Warning! Danger Ahead! – Part 3

Would the Lord’s people please take their Bibles and open once again to Colossians chapter 2. In the passage that we have been considering now for several weeks, we find Paul in the midst of his outline of what a genuine believer will look like. The pure, unmixed seed of the gospel will only produce genuine fruit. There is no genetically modified seed. And once this seed is sown, it will yield a crop. That’s a promise from God himself. But once harvested, that seed the fruit of that seed ought to be inspected to verify its legitimacy.

And here in the bulk of chapter 2, verses 4 through 23, Paul, the very faithful shepherd, is providing for us standards by which to evaluate our lives as professing Christians, the fruit of the gospel. If the seed of the gospel has truly germinated in our hearts, if our response to the gospel is correct, then our lives should reflect such a supernatural impact. The fruit of our lives as believers ought to pass inspection. Paul gives us five evaluation standards by which to examine our profession of faith.

We’re in the midst of considering, rather, the third of these standards in the evaluation of the fruit. The first of these standards in verses four and five was discernment. or, more fully, the discernment to be exercised by the believer. A genuine Christian is discerning, first of all.

Paul urges them not to be taken in by charlatans. See to it, he says, that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. because of the false teaching that was making its way around Colossae, there was the highest demand for critical and discerning judgment. Both teachers and their respective teaching should be carefully scrutinized. This was no time for carelessness or gullibility.

Paul’s second standard in verses six and seven tells us of the steadfastness to be maintained. As you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, Paul urges, so walk in him. The Christian is to persevere and grow in God’s marvelous grace. The same grace that saves us sanctifies us.

And we noted that this second point links the first point and the third point together in a powerful chain. If we are discerning, point one, it will lead us to steadfastness, point two. And if we are steadfast, that will produce in us a cautiousness. That is our point number three. The third standard is that we have been studying now for the past several weeks.

Paul calls the believer to cautiousness in verse eight. the caution to be observed by the Christian. And it’s a stunningly sobering caution. It’s a warning against spiritual abduction. And he proceeds to tell us that we may easily be taken captive through the plentiful and unsuspecting means of philosophy, human opinion, empty deception, ideas that provide no good thing, tradition of men, people’s practical ideas of what is good and right and appropriate, and what Paul calls, finally, elementary principles, the overly simplistic basics of religious effort, trying to earn God’s favor by your own merits. Paul doesn’t stop at an exhortation to caution in verse 8. He presses on to provide believers the reason that we should exercise cautiousness, and he gives three reasons. And we’re finding them in verses 9 through 12, the reasons that caution is to be observed. Let’s go back to chapter two in our passage once again. We’ll start in verse four again, just so you can have the context of the verses in consideration, verses 11 and 12 this morning. Bear with me. Verse four. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.

For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus as the Lord, so walk in him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith. just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form, and in him you have been made complete, and he is the head over all rule and authority. And in him you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been 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.

In verses 9 through 12, Paul, as I said, is giving an explanation to his plea for caution there in verse 8. And we took up consideration of Paul’s explanation under the simple heading that he provides. It’s this recurring prepositional phrase, in him, in him, in him, in him. Verses 9, verse 10, and verse 11. And the statements built upon these three occurrences present to us the God-given reasons for spiritual cautiousness. So we’ve already considered the first two of Paul’s explanations, the explanations for the warning of verse eight. He provides a series of explanations, three in all. And we began looking at the first two last week.

The first one was the nature of the one at work within us. We found it in verse nine, for in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And so because of Christ’s nature, we should be very cautious in what we read and who we listen to and how we proceed as believers. The second explanation that he provides in verse 10 is the completeness of the work in us.

It’s God’s work. And in Him you have been made complete. There’s nothing left to be accomplished. Certainly nothing left that we can accomplish or that by following some person’s advice will provide us. The work is finished. God’s the one that did the work. He is the one that completed it. As we come to Paul’s third explanation, namely the spiritual nature of his work in us, I want to provide a bit of an explanation here before we even begin.

I’m going to proceed as an adult, speaking to adults. And I say that because we’re going to brush up against some very delicate subject matter. Some of you seem to squirm with glee, wondering if I was really going to talk about this subject matter of verse 11. It’s one of the beautiful things about verse-by-verse expository preaching. You don’t have the luxury to skip over difficult, obscure, uncomfortable passages. Some of the most incredible discoveries I’ve enjoyed have come from passages like that.

So I am going to address these things. Perhaps some of you are squirming because you knew that. Some of you may squirm with discomfort at the degree to which I address them here shortly. But I believe that we all are mature enough to be able to handle this. In his third point of explanation, here in verses 11 and 12, Paul abruptly mentions circumcision. And he does so in a sudden and somewhat alarming way. In him, you were circumcised. And that calls for a quick review of Jewish history, doesn’t it?

Circumcision was a Jewish right, R-I-T-E, which was first instituted by God in his covenant with Abraham. A covenant is a divinely ordained arrangement of God, not a man-made agreement. It’s not something that we negotiated with God. In his covenant with Abraham, God was promising to be the God of Abraham and his descendants. As a ratification of that covenant, God instituted that every male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day of life. It would be a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham.

It was intended to be a shadow of the righteousness that was to be offered in time by the Messiah. And it was supposed to be an outward sign, an outward sign of an inward change, not unlike our baptism, a mark of the covenant with God. In other words, it wasn’t just supposed to be a physical sign. It was supposed to be an indication of an inward spiritual change. spiritual circumcision, if you will. That call to a spiritual circumcision was communicated both as a command by God, circumcise your heart, Deuteronomy 10, 16, and also a promise from God, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart, Deuteronomy 30, verse 6. Nevertheless, the right of circumcision was an absolute demand. It wasn’t an option.

It occupied the highest place among the Jews and soon became for them a matter of pride. And it led to them viewing the uncircumcised heathen around them with great contempt. Over the centuries, the Jewish people began to adopt the position that the rite of circumcision alone conferred righteousness and secured their salvation.

It did not. So the question must ultimately arise, why does Paul use an illustration about circumcision Why, of all subjects, would Paul employ this uncomfortable illustration? First of all, it immediately gives us some insight into the possible troublemakers in the Colossian region.

It seems that there were likely Judaizers at work there. Judaizers were sometimes professing believers, but such as believed that the Jewish rite of circumcision was still necessary for salvation. Kind of a blend of Judaism and Christianity. Paul’s own ministry had been dogged by Judaizers all along the way. In Acts 15, Paul’s very first missionary journey, Gentiles, non-Jews, began hearing and responding to the gospel. This caused quite an upset among the Jewish people. They might have thought that they understood the gospel, but they thought that Christians were incomplete without observing the rite of circumcision.

Listen to this Acts 15 verse 1, where Luke captures this scene. Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. That’s the issue. That one verse distills it down and captures it all. That’s the problem.

It produced quite a skirmish and ultimately led to what we know is the Jerusalem Council that was tasked with wrestling with and deciding the whole question of circumcision and whether that was legitimate and required of Gentile believers. Well, the position of the more legalistic Jews soon came to light.

In Acts 15.5, listen again, just one verse, they said, it is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to direct them to observe the law of Moses. That’s the legalism that began to seep in to the churches that Paul was planting. Well, that council led, as you remember, by James. They wrestled with the arguments and the implications of the matter, and they concluded that circumcision should not be required of Gentile converts.

But Paul’s troubles over the issue were just starting. He faced the issue again in Acts chapter 21. A false accusation of the Jews of Jerusalem that he was teaching all the Jews who were among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children. Well, that just wasn’t true. The false accusation.

The issue presents itself again and again in Paul’s epistles, not the least of which was one of his early letters, the letter to the Galatians. The Galatians had succumbed to this argument, the Jewish demand that Gentiles receive the mark of circumcision. And for this, Paul writes some of the strongest words of condemnation in any of his epistles, that in capitulating to these legalistic demands, The Galatians were effectively deserting Christ and the gospel.

Well, the same trouble seems to have presented itself in Colossae, at least in measure. Because here in Colossae, the particular error seems to have been perhaps a milder form of legalism. They weren’t forcing circumcision upon Gentile converts, but those in error were proud and boastful of their circumcision. And that made others begin to wonder if they were missing out on something.

And so Paul employs this illustration in part to combat the position of the local Judaizers. But secondly, he uses this illustration because, as I hope we will ultimately see this morning, it is an excellent illustration of the work of God and the believer. Before we even begin, in this third point, I have to issue a caution of my own. Given the context of verses 11 and 12, some of the topics and concepts, it is imperative that we remember Paul’s purpose in bringing up and discussing these matters.

Paul is not entering into the great theological debate about whether there is continuity between circumcision and baptism. It’s not about that. Paul is not presenting a discussion here about the nature of baptism, sprinkling versus immersion. Now, we may find hints and clues about the nature of baptism here, but the mode of baptism isn’t Paul’s aim in these verses.

What Paul is doing in these verses, verses 9 through 12, is again providing reasons for caution, the caution that he calls believers to in verse 8. He’s explaining why it’s so important not to allow ourselves to be taken captive through philosophy, empty deception, traditions of men, and elementary principles. He does not suddenly switch gears here in verses 11 and 12 and introduce a discussion on rites and rituals.

It’s an illustration. As much as we would all love to find that gold nugget that resolves one of the most strongly held and divisive issues in Christendom, put it simply, it just ain’t here. Even though both circumcision and baptism are mentioned, this is not that secret treasure that finally resolves the question.

Now, throughout these two verses, Paul is speaking metaphorically. And to do so, he employs several different images, illustrations, And if we’re honest, with regard to most of these things, we haven’t literally, physically experienced them. To begin with, Paul is using even the otherwise graphic word, circumcision, metaphorically.

It isn’t the literal procedure performed on Jewish males of eight days old. That’s not what Paul’s talking about. Paul is speaking to both men and women, and so it would be patently absurd to suggest that every one of us has experienced that procedure.

Related to that, not one of us has experienced having his or her body of flesh removed. Let me tell you how I know that. We’re all physically here this morning. or mostly so, anyway. The same goes with the idea of burial. None of us have been literally, physically buried, nor have we been literally or physically raised, right? I mean, again, we’re all here.

Paul is speaking metaphorically throughout these two verses. And that too will affect even our consideration of the word baptism. Even water baptism itself is symbolic. And while we may have been literally and physically baptized, that baptism represents something. It illustrates a reality that is already taking place. It’s an outward sign of an inward reality. Well, the overarching illustration that Paul presents to the Colossian believers here, and to us, is this third in him statement.

This is the third in him that Paul has made, and this one is just slightly different. This time, Paul says, in whom. Not in him, as he utilized in the first two explanations, but in whom. He’s still speaking of Christ. And he says, literally, in whom you were circumcised. As I’ve already said, Paul is not talking here about the literal and fundamentally Jewish rite of circumcision here. And we know that because of the sphere of this event. It was in him, that is, in Christ, that this event takes place. And right away we know that Paul is talking about a spiritual event, not a physical event. It’s a spiritual circumcision that he addresses. The second thing that I would point out here is that the verb in this sentence is in the passive voice.

What that means is that this spiritual circumcision, whatever it is, and we’ll study it, whatever it is, whatever its significance, it isn’t something that we chose to have performed. It isn’t something that we elected to have done. It isn’t something that we saw it. We didn’t sign up for this. It’s something that God did. Paul hasn’t even begun to explain what he means by this metaphor. He will do that.

But the bottom line, whatever this means, is this spiritual circumcision was something done to us. Something performed in us as believers in Christ Jesus. and proceeds to tell us three things about this experience. And he describes this spiritual circumcision, as I said, three different ways, which will provide us a clear perspective on the significance of this action. And for the first, I want to take you back again to verse 11. We’ve already looked at that first statement. But he wants to present to us these three descriptions of circumcision, the spiritual nature of his work in us. And first of all, we see that the circumcision about which Paul speaks is a spiritual experience. Look at verse 11. And in him, you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. The first thing Paul tells us about this particular action is that it was made without hands.

And immediately we see that this is no ordinary Jewish ritual. The Jewish ritual, as we’ve already discussed, was performed by some person of faith. Perhaps the priest, perhaps the child’s father, or even the mother of the boy. Regardless of who it was that performed the ritual, it was performed by human hands.

But that’s not what Paul says about this circumcision. This, he says, is a circumcision made without hands. Scripture speaks numerous times about things made without hands. Remember Christ’s accusers said that he was going to build another temple made without hands, Mark 14, 58.

In other words, it was going to be a miraculous work of God. Paul speaks about our human bodies, 2 Corinthians 5, 1, as a house that will be torn down and replaced by one not made with hands, a spiritual, glorified body. Stephen, Remember Stephen, in his one magnificent sermon, he reminded hearers that the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands. God is in his glorious heaven. Paul echoed that same thought in Acts 17. The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

So when Paul says here that this spiritual circumcision was something performed without hands, he underscores that this was a distinctly spiritual action. It wasn’t a traditional, that is literal, that is physical circumcision at all. This was something that God had performed in the heart and the soul of the individual. Paul is referring to the great change in a sinner’s life where they are transformed by the grace of God. It wasn’t a physical procedure at all. Rather, it was spiritual in nature. And so first we see that the particular work which Paul speaks about is a spiritual experience. It’s the first thing that he tells us that sets apart this circumcision from the Jewish rite. This circumcision is spiritual in nature. God did the work of this spiritual circumcision in our hearts. But there’s a second aspect to this work.

It’s not only a spiritual experience, it’s a comprehensive experience. staying with this illustration of circumcision, Paul gets even more graphic here regarding this procedure that has been performed. He says that it involved the removal of the body of the flesh. Whatever can that mean? considering the spiritual nature of his work in us, it’s not only a spiritual experience, it’s a comprehensive experience. Look at the end of verse 11. You were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

His metaphor is straightforward, even if it is unconventional. And Paul, not one to mince words, talks about the removal of the flesh. The very rare word translated here as removal is used only here in the Bible. But it does speak of a complete taking away, a casting aside. And as such, it communicates a complete spiritual change. Literal circumcision, as you know, involved the removal of just a small portion of flesh.

But the circumcision that Paul presents here is different entirely. Instead of a small portion of flesh removed only from the male, this spiritual circumcision does away with the entire problem. not just our body and not just our flesh, but our sinful body of flesh. Do you hear what Paul’s saying here? When Paul says that this spiritual circumcision of body and flesh is removed, he declares that not merely a representative portion of our physical bodies, but our entire body of sinful human flesh is removed.

Our sinful flesh is eradicated in this spiritual circumcision. As I mentioned at the outset, no matter what rites or rituals you’ve had performed on you, none of you have had your physical bodies entirely removed. You wouldn’t be here, sleepy or otherwise. And yet, Paul does say, spiritually speaking, that our body of flesh has been removed. What a fantastic illustration this is. Paul is telling us, well he’s telling the Colossians first, he’s telling us that our conversion involves the complete removal of our fleshly bodies.

The lodging in which sin resides. Paul speaks of this dismal reality in several places of his epistles. You know Galatians 5, the deeds of the flesh, immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, and all the rest. He speaks of this sad malady again in Romans 7, Romans 7, 5. While we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. The sinful flesh only contributes to our spiritual death. And in the very next chapter, Romans 8, Paul tells his readers that those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You must experience this spiritual circumcision. What a joyful reminder, though, he provides in the very next line of Romans 8. You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. God’s done the work. And this is the result of Paul’s metaphor of spiritual circumcision.

The body of flesh has been entirely removed. And we know that at death, our bodies of flesh are done away with, they enter into a decay, ultimately return to dust. But at the consummation of the ages, these old physical bodies will be transformed, glorified, and we will dwell in them, secure throughout all eternity. We know that physically happens at the end of the age, but Paul says that really and truly, spiritually speaking, our flesh is torn away from us, removed, and tossed aside. So this marvelous working of God here is a spiritual experience. It’s a comprehensive experience. And thirdly, Paul adds, it is a transformational experience. It’s life changing.

And for that, if you would glance down at verse 12. in considering the spiritual nature of God’s work in us, which is really an explanation, remember, of the warning that Paul provides in verse 8. We see not only a spiritual experience and a comprehensive experience, but a transformational experience in verse 12, where Paul says, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with him through faith and the working of God who raised him from the dead.

This work of God in the believer’s life, which Paul metaphorically refers to as circumcision, is entirely different from the Jewish ritual. It’s a circumcision at first made without hands. It’s a work that God does, not human hands. It’s secondly a circumcision that involves the removal of the entire body of flesh, not just a portion. But thirdly, it imparts eternal life. Instead of just being a sign to the recipient, it grants the most amazing blessing of all, life eternal.

This third statement here in verse 12 tells us that this circumcision occurs in conjunction with baptism. Paul says it this way, having been buried with him in baptism. Now of the three descriptions of this spiritual circumcision that Paul addresses, this last one speaks of the most dramatic difference. Because it isn’t just that Paul presents it as spiritual circumcision, but that it is life-changing. It’s life imparting. It imparts spiritual life, life eternal. But before there’s life, right, there’s death.

And consequently, a burial. And Paul says that we are in a state of having been buried with him in baptism. Well, that ties us back to the immediately preceding sentence, doesn’t it? in which our body of flesh has been removed. Now you take away the body and you die. And in verse 12, Paul immediately moves essentially to the funeral. You were buried with him. And Paul’s main purpose with this third point is to issue a time stamp.

When did this happen? We were circumcised without hands. The body of our flesh was removed when we were buried with Christ in baptism. Let’s pause right there for a minute. We might even wonder, buried with Christ? I’m here at my own funeral, but when did I die? We died with Christ when we died to sin. We died to sin when we came to Christ in repentance and faith. We died to sin and it’s as real as if we laid down in that earthly tomb with him dead. I love the way dear commentator John Eady, faithful pastor, he said it this way, he died for sin, we died to it.

Utilizing some of the same exact wording Paul has an expanded version of this idea, and I want to do something a little tricky this morning. If you would turn to Romans 6, keep your finger here in Colossians 2. We’re going to go back and forth at least once. Romans chapter 6. Some of you know this and have observed these passages, but it’s always good review.

Paul is responding something that he said in verse 5 as if sin has been completely eradicated and maybe we can just enjoy whatever sin comes our way. Verse 1 of chapter 6, what should we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? If sin brings about more of God’s grace, shouldn’t we sin so that we can enjoy more grace?

Paul answers that foolish idea. May it never be. No way. How can we who died to sin still live in it? And see, there again is our death. We died to sin. Go to verse three. Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized, that is immersed into Christ Jesus, have been baptized, that is immersed, plunged into his death? We died with Christ when we came to him in faith for salvation. But look at this fascinating language.

Paul says that we were baptized, literally immersed into Christ Jesus. And note, Paul does not say that you were baptized, immersed into a pool of water. but that you were baptized, immersed into Christ. You see, with regard to baptism, there is the real thing, our immersion into Christ, and there is the symbol, our immersion into water. Paul is not speaking about literal water baptism here in Romans 6.

What Paul is talking about here in Romans 6 is the real thing. This really happened to you. When you placed your faith in Christ, you were immersed, never to be extracted from Christ. Please keep the finger or at least your bulletin there in Romans 6 and turn back to Colossians 2. Paul uses, again, some of the same language.

And the question is, is Paul speaking of literal baptism here in Colossians chapter 2? And I do think it seems much more likely that he is referring to literal water baptism here. But even if Paul ties this circumcision to our baptism in water, so be it.

That water baptism points backward to a spiritual reality that has already taken place. It’s spiritual immersion into Christ. Again, water baptism is a sign of an inward reality. Regardless of whether we take this baptism as our initial immersion into Christ, or we take it as a testimony of what took place internally, either way, it identifies us as dying with Jesus. Dying to our sin, dying to our guilt, dying to ourselves dead. When we placed our faith in Jesus Christ, in a very real sense, we died. And Paul says that as such, it is appropriate, as with a dead person, that we be buried.

But the story doesn’t end there. Because, just like Jesus, Paul says that having been buried, we were also raised up with him. His resurrection is our resurrection of sorts. And now would you flip back to Romans 6 to just glance at a couple of verses there. Paul reminds us of the purpose for which to die, and he does that in verse four. Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism, that is, immersion into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection. Paul uses the same language here in Romans. Buried, baptism, raised. And now, if you please, back to close out our consideration of Colossians 2. Paul’s image elicits the same picture here.

Plunged, immersed, baptized into Christ’s death. but also raised, resurrected from the dead. You were raised up with him, Paul says. The baptism into Christ is a fellowship in Christ’s death and his resurrection. One pastor commenting on this text said that baptism is the grave of the old man and the birth of the new.

Beautiful image. Paul concludes that if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. And this whole fantastic truth, this incredible metaphor, beautiful illustration, is received, Paul says, through faith. Faith in the working of God who raised him. that is Jesus Christ from the dead. The learning of the Christ whom God sent and the Savior, who did come and did pay for our sin, who was crucified, dead, and buried, except for the powerful working of Almighty God, he was raised from the dead. We take this by faith. Would you rejoice with me before him in his work done in you?