Colossians: Part 3 - Rooted, Built Up, Secure
Colossians 2:6-15
SERMON TRANSCRIPT
Happy to be here with you all. Thank you for being here with us and for worshiping with us today. We are in Colossians. If you haven't been with us or didn't remember, we are in the book of Colossians. We're on week three of this series and it has been such a rich book to walk through together and I love the theology that Paul brings to us and the topics we get to cover. And really, just as a reminder that Jesus is above everything. He's the center of everything. He is all we need. And so the first week we really talked, we kind of laid the groundwork and we talked about praying for knowledge and wisdom and understanding through the Holy Spirit so that we can look like Jesus, so that we can live a life worthy of Jesus. And then last week, Pastor Andre talked about how Jesus is enough. He is all we need. Sure. There are other things he has given us that are good and for our benefit. The word of God, the body of Christ, the other believers, the church, prayer, communication with God. Those are all good and needed, but none of those are needed for salvation. It is only Jesus. And beyond that, he is the creator and sustainer of everything. And so we can know and walk in the truth that he is enough.
Well, today we're going to be moving in to chapter two of Colossians, and we're going to talk about what is needed for spiritual maturity. What do we need to grow in our faith? When we all choose to follow Jesus, regardless of our actual age, we start as spiritual babies. We are fresh and new and learning. But you don't want to stay in that infancy stage. You want to grow and mature. You want to get deeper into the faith and have a more mature relationship with God. So what do we need in order to grow and mature? Well, we're going to talk about that today, but first I want to show you something. I brought my plant. This is my pride and joy of my indoor plants, as I got it all tangled up. For those that don't know me well, I'm a recovering plant killer, a recovering black thumb. And so the fact that this is what it is, is amazing to me. Several weeks ago, Pastor Chris was talking about abiding in Christ, and he used the analogy of gardening and how we had gotten into gardening the last couple of years. And in his kindness, he said that I was the better gardener of the two. Now I'm not going to stand up here and tell you that your pastor is a liar, but I have to disagree with that statement. Because I'm not good at it. And the reason I'm not good at it is because I'm too impatient. See he will go and he will research, he will read discussion boards, he will go find different products and then he will try them and give them time to see if they work. I'm like, I gave you soil and water and sun, just grow. What do you need from me? I already have four children, I don't need another one. Just do your thing. Right? So I'm too impatient. But this time I let it grow its roots. See I will transplant a plant from the pot you get at the store into a pot in our home and then I will just think it needs to thrive and just be amazing right away. I don't give it time for its roots to grow down deep into the soil. I'm trying to rush the process. I just want it to do its thing and be great all on its own. Well on the flip side of that, we have an heirloom rose bush in our front yard. We have some pictures of these roses. And this, we inherited these, these were already there when we moved in almost a decade ago. And these things are hearty. They are sturdy. We have to do next to nothing for these roses. They get water from the rain and maybe the occasional sprinkler. They get the sun and then Chris chops them back every so often so they don't become overgrown. But these things grow year round. They just do their thing. I have to do nothing for them. This picture, it was taken several years ago, but these pictures were taken in January. I didn't realize roses would bloom in January. I know we're not like in snow and the tundra, but the little bit I know about nature is that most plants are dormant in the winter. But the thing with these is their roots are deep and strong. They can grow and bloom and produce regardless of the storms that come, regardless of the wind and the weather. They've survived hail and freezing temperatures. They just keep doing their thing because they've matured and they've grown and they have deep roots.
So we're talking about the day. Paul talks about us needing to have deep roots for our faith. We're gonna start in Colossians 2 verse six. Then we have several verses to go through, but we're just gonna break it down a little bit at a time. Verse six says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness." Paul says that in order to be mature, we must be rooted and built up. Now this rooted and built up, it's kind of a mixed metaphor. He's talking about plants being rooted and built up like a building. So he kind of mixes the metaphor a little bit, but the idea here is similar. You need strong roots to grow and you need a firm, solid foundation to build upon. See, we homeschool and I've taught my children the plant cycle three times now, right? And what I've learned is when you plant a seed, the first thing that happens is not a sprout. The first thing that happens is that the roots start growing. And you can't really see it because it's under the dirt, but the roots have to grow first and grow deep and strong in order to gather the nutrients and the water in order to produce the plant. We have to have a solid foundation. A building will not last very long if it is built upon an unstable foundation. If it's cracked, if it's unlevel, if it's not created properly, it will not stand. And Paul's saying the truth has already been taught to you. You already know the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those are the soil and which to grow your roots. That is your foundation.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, "But bless is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green and has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." It has strong roots that can go out and get the water and the nutrients that it needs. And because of that, it's not worried when there's a storm. It's not worried when there's a drought. It's strong and sturdy. In Matthew seven, Jesus says, "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house. Yet, it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock." Jesus is our rock. He is the one we build our foundation upon. And when we do this, Paul says that we will be strengthened and overflow with faithfulness. That is just the natural repercussions of having a strong foundation in deep roots. We talked about it two weeks ago, being strengthened in endurance and patience, and then overflowing with thankfulness. That even when we are going through a storm or going through a wilderness, when our roots are deep, we're getting what we need to survive that. We don't have to worry. We don't have to stress. We need strong roots and a firm foundation. After this statement, Paul goes on to address the issue, the Colossians were facing and why Christ is the answer. He is our firm foundation and He is the ground in which we grow our roots. There's a big chunk of scripture here where he explains how and why this is true and why the Colossians can know that what they believe is real. And same for us, how we can know it too.
Let's go on to verse eight. It says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than on Christ. For in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. And in Christ, you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In Him, you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through your faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us. He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." You want to break that down? He starts with, "Don't be taken captive by these deceptive philosophies." We explained that the Colossians were coming up against some false teachings, some false teachers who were deceiving them. They were starting with Jesus and then they were building upon it. They were adding to it. It was Jesus and Jesus plus something. And Paul's like, "Guys, deceivers are gonna deceive. They're gonna try to trick you. They can be sneaky." Because here's the thing, someone who wants to deceive you is not going to tell you that they're deceiving you, for one. And they're also not going to make it obvious. If you say murder is wrong, they're not gonna say, "Oh no, murder's right. Murder's okay. Murder's good." 'Cause you're gonna spot that a mile away. You're gonna know, "Okay, they're clearly lying and trying to deceive me." You're gonna take the truth and twist it just enough to make it untrue. Just enough to get you off course. Paul also talks about that it's by the traditions of man. Now there are traditions and there are rituals and there are practices that are good. But what Paul's saying here is they're being burdened by the traditions of man that are not coming from God. These are not things that God is asking of them to do. But they are being put on these spiritual extras that they're being told they have to fulfill in order to truly be a Christian. One of these ideas was narcissism. And at this time it was very early in narcissism, but this idea of narcissism was spiritual versus material. They could not coincide. In fact, to the point that they would teach that God was so other and spiritual that he could not even have been the one who created the earth because it's material. That he used underlings or angels or other beings to do the creating because he couldn't intersect with the material. But we know from last week that that is not true.
Paul demolished that argument in chapter one by saying that he is the creator and sustainer of all things. Paul through this chunk of scripture is demolishing the arguments and the false teachings and the philosophies that are deceiving the people. And he says, "For in Christ," in verse nine, "For in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. And in Christ, you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him dwells the fullness of the deity," or Godhead in some translations. He was, Jesus fulfilled that when he came in bodily form. Again, the spiritual intersecting with the material. So it couldn't, it can't be true what they're teaching. If what they were teaching is true, then Jesus didn't actually come in bodily form, but we know that he did. He came to earth. He took on human flesh. He dwelled among us. He is the fullness, the completeness of the deity in bodily form. And because of this, because he did this, we were brought to fullness too. We are made complete in him. We're complete in him because he was full of God and fully man, because he allowed the spiritual to intersect with the material. See, if he isn't the fullness of deity in bodily form, then we can't be complete. We can't be made right. But he is, if we believe it, he is who we, well, whether we believe it or not, he is who he says he is. And so we can know that he came in human form, but he retained his divinity the whole time.
C.S. Lewis said there are three options for believing who Jesus is. He said there can't be an in-between. There can't be, oh, he was just a good person or he was just a good prophet. He said there's three options. He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. Either he made it all up, he lied for his own gain, which if that's the case, he failed miserably. But he lied and just made up the whole thing. Or he was a lunatic and he was crazy, making all these claims about being the son of God, that he was God, he was one with the Father. So either he was a total liar or a lunatic or what he said was true and he is Lord. But there is no in-between because if he was just a good person or a good teacher, then all the outrageous claims he made, people would have written him off immediately. You can't be a good prophet or a good teacher and also make those claims. Unless they're real. So I choose to believe that he is Lord. That he is the foundation that I'm building on. That he is the good soil that I can grow my roots deep into so I can abide in him. He is above everything. Paul continues on with talking about circumcision. Lovely little practice that they had in the ancient world for the Jewish men. And this was something that was continued even into the New Testament. It's continued today. But it was specifically a Jewish practice instituted by God to represent and show that the people were set apart. They were his chosen people. The problem is the Colossians were Gentiles. They were not part of the Jewish nation. But Jewish leaders were telling them they needed to also be circumcised or else they weren't truly following Jesus. Again, these traditions of men originally instituted by God, but they were burdening the new believers. And Paul saying, hold on, that was the old covenant. We are under the new covenant with Jesus and we are complete in him. We've had a circumcision of the heart. The work of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection is our circumcision. Through his death and resurrection, our old self has been put off. Our sin nature, our old self is gone because of his work. He made us new. He's given us new life. We don't have to have all these practices that were under the old covenant in order to be made right with him because he did the work. See, before Jesus, we were dead. We were dead in our sins. But after Jesus, we are made alive with Christ. After Jesus, we are made alive with him. This transformation of our hearts is often displayed through baptism.
And Paul talks about that. He says in verse 12, having been buried with him in baptism, which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead. We're made alive with Christ. So we also practice baptism as an expression of that reality. We go under the water to identify with Jesus's death and we come out of the water to identify with his resurrection into new life. Well, a side note, if you've never been baptized, that is the next natural step in your faith. If you have decided to follow Jesus, I would encourage you to let's look into that next option for you. You can write baptism on the card or shoot us an email and we would love to talk to you about that. Because baptism, it is showing that we identify with Jesus, that we are no longer dead in our sins, but we are alive with Christ.
Verse 14, he says, having canceled our charges of legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us, he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. Our trespasses are written out against us like a legal indictment of crimes committed or an invoice of debt owed. Our sins racked up a debt that we could not pay. We couldn't save ourselves because the reality is we can't live perfectly enough in order to earn our salvation, in order to earn our righteousness in the presence of God. We can't do that. And so the only other option is death. We pay the punishment through death, which means eternal separation from God. Neither of those options sound good to me. And Jesus said, no, that's not how it's gonna go down. I'm gonna pay the debt. I will be the one. Have you ever pulled up to a drive-through window and the person standing there says, it's already been paid. The person in front of you paid for your order. I love hearing those kinds of stories. The person who just got their order paid for did nothing to earn that. They just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But the cashier said, you owe zero. Your balance is now zero because the person in front of you paid for it. That is what Jesus did for us on a much grander scale. He didn't want to spend eternity without us. He didn't want us to stay dead in our sin. He knew he was the only option. So our sins were nailed to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made us, oh, sorry, I got it again in the head. Sorry, I saw it on the screen. It threw me off. It got me ahead. Our sins were nailed to the cross. Just like Jesus' charges were nailed to the cross above his head. See, when they practice crucifixion, they would write out the charges against the criminal and nail it above their head. But the thing is, Jesus didn't actually commit any crimes. He was perfect. So he took on our sins and he said, nail me to the cross instead. The words used in this passage regarding our sins means completely wiped out. Our balance is zero because of what he did on the cross.
Okay, now, Colossians 2:15. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Through his death and resurrection, he disarmed the principalities and authorities of this world. See Paul already said in verse nine that he is the head over every power and authority, but now he disarmed them. He already ruled them, but now he disarmed them. See Paul often uses military language in his writings. And he mentioned in verse eight about being taken, don't be taken captive. Kind of that idea of being captive in a battle. Don't be taken captive because we are in a spiritual war. Our souls are in a spiritual war. As we said, don't be taken captive. And now he's explaining that the enemy has been disarmed. Praise Jesus. Jesus has triumphed over them. This idea of him triumphing over them. It would have brought pictures to the mind of the original readers of a procession or parade of the victorious army going through the streets, putting their enemies to shame by parading through the streets and announcing their victory. That's what Jesus did on the cross. He disarmed them and triumphed over them.
Isaiah 54:17 says, no weapon forged against you will prevail and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. And this is their vindication from me, declares the Lord. They no longer have the weapons to use against us. They have tactics like fear and discouragement and lies. That's why Paul tells us to put on the armor of God so we can stand against the devil's schemes. But we know how it ends. No weapon formed against us can remain. We already have victory because Jesus conquered death and set us free. He has given that victory to us. He put them to public shame and he did it with the cross. The cross is a symbol of torture and death, but he took that symbol and in the upside down kingdom of God, he made it a symbol of victory. And it is a reminder for us who followed Jesus that we too are triumphant and set free. This, this truth that Paul laid out for us, this is how and where we grow our roots. This is the foundation that we build upon. If you are a newer believer, keep growing those roots. Get in the word, stay in community, grow your roots deeper into the good soil of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Remember that he is your foundation. And if you are a more mature believer, if you have followed Jesus for a long time, don't stop growing. The bigger the tree, the stronger the roots need to be. So keep growing, keep building on that foundation, but then go the next step. Find another believer who needs your guidance or your help. Walk alongside them, invite them to coffee. Talk to them, be willing to share your faith journey as they are learning and growing themselves.
And if you've never chosen to follow Jesus, maybe today's that day. Maybe you've even been walking the walk for a long time. You've been in church, you've had a Bible, you've prayed, but you've never actually surrendered your heart and life to the Lord. I'm gonna pray a prayer for us today. It'll be on the screens, but I'm gonna pray it out loud. If you've never surrendered your heart to Jesus, and you wanna do that today, pray this prayer along with me in your own heart and mind. Father in heaven, I know that I have lived for myself instead of you. I have sinned against you, but I believe Jesus died for my sin. So I confess my sin and I ask you to forgive me. I bow to you as Lord and leader of my life. Help me to live for you from this day forward. In Jesus' name, amen. If you made that commitment for the first time today, we would love to talk to you and hear from you. We wanna encourage you and resource you, help you have what you need to grow your roots deeper.