Alive Through Truth

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Scriptural Text:  Colossians 2:4-15

Colossians 2:6-7

⁶ So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷ being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.

(CSB)

While in prison, the Apostle Paul must have had concerns about the spiritual health of the church in Colossi.  His concern stems from hearing of heretical teaching from the enemy trying to derail their faith.  While Scripture does not provide details of what the heresy consisted of, the Words Paul wrote point to Jewish legalism and Gnosticism.  (1) 

A Gnostic person is one who views themselves as having knowledge beyond that of an ordinary person.  Their philosophy or religion concerns explaining the work of creation and accounting for the existence of evil.  (1)  The basics of this philosophy exist today with some refraining from accepting Jesus as their Savior due to confusion over how a loving God could allow evil in the world.  While there is no easy answer to this question, the bridge connecting the creator God and the existence of evil in the world concerns God’s granting humanity freedom to choose and the deceptive practices of Satan. 

God seeks willing followers which comes with the risk those followers will make wrong choices.  Unfortunately, the deception of Satan led Adam and Eve to make the choice of disobedience to Gods command, opening the gate to allowing evil into the world which swiftly escalated to the first murder (Genesis 3:1-7; Genesis 4).  This is how the Bible explains the existence of evil in the world.  However, in the middle of this first rebellion against God, God demonstrates his love for humanity by pointing to a future redeemer (Genesis 3:15).  God as creator who placed free will in humanity could have destroyed Adam and Eve but instead creates a process through the nation of Israel that will result in the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. 

To combat the spread of a Gnosticism, the Apostle Paul emphasizes what the believers have through faith in Jesus Christ so the light of truth can make them alive in their faith.  In this passage we see,

1)      A reminder believers are established in truth (Colossians 2:6-7) – Truth has liberating power for the truth of the Gospel frees us from sin (John 8:32).  This liberating establishment through truth begins when one accepts Jesus as his or her savior.  However, it is also an continuing process as one must allow their mind to be transformed through study of biblical truth (Romans 12:2).  This involves us using our free will to choose to accept Christ and live according to the truth contained in the Word of God.

2)      A call to worship the creator and not the creation (Colossians 2:8) – Romans 1:24-25 gives additional explanation for the existence of evil in the world through reminding us that it is due to God’s allowing everyone to choose what to believe in.  Knowing everyone has the freedom to choose what to believe in, the Apostle Paul warns against falling prey to deceptive teaching.  The Bible holds God’s truth and to become alive in truth, one must choose to live according to what the Bible contains.

3)      All a believer needs is found in Christ (Colossians 2:9-10) – The thesis of Satan’s deception of Adam and Eve was convincing them that somehow God was holding out on them (Genesis 3:1-5).  We can also fall prey to deceptive teaching claiming to have some truth missing from Scripture and how cults often entice Christians into adopting their beliefs.  Knowing this truth is why the Apostle Paul penned this letter proclaiming the preeminence of Christ while in prison.  Not only are the truths contained in this letter applicable to the church in Colossi but have application to the church today as Satan continues to deceive through heretical teaching. 

4)      A need for believers to rid themselves of the deeds of the flesh and its desires (Colossians 2:11-12) – While the work of Jesus on the cross was complete providing total forgiveness from sin (John 19:30), the ongoing separation from the flesh and its desires requires diligent study and application of biblical truth in one’s life (Romans 12:2).  While the work of Jesus on the cross was complete, Satan’s desire is to destroy us and separate us from the liberating power of God’s truth (John 10:10).  The desire of a believer in Jesus as Savior must become a desire and hunger to know more about God’s Word triumphing over deception (Psalm 42:1). 

5)      A loving God died on the cross to obliterate the flesh and its sinful desires (Colossians 2:13-15) – through one’s decision to accept Jesus as their savior, the process of liberation through truth begins.  However, the truth train can become derailed through deceptive teaching or sinful deeds of the flesh.  We therefore must strive to live obediently for God out of love for what a loving God did for us.  Jesus, while living in the glory of Heaven with His Father chose to become flesh like us so he could take our deserved death penalty (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

The process of liberation through truth begins with acceptance of Jesus as savior.  If you have never done this, I encourage you to do so by praying with me now,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

I encourage those that just prayed to continue making an effort to live according to biblical truth, remembering we are not perfect but that God is always willing to forgive (1 John 1:9). 

1. Lightfoot, Bishop J. B. Gnosticism and the Colossian Heresy. www2.gracenotes.info. [Online] Grace Notes. [Cited: March 15, 2019.] https://www2.gracenotes.info/topics/gnosticism-colossian-heresy.html.