8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:8-15)
We have considered two of the three characteristics of false teaching, today, we consider the third: It is "not according to Christ."
False teaching will always have these three characteristics. Notice how the apostle Paul focuses on Jesus Christ.
"9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." (2:9-10)
When we are preoccupied with Him we are protected from false teaching. All too often Christians are known more for what we do not believe rather than for what we believe. This is to our detriment.
In v.11 Paul elaborates on what the believer has in Christ.
First, we were circumcised with Him.
"In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ."
Here, the Apostle Paul uses a common every day medical procedure to illustrate a profound truth. In the same way that a surgeon removes the extra skin, the Lord removes the callousness that sin has formed around the human heart. Apart from His intervention, our hearts are indifferent to Him.
When Jesus was crucified, He removed the consequences of our sin before God. The result is what the Scriptures call the "circumcision of the heart." Through Christ’s performance, believers in Christ have been made alive to God. And, the more we act on our aliveness to God, the more sensitive we become to Him.
Then Paul moves to the next step ...
"... buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." (Colossians 2:12)
Second, we are baptized into Christ.
Baptism stands for our new life with the Lord. Being immersed in the waters of baptism we were not left there, we were brought into eternal life. That is what baptism reflects: the work of the Spirit in imparting the very life of Christ to us.
The third step in this process is seen in v.14. We are no longer condemned.
"having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Colossians 2:14)
Our condemnation before God is removed by the death of Christ. He paid for all our sins, our past sins, our present sins and our future sins. Sin no longer separates us from God, even though we still do it. We are free to experience God because of who He is, not because of what we do.
Now, we are free to experience life in the full assurance that God is with us and He is experiencing every high and low with us. This means everything, both good and bad, has meaningful purpose. We are no longer to be dominated by sin, the flesh or any diabolical being. We are truly free!
