1 Dec. 2010 - Colossians 2:6-23

Colossians 2:6-

"freedom from human regulations through life with Christ"

paul initiates this chapter with two statements: continue to live in Christ and to live strongly; do not be deceived by worldly thought.

why should we do these things? christ is the fullness of God and, through Christ, we receive the fullness of God. we have cast off our sinful natures and, to use christianese, died to our old selves and have been reborn into new life. ok, so we have no sins... do you not understand the magnitude of this?!? we, in our sin, were condemned to  a second, spiritual death after our corporeal one. then, through Christ, the atonement was paid for all for all time. in addition to this, God added extra insult to the demons - not only did he disarm them by removing the curse of sin and death for those who believe, but he publicly humiliated them with the ease by which they were defeated. God is infinitely more powerful than any demon - after all, they were once angels whom He had created.

The laws of the Jews were set as a way for the Jews to attain a righteousness (no, it's perfectly correct grammar). However, with the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, a new covenant was formed in which we are no longer bound to the Jewish law for righteousness, but Christ. therefore we can eat anything, are free of the necessity to observe religious festivals/sabbaths and instead, we worship Christ out of gratitude.

Also, Paul warns to avoid the religiously spiritual people who profess that their way is right as they misinterpret the gospel. these people, according to Paul, puff themselves up on false spirituality and their experiences. this person has lost his connection with Christ, the head, who gives real life and strength.

so, if we have died with Christ to the world, as paul phrases it, why do we still behave like we belong to the world? we follow the world's instruction/rules when we are not bound by them. they are only human-made; they will wither and perish over time as their "wisdom" becomes apparent. instead, follow Christ. following Christ, we will put ourselves on a true moral path that is beyond reproach from any human law. how is this possible? who made right? right was created by God through the very essence of His being. God was not arbitrary when he decided what was right and neither was right right before God said it was. he spoke it from the innermost part of his being, his character, which is unchanging.