Articles
Christ, And Christ Alone
Paul's letter to the brethren of Colossæ emphasized the place Christ should have had in the lives of those who were His disciples. Early in the letter, Paul noted that Christ “is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18).
Paul had similarly noted in his letter to the Ephesians that it was God who had “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:20-23). If God raised Christ to this position, and if God intended Him to have the preeminence [high in station, rank, or repute above all others], then no man can or should try to claim that position, much less try to demote Christ to some lower, less honorable position.
In this letter to the Colossian brethren, Paul reminded them that anything or anyone besides Christ was basically useless, reminding them, “you are complete in Him” (Col. 2:10) — they needed nothing and no one else. A further study of the Colossian letter shows that others were trying to supplant Christ with things that would not benefit them at all, and it is worth noting that the things that were distracting disciples from Christ are some of the same things that can distract us today. Let us note these things and be alert so we are not drawn away.
Human Wisdom. (Col. 2:4-8) Paul begins with a warning, “Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.” Men who spoke smooth words and tickled the ears of the listeners might lead them away from Christ, with words that sounded right or pleasing, but they were not of God. Paul would go on to further warn against these smooth words, describing them as “philosophy and empty deceit” [Greek philosophy and fallacious doctrines], “the tradition of men” [a habit that died hard among the Jews, especially], and teaching that was “according to the basic principles of the world” [rites and ceremonies; again, common among the Jews, but not unknown to those who once followed pagan practices].
Today, we are still surrounded by those who appeal to human wisdom, philosophy, and, now, science as alternatives to Christ's teachings, and those “persuasive words” lead many away from Christ, supplanting Him with their inferior human wisdom, supposing they are wise (cf. Rom. 1:18-22). Let us recognize the futility of chasing after the latest philosophical [or even scientific] discussion and involving ourselves too much in the arguments among men over things that are mere distractions from the most important matter: our eternal salvation. If our words and arguments are not of Christ they are, at best, “empty deceit” and will do nothing toward the salvation of even one soul. Let us rest in Christ and on His word, content that we are all we ever need to be in Him.
Rites and Rituals. (Col. 2:11-23) Colossæ's location guaranteed they would be influenced by the Greeks to the west, and the Jews from the east, and maybe a little of both. To the Jewish brethren, Paul reminded them that Christ had “wiped out” those very ordinances under which the Jews of old had lived, and by which no man could be justified (Col. 2:14). Now — in Christ — they could be truly forgiven and called righteous in the sight of God! Why would these brethren now want to turn away from that? Again, Paul reminds them that those things under the Old Law were merely “a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Col. 2:17). Again, Christ was the solution! Keeping feasts and sabbaths and refraining from restricted foods did not justify them, but Christ did.
For the Gentiles, many of whom had come out of paganism, Paul addressed the then-current practice of the ascetics — those who practiced self-denial as a means of attaining moral or spiritual maturity. They denied themselves every pleasure [they cannot even use seasoning on food] in the false hope that it would somehow elevate them to a "higher plane" and closer to God and eternal life. Paul gets right to the point here and calls such ideas as that which rest on the “basic principles of the world” (Col. 2:20) [i.e., not of God] and, in reality, “are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh” (Col. 2:23). Paul bluntly warned them not to be "cheated" out of their reward by listening to these men, who were self-confident though they knew nothing about the things they spoke (Col. 2:18).
Paul again pointed them to Christ as the one to whom they should have been holding fast, and through Him alone could the body [the church] grow “with the increase that is from God” (Col. 2:19). It would not be by the prohibition of foods, legitimate sexual relationships [Ex., celibacy], or any other physical sensory perception that brought them closer to God (Col. 2:20, 21) — only in Christ. These things were, again, not of God but “according to the commandments and doctrines of men” (Col. 2:22).
Let us not fool ourselves into thinking certain rituals or practices, and even the denial of legitimate physical pleasures, is the road to heaven and spiritual perfection. These things may make you appear humble and godly in the sight of men [and you might even be a little more healthy] but they are otherwise meaningless — unable to produce forgiveness or salvation.
A Fleshly-Minded Life. (Col. 3:1-11) If there was any doubt about what following Christ alone meant, Paul eliminated even self as someone or something that would distract us from following Him as we should. Here, Paul reminds the brethren that as ones who had been “raised with Christ,” they were to no longer think on “the things on the earth,” but were to now “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1, 2). As ones who had “put off the old man with his deeds” (Col. 3:9), they were to put away the sinful things “in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them” (Col. 3:7) because they had “put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Col. 3:10). The contrast to seeking fulfillment in fleshly things was to remember that Christ was their Savior [both Jew and Gentile] and, as such, was “all and in all.” In other words, nothing else would fill their needs!
In all these things and more, we should acknowledge that trying to supplant Christ with anything or anyone will be insufficient to give us what we truly need, and insufficient to get us where we seek to be. Human wisdom is vastly inferior to the wisdom of God; rites and rituals and doing things to appear more holy will not make us holy; and though many seem to think life is all about "being happy," seeking fulfillment in fleshly things and fleshly pleasures will leave us empty and just as unhappy as before, if not worse.
It is sad to see this world continue to seek fulfillment and answers to nagging questions in anything and everything but the One who has the answers and fulfills the need. We, as a nation, have strayed so far from Christ that He no longer seems capable of giving us what we need, but if we just moved closer to Him, we could see He has all and is all we need.
Christ, and Christ alone. —— Steven Harper
