BIG IDEA:
THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST PROTECTS US AGAINST FALSE TEACHING
INTRODUCTION
Have we truly grasped the concept that we are complete in Christ?
That He is sufficient for everything we will ever need?
Why should we ever be attracted by empty philosophies that attempt to add something else on
to the person and work of Jesus Christ?
“Complete in Thee! no work of mine May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me, And I am now complete in Thee.
Yea, justified! O blessed thought! And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me, And glorified, I too, shall be!”
Key = There are no Short Cuts to spirituality
I. (:8-9) ALL TRUTH MUST BE MEASURED AGAINST THE STANDARD OF CHRIST = WHO IS GOD INCARNATE
A. Spiritual Discernment Requires Spiritual Alertness
“See to it that no one takes you captive”
Kidnap, take hostage
Need to be constantly on the look out with eyes wide open; Pres. Tense
Guard your spiritual freedom and don’t allow anyone to take you captive
Rob you of your life, hope, energy, joy
Gromacki: “The heretical teacher, therefore, is like a slave trader. He wants to steal the believer
away from his spiritual family and sell him as a slave into false doctrine.”
B. Spiritual Discernment Recognizes Deception
cf. the false siren in ancient Greek mythology
3 things that characterize false philosophy:
1. False Wisdom -- “philosophy and empty deception”
Vincent: Greeks held philosophy in highest regard; used here in the sense of vain speculation;
Empty in the sense of void of truth; fruitless; like the inside of a ping pong ball
Morgan: “Sounds good, intellectual, plausible”
Stedman: “hollow – no real content, no actual basis in reality”
2. False Authority -- “according to the tradition of men”
Stedman: “They arise out of the thinking of men, find a foothold in society, and then are passed along from genertion to generation so as to appear popular and
widely supported.” cf. theory of evolution
“An attempt is always made to make it appear that biblical Christianity is a minority fatih, held by only a few ill-educated, almost mentally deficient people, who have no basis in scholarship for what they believe.”
no basis in divine revelation
3. False Logic -- “according to the elementary principles of the world”
Gromacki: “elementary” used of anything which appeared in a row or series; thus, it came to refer to the letters of the alphabet, to the basic notes of music, and to the fundamental components of the material universe; just dealing with the A,B,Cs of this fallen world . . ."
Alternative view: reference to an army of soldiers lined up in a row, in ranks, as in a hierarchy = reference to fallen angels
no grasp of the complexity of the fullness of spiritual truth
C. Spiritual Discernment Regards Christ as the Ultimate Standard
“rather than according to Christ”
Truth sets you free rather than enslaves you
Stedman: “Every cult attacks the person or work of Jesus—or both”
D. KEY: Christ is God Incarnate
“For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form”
lives as a permanent resident rather than as transients
Note Present Tense – Christ continues to possess all the fulness of Deity even in His glorified state (Kent)
embodied, given concrete expression, fully realized in Him
II. (:10) CHRIST IS OUR SUFFICIENCY
A. We are Complete in Him
“and in Him you have been made complete”
B. We Own No Other Master
We do not need Other Mediators or Rulers (even if they are spiritual and powerful)
“and He is the head over all rule and authority”
You will be able to differentiate genuine spiritual leadership from heretical imposters by
their servant attitude
III. (:11-12) OUR UNION WITH CHRIST IS PORTRAYED BY 2 SPIRITUAL ANALOGIES
Deliverance from the Power of the Old nature
Stedman: “Many scholars equate circumcision with baptism, holding that Christian baptism has
taken the place of the old Testament rite of circumcision. But if you look carefully at this verse
it is clear that this is not true. If we are Chrsitians, says Paul, we have been both circumcised and baptized. Thus, they are not the same thing…
Circumcision symbolizes the death of Jesus and our death with him, our dying to sin, as Romans 5 and 6 argues. But baptism stands for our new life with him. When someone is immersed in the waters of baptism he is not left there, he is brought out again to a new life. That is what baptism reflects: the work of the Spirit in imparting new life from Christ, a new
humanity, the human spirit made alive. It is the difference between a true Christian and merely
professing Christian. The true Christian has been made alive in Christ. He has a whole new basis for living.”
cf. doctrine of infant baptism
A. (:11) The Spiritual Analogy of Circumcision (cf. outline by Wuest here)
1. Its Character: Internal not External
“and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands”
Note emphasis on “in Him” throughout this passage
2. Its Extent: Total not Partial
“in the removal of the body of the flesh”
3. Its Author: Christ not Moses
“by the circumcison of Christ”
B. (:12) The Spiritual Analogy of Baptism
1. United in Burial
“having been buried with Him in baptism”
2. United in Resurrection
“in which you were also raised up with Him”
3. KEY: Faith in the Working of God
“through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead”
IV. (:13-15) THE VICTORY OF CHRIST HAS RESCUED US FROM
DEATH, SIN AND ALL ENEMIES
A. (:13A) Imparting Life in Rescuing us from the Dead
1. State of Death – “and when you were dead”
a. “in your transgressions”
b. “and the uncircumcision of your flesh”
2. Miracle of Resurrection – “He made you alive together with Him”
B. (:13B – 14) Imparting Forgiveness in Canceling out our Sin = Deliverance from Guilt
1. Completeness of Forgiveness – “having forgiven us all our transgressions”
2. Righteous Canceling of Our Debt – “having canceled out the certificate of debt”
Herries: “Blotted out, not just crossed out (where you can still see the writing under the
X)”
a. Its Content -- “consisting of decrees against us”
b. Its Effect -- “and which was hostile to us”
3. Finality of the Process
a. “He has taken it out of the way”
b. “having nailed it to the cross”
Herries: “When a criminal was crucified his charge was nailed to his cross to show it was no longer against him but had also been put to death”, paid for, done
away with
C. (:15) Imparting Victory in Disarming and Defeating our Enemies = Satan and his power
1. Disarming –
“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities”
2. Defeating –
“He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him”
* * * * * * * * * *
DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS:
1) What type of pursuit of philosophy is dangerous? What are some of the erroneous humanistic
philosophies to which I have been exposed?
2) What have I learned about the “fulness of Deity” from the mystery of the Incarnation?
3) What type of incompleteness has Christ resolved by rendering me complete in Him?
4) In what sense did we participate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? How do we participate in the fruits of His victory right now?
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