Series in Colossians - Beware of Spiritual Blindness and Deceptive Teachings

 

Beware of Spiritual Blindness and Deceptive Teachings

Col. 2:8-10

The majority of the people in the world are blinded to the truth of God’s Word and who Jesus truly is. This is the work of the god of this age (Satan) as Paul told the Corinthians, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4 NIV) And this was the warning to the Colossians as well. For there were and are people today who are captive to deception and empty philosophies. So let’s read the first portion of the text. “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.”

This was the problem of the vast majority of people in Paul’s lifetime. The same malevolent spiritual entities of the Old Testament times were still behind all the spreading of heresy, false philosophies (elementary knowledge and the deeper wisdom of this world), and the reliance on the experiential and sensualness of the supernatural and spiritual for understanding, in these were the hollow and deceptive seeds of legalism (jewish learnings and traditions) and the pagan worship, the desire for the supernatural, and the depravity of various deities and angels (the elemental spirit world and teachings). 

Paul first admonishes the Colossians to halt their acceptance and practice of these false teachings to the hollow and deceptive love of the wisdom of the world. For the infiltrations of these teachings had taken them captive, and the god of this age had blinded them to the truth of scripture on the Godhead and the gospel. 

Paul breaks the heresy down into words that they could understand. He uses the word Deity, for the jewish congregants understand that God is the supreme one and over all, the Greek and pagan congregants understand the hierarchy of the deities, and their influences in their region and their lives. For Paul wants them to understand the dangers of these teachings warring against the understanding of the sovereignty of Christ and His fullness as God and man. 

Next Paul used the word philosophy the (love of wisdom). The Colossians had been captivated by the basics of elemental teachings, like the ABC’s of education and mixed this with the belief in the stars and heavenly bodies and the spiritual powers that ruled them. Those who were proposing and propagating these teachings also were promoting an advanced understanding (new revelation) of deeper teachings. This was the crux of the Colossian heresy against the understanding and believing in Christ’s divine nature and humanity. The Colossians started well with the gospel but were now turning to believing and practicing these puedo-advanced revelations and deeper understandings from human and spiritual sources outside of scripture and the gospel.

Third, Paul admonished them in their not aligning these teachings with the truth of God’s scripture and the gospel. They were assimilating the hollow and deceptive philosophies into their understanding of the divinity of Christ that had been revealed to them through the Gospel. For Jesus was the standard for all doctrine to be measured against, for He was the fullness of God. This was Paul's anchor and foundational truth and standard, the eternal rock, Christ Jesus.

 Application - In our world of increase of knowledge spoken of by Daniel, “…many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”(Dan. 12:4b NIV) We are not much different than the Colossians, for we have received the gospel and even more, for we have the whole Bible to reveal the purpose and will of Our God and King. First, Jesus had warned us that in the last times, deception would be rampant in the world, and it would even influence the church, the body of Christ. We must remember the power of the gospel, for in its words are eternal life and the revealed Word of our God. As Paul told the churches in the first century, we also have to beware of deception and allowing the teachings of this world and its god (Satan). 

The world is full of religious traditions from many various religions, and we found that many of these influences come from puedo-spiritual experiences or the latest trends in manipulating the work of God. For Satan loves to counterfeit. The answer to these influences and the influencers is tt our Lord Jesus Christ personally and the permanent residence of the Holy Spirit in every believer. Jesus told the disciples in the garden to “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (Matt. 26:41 ESV) I believe that many of us have grown weary in our prayer lives and in the reading and studying of the Word of God. And in that, we fall or have been taken captive by the puedo-spirituality of this world. For it will create an environment that seems great and spiritual but it is empty of the true power of God, and fills us with the teachings of men or worst the teachings and doctrines of the enemy of God, Satan.

So stay awake, as Paul admonished all of us, “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” (Rom. 13:11 NLT)

Next, Paul justifies his warning to the Colossians that Christ’s Deity and sovereignty doesn’t unite with human wisdom, philosophies, or spiritual revelations and experiences. Christ Jesus is all they need, He is the fullness of God in bodily form. So let’s read the last portion of the text. “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.”

First, Paul understood from scripture and taught the Colossians that Jesus is the exact image of God. “He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him.” (Col. 1:15-16 AMP) Second, Paul understood from the Scriptures that man was created in the image of God. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them. ” (Gen. 1:27 NIV) and when God sent His Son in the image of man, He did so that Jesus would fulfill the prophetic scriptures necessary for the atonement for sin required by God. Jesus was the image of God, just as mankind was created in His image, but Jesus was also born of the seed of the Holy Spirit to a virgin. “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:35 NIV) This is the beginning of the gospel narrative. 

The next step was revealing the fullness of God being attributed to Christ. Paul was emphatic that “in Christ” alone does the fullness of Deity dwell. Not just in divine qualities but in every attribute and the very nature of God. Jesus was the incarnate of God, the Word became flesh (John 1:14). The Colossians didn’t need to assimilate to heresy or hold to the teaching of hollow and deceptive philosophies of men or spirits.

For all believers, Christ continually dwells, and permanently resides by His Holy Spirit. For Paul empathically wanted the Colossians to find in their union with Christ that their every spiritual need is fully met in Christ, for in Him was the fullness of God. The Colossians had the all sufficiency of Christ for He is the head of everything and He is the source of life and every power and authority are under His sovereignty. He is Lord of lords. They need to hear the word of God in terms that they understand like Deity and philosophy, but it was the concept of “in Christ” that Paul needed the Colossians to realize that in Jesus Christ alone is the fullness of the deity dwells and He is all they needed to for salvation and maturity.  

Application - Again, Christ is all sufficient, there isn’t anything that needs to be added to Him or His Word. He is God the Son and he came in bodily form to fulfill the scripture, but even more than that, He came in our likeness to show us that Our God is with us and understands the difficulties of life,“But Jesus the Son of God is our great High Priest who has gone to heaven itself to help us; therefore let us never stop trusting Him. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses since He had the same temptations we do, though He never once gave way to them and sinned.” (Heb. 4:14-15) He has a plan and a purpose for all that He does in us and through us. For He has all authority over every power, whether of man or spirit. “That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Eph. 1:20-22 NIV)

In Conclusion, Let us take the admonition and warning from the Word of God seriously, we don’t need to listen, follow, or assimilate the heretical teachings of the world, whether it be through the empty philosophical understanding of man, or the dark demonic spiritual world that cloaks itself as light. For Jesus Christ is God in all His fullness, and with all authority He sits on His throne in heaven ruling in complete sovereignty over this world and in all the universe for eternity.

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation for all those who have not yet received Jesus Christ for salvation. For Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I have revised my webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. Thank you. http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com