Colossians
Chapter 2
Vs. 1 Paul tells them that he has thought of them much. And also he has many thoughts about those at Laodicea.
Vs. 2 He has prayed for them. He wants them to be joined together in Christian love for each other.
He wants them to understand God’s plan for them. To understand that in Jesus there is wisdom and knowledge.
Vs. 3-5 Paul wants them to know in a sure way that God’s love and forgiveness is for them. That they not listen to other teachers who may try to say something else.
Even though Paul is far away from them he wants them to know he is praying for them and he wants them to be strong in their faith.
Vs. 6 You have received Jesus Christ as your Lord now walk in His ways and teachings.
Vs. 7 Be strong in your faith as you have been taught. Be thankful.
Vs. 8. Be careful of teachers who would come to you and would try to get you to follow rules of men. These rules are not Christ’s rules.
(Paul is speaking about circumcision. The big argument for the new believers was this argument of the new non-Jewish believers having to be circumcised in order to be a believer.
In every place that Paul preached, this became the argument.
There were some men who had become believers and were now teaching. They were teaching that any of the men who became new believers had to be circumcised.
The leaders at the church in Jerusalem had decided that any new believers not Jewish did not have to be circumcised to be a believer.
Being circumcised was a Jewish teaching and Jewish boys were circumcised.
Non Jewish boys Gentiles had not been taught that and had not be circumcised.
Paul taught that salvation and forgiveness of sins was of the heart and spirit.
Being circumcised in body did not having anything to do with your sins being forgiven and you being a believer.
Paul speaks about this in other letters he has written to other churches.)
Vs. 9 Paul says that in Jesus’ person lives (dwells) all the “fullness” of the Godhead
All that God is in fullness is in Jesus Christ. All that God knows, all the power, every thing that God is and can do is in Jesus’ person.
Vs. 10 Paul tells them You are complete in Jesus. You do not need to do something (other than believe and ask) to be whole in Jesus.
In other words, circumcision was not needed for them to be a whole and complete believer and have acceptance by Jesus.
Vs. 11 When you came to Christ for salvation and forgiveness of sins Christ by the spirit “circumcised” your spirit from sin.
You do not have to have your body circumcised to be “marked” as belonging to God.
Or to show you are a believer or a follower of God.
Your “mark” that you belong to God and are a follower of his teachings is in your heart and spirit you become a new person in Jesus and you no longer want to live doing sinful things.
Vs. 12 When you were baptized you went down into the water under the water.
Like being buried like Jesus was buried.
Then you came up out of the water and took a breath. Like Jesus came up out of the grave and was alive again.
So baptism in water is like a picture of dying and coming to life again like Jesus died and came to life again.
Someday in the future when our bodies die our bodies will someday be resurrected again and come alive again.
Vs. 13 Paul says circumcision is like a picture. Those that were not circumcised were like those who did not believe in God/ Jesus. They were not followers of God Jesus.
Those that were circumcised showed in their body that they had decided to be followers and believers in God/ Jesus.
But when Jesus came to earth and died on the cross the old law of circumcising the body was no longer needed. It was now about the heart and spirit.
When you decide to stop your sin leave your sinning and follow Jesus it was like “cutting” the sin from you life. It was like the “cutting of circumcision”. But it was something that happened in your spirit.
Vs. 14 When Jesus was nailed to the cross he nailed your sin to the cross.
When Jesus rose from the dead he had victory over sin and death.
In Jesus our sins are nailed to the cross and we have victory over sin and death.
Vs. 16 Paul told them Do not let any person judge you because of your eating meat, or what you drink, or how you respect a holy day, or follow the tradition of a celebration at new moon, or of the Sabbath day.
Vs. 17 These celebrations were from the old days of Jewish rules. The rules and celebrations were a picture of days that would come. They were pictures to try to teach the people to look for the time when Christ the Messiah would come to earth.
But now Christ has come to earth and you are in Christ. You are part of the body of Christ.
Vs. 18 Do not let anyone make you feel that you have to live a life of “self-denial” of giving up things to prove you are humble.
(Some religions teach that their leaders can not marry. Some teach that the people have to go on long trips follow long paths say long prayers say many prayers over and over. Some teach hurting and hitting themselves to give themselves pain.)
Paul says that you do not have to do this to be accepted by God or to show you love God. Loving God and showing God we love Him is not done by those things.
Paul tells them Do not worship angels.
Paul tells them to be careful about believing everyone who tells about visions and seeing things about the future.
(Angels are real. Angels do come and help people. But we are not to worship them or pray to them. They are God’s helpers. They are not God.
Visions are real. People have had visions about the future that are really from God.
You need to know about that person, how they live and believe and whether that person can be trusted before you believe what they say about a vision. Not everyone is to be trusted. Some are not of God.)
Vs. 19 Paul tells them If in believing in Jesus you have died to your sin and died to your old self and are now a new person in Jesus then why do you need to obey the old laws? Those rules of “touch not, taste not”.
Vs. 22 All those old laws will be done away with. They are rules and teachings of men.
Vs. 23 Those rules of “denying self” showing great body self discipline may seem to make a person look religious. It may make a person feel “righteous”. But those things do not have any influence on the heart and spirit.
Our desire to sin comes from the heart/ mind/spirit.
Beating our body, doing things to our body as discipline, etc. These things do not influence the spirit inside.
We need the Holy Spirit inside of us in our spirit to help us to be what God wants us to be.
Yielding our spirit to the Holy Spirit and obeying the teaching of the Bible and the Holy Spirit is what will make us righteous.