May 9, 2022
Alive in Christ
Colossians 2
Sierra Sanchez
Central Truth
The challenges we face—persecution, trials, hardship, and suffering we endure—serve to display the power of God and reveal the life of Jesus to those around us. We can stand firm knowing that we will not be overcome in these afflictions because we have Jesus Christ living in us.
Key Verse | 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
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Alive in Christ
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits 1 2:8 Or elementary principles; also verse 20 of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 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, 12 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. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities 2 2:15 Probably demonic rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. 3 2:15 Or in it (that is, the cross)
Let No One Disqualify You
16 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. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, 4 2:18 Or about the things he has seen puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 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.
20 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— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 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.
Listen to the Podcast
Listen NowDive Deeper | Colossians 2
When I walked into re:generation, I was brand new to my faith. I understood that Jesus was my Savior, but He was not Lord of my life. I did not understand what it meant to surrender my life daily and walk with Him. God used the 12 steps of re:generation to show me that once I was in Christ, it wasn't just about knowing Jesus but learning what it looked like to walk in Him. (Colossians 2:6) Paul's point was that the Colossians became Christians by faith in Christ, and they should continue to walk by faith.
I remember thinking, "but how do I walk in Christ?" Paul lays it out for the Colossians and for us: stand firmly, "rooted" like a tree, and be "built up" like a building. He uses these images of a tree and a building to remind them of their firm foundation that they were taught when they first became Christians (Colossians 2:7). He continues by saying that they should be increasingly stable (established) in their faith and should give thanks constantly.
He writes to them so that they would not be swayed by false teaching, but, instead, would firmly hold to the true doctrine of Jesus Christ. In Him, our old life has ended (Colossians 2:12a). We have been given new life, and our trespasses have been forgiven (Colossians 2:13). Our debt to God has been paid (Colossians 2:14). Our spiritual enemy has been defeated (Colossians 2:15).
Because of these truths, the challenges we face—the persecution, trials, hardship, and suffering we endure—serve to display the power of God and reveal the life of Jesus Christ to those around us. We can stand firm knowing that we will not be overcome in all these afflictions because we have Jesus Christ living in us.
WE ARE COMPLETE AND ALIVE IN CHRIST!
We have everything we need in Jesus Christ, so we do not need to turn to anything or anyone else to "complete" us. Walking in Christ is where I found joy, peace, and true freedom. I thank God every day for rescuing and redeeming me!
Discussion Questions
1. Have you trusted Jesus with your eternity? If so, have you allowed Him to be Lord of your life? What would it look like to live in absolute surrender to Him?
2. We are complete and alive in Christ, yet we can look for other ways to feel complete. What lies do you tend to believe and what does God's Word say instead?