2010 BBC Preach-A-Thon - Brian Barlett

In this passage, we're going to grasp two liberating truths about Christ that will protect you from being taken prisoner by deceptive philosophy. These two liberating truths are meant to anchor you to the mooring of Christ when men with the appearance of wisdom rise up among you to prey upon the weaker members of our body.

I don't like being duped, or tricked, or cheated, so I went online the other day to look up how to know if you have a counterfeit bill, and one of the first suggestions they offered to discern if your money was genuine was this one.

They said the easiest way to know if you have a counterfeit is to look at your bill next to an authentic bill of the same denomination. They said that most counterfeit bills will be easily recognizable as fakes when tested against a genuine legal tender.

I've been told that the Federal Reserve employs workers whose entire job it is to identify fake currency, and do you know how they prepare for that? Rather than studying the many kinds of counterfeit bills that are out there, the proof worker spends his days studying the real thing.

A genuine U .S. $20 bill has many details that most of us are unaware of. These details are fairly hard to copy, and by studying all the details of the genuine U .S. note, the proof worker so familiarizes himself with the real thing that when a counterfeit comes across his desk, he is not fooled.

He is not fooled for what it is, a counterfeit. The Apostle Paul here in our text employs a very similar methodology. Let me give you some background and show you how Paul lays out his letter in a manner that, in one sense, very closely mirrors the duties of our proof checker.

The Apostle Paul, writing to the Church of Colossae, to Christians, most of whom he has never met, was indirectly responsible for the church that was birthed there through a man who may come to salvation after hearing Paul in Ephesus.

This man, known only as Epaphras, helped start the church in Colossae, and likely traveled back to Rome to inform the Apostle of the dangerous teachings that were penetrating the church there. When Paul hears of this destructive heresy, he purposed to write this letter, to warn and encourage the Christians there.

The theme of this letter of Colossians is focused squarely on Jesus Christ, displaying his preeminence over all creation. Many theologians have remarked that this letter to the Colossians is one of the most Christ-centered books in all the Bible.

I might argue that chapter 2 captures the heart of the entire letter. After encouraging the church that he is praying hard for them and rejoicing to see their good discipline and the steadfastness of their faith, Paul gives three imperatives to the Colossians found in verses 6, 8, and 16 of chapter 2.

Today we are going to look at the second imperative, found in verse 8. See to it that no one takes you captive. This command is directed at you. You is implied. You see to it. You be on your guard. You watch out.

You be vigilant. Paul is warning you to make every effort to ensure that you do not get taken captive. Don't be duped and don't get caught. He cannot be any clearer on this matter. He is imploring you to be actively alert.

This command is to see to it that no one takes you captive. No one, no person, no friend, no relative, no teacher, no preacher, no church, no leader, no philosopher, no politician, no green movement propagator, no one.

Let no one take you captive. A literal translation would read, take heed lest there be anyone who carries you off as spoil. Don't be taken captive. Who would be trying to take the Colossians captive? Who might be trying to take you captive?

The Colossians might have been asking, who is seeking to capture us? Is there a danger that we might be made prisoners like you, Paul? No, that's not it. Look at the text. While Paul doesn't explicitly name your stalker, he does tell you by what means they are employing to collect you.

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception. It's the system, man's erroneous view of the way things are, man's foolish wisdom that the media loves to put on display as if it were something to be proud of.

These purveyors of worldly wisdom, who are forever at the door selling their wares and trying to seduce you into their worldview, are not fooled by Paul. Paul knows the sort of creature, men who propose a superior wisdom, claiming a secret knowledge known only to those within the collective.

Paul is only too familiar with their wisdom, being a former collaborator of their short-sighted ways, and he is not about to let this pack of wolves pursue his pastures without exposing them for who they were.

Don't be taken captive. We are no strangers to their kind either. The world has bought into their philosophy, their system of beliefs, their ideas, their lies. The world, like it or not, is a major supporter of their agenda, and the devil is behind it.

He's out to dupe you. Are you ignorant of his deceptive schemes? Remember the popular turn of phrase, we take no prisoners? Well, in fact, these philosophers seek to do exactly the opposite. See, you're no good to them dead.

They have no intentions of killing you. They want living converts for two reasons. So they can show you off to all the world the spoils of their conquest. And they wish to enslave you, because when you become one of them, you serve their purposes.

You support their causes, and you advance their way of life. They want to assimilate you. That's the whole purpose for taking you captive. No hostess was ever taken back to headquarters and asked, Hey, so what do you think about our way of life?

Anything you want to change? No army does that, and no kidnapper does that either. Nor does the philosopher. When he kidnaps you, he doesn't care what you think or what your agenda is. He's got an agenda all of his own, and you can bet your bottom dollar, he's out to make you part of it.

Philosophy, Empty Deception, and Human Tradition

Through philosophy and empty deception. You need to understand that Paul is not criticizing philosophy per se, but only the kind of philosophy being proliferated by the Colossian false teachers. The word philosophy simply meaning lover of wisdom.

Phileo, love. Soph, meaning wisdom. And philosophy in Paul's day could refer to virtually any system of thought. And to be sure, there were numerous philosophies he may have had in mind. Judaism, Gnosticism, Pharisaism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Sophism, and a host of others.

Contemporary philosophy has introduced many of its own teachers in the form of Pantheism, Universalism, Evolutionism, and even our own brand of Gnosticism. Rather than naming the kind of philosophy he is denouncing, Paul instead chooses to characterize what kind of teaching it was by openly identifying it as vain and empty.

It reminds me of those hollow chocolate bunnies you find at Walmart early in spring. You know the ones. The ones pagans give their kids. Just kidding. They're hollow, empty, with nothing in the middle.

They have no substance, and they are so brittle they fall apart in your hands. Remember the first time you got one, how cheated you felt? Not at all like those giant chocolate kisses. Solid. You'd break a tooth on one of them.

Paul characterizes the teaching of these philosophers just like those chocolate bunnies. Empty and meaningless. Devoid of any worthwhile value. And to make sure that you truly comprehend the extent of their evil, Paul says they are deceivers and liars, for their philosophy is truly at its heart an empty deception.

Like any good shepherd, Paul was compelled to warn his sheep not to be seduced by men who proliferated these empty lies. Lies spread often at the expense of diminishing Christ. Paul continues to expose the shallowness of their philosophy by revealing two of the sources of their convoluted speculations.

He says that their philosophy is according to the traditions of men, and according to the elementary principles of the world. To quote John MacArthur,. Just because people have believed something and handed it down throughout the years does not make it true.

Rather, tradition often serves to perpetuate error. Jesus, speaking on the uselessness of tradition, asked, Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? And in Matthew 15, 6,.

And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. It's so easy to get caught up in tradition, isn't it? Rather than analyzing the traditions, your traditions, do you simply just go along with them, choosing not to deal with their source of where they may have originated?

Trick or treat. Halloween. I grew up never asking and never desiring to know where that came from. It's just part of our tradition. Do you know what the most common argument for evolution is? Well, it's what scientists have always believed.

And most philosophy is exactly the same. It is knowledge that has been handed down from generation to generation without any examination of where it originated from or why it's still taught. Philosophy has always been the tradition of men, and not the tradition of God, who is the only source of truth.

Paul noted that earlier while praying for the Colossians in verse 2 and 3 of chapter 2, when he said, true knowledge of God's mystery is Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Where do you find true knowledge? Only in Jesus Christ and his word. Paul exposes the second source of errant wisdom as according to the elementary principles of the world. Scholars disagree over exactly what this phrase means.

Some thinking it refers to pervasive beliefs of the era, men who taught that the very elements themselves were deities, earth, wind, water, fire, and that these deities held the secrets of true wisdom, which could only be interpreted by, you guessed it, philosophers in the know.

Other scholars believe Paul was only trying to illustrate how simple-minded the teachings were in comparison to the teachings of Christ, the wisdom found in Christ. It was too simplistic or elemental for mature Christians.

And so Paul may have been saying that to accept the immature teachings of these philosophers would be like to regress from the mature teaching of scriptures and revert back to a state of spiritual infancy.

Get this. Abandoning biblical truth for elementary philosophy would be like putting Lance Armstrong on a huffy bicycle with training wheels after he won the 2005 Tour de France. It's not just silly. It doesn't make any sense.

It was so obvious how ludicrous their position was that rather than continue to ride the train of condemnation over the philosophers' backs, Paul appeals to a higher reason, hoping that your fallen intellect will comprehend the shamefulness of being taken captive by these dreamers.

Paul's plan of attack? Show you Jesus Christ and your complete sufficiency in him and implore you to recognize that he is all you need. You must see that only in Christ you can stand complete before God, lacking nothing in him.

In Christ, you have every resource available to grow in all spiritual maturity and godliness. As you look to Christ, you will be strengthened in your resolve to always trust in Jesus, who alone is qualified to make you complete in him.

And just like that proof worker who spends his time studying the details of authentic $20 bills, when you get to know Jesus Christ, the one true God and Savior of men, all counterfeits will stand out, like cow pies on a freshly snow-covered hillside, or like bank robbers at Fort Knox, or crying babies in Parliament.

Paul doesn't have to spend hardly any time at all on what the philosophers look like or what they do. He only has to point out that they are not in accordance with Christ. And that's exactly what he does at the end of verse 8.

It doesn't matter what these heretics offered in regards to spiritual knowledge, if they would not acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, then they could be dismissed as the false teachers promoting a false system.

The phrase, according to, found three times in verse 8, could also be translated, following after. Paying attention to this phrase reveals the only contrast that Paul needs to make. These false teachers seeking to capture you are following after the traditions of men, or worse, following after the elementary spirits of the world, in direct contrast to what you've been taught in verse 7, rather than following after Christ.

Following after Christ should be your only ambition as a Christian, because only he is qualified to present you before God complete in him. What the philosophers failed to recognize was that Christ, who embodies the secrets of the universe, because he is creator of all things, is the one true yardstick by which all other claims to knowledge must be tested.

Philosophers can only guess at answers to life's questions, and will never be able to supply the answers to questions that only God can know. What's the bottom line? These philosophers are not in accord with Christ, and even if they agreed with him, they still sought to add to his perfection.

Adding anything to Christ is really a subtraction from his preeminence. Having exposed the shortcomings of the philosophers, Paul can now continue the rest of the letter displaying Jesus Christ as fully God.

The Fullness of Deity in Christ

Within this epistle, we're going to see two liberating truths about Christ that will keep you from ever being taken captive by worldly wise men. Both of these truths about Christ will liberate you from false teachers, and help you to recognize the error of their wisdom.

The first liberating truth that will keep you from being taken captive is to recognize that Jesus is fully God. You must not be taken captive because Jesus is fully God. Verse 9, in the eyes of this expositor, is the most definitive declaration of Christ's deity in all the epistles.

To quote John MacArthur again, speaking on verse 9, he says,. This verse is the rock upon which all attempts to disprove Christ's deity are shattered. For in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form.

This is eternally true. For he was, is, and ever will be in all respects fully God. The term deity refers primarily to the divine nature of Christ rather than his divine essence, because Jesus has always existed in essence as God, but not always bodily.

So deity is a word that emphasizes Christ's divine nature, the nature of God that abides in him fully and completely forever. Jesus was fully man, something the philosophers struggled with, and yet fully God with divine nature, holy divine nature.

This statement of Christ's deity is reminiscent of the words of John who said,. The word was God, and the word became flesh. John 1 .14. The fullness of Christ's deity resided in the pre-incarnate word, but not in bodily fashion.

And then as A .T. Robertson puts it,. The fullness of the Godhead dwells in the once mortal, yet now glorified body of Jesus Christ. Only one who is fully God, who is fully capable of residing over all the affairs of men, is qualified to secure your salvation and to uphold you every day of your life.

Jesus is fully God in every way possible. He left nothing behind when he added a fleshly body. Paul hinted at Christ's deity in the first imperative in verse 6, when he said,. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him.

Many of our contemporary philosophers, just like those in Paul's day, desire to teach that Jesus was not God. This is the most telling error of any false system, not to mention damning to those who adhere to it.

But what they fail to recognize is that their own system of religion cannot save. Jesus Christ, in whom all the fullness of God dwells, is the only one qualified to save any man. Notice what Paul does not say in verse 9.

He does not say that only part of God's deity dwells in Christ, nor does he imply that God's fullness, the divine pleroma, was divided. Nor does he give a hint that the Godhead only resided for a time and then left him.

No, all the fullness of deity dwells and continues to dwell permanently in Christ forever. Mark that. In Christ exists all the fullness of God forever. What a comforting thought. Aren't you glad that God never changes?

Compare that to the beliefs of philosophers who change who they believe every other century. You should also note that Christ having taken on a body continues to occupy a body. All the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form, present tense with future ongoing ramifications.

Isn't it amazing to think that the God who created the universe, who entered into our history and personally and completely revealed himself to us, came in the form of a man? And having taken on the form of his creation, is it still more amazing to know that having returned to heaven, he abides in a body still, though he is not required to?

There is no reason to conclude anything other than that the God-man Jesus Christ still sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven this very day. And he will continue to be there long after the suns of our universe grow cold.

Jesus is fully God. And in him exists all the fullness of God forever. Having taken on a body, he continues to occupy a body forever. The second liberating truth that will keep you from being taken captive is to recognize that you have been made complete in him.

Complete in Christ and Free from Spiritual Incompleteness

How does it feel to not be lacking in anything spiritually? Did you know that you are united with Christ and that you share in his fullness? In the words of John Calvin, ye are made full in him. Not that the perfection of Christ is transfused into us, but that there are resources in him from which we may be filled, which leave us wanting for nothing.

And in him you have been made complete. Have been. Last time I checked, that meant past tense. That means that you, being complete, in him, will never stop being complete. That alone is worth praising God for.

Let's define what Paul says by the word complete, because I think that you will praise God even better when you know how you have been made complete in him. For starters, your union with Christ means that you, that your every spiritual need is fully met.

Okay, what does that mean? As a result of the fall of man, all men are in a sad state of incompleteness. Before God saved you, you were spiritually incomplete, having no saving relationship with him. You were morally incomplete because you were living a depraved life outside of his will.

And you were even mentally incomplete because you had no knowledge of God's saving truth. You were lacking spiritually, with no hope for your future, and no means to save yourself. Enter Jesus Christ.

When Jesus saved you, you became a partaker of his divine nature, and were made complete. You were made spiritually complete by your new fellowship with God. You became morally complete, having been granted a new ability to recognize God's authoritative will.

And you became mentally complete when you, through the union of Christ, understood, for the first time, the truth about God, and ultimate reality. To think that you still lacked anything, as the Colossian philosophers did, was absolutely ridiculous.

You must recognize that because Jesus is God, and that you have been made complete in him, that you lack for absolutely nothing. Christ's fullness has been imparted to you. And you are filled in him. So fully and completely do we belong, that three times over, Paul refers to us as being in him.

You are complete in him positionally, able to stand before God, clothed in his righteousness, and you are complete, lacking nothing in heavenly resources to grow spiritually. Whenever I evangelize people, I like to ask them what they could ever possibly hope to add to Christ's finished work on the cross that would ever appease God.

The answer, of course, is nothing. And the answer to what you require, apart from Christ, in order to be complete in him, is also nothing. Don't be taken captive by the false teachers who offer you a means to real spiritual fullness.

They would have you move on from Christ to a deeper, more spiritual experience. Heard that one before? I have. False teachers have made these kinds of claims for centuries, bringing about mysticism and numerous other cults, always trying to devalue the true worth of Jesus Christ.

This is exactly why Paul so passionately asserts the exclusivity of Christ, crying, in him and him alone, God has revealed himself. All that you can know or experience can be found only in a right relationship with him.

Maybe that's why Paul makes the specific claim that Christ is the head over all rule and authority. For it is hard to understand why he would add this claim if he didn't have the false teachers still in mind.

Christ's authority over all spiritual things, created things, and all powers is a continuation of Paul's hymn of praise to Christ in chapter 1. The word head is simply a metaphor that Paul employs to describe Christ's authority as over and above all things.

Paul's logic was based on the assumption that if you recognize Jesus Christ as preeminent over every throne, over all dominions, over all rulers, and all powers, why would you ever even consider looking to the world to find something else to complete you?

You must not fear any powers, because they are firmly under the control of the one true head, Christ Jesus, in whom all the fullness of deity has always dwelt. Your job is to recognize that you are completely sufficient in Jesus Christ, whose eternal fullness is graciously shared with those who are happy to name him King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In review of our two liberating truths, you must recognize that Jesus is fully God. Liberating truth number two, you must recognize that you have been made complete in Him. Don't be taken captive by the world's agenda.

Be alert. Philosophers have always been looking to trap you and tell you that Jesus is not the answer. Don't get caught. Let the liberating truths of Jesus' deity and your sufficiency in Him be your answer to their pursuits.

Spend time with the genuine God of the Bible, and those soothsayers will stand out like pirates in a naval yard. For some of you here who don't know Jesus Christ personally, you are not in danger of being taken captive.

You are already a prisoner. You are a slave to your own sin. Won't you make today the day that you look to Jesus, who laid down his life for sinners, who was buried and resurrected again? He has made atonement for sin, and I implore you to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and believe on him who alone has the power to save you.

An Illustration of Full Salvation in Christ

I'd like to close with a story about what it means to be complete in Christ. Because the word complete is a picture word in Greek. And I've been told that it holds the idea of a ship fully rigged, fully equipped, and ready for voyage.

The ship resembles the Christian voyaging forth on the ocean of life. In him is the captain of this vessel. The chart is the word to be consulted daily. The compass is the conscience, regulated and educated by the word.

The commissarate provides food for the journey from the stores of the word. And the crew works our passage, seeing that we have nothing with which to pay for the trip. The conquest is his indwelling presence and power, seeing that we are not as barges having to be towed by others on the banks, nor are we as sailing ships, depending on favorable winds for our progress.

But we are liners, that have the power of their engines within to triumph over the waves of the storm. Christ in you. The colors fly our allegiance to him, to whom the ship belongs. Once those colors used to be skull and crossbones.

They used to be of the rebel vessel. But now they fly the white ensign of the flagship of the divine admiral of the fleet. The coming into port, for so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. This is progress indeed.

This is full and complete salvation. Gracious Father, you have been so good to us in providing us your word, your son, faithful preachers. Lord, that you would condescend to give up your privacy to speak to us.

Father, you have given us hearts and consciences that we may know you personally. Thank you that you came, Lord, in the form of your creation. And we thank you, God, that you exist eternally and ever as the one true God.

Lord, we just praise you that you have made us complete in him, that there is nothing that we are lacking. And we praise you, God, for all the messages that we have heard today. May they convict our hearts and our minds by your spirit.

And we praise you and thank you for this time, in Christ's name, amen.