Colossians 2:1-10: Rooted in Christ

Colossians 2:1-10: Rooted in Christ

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of Colossians, and today the next passage we come to is Colossians 2:1-10. Hear now the words of the Living and True God:

1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 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. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, what a privilege it is to open and study your word. We understand that these words come from your very mouth. They’re God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. So help us, by your Holy Spirit, to be thoroughly equipped for each of those things and ultimately to come to a deeper knowledge, a deeper love, and a deeper relationship with you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. 

This past summer, my wife Becky and I made the decision to start allowing our two older boys to walk by themselves to a basketball court in our community of Brentwood in order to play basketball. The court is less than a mile away from our house and is pretty safe—all things considered. Yet we still warned our boys about potential dangers they might face and told them how to respond. 

For example, we told them that, if an adult offers them a ride home, that’s a hard no. If someone invites them to go somewhere other than the basketball court, that also is something they should decline. And of course, we did this because we care about our children and desire to protect them from harm—just as any parent who loves their children desires to do. 

Likewise, in the biblical passage before us this morning, we see that the Apostle Paul cares deeply about the Colossian Christians and therefore desires to protect them from teachings that are spiritually harmful. And it wasn’t just a hypothetical possibility that people would attempt to spread such teachings in the church of Colossae. False teachers had already infiltrated the church and were already spreading harmful teachings. 

And I believe it’s important for us to pay careful attention to what Paul says in this passage because we also are exposed to a lot of false and downright dangerous teachings today. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that—through modern technology—we’re exposed to far more false teaching on a regular basis than the Christians of Colossae were. And if we can’t recognize harmful and dangerous teaching for what it is, it’s going to wreak havoc on our lives spiritually. I’d even argue that the danger posed by false teaching is even greater than the kinds of dangers kids might face when they’re allowed to go places on their own, because the kind of teaching we embrace—especially when it comes to issues related to the gospel—has consequences not only for this life but throughout all eternity. 

So, we have to be thoroughly familiar with good teaching so that we’re not easy targets for bad teaching. And that’s why the things Paul writes here in Colossians 2:1-10 are so vital for us to take to heart. This passage helps us develop the spiritual antibodies, if you will, that will help protect us from the many spiritual viruses we’re certain to encounter. 

Although there’s a lot in this passage, the main idea that ties it all together is that the most profound knowledge we could ever obtain is found in Christ. Again, the most profound knowledge we could ever obtain is found in Christ.

So, let’s walk through this passage together, beginning with verse 1. Paul writes, “For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face.” The word “struggle” comes from a form of the Greek word translated as “struggling” in the previous verse. In verse 29 of chapter 1, Paul said, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” And Paul now says he wants his readers to know how great of a “struggle” he has for them. This word “struggle” comes from the Greek word ἀγών, from which we get our English word “agony.” It speaks of straining intensely in the pursuit of a goal.

Even though Paul says he’s never even met many—if any—of his readers, he still has tremendous pastoral concern for their spiritual welfare which leads him to “struggle” intensely on their behalf. We can assume Paul did this primarily through his prayers for the Colossians. 

And I really appreciate what this verse reveals about how deeply Paul cared for his readers. You know, there are a lot of important qualities for a pastor to have. It’s important for him to have godly character, deep convictions about biblical issues, and boldness to teach the Bible unapologetically. It also doesn’t hurt for him to have a certain level of intelligence and speaking ability and a good education. However, I’m not sure there’s any quality more important for a pastor to possess than deep and genuine love for the people of the church. No amount of other characteristics or abilities can ever make up for a lack of love. The Bible teaches that Jesus loved the church so much that he gave his own life to purchase the church’s salvation—and that’s the kind of love pastors should have for their churches as well. 

Paul then goes on to identify what he desires for the Christians of Colossae in verses 2-3. His desire is: 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

In order to fully appreciate the desire Paul expresses in these verses, we have to view it against the backdrop of the false teachers he was seeking to counteract. These teachers were claiming to possess a “secret knowledge” that was reserved only for certain elite people—such as…themselves. How convenient, right? And they claimed that their “secret knowledge” was necessary for salvation. However, at the same time, they taught things that directly undermined the Christian gospel and reduced Jesus from being God in human flesh to being simply one of many spiritual emanations of God.  

But Paul wants his readers to understand that they don’t need any of this “secret knowledge” because the full measure of everything necessary for salvation is found in Jesus. So, when Paul says he wants his readers to “reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,” that’s what he’s talking about. He wants them to have full confidence that they already possess in Christ all of the understanding and knowledge they need to be saved from their sins and spend eternity with God. 

Paul then refers to Jesus as the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” A nineteenth-century preacher named Alexander Maclaren once wrote with regard to this that, “In Christ, as in a great storehouse, lie all the riches of spiritual wisdom, the massive ingots of solid gold which when coined into creeds and doctrines are the wealth of the Church. All which we can know concerning God and man, concerning sin and righteousness and duty, concerning another life, is in Him Who is the home and deep mine where truth is stored.…The central fact of the universe and the perfect encyclopedia of all moral and spiritual truth is Christ.” So, just as we recognize Fort Knox as the great repository of our nation’s gold, Jesus is the great repository in which “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” can be found. 

And it’s important to understand that the “wisdom and knowledge” found in Jesus are directly contrary to the supposed “wisdom” that’s pervasive in this world. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:20-25: 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 

So, what is it exactly that’s so contrary to worldly wisdom? It’s the message, Paul says, of “Christ crucified.” It’s the idea of Jesus being crucified to pay for our sins that turns worldly wisdom inside out and upside down. You see, the Bible teaches that each one of us has sinned against God and deserves to face eternal punishment in hell because of our sin. However, in his love, God the Father sent his own Son Jesus into this world as one of us in order to suffer the punishment for our sins in his death on the cross. He died on the cross as our substitute and made atonement for our sins. And because he was then raised from the dead, he’s now able to rescue everyone who puts their trust in him. 

Yet, surprisingly enough, that’s the most difficult thing for many people to do. The mentality of earning God’s favor and being a good enough person to merit eternal life is so engrained in our hearts that we find it virtually impossible to receive the rescue Jesus offers as the free gift that it is. In fact, apart from God supernaturally opening our hearts to the message of Jesus, it is impossible for us to receive the free gift he offers. Left to ourselves, we’d stubbornly persist in our refusal of this free gift all the way to hell. That’s where worldly wisdom will lead us. So, we desperately need the wisdom of God that’s found in Christ—and particularly in “Christ crucified.” 

And I feel led to ask, have you embraced that wisdom? Have you renounced all confidence in yourself and instead put your full trust and confidence in “Christ crucified” as your only hope of being right with God? 

Then, returning to our main passage, Paul goes on to explain why he’s writing this. He states in verse 4, “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.” “Plausible arguments” are those that might initially sound incredibly profound as they’re first being explained—especially if they’re being taught by highly educated and eloquent individuals. Yet that doesn’t change the fact that they’re simply wrong and that those who embrace them, according to Paul, are being “deluded”—that is, they’re being deceived into embracing lies. 

And as I mentioned before, because of modern technology and especially the internet, this is even more of an issue today than it’s ever been. So, in the words of Paul, how can we protect ourselves from being “delud[ed]…with plausible arguments”? How can we acquire the theological discernment that’s necessary to recognize harmful and unbiblical teachings for what they are? 

Well, you may have heard before that the government officials who have the responsibility of identifying counterfeit currency don’t study counterfeit bills. Instead, they study genuine bills and become so familiar with those genuine bills that they’re then able to spot the counterfeit. And that’s what we need to do in order to recognize unbiblical teaching. We have to familiarize ourselves so thoroughly with biblical teaching that we’re increasingly able to recognize whenever something we hear doesn’t line up with what the Bible says. 

So, let me encourage you—if you’re not doing so already—to open the Bible and start reading it for yourself. Go straight to the source to see what God says about who he is, who we are, and how we can have a relationship with him and live in the realm of his blessing. Prayerfully reading the Bible for yourself on a daily basis is the single most important thing you can do to acquire theological discernment. Saturate your mind with the Word of God. Get into the Word until the Word gets into you. 

Charles Spurgeon gives us this encouragement: “Oh, that you and I might get into the very heart of the Word of God, and get that Word into ourselves! As I have seen the silkworm eat into the leaf, and consume it, so ought we to do with the Word of the Lord—not crawl over its surface, but eat right into it till we have taken it into our inmost parts. It is idle merely to let the eye glance over the words, or to recollect the poetical expressions, or the historic facts; but it is blessed to eat into the very soul of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in Scriptural language, and your very style is fashioned upon Scripture models, and, what is better still, your spirit is flavored with the words of the Lord. I would quote John Bunyan as an instance of what I mean. Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself. He had read it till his very soul was saturated with Scripture; and, though his writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrim’s Progress—that sweetest of all prose poems — without continually making us feel and say, ‘Why, this man is a living Bible!’ Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God.”

In addition, as we seek to come to a right understanding of the Bible, it’s important for us to not only read the Bible on our own but also seek to interpret it in the context of healthy local church. Growing in our understanding of what the Bible teaches is something God meant for us to do as a part of a community of believers. When we try to interpret the Bible entirely on our own and in isolation from other Christians, it’s virtually inevitable that we’ll end up wandering off in some very weird and unbalanced directions. Kind of like when someone’s in solitary confinement in prison for a prolonged period of time, they kind of go crazy—well that’s what happens to us if we cut ourselves off from the influence of other Christians in a healthy local church. 

Bible interpretation is certainly meant to be something we do personally, but it’s not at all meant to be something we do privately. When we’re a part of the interpretive community of a healthy local church, we’re able to more or less balance each other out. This involves helping each other see blinds spots in our thinking, flaws in our reasoning, and aspects of biblical teaching we haven’t fully appreciated. It also involves us helping each other evaluate the various teachings we encounter and, in that way, protect each other from teachings that are unbiblical and harmful. 

And just to give one final word of encouragement about this, let me encourage you to be very cautious about things you encounter on the internet. I imagine we’re all aware of this, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that the algorithms of the internet aren’t designed to be biblically faithful but rather to capture your attention. That’s what the algorithm cares about—your attention and how your attention translates into revenue for that company. 

So, just like packs of cigarettes are required to have a warning label from the surgeon general printed on them, imagine a warning label on every social media post and YouTube video you see. And the warning label might say something like this: “This material may or may not be true to the Bible. It’s being presented to you by an algorithm designed to capture your attention. Proceed with extreme caution.” So, in the words of verse 4, these are some ways we can protect ourselves from being “delud[ed]…with plausible arguments.” 

After that, Paul encourages his readers in verse 5, “For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” He then tells them in verses 6-7, 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 

If you wanted to summarize everything Paul wants his readers to do—not only in these verses but in the entire letter—I can’t think of any better summary than the last three words of verse 6—“walk in him,” speaking of Jesus. “[A]s you received Christ Jesus the Lord,” Paul says, “so walk in him.” What do you think it might mean to “walk in him”? 

Well, I imagine it involves a lot of things, but here are four that stick out to me—and I’ll just list these: a mind saturated with truths about Christ, a heart full of affection for Christ, a mentality characterized by dependence on Christ, and a life guided by conformity to Christ. I’ll list those one more time for all of you avid note-takers out there: a mind saturated with truths about Christ, a heart full of affection for Christ, a mentality characterized by dependence on Christ, and a life guided by conformity to Christ. To walk in Christ involves pursuing these four things. 

Then in verse 7, Paul himself actually elaborates on what it means to “walk in him.” According to Paul, it involves being “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” When I think of being “rooted” in Jesus, it reminds me of a massive tree I saw not too long ago while I was walking on a trail. This tree caught my attention because it was so big and yet was leaning at such a considerable angle. Of course, it’s not that uncommon to see trees growing at an angle, but I remember being particularly intrigued at how a tree of such massive size was growing at this angle. And I remember thinking to myself that that the root structure of this tree must be incredibly deep and extensive—because that’s the only way this tree could still be standing upright. And that’s the way we should be rooted in Jesus and draw spiritual strength and nourishment from Jesus, just as a tree draws nourishment from the soil. 

Paul also speaks being “built up” in Jesus, just as a stable building has a good foundation. And he lastly expresses a desire that his readers be “established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

Paul then refers again to the false teachers in verse 8. He says, “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.” The phrase “takes you captive” translates a Greek word that referred to conquering a city, carrying off its valuable items as plunder, and even carrying off many of the city’s people as captives. That’s what Paul warns his readers against allowing to happen to them. 

And he warns that that they might be taken captive specifically by “philosophy and empty deceit.” Now, this doesn’t mean that all philosophy is bad. After all, a key component of the greatest commandment in the Bible is to love God with all of our mind. I also appreciate the observation of C. S. Lewis when he said that “Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy must be answered.”

So, how then do we tell the difference between good philosophy and bad philosophy? Well, I believe the answer is right here in verse 8. Paul contrasts thinking that’s “according to human tradition” with thinking that’s “according to Christ.” And that’s the key distinction. Will we make human reason primary and therefore view the Bible through the lens of human reason, or will we make divine revelation primary and therefore view human reason through the lens of the Bible? 

In previous centuries, it was held that theology is the queen of the sciences and philosophy is her handmaiden. Think about that. First of all, for theology to be the queen of the sciences means that every field of study of the created order—whether it be math, biology, physics, astronomy, or chemistry—the study of everything should be undertaken within the overall framework of a biblical worldview. In other words, our study of the Bible should guide and inform our study of everything else. That’s what it means for theology to be queen of the sciences. 

And philosophy is the handmaiden of theology first in the sense that it’s an extension of theology as we seek to answer various questions about being and reality and other philosophical matters. In addition, good philosophy also supports our theological inquiry by deepening our awareness of logical fallacies and in other similar ways. So, my point is that there’s definitely a place for philosophy among Christians. The problem is whenever we allow philosophy to become unhitched from the Bible. 

In addition, as we look at verse 8, we see that the philosophy Paul was warning against is rooted both in “human tradition” and in what Paul refers to as “the elemental spirits of the world.” This is mostly likely a reference to the demonic spirits that were driving much of the false teaching in Colossae. And it’s interesting that Paul refers to them as “elemental spirits.” 

When you think of the word “elemental,” just think of elementary school, in which students only learn the most simple and rudimentary concepts in any field of study. There’s no advanced study happening in elementary schools. Similarly, even though the false teachers of Colossae liked to present themselves as incredibly intelligent and advanced and sophisticated, Paul basically says that embracing their teachings is like returning to elementary school after earning a doctorate. According to Paul, that’s how profoundly naïve and simplistic the ideas of the false teachers actually are. They’re rooted in “the elemental spirits of the world” rather than in Christ.  

Paul then declares in verses 9-10, speaking of Christ, 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. John MacArthur refers to verse 9 as “perhaps the most definitive statement of Christ’s deity in the epistles” and “the rock upon which all attempts to disprove Christ’s deity are shattered.” I’m not sure how Paul could be any more explicit or direct about the fact that Jesus is fully and in every sense God—“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” 

Not only that, Paul says, “you have been filled in him.” The false teachers were claiming that the Colossian Christians may have Jesus but that they’re lacking certain specific teachings that are critical for realizing their full spiritual potential. However, Paul wants his readers to understand that they’re already complete in Jesus. They have no need for any kind of “secret knowledge” or other ridiculous pursuits because they’ve already been “filled” in Christ. Nothing else can ever make them more complete than they already are in Jesus. 

And that’s probably the biggest takeaway from this passage for us as well. As is sometimes said, Jesus plus nothing equals everything. Jesus plus nothing equals everything. So, have you come to an understanding of your fullness in Jesus? Are you resting in his sufficiency each day? Are you experiencing the delight of being in his presence? Is your soul satisfied in him? 

Listen to what a nineteenth century pastor names Cornelius Tyree writes in a book titled The Glorious Sufficiency of Christ. He states, “[S]tudy, not Christianity, but Christ; ponder, not redemption, but the Redeemer; not salvation, but the living…Savior. … In the person, character, and work of Christ is included and offered all that God can give, and all that man can need. … What excellency…can you desire or imagine that is not found in Christ? ... All that is great, and powerful, and wise, and faithful, and patient, and endearing; all that is trustworthy in divinity, and attractive in humanity, is embodied in Jesus Christ; … [Christ is] the greatest among the pure, and the purest among the great, the perfection of all beauty and the center of all excellency.”

“In him is an infinitude of moral beauty. He is gloriously and infinitely lovely and loving. When we…look at Christ, [we] see in him an infinite inexhaustible fullness of spiritual blessings; of light sufficient to scatter the world's darkness;
of merit to atone for the world's guilt; of mercy to pardon all sins; of grace to sanctify all hearts; of beauty to win our supreme love; of excellency for our imitation and transformation; of joy to make all human beings blessed forever; of consolation to support man under all trials and afflictions; of power to protect from all enemies, and deliver from all difficulties; of wisdom to manage all man's interests in the best way; and of authority and power to judge the world.”

So, if we glean anything from our main passage of Colossians 2:1-10, let it be a renewed sense of the glory and excellency of our Savior Jesus.