Colossians Ch2v8-15 - Christ Is Enough

Thanks very much Sam for leading this morning and thanks to the musicians again for playing.

It's always good to have people who can play music and help us along in our singing.

Thanks again Sam for your organisation of yesterday. It was a good time, a great encouragement.

Let's turn in our Bibles please to Colossians.

This is the book we're looking at. If you've missed any of the talks along the way, you'll find them all on the website.

And again, thanks to Christopher who does that.

And yeah, they're all in good order now so you can follow up on past series as well.

But you'll find them there. We're going to read this morning from Colossians chapter 2, starting at verse 8 through to verse 15.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

So let's hear God's word together.

Colossians 2, starting at verse 8 through to verse 15.

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.

For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form.

And in Christ you have been brought to fullness.

He that is Christ is the head over every power and authority.

In Christ 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, having been buried with him in baptism,

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

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave us all our sins.

Having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us,

he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Well, these are rich words and we need God's help to understand and apply them.

So let's pray and ask for his help now.

Father God, we thank you again for all your many blessings to us.

Thank you that we can meet together like this in peace and in safety.

Thank you that we can enjoy one another's company and support.

And thank you that you have given to us your word.

That the God who made this universe has written down his word for us today.

So that as we listen to it, we can hear your voice speaking to our hearts afresh.

So please, will you encourage us.

And would you meet every need of every person here today.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Life with Christ is good.

But you know what?

It can be so much better.

Wouldn't you like to experience the best life, the good life?

And please don't misunderstand me.

Christ is a good place for us to start.

But don't let that restrict you.

There is so much more beyond Christ to experience.

Well, be very careful of such teaching.

Look at verse 8.

See to it that no one, including the preacher,

takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.

We don't know exactly what this philosophy or teaching is,

but we do know its source.

Continue with me through verse 8.

It depends on human tradition.

In other words, it is nothing less than the imaginations and speculations of people.

And it also depends on, the rest of verse 8,

the elemental spiritual forces of this world.

That is, its roots, the teaching of this,

its roots are sinister, evil,

luring you away from the truth.

The problem is, this teaching depends on other things.

Do you see the last sentence of verse 8?

Rather than on Christ.

Their foundations are in other things except Christ.

Christ is a good place to start, they say,

but there is something more.

Christ can meet some of your spiritual needs,

but not all of your spiritual needs.

Now we face the same kind of deceptive philosophy today.

Let me share with you two that I came up with.

Christ plus religious tradition.

So people will say,

Christ is good,

but it's your religious traditions that really count.

It's not so much who Christ is,

but believing in your rituals and your practices.

Or how about this one?

Christ plus personal experience.

Christ is good,

but it's your personal experience that counts.

It's not so much who Christ is,

but what you feel and think is best for you.

Now these things sound right,

they can almost feel good,

but we've got to be careful,

it's deceptive.

Such teaching, as we see in verse 8,

is human speculation.

It depends on human tradition.

It's luring you away from the truth.

It's not Christ plus that we need.

We need Christ alone.

You see, if we add anything onto Christ,

we're actually taking away from Christ.

And that's dangerous.

Rather than free you,

look again at the beginning of verse 8,

it takes you captive.

And rather than fill you,

it leaves you hollow,

it leaves you empty.

It's not Christ plus something else,

but Christ alone.

And we're going to look at three things

in the remaining verses

that show us that Christ is enough

for us as we walk the Christian life.

Three things.

We have fullness in Christ,

we're made alive with Christ,

and we experience victory through Christ.

So fullness in Christ,

alive with Christ,

and victory through Christ.

So let's look at the first one.

We have fullness in Christ.

In Christ, we have all that we need

to live the Christian life.

Three things are going to help us see this.

Here's the first one.

We have union with Christ.

Look at verse 9.

For in Christ,

all the fullness of the deity

lives in bodily form.

Now to help us understand that,

we can go back to chapter 1,

verse 9,

where the same thing is said.

For God was pleased

to have all his fullness

dwell in Christ.

Christ.

All of God,

so if my fist,

if you like,

is God,

and this is Christ,

all of God

is in Christ.

That's why it says,

if we go back to chapter 2,

verse 10,

the very last sentence,

Christ is the head

over every power

and authority.

That's actually a position

that belongs to God alone.

But here it's telling us

that Christ

is the head

over every power

and authority.

In other words,

Christ is God.

And the more we know

the Lord Jesus Christ,

the more we know

who God is.

Now look at verse 10.

So we've seen that

in Christ

is God.

And now we're told

at the beginning

of verse 10

that we are

in Christ.

That's who we are

if we're trusting in him.

Go back to chapter 1,

verse 2.

Remember how he described

the church

to God's holy people

in Colossae,

the faithful brothers

and sisters

in Christ.

Now put these

two things together.

If God is

in Christ

and we

are in Christ

then

we have

been brought

to fullness.

If all of God

is in Christ

and we are

in Christ

then verse 10

we have been brought

to fullness.

To be

in Christ,

to be trusting

in him

is to be

filled

with the

fullness of God.

Which means

Christ

is

enough.

All that we

ever need to

know of God,

all that we

could ever have

or receive

from God

is found

in Christ.

Therefore

we can say

Christ

is enough

for me.

Christ

is sufficient

for me

in my

walk

with him.

And if

you have

been filled

with the

fullness

of God,

with all

the greatness

and glory

of God,

if we've

been filled

with him,

how could

you ever

think

that you're

missing

something?

How can

we ever

say

I don't

have enough

if we've

been filled

with the

fullness

of God?

God

has given

us

everything.

He's given

us

himself

so that

we could

be

eternally

satisfied.

You see,

to know

Christ

is to

know

God.

And if

you have

God,

then you

can never

add anything

better and

greater

onto that.

Christ

is enough

for you

and for

me.

Maybe

you're

asking,

well,

okay,

this fullness

of Christ

in me,

how can

I experience

that for

myself?

Well,

very simply

through faith

in Christ.

We have

this union

with Christ,

we have

this fullness

as we

place our

trust,

our confidence

in him.

We are

united to

him,

we're

bound to

him,

we're

in him,

we're

incorporated

into him.

It's an

eternal

union that

can never

be broken,

ruined,

or destroyed.

His

life

becomes

my life.

So think

of it like

this,

think of

a marriage.

So when

Kirstie and

I got

married,

we became

one.

The two

became

one.

Through our

vows and

promises and

commitments,

my life

became her

life and

her life

became my

life.

We were

united,

we were

bound.

Well,

in a

much

deeper

and

eternal

way,

through

our

faith,

by trusting

our

life to

Christ,

his

life

becomes

my

life.

All

that

Christ

has

becomes

ours.

He

has

the

fullness

of

God

and if

we're

in him,

we have

his

fullness.

We don't

need

anything

else.

We don't

need to

add on

to

Christ.

So,

first,

we have

fullness

in

Christ.

Second,

we've

been made

alive

with

Christ.

In

Christ,

we have

the

best

life.

And

again,

three things

are going

to help

us see

this,

how it

works

out.

First,

we are

circumcised

by Christ.

Look at

verse 11.

in

Christ,

again,

so it's

that union

language as

we trust

in him,

in him

you are

also

circumcised

with a

circumcision

not

performed

by human

hands.

Now,

circumcision

was an

Old

Testament

covenant

sign given

to God's

people.

The

foreskin

of every

baby boy

was cut

off.

It was

a mark

or it

was a

sign

to show

you

that

you

belonged

to

God.

However,

circumcision

was always

outward

and

physical.

It was

just a

mark.

It never

changed

the

inside.

It never

changed

the

heart.

What

was

needed

was

something

inward

and

something

spiritual.

In

fact,

God

told

Moses,

or God

told the

people

through

Moses,

this is

what God

said,

he

says,

I want

you to

circumcise

your

hearts

and don't

be

hard

hearted

any

longer.

Well,

of course,

God didn't

mean to

physically

cut out

your heart

with a

knife.

No,

God was

saying,

what you

need

is not

something

physical

and outward,

but you

need something

inner

and

spiritual.

You

need to

change

the

inside.

You

need to

cut

away

the

sinful

self

so that

you

can

be

devoted

to

me.

And

that's

what

Christ

came

to do

for us.

So,

look at

the rest

of verse

11.

Your

whole

self

ruled

by the

flesh,

so when

it uses

that term

flesh,

it's

talking

about

the

sinful

desires

of the

heart,

your

whole

self

ruled

by the

sinful

desires

of the

heart

was

put

off

or

cut

off

when

you

were

circumcised

by

Christ.

In

other

words,

our

hearts

which

represent

our

true

selves

and

are

ruled

by

sin,

we

want

to

live

God's

way.

But

that

needs

changed

and

we

can

never

change

that

on

ourselves.

We

don't

even

want

to

change

our

hearts.

We

need

Christ

to

come

to

us

and

change

us

inwardly

to

give

us

a

circumcision

of

the

heart,

not

performed

by

human

hands,

but

a

spiritual

working

of

God

in

our

life.

It's

like

Christ

performs

inner

spiritual

surgery.

You

know,

if you

were to

go to

the

doctors

and

say,

there's

something

wrong

with your

heart,

there's

a valve

that's

blocked,

well,

you go

into

surgery,

they cut

open your

heart,

they do

all the

work,

they take

out what

needs to

be taken

out,

so that

you can

live.

Well,

Christ does

that to

us inwardly,

spiritually,

he cuts

us open,

he circumcises,

he cuts

away the

sinful heart,

so that we

can live for

him.

Well,

you say,

how on

earth does

that happen,

because it's

all kind of

picture language,

isn't it?

How does

Christ cut

away our

sinful

hearts?

Well,

baptised

in Christ.

Christ cuts

away the

sinful self

by his

death and

resurrection,

which is

symbolised in

baptism.

Let me say

that again,

it's quite a

lot there.

He cuts

away the

sinful self

by his

death and

resurrection,

which is

symbolised in

baptism.

So look at

verse 12.

So the

cutting off

has been

done by

Christ.

Verse 12,

having been

buried with

him in

baptism,

in which

you were

also raised

with him

through your

faith in the

working of

God,

who raised

him from

the dead.

You see,

when Christ

died,

and when

Christ was

buried,

we died

and we

were buried.

We died to

our sinful

self.

Through

faith,

our whole

self,

ruled by the

sinful nature,

was put to

death.

death.

And similarly,

when Christ

was raised

from the

dead,

we were

also raised

from the

dead.

We were

raised to

new life.

Through

faith,

our whole

self is

now ruled

by Christ

and we

live for

him.

Now all

of that

is symbolised

through the

act of

baptism.

You know

what baptism

looks like

when you

go down

under the

water.

It's a

picture of

you saying,

I am

dying with

Christ.

When Christ

died,

I died.

I died to

my sinful

self.

Then when

you come

up out

of the

water,

it's a

picture of

being raised

with Christ.

We now

live for

him.

You see,

Christ deals

with the

internal,

not the

external.

He changes

us on

the inside,

not the

outside.

He gives

us new

life.

Look at

verse 13.

When you

were dead

in your

sins and

in the

uncircumcision

of your

flesh, so

before Christ

dealt with

your inner

life, he

says God

made you

alive with

Christ.

You see,

when I

trusted

Christ,

the old

died and

the new

lives.

When I

trusted

Christ, the

old Johnny

died.

There was a

dying to

it all.

And the

new Johnny,

well, he's

alive.

Look what

God has

done for

us.

It is

nothing less

than a

spiritual

resurrection.

Look at

the end

of verse

13.

He made

you alive

with Christ.

You see,

spiritually, we

often see

ourselves as

people who

are in a

bit of

trouble and

we're crying

out to God

for help.

We're like a

person struggling

in the sea.

We cry out

and someone

hoists a

life belt out

to us and

pulls us into

safety.

And we

can say,

my life

was saved.

And somehow

that's how we

think it is

with God.

We see

something that

needs to be

put right and

we cry out

to God to

come and

help us.

Well, it's

kind of

right.

Because our

spiritual condition

is much

worse than

that.

But our

salvation is

even greater

than that.

Rather than

see ourselves

flailing around

on the surface

looking for

someone,

to help.

Spiritually,

we're like a

corpse at the

bottom of the

ocean.

We're dead.

And dead

people don't

cry out for

help.

We need

somebody to

come and

intervene into

our life and

give us

life.

That's why it

says, you

were dead

in your

sins.

But God

came and

made you

alive.

life with

Christ.

Now, what

life is

better than

that?

To be

given

resurrection

life.

New life

with him

today.

New life

with him

for an

eternity.

We have

the best

life ever.

We've been

made alive

with Christ.

Christ.

And then

third, we

experience

victory through

Christ.

Through

Christ, we

can live a

victorious life.

And again, this

is just to help

us through and

to get the big

picture, three

things.

To see how we

have victory

through Christ.

First, we're

forgiven by God.

Look at the end

of verse 13.

God forgave

us all

our sins.

Sin is not

just misdemeanors.

Sin is our

rebellion

against God.

It's our

personal demand

that we want

to rule our

own lives and

do our own

thing.

It's seen in

our selfish

actions every

single day.

It's heard in

our angry

words.

we see it

in the

thoughts in

our twisted

minds.

And it

separates us

from God.

It breaks

relationships with

others and it

destroys our

own self.

Sin is a

burden that

weighs us

down and

cripples us.

And left to

ourselves, we're

just suffering

with our guilt

and shame.

But what has

God done for

us?

Verse 13.

He forgave

us all our

sins.

Not just

some of our

sins, but

every single

one.

Not just the

public ones

that people get

to see, but

the secret

private ones

that people

don't see.

Not just the

one-off sins,

but the daily

habitual sin.

He forgives us

of all of

our sin.

There's no

sin too big,

no sin too

dark, no

sin too

destructive,

that God

can't forgive.

Now that's

good news for

you and me,

but how does

he forgive?

Well, we're

told it's

nailed to

Christ or

it's nailed

to the

cross.

Verse 14

shows us

how we are

forgiven.

He forgave

us all

our sins,

having

cancelled the

charge of

our legal

indebtedness

which stood

against us

and condemned

us.

He has

taken it

away,

nailing it

to the

cross.

Now if we

commit crime

and we're

caught and

we're arrested,

we're hoisted

off to court.

And there we

sit in court.

and the

evidence is

carefully detailed

and recorded

before the

judge.

The charge

for our

crime is

then decided

and we're

sentenced.

Well, here we

are.

We all stand

before God

as guilty

before the

judge.

Verse 14

tells us

the charge

of our

legal

indebtedness

which stood

against us.

That is,

all the

evidence of

our guilt

through our

whole life

is all

piled up,

is all

carefully

detailed

and recorded

and presented

as it were

towards God.

And it

stands over

us.

It condemns

us.

We're guilty.

And we've

got no

defence,

no excuse.

The record

is crystal

clear.

The sentence

of God's

judgement

hangs over

us.

But look

what happens

verse 14.

Look at the

beginning of

verse 14.

He cancelled

the charge

that was

against us.

And how

did he do

it?

Look at the

end of

verse 14.

He took

it away

by nailing

it to

the cross.

Can you

picture that

in your

mind?

That if

we are

trusting in

Christ today,

all our

sin,

every single

bit of it,

was taken

on by

Christ on

himself.

The

evidence

against me

has been

nailed to

Christ.

The

judgement

that is

mine has

now fallen

on Christ.

And the

charge against

me has

been cancelled

through Christ.

An old

hymn that

we sometimes

sing here

puts it

like this.

My sin,

oh the

bliss of

this

glorious

thought,

my sin,

not in

part,

but the

whole,

all of it,

is nailed

to the

cross,

and I

bear it

no more.

Praise the

Lord,

praise the

Lord,

oh my

soul.

Sin is

nailed to

the cross,

Christ.

And it

stays there,

never to

be taken

with us

again.

That's the

victory we

have through

Christ.

But there

is even

more to

that

victory.

Our

victorious

Christ.

Look at

verse 15.

Christ has

disarmed

the

powers and

authorities.

Now what

do you

think of

the powers

and

authorities

here?

Well, you

can talk to

me afterwards,

but I

think the

powers and

authorities

here are

Satan and

his minions.

You see,

Satan has

always been at

war with

Christ,

hasn't he?

Through the

temptation in

the desert,

as we follow

his life through

the Gospels,

the opposition

of religious

leaders,

people pursued

him,

people were

against him,

and behind

it stood

the powers

and authorities

of Satan.

They were at

war against

Christ.

And it

seems like

Satan won

the battle.

When Christ

was charged

by those

religious rulers

and sentenced

by the Roman

authorities,

when he was

stripped

naked,

and when he

was beaten

and whipped,

and when

the crown

of thorns

were crushed

on his

head,

and the

nails were

driven into

his hands

and feet,

all hell

went wild

in delight,

because Christ

was defeated.

But no,

what Satan

thought was

the final blow

on Christ

turned out

to be Christ's

victory

over Satan.

Verse 15,

he disarmed

the powers

and authorities.

He made

a public

spectacle

of them,

triumphing

over them

by the

cross.

One writer

helpfully put

it like this,

follow on

screen,

the cross

was not

the defeat

of Christ

at the hands

of the powers,

it was the

defeat of the

powers at the

hands,

yes,

the bleeding

hands of

Christ.

You see,

as Christ

died on

the cross,

that was a

demonstration of

the greatest

power ever,

because he

defeated Satan

who throws

at us

every accusation,

who reminds

us of all

our sin and

all our past

and all our

failure,

and points

fingers and

says you're

useless,

you're rubbish,

you're a

failure.

But Christ

has taken

away,

he has

disarmed

Satan,

he has

taken away

that weapon

of accusation,

so it can

never,

ever touch

us again.

You see,

through the

death of

Christ,

our salvation

is secured,

through the

suffering of

Christ,

our debt

and sin

is forgiven.

You know,

in ancient

times,

when kings

went out to

battle,

and they won

their battle,

they would

march back

into the

city,

and in

tow would

be their

enemies,

their disarmed

enemies,

in chains,

following the

conquering king,

and people

would line

the streets,

cheering their

victorious,

triumphant

king.

Well,

the cross

is God's

victory parade.

As people

walked by,

they saw

suffering and

death,

a crucifixion,

brokenness.

But it is

through the

death of

Christ that

we have

victory.

The cross

is God's

victory parade.

Jesus Christ

is our

victorious,

triumphant

king.

He has

won,

and we

now share

in that

victory.

And if

Christ has

won the

greatest

battle,

if he

has defeated

our

greatest

enemy,

why would

we ever

go looking

for something

more?

He's done

it all.

He's

enough.

He's

sufficient.

so let

us

together,

verse 8,

see to

it that

no one

takes you

captive

through hollow

and deceptive

philosophy.

Be careful

of dangerous

deception.

People who

say,

Christ is

not enough.

You need

something more.

No,

we have

fullness in

Christ.

We've

been made

alive with

Christ,

and we

experience

victory

through

Christ.

Christ is

enough.

He's

sufficient for

you and

for me.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Let us

pause,

and reflect,

on where

we so often

put our

hope and

our trust.

Father,

thank you

that Christ

is

enough,

and he

is sufficient

for our

life today.

Thank you

that we have fullness in Christ.

We have all of God with us

and for us.

Thank you that we have been made alive with Christ,

new life to live your way

and new life forevermore in your eternal kingdom.

Thank you that we have victory in Christ,

all our sin dealt with,

never to be held against us.

Never to be accused,

never to be condemned,

but living with the sure and certain hope

of life with you for all eternity.

Father, thank you for the gift of Christ

and thank you that through our faith in him,

his life becomes my life.

Thank you so much

and it's in his name we pray.

Amen.

We're going to sing together.

Amen.

I once was lost in darkest night,

yet thought I knew the way.

The sin that promised joy in life,

well, it had led me to the grave.

I had no hope that you would own a rebel to your will.

And if you had loved me first,

I would refuse you still.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

I have loved you still.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.