metaphor for the church. The body has ligaments and sinews that support and hold it together as it grows. Ligaments hold joints together and sinews attach muscle to bone. Following the instructions from Christ our Head will make our church grow with all the ministries we need to keep us in shape, to enable us to move and work, so we can be fruitful and effective—and not just a shapeless lump.
God wants the church to grow. The church is growing, even though we see churches in decline in our land. This is a challenge for us. Over recent years, we have shrunk, not grown. Some have died, some have left us completely, some have become only loosely attached. The remedy to this must begin with those of us who are still here living by the instructions from the church's Head.
Jesus told his disciples they needed to remain in him if they were to be fruitful. He said, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love,” (John 15). We must follow Christ and his way, even when it runs contrary to public opinion. If we are to grow as a church, we need to follow the teachings of Jesus—as real, everyday disciples.
Do we want to grow as God wants us to grow, or are we just waiting to go to heaven?
Summary
- Introduction
- We recapped what we've learnt so far
- The Human Way
- We've learnt that religious extremes are not required of us; these things can't do for us what Christ has already done; some practices can deceive us; some might even look impressive but can do nothing to change us on the inside.
- The Godly Way
- Reliance on what Christ has done for us is what counts; he's taken us out of the old life and brought us into the new; we need to live under Christ's direction if we are to grow.
