I like to daydream. In fact, I often joke about the fact that I dream more while I'm awake than I do when I'm asleep. I dream about my goals, my future plans, and what it will look like to see things with my eyes that I presently can only see by faith.
They say you can tell a lot about a person by what they daydream about. The places our minds drift tend to be toward the things we desire. Your mind will drift toward what you're convinced will make your life better. You will dream about where you place your hope. You will dream about what you believe will bring comfort to you in the midst of pain. You will dream about your "ideal" life.
When we're daydreaming or our mind is drifting, how prevalent is Jesus and His kingdom coming to mind? Does our concept of the ideal life center around Him or do we still believe we'll find that life through things that are bound to this earth and destined to decay?
In Colossians 2:6-15, Paul gives us a glimpse of what our minds should understand, focus on, and drift toward. As He does elsewhere in this letter to the church at Colossae, Paul reminds us of what Jesus has done on our behalf and how His word and His presence really does lead to the kind of life that is even better than what we might naturally dream about.
I. Take a walk
““Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” ”
I always appreciate a sunny day, but I think I appreciate the sunshine even more when we're in the midst of the heart of winter. It was a nice surprise the other day, after weeks of cold and snowy weather, to enjoy a nice break as the sunshine reappeared. My daughter decided to use the opportunity to do all her work outside and she capped that off with a long walk. I could tell it was a definite mood booster.
The concept of how we "walk" is stressed all throughout Scripture, and when that term is used, it's frequently being used as a synonym for "live." That's how Paul is using the word in this passage. He's encouraging us to show that Jesus is Lord of our lives by how we live. Our daily walk will demonstrate our trust in Jesus and our submission to His lordship.
Paul also gives us a great analogy to help illustrate the kind of life we're called to live. It's a life that's deeply rooted in Christ and being built up and established in faith. It's a life that is fruitful and thankful. It's a life that expresses gratefulness to Jesus because He's on the forefront of our minds.
II. Avoid mental captivity
““See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” ”
In every era and generation, there are ideas that circulate. Ideas produce actions. Beliefs produce behaviors. The information you feed your mind will come out in your life somewhere. That's why governments frequently try to silence ideas that threaten their dominance. That's also why Satan attempts to fill this world with all kinds of falsehood because he doesn't want to see a world full of people who have a clear understanding and appreciation for the gospel of Christ.
The church at Colossae had a reputation for being firm and deeply rooted in their faith, but there were many things that were threatening their continued growth and long-term stability. The philosophies of their day that were based on worldly concepts, freely circulated throughout their city. Many people were being taken captive by this manner of thinking, and the fruit of these forms of deceptive thought was coming out in their lives. Paul warned them not to be taken captive by such things.
That's a good warning for us as well. Through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, we can avoid mental captivity and the allure of false doctrines. We can avoid the deceptiveness of changing cultural beliefs that contradict the clear teaching of Scripture. We can also avoid the allure of cults.
In fact, just the other day, I received a letter from a member of one of the better-known cults. I believe he sent it to my neighbors as well. It was a letter that fused sound doctrine with falsehood, then encouraged readers to follow up by visiting a website. As I looked at it, I couldn't help notice how persistent and dedicated this person was to the task of persuading people to believe his lies. It's particularly tragic when you contrast that with those who know the truth yet rarely take initiative to make it known.
III. Know who Jesus is and what He has done for you
““For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” ”
I recently had a conversation with a family member who told me she was doing some research on some of the prevailing false beliefs that are gaining traction in our culture. She was spending a lot of time immersed in that teaching, so I cautioned her the same way I'd like to caution you. I said, "You don't need to know everything about every form of false teaching that is circulating around today. You'll never be able to keep track of it all. A better approach would be to spend your time studying the truth and filling your mind with it. Then you'll know how best to handle falsehood when it comes your way."
I believe that's also how Paul was attempting to equip the believers at Colossae. He wanted them to know who Jesus is and what He has done for us. There are several foundational truths about Jesus that Paul explains in this passage, and I think it's pretty safe to guess that these areas of emphasis were being shared to help answer some of the inaccurate or heretical beliefs people had been spreading in that city.
For starters, Paul emphasized the divinity and humanity of Jesus. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man, that's why Paul said, "in him, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." From there, Paul stressed that believers are filled with the presence of Christ when we trust in Him. We are made complete or full through Jesus. Paul also stressed that Jesus is above all earthly rulers or spiritual powers. Jesus is Lord of all creation.
Then Paul points to two different covenantal signs that God has given believers throughout history. These signs are meant to physically demonstrate what God is accomplishing spiritually. Circumcision was the sign of the Old Covenant and baptism is the sign of the New Covenant. But Paul isn't stressing their physical application. He's pointing out the fact that our hearts have been circumcised through Jesus as our old sinful nature is cut away and we're given a new nature in Christ. We've also experienced a spiritual baptism in that our old life died and was buried, and we've been cleansed from sin and raised to a new life in Christ.
There's a lot of theology in these verses, but that shouldn't scare us away from attempting to understand them. When we take the time to understand who Jesus is and what He has actually done for us, we can combat the persuasiveness of false teaching more decisively.
IV. Live a debt-free life
““And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” ”
Anyone who has known me throughout the course of my adult life knows that my perspective toward financial stewardship has gradually matured over time. At one point in my life, I was very comfortable with debt. I thought it was a game and I played that game too regularly. I thought it was wise to use debt to obtain investment properties or get whatever I wanted before I could really afford it. But I didn't realize the quality of life and peace of mind I was trading when I played that financial game.
Eventually, I became very frustrated with owing money, and I didn't want to worry about whether or not I had enough to make monthly payments any longer. So I decided to dig my way out, pay off my credit cards, car loans, student loans, and my mortgage. On February 12, 2021, after about 14 years of effort and sacrifice, my task was finished and I don't want to ever go back to indebtedness again. In many ways, my mind has experienced a form of liberation from things that used to be a daily source of stress to me, and I don't want to trade that blessing for anything less. If I may, please let me encourage you to pursue debt-freedom as well. Even if it takes a long time, I promise it's worth it.
Paul uses the concept of debt in this passage to illustrate the dreadful position we were in regarding our standing before God. Our sin was a debt obligation that we couldn't pay, and we kept piling it up more and more every day. Many people are going to stand before God someday with that debt unsettled. They're going to come before Him and be presented with a record of debts that have not been paid. What a dreadful thought!
But through faith in Jesus, our debts can be settled. The record of sin that stood against us has been cancelled. When we trust in Christ, we are completely forgiven of every transgression because it was nailed to the cross. We will stand before the Father one day with an account that is emptied of sin and filled with the righteousness of Jesus.
V. Don't submit to a defeated foe
““He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” ”
When Jesus came to this earth, He made a spectacle of the earthly rulers who stood against Him, and the spiritual authorities who live in rebellion against His holiness. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was given the choice of life or death. He chose death by rebelling against the Lord. But Jesus came to this earth to live the perfect life that Adam didn't live. Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness by keeping the Word of God that Adam rejected. Jesus confronted Satan with truth, and He defeated the power of death when He rose from the grave. Jesus triumphed over sin, Satan, and death.
And since He has "disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame," we don't need to submit our lives to a defeated foe any longer. The victory Christ secured is a victory He shares with all who trust in Him. Our lives and our minds no longer need to drift toward the hollow promises of this world or the deceitfulness of Satanic influence. We don't need to bend the knee to spiritual authorities that work against us. Our lives can be spent in joyful submission, adoration, and loyalty toward Jesus who paid our debt and set us free.
© John Stange, 2022
