Apr 26
19
Old Testament Reading: Hosea 6:1–7
“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.” (Hosea 6:1–7, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Colossians 2:16-23
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:16–23, ESV)
*****
Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
Please go with me, in your mind, back in time to the days of Moses. What did the Hebrews do after God redeemed them from Egyptian bondage? Did they not walk with God in the wilderness as they sojourned towards the land of promise? First, they were redeemed, and then they walked. And consider that at Sinai, God gave Israel laws to govern their walking. They were not simply to walk. Rather, they were to walk in obedience to the Lord who had redeemed them—they were to walk in such a way so as to please him.
So you can see the pattern. God acted to redeem the Hebrews from bondage through Moses. He then gave them his law. And then he called the Hebrews to walk worthily, as they followed God’s lead (in the cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night), and as God supplied for their every need (he gave them water from the rock to drink, and manna from heaven to eat). You can see this order in the preface to the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:1 says, “And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.’” (Exodus 20:1–3, ESV), etc. The Hebrews were to walk worthily in obedience to God’s commands, not to earn their redemption, but because they had been graciously redeemed. That is the order.
Brothers and sisters, these things “were written down for our instruction” (see 1 Corinthians 10:11).
For the redeemed Hebrews, the walking was quite literal. Having been redeemed from bondage, they were to walk toward the Land of Promise in a manner that was pleasing to the Lord. And this is a picture of the Christian’s sojourn. Having been redeemed by Christ Jesus from an enemy far greater than Pharaoh and from a condition far more deplorable than slavery in Egypt, the Christian is to walk towards heaven in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord.
Walking, of course, is a metaphor for the way in which a person lives their life. It may be that a Christian walks in Christ for many years but never leaves his hometown, for the land we are sojourning towards is heaven (see 1 Peter 2:11), or the new heavens and earth (see 2 Peter 3:13), of which Canaan was a sign (see Hebrews 11:9-10). And if it is true that the sojourning of Old Covenant Israel was but a picture of our sojourning in Christ Jesus (which it was; read Hebrews 3 & 4), then consider how important our sojourning is. In other words, if God expected the Hebrews to walk worthily in the wilderness, how much more should we walk worthily in Christ Jesus the Redeemer!
This theme is pervasive in the New Testament.
Remember Paul’s word in Colossians 1:9-10: “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:9–10, ESV).
Listen to Paul in Ephesians 5:7-10: “Therefore do not become partners with [the wicked]; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:7–10, ESV).
In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, he says, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1, ESV).
Here in Colossians 2:6 and following, Paul is teaching us how to walk in a way that pleases the Lord.
The most fundamental principles concerning the Christian walk are stated positively in Colossians 2:6-7: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6–7, ESV). Here we learn that the Christian is to walk in Christ. We are to send our roots down into, and build our lives upon, the same Christ who redeemed us—the one we received in the beginning when the gospel first came to us.
In Colossians 2:8, fundamental principles concerning the Christian walk are stated negatively: “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to [or rooted down in] human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to [or rooted down in] Christ” (Colossians 2:8, ESV). So then, empty and deceptive philosophies, rooted in human tradition or the fundamental principles of the Old Covenant, and not rooted in Christ, are to be rejected by the Christian. These philosophies, as wise as they may seem on the surface, are not the way we should go, for they are devoid of Christ.
In Colossians 2:9 -15, Paul helps us to understand why our walk must be rooted in Christ.
First, he reminds us of who Christ is: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily…” (Colossians 2:9, ESV).
Next, he reminds us of what Christ has done in those who have received him. In Christ, we are filled or completed (Colossians 2:10). In Christ, we “were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ…” (Colossians 2:11, ESV). In Christ, we have died to the old self and have been raised to newness of life (Colossians 2:12). Indeed, in Christ, we who were once dead spiritually have been made alive (Colossians 2:13a).
Finally, Paul reminds us of what Christ has done for those who are united to him by faith. He has “forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13–14, ESV). More than this, he has freed us from Satan’s dark kingdom: “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15, ESV).
It is this Christ, the eternally begotten Son of God incarnate, the one who has redeemed us from our sin and misery, who we are now to walk in. Our roots must be sunk deep into him. He must be the very foundation upon which our life is built. We are to draw upon him for sustenance and strength (he is the rock from which the water flows to satiate our spiritual thirst (see 1 Corinthians 10:4), and he is our manna from heaven (see John 6:32-37). It is Christ who must sustain us as we seek to obey his commandments, walking in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord.
We have been working our way slowly through Colossians 2:16-23 over the past couple of weeks. It’s here that Paul gets specific about the empty and deceptive philosophies that threatened the Colossians. Evidently, there were some in their midst who were seeking to impose the dietary laws and the religious calendar of the Old Mosaic Covenant on the New Covenant saints in Colossae. It seems, therefore, that these false teachers were Jewish. Paul said, “Let no one pass judgment on you,” as it pertains to these elementary principles of the Old Covenant order, for “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:17, ESV).
Additionally, it seems that the false teachers in Colossae were mystics who taught others to live an ascetic life, to draw near to God through the worship of angels, and to seek visions. Paul said, “Let no one disqualify you”, insisting on these things. While those who practive and promote these things might appear humble on the surface, in truth they are “puffed up without reason by [their] sensuous mind”. And the real tragedy is that they fail to hold “fast to [Christ Jesus] the Head, from whom the whole body [the church], [is] nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God” (Colossians 2:18–19, ESV).
I hope you can see that all of this has to do with the Christian’s walk. How is the Christian to walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord? Not like this! Not by submitting to these empty and deceptive philosophies that are rooted in human tradition and the elementary principles of the Old Mosaic Covenant, and not in Christ.
I’ve taken the time to review all of this with you because we will be finishing our consideration of this section of Paul’s letter today. Here in verses 20-23, Paul highlights yet another feature of the false teachers’ empty and misleading philosophy and warns the Colossians, and we with them, to reject it.
Paul Roots The Christians’ Walk In What Has Already Been Done For Us By Christ
The first thing I want you to notice is how Paul roots the Christians’ walk in what has already been done for us by Christ. In verse 20, the Apostle says, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations”, etc. When Paul says, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world”, he means, because you have, or given the fact that you have, died to the elemental spirits of the world, do not submit to these regulations?
This is a vitally important observation to make. The Christian is to walk worthily because of what Christ has for them. In other words, in the Scriptures, we do not first find imperatives (or commands) but indicatives (statements of fact). The order is this: consider what God has graciously done for you in Christ Jesus (consider the facts), and then walk worthily in light of what God has graciously done for you in Christ Jesus by obeying his commands.
Paul will follow the same pattern in Colossians 3:1, saying, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1–3, ESV). Can you see it? Given the fact that you have been raised with Christ. And given the fact that you have died to this world and to things of this world, do not set your mind on these things any longer (notice, the same pattern is found in Second London Confession 13.1, Of Sanctification).
These, “if with Christ you died”, and “If then you have been raised with Christ”, statements in Colossians 2:20 and 3:1 harken back to what Paul said about our union with Christ in Colossians 2:11. “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11–12, ESV). These are the objective facts that stand behind or undergird Paul’s instructions regarding a worthy walk.
Given that all who are united to Christ by faith have been spiritually circumcised, that is to say, given that we have had the body of the sinful flesh removed, and given that we have died to old self and have been raised to newness of life, this is how we must now live. If you are united to Christ by faith, the fact is, you have been raised with Christ. Therefore, you must seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and set your mind on things that are above. And, if you are united to Christ by faith, the fact is, your old sinful flesh has been removed through spiritual circumcision (that is, regeneration)—you have died to the world, and to the things of the world. Your mind must no longer be set on the world, therefore.
So, our first observation is this: Paul roots the Christians’ walk in what has already been done for us by Christ.
In Christ, We Have Died To The Elementary Principles
In particular, here in Colossians 2:20, Paul says that with Christ we have “died to the elemental spirits of the world…” What are these elemental spirits?
We have already encountered this phrase in our study through Colossians. It appears in Colossians 2:8. In the sermon I preached on that text, I noted that there is one Greek word behind the two English words, ‘elemental spirits’. The Greek word is στοιχεῖα. It refers to the “basic principles which underlie the nature of something—‘basic principles, elementary concepts’”(Louw-Nida, 58.19). There is a footnote in my ESV next to the words ‘elemental spirits’ that says, ‘or elementary principles.’ And I do think that is a better translation. The NKJV says “basic principles”. The KJV says “rudiments of the world.” I think these are better translations of this Greek word. But the question remains, what is Paul referring to here?”
In brief, Paul is referring to the ceremonial laws of the Old Mosaic Covenant—laws about food and drink, festival days, ceremonial washings, and the like. Notice, all of these Old Covenant ceremonies made use of elements belonging to the physical world in which we live—abstention from certain foods and drink, the observance of days, months, and years, and the use of water for washing, etc. Under the Old Mosaic Covenant, God commanded that these earthly things be used in worship, and the purpose was to teach the Hebrews, and through them, the world, the fundamentals of the faith. And so Paul refers to these ordinances as the “fundamental principles of the world”.
What were the fundamental or elementary truths taught by the Jewish ceremonies of the Old Mosaic order? In brief, the ceremonial laws communicated that the Jews were set apart from the nations as a holy people, that they were called to be holy, that they were not holy, and needed cleansing, and that cleansing would come from God through the Messiah he had promised to them, Christ Jesus the Lord. All of the Old Covenant ceremonies involved the use of worldly or earthly things—food, drink, water, blood, days, months, and years, etc.—and these ceremonies taught basic, fundamental, or rudimentary principles. And so Paul refers to them as the “fundamental principles of the world”.
By the way, the same word is used by Paul in Galatians 4:1-9. There, the Apostle is talking about the passing away of the Old Covenant order and the establishment of the New. He teaches that God’s Old Covenant people were like children under a guardian, but that we have come to maturity under the New. Here is how he puts it: “I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:1–9, ESV).
Paul’s argument in Galatians and Colossians is the same. Under the Old Covenant, God’s people were enslaved to these “elementary principles of the world”, that is to say, to many earthly ceremonies. But now that Christ has come, these ceremonies have been removed. And why have they been removed? Because the Christ to whom they all pointed has come. He has fulfilled the ceremonial laws of old. They are abrogated and taken away, therefore (see Second London Confession 19.3). And as it pertains to the way in which the ceremonial laws of the Old Mosaic covenant separated the Jew from the Gentile. Those days are over. In Christ, there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, for in him they are one.
Listen to what Paul has to say about this in Ephesians 2:13-18: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off [the Gentiles] have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both [the Jew and Genetile] one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:13–18, ESV)
That is a beautiful passage. So much could be said about it. But here is what I want you to see. According to Paul, those laws or ordinances that once separated Jew and Gentile have been abolished. And when and where were these ordinances abolished? At the cross through the death of Christ. When Christ was killed on the cross, Christ killed the hostility that once existed between jew and Gentile. When Christ hung on that tree, the ordinances that once separated Jew and Gentile were hung there with him, and in this way, he took them away. Therefore, all who are united to Christ by faith in his death and resurrection have died to these “fundamental principles of the world” which enslaved the people of God under the Old Covenant order.
In Christ, We Have Died To The World And The World Is Dead To Us
And so, given these truths, Paul asked the Colossians a very good question: “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?” (Colossians 2:20–22, ESV).
I have a few observations to make about the question Paul asks.
One, Paul assumes that the Christian is dead to the world. Though we live in the world and are right to make use of the things of this world in the way God intended, we do not live for the world or the things of this world. In this sense, we are dead to the things of this world, and the things of this world are dead to us. Eat to live, but do not live to eat, brothers and sisters. Make money and use money for God’s glory and the good of others, but do not live for money or love it supremely, for one day you will die, and what good will it do you then? Enjoy all of the good gifts that God gives to you in this life, but do not make idols of them. Love God supremely, and give him thanks for every good gift he gives. Remember, if you are united to Christ by faith, you have died with him. You are dead to the world and the world is dead to you, therefore.
Two, when Paul asks, “why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’”, he has the Old Covenant ceremonial law in view, and any other man-made regulations too. The argument goes like this: If it is true that the ceremonial laws that God gave to Old Covenant Israel have been taken away and are no longer binding on you, then why in the world would you submit to regulations that come, not from God, but from men who say, “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”?
Three, the emptiness of man-made religious traditions like this is seen in the fact that the things not to be handled, tasted, or touched all perish as they are used for the nourishment of the body. This reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 15:16-20. “And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone” (Matthew 15:16–20, ESV) (see also 1 Corinthians 6:13; Romans 14:17–18
Four, in this passage, Paul is not teaching that there are no ceremonies under the New Covenant, and this is seen in the phrase, “according to human precepts and teachings.” “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?” (Colossians 2:20–22, ESV).
There are two ceremonies to be observed under the New Covenant: water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And how do we know that these ceremonies are to be observed? Because the Lord Jesus Christ has said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV). And the Lord Jesus Christ has said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28, ESV).
These ceremonies or sacraments are to be observed faithfully by the New Covenant people of God because the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded it. But human precepts and teachings must be rejected. Friends, God is to be worshipped in the way he has commanded. This has always been true. It was true under the Old Covenant, and so God spoke to Israel through Moses, saying, “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes…” (Deuteronomy 12:8, ESV), and “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it” (Deuteronomy 12:32, ESV). And it is true under the New Covenant too. These words of Christ ought to ring loudly in our ears: “in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9, ESV).
In Christ, We Find Victory Over The Sinful Desires Of The flesh
We come now to verse 23, where Paul brings it all together. Why are these philosophies rooted in human tradition and the elementary principles of the world, and not in Christ, so empty and worthless when it comes to producing a walk that is pleasing to the Lord? “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23, ESV).
The flesh is fallen and sinful, friends. We have within us appetites and desires that are sinful. They must be resided, put to death, and stopped. These religious traditions, and those who practice and promote them, may appear wise. Look at how religiously devoted they are, we might say. They observe holy days throughout the year. They dress in religious garb. They wear religious jewelry. The burn incense. They chant. They avoid certain foods as they mark their foreheads with ash to symbolize mortality, repentance, and humility before God. It all appears very humble and devout, doesn’t it? But it is all external. It is all earthly. “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23, ESV). As Davenant says, “For in all these, impostors always present an outward mortification of the flesh, but cherish within, mental pride and hypocrisy” (Davenant, 539).
The real tragedy is this. These regulations that are rooted in human precepts and teachings are not rooted in Christ, for nowhere has Christ commanded these regulations. Therefore, those who submit to these regulations are rooted in something other than Christ. But it is only Christ who has the power to stop the sinful indulgences of the flesh, enabling us to walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord.
Conclussion
We must be rooted in Christ, brothers and sisters.
This means:
One, we must be united to him by faith.
Two, we must obey his commands.
Three, we must make use of the means of grace that he has ordained: The reading and hearing of the Word of God, prayer, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, received in the context of the church assembled.
Four, we must partake of these means of grace thoughtfully.
Five, we must partake of these means by faith, always perceiving and feeding upon Christ in the ordinary means, for they all bring us to him.
Only then will we have the strength to walk in a worthy manner that is pleasing to the Lord.
