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Colossians 2:12b – The Workings of God

… in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Summary: Understanding Paul’s language requires understanding the reality of the spiritual realm. 

If being “buried with him in baptism” is a metaphor for spiritual things, how much more is the rest of Paul’s sentence?

Actually, Paul’s sentence is more of a “mixed metaphor.”

The last part, where he writes “the working of God, who raised him [Jesus] from the dead,” is literal and true. God did raise Jesus from the dead. This same Jesus whom God raised to life two thousand years ago is alive today.

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Colossians 2:11 – Cut Off & Born Again

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.  Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ …

Summary: Paul resorts to a metaphor that ties in his arguments about circumcision with spiritual truths that we cannot see with human eyes. 

I have to confess that I find circumcision a rather awkward topic for discussion. However, since Paul has mentioned it and provided a handy description, we will go with that! 

In this passage, Paul equates circumcision to putting off our “whole self ruled by the flesh.” 

I wish it were that easy! 

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Colossians 2:10b – Those With Power

He is the head over every power and authority. 

Summary: The fact that Jesus is head over “powers and authorities” does not mean that every ruler obeys their Maker. 

It is no surprise that Paul has been talking about Jesus. It is Jesus (the Christ) whom we have received as Lord. It is in Jesus that we live our lives, and it is in Jesus that we are rooted and built up (Colossians 2:6-7).

This same Jesus is the one we have been taught about and in whom we place our faith. Knowing Jesus fills us with gratitude, and we overflow with thankfulness (ibid).

Jesus Christ is the “fullness of the Deity (God)” in the flesh. When we place our faith in him, we, too, are “brought to fullness” and filled with God’s Light (John 8:12).

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Colossians 2:10a – Brought to Fullness

…and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.

Summary: Being brought to fullness in Christ is like going to the spiritual candy store and getting to eat all you want. 

Paul begins his sentence with the words, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form …” and ends them with today’s passage, “…and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.”

Have you ever seen a fountain where water flows into a bowl and then overflows into another bowl? Sometimes, there will be three bowls, each flowing into the other. 

The picture Paul’s words paint is similar to the fountain. The fullness of God flows into Christ, and Christ flows into those who believe in him. 

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Colossians 2:9 – Full of Jesus

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form …

Summary: Sometimes we have to experience something to know what it is. When it comes to understanding the spiritual reality of Jesus, tasting is believing. 

It is interesting how God’s Spirit weaves patterns in the fabric of our lives (John 3:8). Today, before writing this meditation, I was at a Bible Study discussing a similar question. In this passage, Paul writes: 

“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

The last part of his sentence reads, “… attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” 

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Colossians 2:8d – The Path to Unity

…rather than on Christ.

Summary: As we come to the end of this verse, Paul points us, once again, to the only one who can save us: Jesus. 

Wait a minute! How did we get here again? 

Let’s review: 

“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.” (Colossians 2:8)

In this one sentence, Paul has outlined a major threat to those of us who believe in Jesus. A “hollow and deceptive philosophy” is a persuasive argument that looks substantial on the outside but inside is empty, void of any real value. 

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Colossians 2:8c – Spiritual Dangers

…and the elemental spiritual forces of this world…

Summary: With three simple words the NIV translation of Paul’s letter transports us into the realm of the unknown. As we ponder what Paul means, we find a warning against pagan beliefs. 

Whenever I read this passage, I stop and pause when I get to the phrase “elemental spiritual forces.” The wording is very unusual. The idea of “elemental spiritual forces” intrigues me, and I find myself wondering what Paul is talking about. 

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Colossians 2:8b – A Touchy Subject

… which depends on human tradition …

Summary: This passage continues Paul’s thoughts on protecting the church from “hollow and deceptive philosophy.” The challenging part is trying to figure out what he is talking about.

In this passage, Paul explains a bit more about the “hollow and deceptive” philosophies that he has in mind. Here, he adds that they depend on “human tradition.” Interestingly, the word Paul uses for “tradition” has a particular meaning in Greek. 

“Parádosis” is the Greek word for “a precept; specially, the Jewish traditionary law:—ordinance, tradition” (Strong’s G3862). It appears that he was thinking of the Jewish believers who insisted that circumcision was still necessary for salvation (See Galatians 2:12 and Titus 1:10). 

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