The echoing thrust in Colossians is the preeminence (authority,
superiority) and sufficiency (adequacy/suitability, capability/fitness,
competence) of Christ in all things.
The Believer is complete in Him alone, and lacks nothing because “in
Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, bodily” (2:9); He has “all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (2:3). There is no need for
speculation, mystical visions, or ritualistic regulations as though Faith in
Christ is insufficient.
Paul’s predominant purpose in writing this epistle, is to refute a
threatening heresy that is devaluing Christ. This false teaching is countered
by a positive presentation of Christ’s true attributes and accomplishments. A
proper view of Christ is the antidote for heresy.
**********
Colossians
~ Chapter 2/Thursday
Bible Study
The Believer’s
Completeness in Christ
“I wish you to know that
have struggled inwardly a great deal in your behalf, as well as for the
believers in Laodicea, and also for al the rest who have not themselves seen my
face. May your hearts be comforted and may you be knit together by the ties of Christian
love! May your understanding increase in scope and certainty! May you come to
see that the mystery of *Elohei Ha’Elohim the Father, is solved in **Yeshua Ha’Mashiach! It is in Him that all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge lie hidden.” (vv. 1 – 3)
The Danger of Persuasive
Arguments
I say this to prevent you
from being led astray by persuasive arguments to the contrary. You see that
though I am not with you in person, yet I am with you in spirit, and I am happy
to see how orderly you are, and how firm is your faith in Christ. Now,
therefore, just as you have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, may you live in
unison with Him! May you be rooted in Him and built up in Him! May you become
stringer and yet stronger in the Faith, as you were taught it! And may your
lives overflow with gratitude! (vv. 4 – 7)
The Emptiness of
Philosophy and Tradition
Look out lest someone
catch you unawares by some philosophy or empty deceit; he may set forth some
human tradition, or some theory about the nature of the universe, but not the
teachings of Christ. Know this, that in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells
bodily. And you have come to fullness of life through union with Him, Who, is
the fountainhead (source, spring, origin, seed) of all authority and
power. When you became united to Him you became circumcised with a circumcision
not made by hand. In the circumcision of Christ, you were set free from your
sinful nature. Just as in baptism you were buried with Him, so you were raised
again with Him to New Life through Faith in the power of Elohei H’Elohim, Who
raised Him from the dead.
So, when you were spiritually
dead because of your sins and your sinful nature, He gave you life again to
share with Himself, and he forgave us all our sins. Indeed, He blotted out the
handwriting of the Law, for that was against us. He took that out of the way
and nailed it to the cross. So by the cross he disarmed the principalities and
powers of evil; and in triumph He made a public spectacle of them. (vv. 8
– 15)
Warning Against Legalism
& Somberness (Gloom Grimness)
Let no one, therefore, be
your judge as to what you may eat or drink, or in the matter of observing feast
days and new moons and sabbaths. These things are only a foreshadow of what is
to come. The One foreshadowed is Christ. Let no one rob you of your prize.
Beware of him who indulges in sham (fake, bogus, pretense, deception)
humility (meekness, submissiveness) and the worship of angels –
and who speculates about visions he has had, and is proud in his worldly mind
for no good reason at all. Such a one does not hold fast to the Head, on Whom
the whole Body depends. Nourished and knit together through its joints and
ligaments, it grows with a growth that is from ***Elohim.
If you have died, with
Christ, to worldly ways of looking at things, why do you now – as if you still
were of the world – submit to its rules such as: “You must not handle this,” or
“You must not taste that”, and “You must not touch that.” All these things
referred to, perish in the using; and all these rules and teachings are
man-made and nothing more. Such practices may have the appearance of wisdom.
They seem to demand such virtues as self-devotion, self-abasement, and
self-control of the body … but they have no power to check when the flesh
demands satisfaction.” (vv. 16 – 23)
*Elohei Ha’Elohim (Hebrew word: אֱלֹהֵי
הָאֱלֹהִים) = God of gods; above all gods.
**Yeshua Ha’Mashiach: is Hebrew for “Jesus the
Messiah”; the name Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua.
Christ (from the Hebrew word, Ha’Mashiach ישוע המשיח & the Greek word,
Christos/khris-tos) = The Anointed, Yeshua the Messiah,
in both languages.
***Elohim (Hebrew: אֱלֹהִים,
romanized: ʾĚlōhīm: [(eloˈ(h)im]) is a Hebrew word meaning "Gods –
Father, Son, & Holy Spirit". Although the word is plural in form, in
the Hebrew Bible it usually refers to a single deity “Behold, the Lord – the
Lord is One”, particularly the God of Israel.
**Colossians 1: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2022/12/colossians-chapter-1thursday-bible-study.html
