buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also 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.

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians And the verses we study today address false teaching that was threatening the early church in Colosse.   The “Judaizers” there insisted on faith in Christ Jesus along with Jewish legalism and ritualism. The gospel Paul taught was  revelation of the grace of salvation through faith alone.  Colossians teaches the absolute supremacy and sole sufficiency of Jesus Christ – it is not Christ in part – not Christ plus ritual, ceremony or works or self denial.

Everything is is summed up in Jesus. All the longing of our souls and the nagging innate anxiety of our minds are answered in Christ Jesus.  Paul is refuting externalism that was characteristic of Judaism and the Mosaic Law – these rituals are shadows and we now have the reality of Christ.

The Judaizers put forward a kidnapping philosophy where the intellect is greatly esteemed. Legalism isn’t about spiritual realities  – And Paul wrote warning of a religion of human achievement. In Christ we are forgiven our sins and reborn to eternal life through faith by the grace of God, period.

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, (25) of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, (26) the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.  (27) To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (28) Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

The letter to the Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul.  In our verses today, Paul is saying that his resolve and actions, labors and sufferings, were all by and for the divine power mightily at work in him – human influence cannot reach a man the way Paul was touched; only divine power.

Todays verses concern effective Christian leadership, which is characterized by a servant mentality; compassion, humility, gentleness, generosity, patience and service. Some are reluctant to preach God’s word in the face of hostility, abuse and scorn but Paul defines the role of a minister of God as steward and servant. God is the sovereign source of ministry – it is His strength, not mans.  The minister is the conduit for the gospel but the gospel comes in power only to some – God is the potter, man is the clay.

Paul tells ls us that the mystery of the riches of glory, the hope of glory,  is revealed to us as Christ in us. That is the object of his every waking moment – “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Glory was not an abstraction to the Apostle Paul.  C.s. Lewis writes about this idea in his sermon, The Weight of Glory in which he explores our innate longing for a transtemporal  good which could be our real destiny. As for the idea of glory, Lewis writes. “It is written that we shall stand before Him, shall appear, shall be inspected.  The promise of glory, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God.  To please God….to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness…to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a son – it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain.  But so it is.”

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  (16) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him.  (17) And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  (18) And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. (19) For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (20) and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

The letter to the Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul.  He had been warned about a heresy that was gaining ground in the church at Colosse and our verses today are the heart of Pauls message in response to this heresy.   He is unequivocally rebuking  those who questioned deity of Christ Jesus.

There was an “Angel cult” at Colosse and there was a belief that Angels were emanations from God – and some of the Colossians believed that Jesus was an emanation from God along with them. There was never any doubt in Pauls mind about Christ Jesus.  Everything was at stake over the person of Christ and there is no question that Paul here is placing Christ as divine. The issue was/is clear:  the divinity of Christ is foundational to Christianity. The Jews rejected Christ and now the heretics deprecated Christ. Pauls answer was that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine.  Christ is the exact image of God; the Word of God;  the Son of God. Christ is true God of true God.  Paul was determined that the heresy at Colosse not rob the Christians there of salvation and of their Lord Jesus Christ.

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (15) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor I circumcision available anything, but a new creation. (16) And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.  from now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. (18) Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.  Amen

The letter to the Galatians was written by Paul, an Apostle by the will of God. Paul ends this letter  by wishing the Christian Galatians the grace and peace of God. He has refuted the claims of the Judaizers that observance of the Mosaic Law is necessary for salvation.  Paul has defended his apostolic authority and successfully argued that it is by faith alone that man is saved – he has argued, reproved and overlooked nothing that would benefit the Galatians and their journey with Christ.  Paul’s strength and grace to do so was divinely granted and he prays they be preserved and strengthened in Christ until we reach our everlasting home.

There were/are two views of Christians:  Christians suffer not because they are thieves or murderers but for Christ’s sake.   The world sees us as silly creatures but we rejoice in suffering because Paul is saying the world has been crucified to us, meaning Paul is condemning the world.  We are strangers in a strange land.  We learn from the gospel Paul preached that nothing can make us righteous and a new man/woman except faith in Christ Jesus. Good works avail us nothing; it is faith in Christ alone. Good works can improve our outward appearances but cannot produce a new creature. The new rule is to put on a new man and that is how we should live – the new man is forgiven his sins and enjoys the peace of Christ.