I am sure that as I read through the Scriptures to which I want to draw your attention, you noticed that the Apostle Paul used the word “philosophy.” If you thought to yourself at that moment that you find it strange that you do not read that word very often in the Bible, you are correct. In fact, this is the only usage of this word in both the Old Testament or the New Testament in the major English translations.
In the original language, the word is “philosophias” which is a compound word, made up of “phileo” (to love) and “sophia,” which means “wisdom.” In Greek, the word means a lover of wisdom. In the world of the first century, the word was used to describe what we today call a worldview, a term you might know as a philosophy of life. Philosophy classes in many colleges today seem to be better at destroying a person’s worldview rather than helping them construct a viable worldview. In the first century, teachers were paid to help their students develop, discuss, and defend their own worldview. Throughout his ministry, the Apostle Paul endeavored to help new believers move from either a Jewish worldview or a pagan worldview to a Christian worldview.
In his message to those assembled at the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:22), Paul expounded the Christian worldview to a group whose worldview was decidedly pagan. They were materialists who believed the universe consisted of eternal matter, but Paul said, no, “God made the world and all things in it.” Paul’s worldview was God-centered or Christ-centered and so the universe began when God created it. The pagans believed in multitudes of gods and demi-gods, but Paul again said, no, actually this one God who made everything, is the only Lord of heaven and earth. The pagans built temples to their gods, but Paul said the one true God does not live in any temples made with hands. The gods of the pagans needed humans to do things for them that they could not do for themselves, but Paul said his Creator God does not need anything from people, but rather, “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.” He gives to them. The pagans believed in various races and types of people, some who were distinctly superior to others but once more Paul’s Christian worldview said that his God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth” and that He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation because He is a sovereign God who is in charge. The gods the pagans worship were far off and completely disinterested in human affairs. But Paul said that the true God was approachable and not far from each one of us. The pagans liked to make idols and worship them, but Paul said that God’s nature is not like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Paul explained that mankind has a deep problem. While God created man and woman with a free will, they chose to rebel against their Creator in order to live a life independent of Him and they fell into ignorance and sin and now they must repent because a judgment day is soon approaching.
Up to this point, Paul’s pagan audience listened politely, but when Paul introduced the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, they immediately stopped Paul’s presentation. To them, the resurrection of Jesus was absurd and scientifically implausible. No one, as far as they knew, had ever died and then returned to life, never to die again. Their finite thinking could not contain such a profoundly supernatural idea, so they rejected the idea of resurrection and the Apostle Paul who believed it.
Here, in the book of Colossians, Paul is teaching the Christians of this church to have a Christian worldview. A Christian worldview is a Christ-centered worldview. He has already told us in chapter one that Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:15-20).
In addition, Paul said that in coming to Christ as Savior, God does something supernatural and miraculous for the believer. It is found in the words, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The Creator of all things, the Lord of glory, the One who died on the cross, actually comes to live in the one who believes in the Lord Jesus for salvation. This is the foundation for a Christian worldview. The Christ I received as Savior, forgave all of my sins, reconciled me completely and eternally to God and has come to live in me to continuously build His truth into my life. And the result? That He, Jesus Christ, will come to have first place in my life as He has in everything. He desires to be at the center of my life. He must be the only One who is on the throne of my life. Christians are here to do His will and not their own.
Beginning in verse 8, Paul began a section of the book of Colossians that dealt with several false teachings that were creeping into their church. He will address each one and show why they are false. Here he began by building the foundation of his teaching by pointing them to developing a Christian worldview in which Jesus has all the fullness of Deity dwelling in Him in bodily form. We will look at each of these three foundational verses, first finding that a Christ-centered worldview guards against deception, second, recognizing that Jesus is God and fully God, and, third, that in the Lord Jesus Christ, every believer is already complete.
GUARD AGAINST DECEPTION. Colossians 2:8
Guard Against Being Taken Captive. Paul began with an imperative. “See to it” means to be constantly on guard against false teaching. This means a continuous watchfulness for the dangers from false teaching and false teachers. But this is new neither to Paul nor to the New Testament. In Matthew 7:15, the Lord Jesus gives His disciples the same warning. He says, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” In the next verses the Lord explained how to tell who the false prophets are. He said, “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16-20). Then He says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21).
Paul also told the elders from the church in Ephesus to be on guard: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30). Why is there all of this concern about false teachers? Because if deceived by false teaching, believers can be taken captive and led away from God’s truth and their living for Christ can be ruined. To be taken captive away from the true teaching of God’s Word will lead to fear, doubt, spiritual weakness, and even into sin that will bring God’s judgment.
With Paul it would undoubtedly be true to say that philosophy, in the sense of loving wisdom and knowledge and a desire for truth would be compatible with his thinking. But philosophy in the developed sense with its emphasis on the primacy of human reason, he would obviously be completely opposed. Wisdom, knowledge, and truth, for it to be from a Christian worldview, must center on Jesus Christ. “Empty deception” means a fraud or a trick. The philosophies of the Colossian false teachers were not what they appeared to be. They sounded good and seduced the minds of those deceived by it, but it was an insipid illusion. There is no value in such speculative human philosophy, no matter how deeply and profoundly religious it sounds.
Guard Against Traditions and Elementary Principles. In these verses, Paul points out two sources of philosophy and empty deception, both designed to cause Christians to drift away from the sufficiency and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. First is the tradition of men. In this case, the traditions were religious philosophy that were purely human. It had no supernatural source and was merely human speculation. The Lord used this same word “tradition” in Mark 7, “And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’ “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men. Thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition…” (Mark 7:6-8, 13).
The second source of philosophy and empty deception was the elementary principles of the world. “Elements” refer to the basic and rudimentary components of the cosmos, or the notes in a line of music. Here it refers to a teaching that was contrary to what the Christians in this church had been taught by their original Christian instructors that led them to faith in Jesus Christ. These were deliberate attempts to take Jesus Christ out of the center of these Christian’s lives. If successful, it would leave them spiritually impoverished and powerless.
We Must Live According to Christ. Having explained the negative, Paul turned to the positive. What were the Christians then and what should Christians now base their worldview upon? It must be according to Christ. He is, and for the Christian must be, the source and content of life. Here Paul returns to the core of his argument: any teaching that challenges the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ are to be unmasked to reveal their true nature of the evil spiritual forces that threaten Christians with deceit and lies. Nothing and no one can be compared to the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom, “all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities” (Colossians 1:16). Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings.
THE FULL DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST. Colossians 2:9
The Fullness of Deity. The Lord Jesus Christ possesses the fullness of deity. Jesus is fully and completely God. The completeness of deity is permanently and eternally present in Jesus. By “deity” Paul means that all of the attributes that God the Father possesses; the Lord Jesus possesses. All that God the Father is, Jesus is. Jesus has been fully God from eternity. There has never been a time when He has not existed and never a time that He was not fully God. And there will never be a time when Jesus will not exist and be entirely God.
In Bodily Form. “In bodily form” means Jesus took upon Himself a typical, physical, and material human body and presented Himself to humanity as a human. He was born as a human, grew to manhood as a human, and died a human death. All during His incarnation He was God. He was God while preaching, teaching and performing great miracles. He was God on the cross and as God He took our sins upon Himself. When He rose from the dead, He was God and as God He ascended into heaven. And God Jesus will soon return from heaven to rule as God over His Millennial Kingdom. The Bible says, “No one has seen God at any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18). To Philip the disciple, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). God Jesus lived among us to put God’s pure holiness, grace, love, and mercy on display. If you know Jesus, you know God.
Jesus Is Lord and God. The Bible abounds with testimonies as to the deity of Christ. The prophet Isaiah said, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) Jesus, the Child who was born and the Son who was given is the Mighty God and Eternal Father. He is God.
In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul tells us that “Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” When Thomas, the disciple who doubted Christ’s resurrection personally saw his risen Savior, he said, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Thomas knew Jesus was Lord and God. Do you know recognize Jesus as God?
IN CHRIST WE ARE MADE COMPLETE. Colossians 2:10
In Christ Believers Have Been Made Complete. Being “made complete” means that those who have trusted in Christ as Savior have received all they need in Christ and they have been given that completeness by grace for eternity. All of the gifts that have made you and I complete were given to us by the Lord freely by His grace. We cannot earn them and we certainly did not deserve them.
It may be that you do not know all of God’s blessings given to all believers in Christ. All believers have been placed in the eternal plan of God, they have been reconciled to God, redeemed, have had all of their sins covered by Christ’s atoning blood, they are made children of God and placed as adopted adult children, they each have personal access to God, they have been made citizens of heaven, they are eternally united to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and they already possess every spiritual blessing. When any person comes to Christ, all of these gifts, and more, are given to them immediately and eternally.
He Is Head Over All. As the “Head” Jesus has supreme authority over all creation. Since He is omnipresent, space and distance are no barrier, He is head over all the universe. Since He is omnipotent, there is no greater power, so His headship can never be challenged. Since He is head over all, all things will move continuously and without hindrance to a conclusion of His choosing. His eternal plan will unfold exactly as He wills.
He Is Sovereign God Who Rules with Supreme Authority. Since Jesus has all authority, the entire universe falls under His authority and no one whom He created is exempt from that authority. He is the One who has the authority to judge all, and one day all will give an account to Him. We remember Paul’s words about Jesus’ matchless authority, “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
As a result of the Fall, humanity is in a sad state of incompleteness. They are spiritually incomplete because they are totally out of fellowship with God. They are morally incomplete because they live outside of God’s will. They are mentally incomplete because they do not know ultimate truth. They have placed themselves at the center of their lives and each one occupies the throne of their own hearts. Their worldview is conspicuously self-centered and they choose to remain a rebel to the One who Created them.
But when a person hears about salvation in Christ and chooses to believe in Him, they become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4), and are made complete in Christ. Believers are spiritually complete because they have fellowship with God. They are morally complete because they recognize the authority of God’s will. They are mentally complete because they know the truth about ultimate reality. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit they develop a Christian worldview, a worldview that places Jesus Christ in the center of their lives and He becomes preeminent in every aspect of their lives. Is Jesus the center of your life? Do you live knowing Christ is all in all? Have you received Jesus Christ as your Savior? Right now, as we pray together, ask the Lord Jesus to save you and forgive your sins.
Christian, as you pray, once again commit yourself to the Lord Jesus, and continue to make Him the center of your life.
