The Old Man Was Crucified

The Old Man/Self: Who Died?

Stuart L. Brogden

I’ve become aware of some who say that Paul was referring to Adam being put to death in Romans 6:6, that the accepted understanding that Paul was referring to something in the Christian being put to death. Here is that verse, in the KJV: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. The argument is that natural man’s federal head is Adam and our “old self” refers to our identity in Adam and Adam’s body was destroyed, not ours – we still have our old bodies! Here’s a quote from an advocate of this view: “It is in this sense only that it can be said that the body of sin is destroyed. It has not been destroyed in us, because as long as we are in this flesh, even as sinners made alive by the Spirit of God, the sinful nature has not, cannot, and will not change, Romans 8:7,8. The body of sin then is the legal condemnation of sin imputed in Adam to our account.”  

There is much in this brother’s statement that is cause for concern, the first is his use of Romans 8:7-8 to refer to the status of Christians. Here’s the larger passage, to provide some context:

Rom 8:5-9 (HCSB) For those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

Paul is contrasting unregenerate (those who live according to the flesh) with the redeemed (those who live according to the Spirit). In verses 7 & 8 Paul describes the condition of the unregenerate: hostile toward God, unable and unwilling to submit to His law, unable to please God. This is not how the redeemed are described in Scripture. We are reconciled to God, equipped by the Holy Spirit to will and to do what pleases Him (Phil 2:13).

The last statement leaves me wondering if the author is aware of the need for our own sin, in addition to the imputed sin of Adam, is worthy of condemnation and needs to be forgiven. He further wrote: “The old man (what we were in Adam), and the body of sin (the legal condemnation by imputation), are destroyed, Christ having borne it away in His obedience unto death.” The “body of sin” which needs to be dealt with is larger than “the legal condemnation by imputation.”

I think part of this brother’s error is his reliance on the KJV, without consultation of other translations. Here’s how the HCSB presents Romans 6:6 - For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin. Note that it is “sin’s dominion over the body” that must be abolished; “the body of sin” (as in the KJV) does not refer to a literal body (like man’s) but to a “body of evidence.” When this body of evidence is rendered impotent by the propitiating death of Christ, it no longer has power over us, having been nailed to His cross (Col. 2:13-14) and cannot condemn us any longer. In Romans 7:2, the wife whose husband has died is freed from the law (i.e., the law of marriage no longer has any power over her, in spite of what she may feel). A similar point seems to be made here.

Back to the “old man/self” that was crucified. The immediate context of Romans 6 sheds some light on this.

Rom 6:5-11 (HCSB) For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that sin’s dominion over the body may be abolished, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin’s claims. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over Him. For in light of the fact that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in light of the fact that He lives, He lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Note the tenor of this passage – personal, related to the children of God and their relationship with Jesus. We have been joined with Christ; our old self has died; sin’s rule is finished; we died to sin; we died with Christ; we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. If Paul meant Adam had died; how did that death reconcile us to Christ? Our relationship to sin must change in order for us to be reconciled to God. That is the focus of Romans 6!

A quick review of some of the other passages that describe who died to sin should clarify who Paul spoke of in chapter 6 and verse 6.

Rom 6:2 (HCSB) How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Rom 7:6 (HCSB) But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

2 Cor 5:14 (HCSB) For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died.

Gal 2:19-20 (HCSB) For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Eph 4:17-24 (HCSB) Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truth is in Jesus. You took off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires; you are being renewed in the spirit of your minds; you put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

Col 2:20 (HCSB) If you died with the Messiah to the elemental forces of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”?

Col 3:5-11 (HCSB) Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient, and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

2 Tim 2:11 (HCSB) This saying is trustworthy: For if we have died with Him, we will also live with Him.

1 Pet 2:24 (HCSB) He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; you have been healed by His wounds.

There is no denial that we are twice-condemned: 1.) For the sin-nature we inherited from Adam and 2.) for the sin we commit. In being justified, the wrath due us for both of these was poured out on Christ. 2 Cor 5:17 would not be true if Adam’s death was meant in Romans 6:6 or any other of these passages. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. This is true for all who have been born from above! A new creation! Adam’s death didn’t bring us to that state; our death to sin and being made alive to Christ has wrought this.

In Romans 5, Adam is positioned against Christ. Nowhere is the death of Adam held out as our hope for peace with God. In verse 17, we see the condemnation that came from the one man’s trespass contrasted with the abundant grace we from Christ. Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. What is contrasted is consistently the condemnation of Adam with the righteousness of Christ, which is ours when we are given that faith to believe upon Him. Adam’s death plays NO PART in this reconciliation!

In all of these references, what the Spirit is pressing upon us is that a change has been wrought in us. We are no longer slaves to sin because we, being born from above, have died to that master. Just as another’s faith cannot save us, the death of another human (such as Adam) cannot redeem us. The life of the Christian is walked out in tension between who we were in Adam and who we are in Christ. All of the talk in these passages about us dying are exhortations to quit entertaining sin, stop submitting to that master. Read the Scriptures and ask yourself – who is being addressed? Who is the subject, who has “died to sin”? If you are in Christ, a new creation, that ought to be you! 

Holy people, not holy days.

Col 2:16-17 (HCSB) Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is the Messiah.

Far too often debate about how to interpret this passage focuses on the phrase “Sabbath day,” rather than seeking to understand the picture painted by the apostle. Countless times, the meaning of what we read in the new testament can be rightly understood by having knowledge of the old testament. So it is which this lesson in Colossians 2:16-17.

The phrase “festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” must be looked at, not merely the Sabbath day. Paul says “these things,” referring to what was mentioned in verse 16 – food, drink, festivals, new moons, and Sabbath days. The phrase “festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” shows up in 7 Old Covenant passages, provided below. Please read through them and do not be put off if the words are not in the same order as in Colossians 2 – the picture is the same.

1Chr 23:30-32 (HCSB) They are also to stand every morning to give thanks and praise to the LORD, and likewise in the evening. Whenever burnt offerings are offered to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed festivals, they are to do so regularly in the LORD’s presence according to the number prescribed for them. They are to carry out their responsibilities for the tent of meeting, for the holy place, and for their relatives, the sons of Aaron, in the service of the LORD’s temple.”

2 Chr 2:4 (HCSB) Now I am building a temple for the name of Yahweh my God in order to dedicate it to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the rows of the bread of the Presence continuously, and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening, the Sabbaths and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the LORD our God. This is ordained for Israel forever.

2Chr 8:12-13 (HCSB) At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the LORD’s altar he had made in front of the portico. He followed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths.

2Chr 31:2-3 (HCSB) Hezekiah reestablished the divisions of the priests and Levites for the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, for ministry, for giving thanks, and for praise in the gates of the camp of the LORD, each division corresponding to his service among the priests and Levites. The king contributed from his own possessions for the regular morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings of the Sabbaths, of the New Moons, and of the appointed feasts, as written in the law of the LORD.

Neh 10:32-33 (HCSB) We will impose the following commands on ourselves: To give an eighth of an ounce of silver yearly for the service of the house of our God: the bread displayed before the LORD, the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

Isa 1:13-14 (HCSB) Stop bringing useless offerings. Your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons and Sabbaths, and the calling of solemn assemblies — I cannot stand iniquity with a festival. I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to Me; I am tired of putting up with them.

Ezek 45:16-17 (HCSB) “All the people of the land must take part in this contribution for the prince in Israel. Then the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths — for all the appointed times of the house of Israel — will be the prince’s responsibility. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

Hos 2:10-11 (HCSB) Now I will expose her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one will rescue her from My hands. I will put an end to all her celebrations: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths — all her festivals.

Recall Colossians 2, not to let anyone judge us on questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath because these are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

We know that “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). So our focus is on what remains. This pattern of days refers to all of the holy days of the Jews, from yearly feasts to the weekly Sabbath, and comes from repeated descriptions of the Mosaic ritual as shown above. How does it make sense to claim the weekly Sabbath is not part of this summary? Only by blindly following a systematic theology wherein the Jewish weekly Sabbath has been re-skinned as the “Christian Sabbath” is this possible – but that does NOT make it biblical!

Scripture reinforces this idea, that days are not “holy” in the Christian faith, but a matter of personal conviction. Rom 14:5-6a (HCSB) “One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord.”

If you think Sunday is a holy day, observe it for the honor of the Lord. That does not provide a platform to condescend toward those who consider every day to be the same.  As one who is in this latter category, I see the gathering of saints (usually on Sunday) as a holy thing; not the day. Same with the day of the Lord’s resurrection – what took place that day is holy, the day is not.

The Christian faith is not food or drink, holy places or holy days. It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which every child of God should recognize, enjoy, and praise God for His continued goodness towards us. Our predilection with calendars should not color over our focus on the One who saves sinners. 

Colossians 2:16 -23 Not Disqualified But Nourished

Colossians 2:16 -23 Not Disqualified But Nourished

Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is the Messiah. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated without cause by his unspiritual mind. He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, develops with growth from God.  If you died with the Messiah to the elemental forces of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: “Don’t handle, don’t taste, don’t touch”? All these ⌊regulations⌋ refer to what is destroyed by being used up; they are commands and doctrines of men. Although these have a reputation of wisdom by promoting ascetic practices, humility, and severe treatment of the body, they are not of any value in curbing self-indulgence.

Therefore - Paul is reaching back to what was previous in his letter. Why is he doing this? See what immediately follows this word: don’t let anyone judge you - then he lists several things we'll look at shortly. Don't let anyone falsely judge you, he means - on what, though? Think back on the essentials truths Paul had taught them: they have hope laid up in heaven, they share in the inheritance of light, they've been rescued from darkness and translated in His kingdom; they have redemption and forgiveness, reconciled to God. And that's just from chapter 1! The benefits we reviewed in chapter 2 are as plentiful.

This warning about not letting anyone judge them is the same warning Paul sounded in earlier - he teaches them the truth of their identity in Christ so no one would delude them with plausible arguments, so no one would captivate them with empty deceit according to human tradition or the spirit of the age.

The apostle is warning the saints to be on guard of anyone who tries to convince them they do not possess the fullness of Christ; that we do not have His great and precious promises that Paul has meticulously spelled out in these first 2 chapters of this letter. Having identified the categories of arguments that would be used to pull the saints aside from God’s gospel, Paul then spells out some of the details.

Don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food or drink. Paul expounds on this in Romans 14:1-4 Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about doubtful issues. One person believes he may eat anything, but one who is weak eats only vegetables. One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not criticize one who does, because God has accepted him. Who are you to criticize another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand. For the Lord is able to make him stand. And again in 1 Corinthians 10:25-32 Eat everything that is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake, for the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it. If one of the unbelievers invites you over and you want to go, eat everything that is set before you, without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This is food offered to an idol,” do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who told you, and for conscience’ sake. I do not mean your own conscience, but the other person’s. For why is my freedom judged by another person’s conscience? If I partake with thanks, why am I slandered because of something I give thanks for?

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory. Give no offense to the Jews or the Greeks or the church of God.

All the dietary laws of the Mosaic community were established to mark out national Israel and keep her separate; they were brought into the church by some Christian Jews who used those laws as a wedge to coerce Gentile saints to follow them. These Jewish Christians took offense at the Gentiles’ nonchalant attitude toward “unclean” or “unholy” food. For some, food was a wedge that divided the people of God. Paul charged Gentiles not to use their liberty in this matter if it would cause a Jewish brother to stumble. But he was clear (1 Tim 4) that everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. So eat or don’t eat, according to your conscience. Do not abuse your position to provoke a brother or sister.

Who knew food could be such a big deal? Paul says in 1 Tim 4:1 & 2 that demanding abstinence from certain foods is demonic doctrine. How kind of our God that He addresses these issues in His Word! We would be foolish to neglect it.

But then Paul completes the thought – don’t let anyone judge you in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. This pattern of days refers to all the holy days of the Jews, moving from yearly festivals to monthly feasts to the weekly Sabbath, and comes from repeated descriptions of the Mosaic ritual, found in 1 Chronicles 23:30-31; 2 Chronicles 2:4, 8:12-13, 31:3; Nehemiah 10:33; Isaiah 1:13-14; Ezekiel 45:17; and Hosea 2:11.

This is another indication that the Mosaic code, of which the Decalogue is part, does not apply to Christians as a law, but as a type or shadow of the Christ to come. And this is Paul’s next statement – all these things just mentioned, food and religious days, are a shadow of what was to come. This is the same message we find in Hebrews 8, where we read that the Mosaic religion was a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. Unless one finds clear example or teaching in the Bible that brings anyone not part of national Israel's covenant people under the Jewish Sabbath law we are left with the clear teaching that there is no requirement.

Paul sums up this whole issue like this: One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, yet he thanks God. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and came to life for this: that He might rule over both the dead and the living. But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before the tribunal of God. (Romans 14:5-10) Those who wish to observe Jewish days should be free to do so but should not try to coerce other to join them. These things are shadows; the substance is Christ! It is our union with Him that makes us belong to one another; we should not exert energy on dividing over shadows.

In verse 18 we see one of the strongest indications that Colossi was influenced by an early form of Gnosticism. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind. Once again, Paul warns the saints to be on guard against false teaching - this time specifically visions (Charismatics of all stripes go on about visions, rather than study the revealed written Word), asceticism (a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals - as with papist monasteries), and angel worship (every recorded occasion of angel worship in Scripture is rebuffed by the angel OR encouraged by the fallen angels being worshiped). Each of these practices (among countless others) are opposed to 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. Let this sink in - seeking spiritual growth and fulfillment in anything other the person of Christ Jesus is contrary to, opposed to the spiritual growth and fulfillment that God intends for us. In opposition holding fast to the Head (Who is Christ), being nourished and knit together in intimate detail, with growth that comes to God - false teachers of all stripes would have us seek a pale imitation from any source other than Christ.

The answer to every temptation is found in Christ. In Him is every yes and amen, every promise fulfilled. Apart from Him, we have nothing.

But knowing how hard-headed we are, Paul repeats his argument - from a slightly different angle. He asks a question, prompting the reader to assess his standing. Colossians 2:20-22 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— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? The substance is the same - being united with Christ means we have no need of human precepts and teachings as regards our spiritual growth. He speaks of being alive to Christ and dead to the world, as far as its system of values. It is contrary to our identification in Christ to be concerned with spirits of the world and their dogma.

This phrase - do not handle, do not taste, do not touch - is written to be increasing in emphasis; handle not, taste not,  do not even touch. One commentary observes: Thus, in every case, the contact described exerts a modifying influence, and a more permanent contact or effect of contact is often implied than is expressed by touch. "The idea of a voluntary or conscious effort is often involved." We see this in a few other passages:

Genesis 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it...

Isaiah 52:11 Depart you, depart you, go you out from there, touch no unclean thing; go you out of the middle of her; be you clean...

2 Corinthians 6:17 Why come out from among them, and be you separate, said the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

1 Timothy 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats...

The exhortation in our passage is the apostle's third such, admonishing us to not allow food rules or cultural taboos to replace true spiritual wisdom. They may appear to be wise, helping one to be approved of men; but they are established on things that perish - which is why I see it relating to food - and human precepts and teachings. Which are the same things he warned us about in verse 8 of this chapter, regarding philosophy. All they can produce, Paul says, is the appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body. This is another escalating buildup of related terms. And Paul slams the door on these by saying such things are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

The bottom line from this passage is simple: No matter what seems like it may provide spiritual growth, nothing apart from true fellowship with Jesus, growing in grace and knowledge of Him, following His teaching and close fellowship with the saints can do that. This letter, and the entire Bible, is all about Jesus. He is enough.

Colossians 2:6 -15 Head over every ruler and authority

Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude. Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. You were also circumcised in Him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of the Messiah. Having been buried with Him in baptism, you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him.

The major theme coursing through this letter is the supremacy of Christ and His provision for His people. The opening phrase in this passage recognizes Christ as Lord. Contrary to the view of many professing Christians, no man makes Jesus Lord - He IS! When Paul was speaking to the talk show crowd of his day, he didn't tell them of an entity that wanted to be their Lord; he declared God as Lord. He told them, Acts 17:23-25 What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. The God Who is, does not depend on His creatures to bestow or admit that He is Lord, He is. This word, Lord, conveys the idea of supreme authority and power. And we who have believed on Christ Jesus have received Him, the Lord of heaven and earth.

As with so many epistles, we are told here to walk in Christ - that is to keep our mind fixed on His truths and live as people who have been changed, raised from spiritual death by the same power that raised Christ from the grave! We cannot walk in the Lord if we do not have fellowship with one another, as He has given us to each other to equip us for His service. This call to discipleship is contrasted with the siren call of the world to turn our backs on Him, to sit in judgement of Him. The serpent still beckons for us to put ourselves in charge; our flesh constantly desires to be in charge. In contrast to Col 2:4, where we were advised not to succumb to plausible arguments of men that might delude us, here we are told to be rooted, built up in Christ, and established in the faith. Paul knows these saints have been taught these things rightly; he started this letter thanking God for the progress they had been making as gospel warriors. Here's a critical truth for us: We may grow wise in many biblical doctrines and theological truths, we never outgrow our need of the gospel. If we learn all the systematic and biblical theology man has written but we forget Who bought us and how He did, we will tend to drift into trusting our human wisdom, so called. Rightly comprehending the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus will keep us humble and very grateful – abounding in thanksgiving. If we truly understand the saving grace that is ours, we will be abounding in thanks to God!

Verse 8 provides the same type of warning as we found in verse 4 - take measures so no one, not even your favorite preacher - can capture your mind. This is what Absalom did in 2 Sam 18 as her worked to draw the men of Israel away from David. Paul lays out three areas of humanistic thinking - philosophy, empty deceit in line with human tradition, and elemental or foundational elements or spirits of the world. Each of these represents humanistic ways of thinking that are contrasted with Christian thought, which is according to Christ. Paul sets the world's ways of thinking straight up against thinking as and according to the teachings of Christ Jesus. Paul wrote about elsewhere - 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. We cannot afford to conflate or confuse the natural wisdom each of us has with the wisdom of God which we access only by prayer and diligence.

Next in our text, a paragraph which one commentator (Brian Hedges) described in this colorful way: "This rich paragraph is “pressed down, shaken together, and running over” in spiritual wealth and insight. While the whole letter of Colossians radiates the sufficiency of Christ, the saving significance of his sufficiency nowhere burns brighter than here. Having exposed the hollow doctrine of the hucksters in verse 8, the apostle now reflects on the inexhaustible fullness of Christ in a cascading torrent of vivid images and motifs."

The fullness of deity dwells in the God-man. This phrase reveals of the dual nature of the Son of man - fully God and fully man. If He was not God, the fullness of deity could not be His; if He was not man (a tabernacle of flesh as Paul put it) that fullness of deity could not dwell in Him. As God dwelt with Israel in the tent of meeting, so Jesus as a man had Jesus as God dwelling within Him. While this flies in the face of what men call science, it is the truth of God that men fought to make clear early in the life of the post-apostolic church.

Verse 10 says we, the redeemed, have been - past tense - filled with Him. How is it that we filled with Christ? I submit that this refers to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that every saint enjoys from the moment he is regenerated. In the same way Jesus is God, He is present where His Spirit is; but it's not the same as Jesus in His glorified body is present in each of us - for the same reasons He is not in the crackers used by the cult of Rome. Paul wants to impress upon us this Jesus that He preaches to everyone. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the head over every ruler and authority. I think Paul heard about what we call the Great Commission, wherein the Lord Jesus said, Matthew 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."  This means He is the ruler over us and even those who do not submit to Him. Many men tell others to "make Jesus Lord of your life," as if the creature has that kind of power! Jesus IS Lord, to the glory of God the Father! The ignorance or rebellion of creatures does not affect the identity of Christ any more than Israel's unbelief does not nullify God's faithfulness (Romans 3:3).

Verse 11 brings us to a point that contrasts the New Covenant with the Old by pointing out that true circumcision is a spiritual act of God applied only to the people who are true Israel. Fleshly circumcision or the lack thereof is meaningless (Gal 6:15 & 1 Cor 7:19). But paedobaptists must have fleshly circumcision be very meaningful in order to tie it to baptism, which they claim is the sign of the New Covenant. By contrasting fleshly circumcision with spiritual circumcision, Paul shows us that circumcision is the sign of each covenant: fleshly circumcision for the fleshly covenant that could never take away sins; spiritual circumcision for the spiritual covenant, wherein each and every member has been regenerated and raised up in Christ. Just the Sabbath is also called out as the sign of the Mosaic Covenant, so we see the Lord Jesus identify His blood, as portrayed in the Lord's Supper, as a sign of the New Covenant.

We also see in this verse the significance of spiritual circumcision - putting off the body of flesh. This shows that we who have been made alive in Christ have died to sin and the flesh. Fleshly circumcision removes a small part of flesh, leaving the person in tact; spiritual circumcision kills the flesh - setting us free from sin's mastery and freeing us to the mastery of grace in Christ.  It was His death on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins - that reconciled us to Himself, circumcising us without the use of human hands.

Paul goes on in verse 12 to teach us the role of water baptism - it is our way of identifying what has been accomplished. This verse also shows why "baptizing" unbelievers cannot be reconciled with Scripture - by water baptism we are buried with Him and raised with Him through faith in God and the work He has done - in Christ and us! Just as Christ was raised from the dead, so were we, when He circumcised our souls and coming up from the water displays the faith in Christ that is necessary for our new life. Unbelievers do not have such faith in Christ. This is why many people who practice what is called infant baptism have resorted to various schemes to deal with it. Historically, 8 variations have been claimed by these people:

1. Fides Aliena: The church supplies the faith necessary for infant baptism.

2. Fides Infusa: Baptism infuses faith into the infant.

3. Fides Infantium: An infants’ own faith is present in baptism.

4. Sacramental Symbolism: The legitimacy of infant baptism is independent of faith.

5. Pre-credobaptism: Baptism precedes faith in the infant, but does not guarantee it.

6. Presumptive Regeneration: The church assumes its baptized infants have faith until proven otherwise.

7. Baptismal Regeneration: Baptism imparts faith to all infants (including the non-elect).

8. Paedofaith: Infants have faith prior to their baptism.

God-parents were invented by the Roman Catholic Church as those who stand in faith for the baby during its "baptism" under the first scheme. Are any of these compatible with what Scripture teaches about water baptism? They all present schemes of men, trying to twist Scripture to support their beloved doctrine. The truth is far, far simpler: baptism represents the sacrifice made by Christ on our behalf; it has no merit, adds nothing to the grace given us which is what saves sinners. Everything and anything added to grace makes grace of no effect and betrays a lack of trust in God.

The last three verses in our passage describe our salvation - all of which is the work of Christ. Similar to Paul's description of natural man in Eph 2, he says here that we were dead in trespasses and our Gentile flesh. This shows us Paul is writing to non-Jews, those not circumcised in the flesh; yet dead in trespasses, being a law unto themselves. Christ made us alive with Himself - which relates back to water baptism as the symbol of that. This is the same message - being made alive in Christ, having been dead in trespasses - as we read in chapter 1 and verse 13: He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son.  Buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him.

His death for our sins made the way for our death to sin; His everlasting life after death made the way for our resurrection life which results in eternal life with Him.

But no only did Christ make us alive in Him and forgive us our sin, He erased the certificate of debt (reminds me of the OC certificate of divorce, which could mean certain poverty for the woman). This certificate carried obligations, which all law does - whether codified in the Mosaic Covenant or given to man directly. That which was working our condemnation was cancelled and nailed to His cross. Jesus made a public display of bearing the wrath due our sin in His body as He hung on the cross. He was not ashamed to suffer for us, not ashamed to call us brothers (Heb 2:11) – the question that ought to be always on our minds: Are we ashamed of Him? We cannot let ourselves off the hook by our good intentions; we must be honest and examine ourselves. Have you and I been faithful to herald the life-saving gospel to others?

The last verse reveals yet another glorious work completed by Christ on our behalf. For not only did Jesus forgive us, raise us up to new life, and reconcile us to the Father; He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly. How did He do this? We know the last enemy is death – the master sin brings death to all mortals for all have sinned. Satan and his minions know they are the rulers of death – they push out of their minds that Christ holds the keys of hell and death. When He arose, in a glorified body not stained by sin, hell was left waiting and death was overthrown. After Jesus rose from the dead, He "presented Himself alive" (Acts 1:3) to the women near the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10), to His disciples (Luke 24:36-43), and to more than 500 others (1 Corinthians 15:6) – a public display that none could dismiss. By this act, He disarmed Satan and his minions – hell and death have no power of Him or His people.  He triumphed over these last enemies by being glorified by the Father when He was taken up into glory – publicly. It was the final stamp on His redemptive work. As Paul would write (quoting Hosea), "“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law." (1 Cor 15:54-56).

This is victory we have in Christ - He has conquered sin and death, has promised us life eternal - death has no hold on us! By dying, in faith, in Christ we have this victory. As He was seen by many - making His victory public - so we are seen by many. Do they know we are His? Let us go outside the gate being thought fools because we believe the gospel of grace. To the glory of the Son and the Father - let His message be ours.

Colossians 1:24 - 2:5 The Struggle of Spreading the Gospel

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

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.

From John Kitchen’s commentary: "There appears to be a well-built and clearly developed chiastic arrangement around which this section is built."

Brad McCoy provides this definition and purpose of chiasms in Scripture: “the use of inverted parallelism of form and/or content which moves toward and away from a strategic central component.” He explains the importance of these literary devices helping the reader or listener in 3 ways: delineates the author’s meaning, highlights the central focus of the passage, and sets the passage in a form that is easier to remember than unstructured prose. When the Bible was being written, most folk heard rather than read.

Here’s the chiastic structure of our text:

A             Rejoice, flesh                                                          1:24

                                B             Make known, riches, mystery             1:27

                                                C             Struggling                            1:29

                                                C             Struggling                            2:1

                                B             Knowledge, wealth, mystery               2:2

A             Rejoicing, body                                                        2:5

Each layer within this structure has deep meaning; this structure helps tie it together. Paul opens this passage rejoicing in his suffering, in his body of flesh; he closes this passage by declaring that even though his body is not with the saints of Colossi, he rejoices to see the fruit of the gospel in their lives. This ought to cause us to recall his instructions to the saints at Philippi (chapter 4 of that letter), as they stand firm in the Lord (verse 5 of our text) to help the work of the gospel (verse 27 of our text) Paul tells them to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, and again, he says, rejoice! We who have been bought by the blood of Christ ALWAYS have the BEST reason to rejoice! Our struggles in this age are not worthy to be compared to the riches of Christ's glory that will be revealed in the age to come.

The center of our passage is Paul's two-fold struggle - to preach the gospel and disciple the saints, to personally insure those at Colossi and Laodicea and everywhere else are built up in the faith of God in Christ.

Rejoice in the Lord as you struggle with all the power God gives you to spread the gospel, rejoicing in the fruit He grants. This is the core of Paul's theology.

But what does he mean in saying he "fills up that which is behind the afflictions of Christ" or "complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions"? The papist cult camps out on this phrase to show they must afflict themselves with barbed underwear, long painful treks, and crucifixions to fill up Christ's suffering.  The first thing we need to know is that Christ Jesus finished His atoning work on the cross. Nothing CAN be done to supplement it; it is not lacking anything; His sacrifice was sufficient. His afflictions were UNLIKE anything we can suffer - He bore the wrath of God on our account - it was far worse that the horrendous physical suffering He endured. The Greek word for Jesus' "afflictions" is not used one time in all of Scripture to describe His propitiating death. So whatever one imagines Paul to mean, he could not have intended us to think he or we would make Jesus' death more effective. In urging the church at Philippi to accept Epaphroditus, Paul said he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me (Phil 2:30). Same idea - serving one another in Christ will cause us to suffer, to work hard, and grow physically and emotionally weary. But our goal is that of Paul's - to build up the body of Christ so we all achieve maturity and stability.

And Paul tells us the entity which is being complete by his sufferings - the body of Christ, which is the church. We see in several places (Acts 9:16; 14:22; Rom 8:17; 1 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Peter 5:10) that the church should expect to suffer as it faithfully proclaims His life-giving gospel. He spoke through James that friendship with the world is hatred, enmity against God; through Peter that we should be surprised when we face fiery trials on His account - the world as a system hates God and natural man hates the gospel. Even so, it is the power of God unto salvation to those who are being saved.

Paul tells us here, as he has elsewhere, that he is a servant of the Lord in the service of His people, to make the message or word of God fully known. This was the charge given Paul and it is the same charge He gave the church in the Great Commission - to make the message of God, His gospel, fully known to the people of the world. This gospel, the person of Christ, was a mystery in ages past but was being revealed to His saints as Jesus had announced the Kingdom and given His apostles the foundational truths His people need to rightly comprehend. God has chosen to make the riches of His glory known to the Gentiles, that all the chosen of God would experience the fullness of Christ.

While Scripture reveals several Old Covenant saints knew of the resurrection, Christ being raised from the dead, seated with God, and - by His Spirit - abiding in the soul of every child brought to glory. When we died to sin and were made alive in Christ, we experienced the first resurrection. Over such the second death holds no power. He is our hope of eternal glory. He is the message we proclaim - Christ suffering the wrath of God to save poor helpless sinners. As Kitchen reminds us, this exalted One resides within each and every saint. This should be a staggering thought, breathtaking - if we rightly see Him for Who He is. Psalm 24:8 & 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle. Who is He, this King of glory? The LORD of Hosts, He is the King of glory. This is the Lord we proclaim, the only One Who can do poor helpless sinners any good.

As we proclaim Christ, we warn everyone to flee from the wrath to come, discipling all who believe to bring them to maturity. This should call to memory the Great Commission and Eph 4:10-16. Paul said that he struggled mightily to make this happen - but that it was God's power that worked in him to cause the growth he desired. How often do we wear ourselves out, thinking we must be strong enough, disciplined enough, and so on, in order to be useful to God? Yes we should discipline ourselves! But let us never think we are sufficient for the task laid out before us!

Right after telling them how he had struggled and labored to make the gospel know, Paul tells of the burden he has for people he has never met, beginning with Colossi, Laodicea, and the rest of the world - to encourage them. This is not simple emotional support, but a deliberate desire to see the saints grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus - Him we proclaim, to make Him fully known, joined together with the other saints by the love He shed abroad in our hearts. The goal in this is so we will have all the riches that come with full assurance in the knowledge of God's mystery - Christ Himself!

Two things to bear in mind here: the "heart" does not refer to the blood pumping muscle in our chests. Our problem isn't one of "head knowledge" vs "heart knowledge." The Hebrew and Greek words behind "heart" described the seat or core of the mind, emotions, and will (emotions and will are functions or aspects of our mind, not things separate from it). The Second thing is God's mystery. Paul wants us to have knowledge of God's mystery - which is Christ. We don't make Him known by fancy programs or expensive audio/video systems; we make Him known by the proper preaching and teaching of His Word.

It's important to get these things, and the truth of God's mystery, straight. If we don't, if we are not sure of the message of reconciliation given to us in Scripture, we will be vulnerable to being led astray by the plausible arguments of men. Let's consider a lesser issue - water baptism. The only examples and references to water baptism in Scripture show being immersed into water and being brought up out of it. Our Presbyterian brothers have plausible arguments based on Old Covenant circumcision and household baptisms that have convinced many people that infants should be sprinkled with water, calling that baptism. This is not an essential doctrine unless one follows the argument for infant baptism to its logical conclusion and people start believing water baptism covers sin or regenerates the soul. Such thoughts are behind the beginning of "infant baptism" and pose an alluring reason for this doctrine.

On the most important doctrine - how are sinners saved - man have plausible arguments that convince many that Christ died for everyone and has given everyone the grace to choose to be saved. Free will is the clarion call to men who cannot stand the thought of a sovereign God Who has chosen who He will save. No, this is too important not to allow the creature the right to tell the Creator who He must save!

If we are not grounded in Scripture, such tales can cause confusion or error in our thinking. So Paul has said everything up chapter 2:4 to make sure the saints have full assurance of the knowledge of Christ so we will not be deluded by men with plausible arguments.  Again to his letter to Philippi, we see how small things mark those who are enemies of God and should be marked so all will know to be on guard.

Philippians 3:17-21 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Note the contrast - people who have their minds focused on earthly things (what they eat, the lust of the flesh) compared with people who have their minds set on heavenly things (citizenship in heaven, looking for Christ to return). Those who say some folks are too heavenly minded to be any earthly good are actually aligned with the enemies of the cross of Christ. In fact, we have to be heavenly minded to be of any earthly good. For those who are perishing need what they either do not know or hate. They need the gospel - and that is God's wisdom!

Paul concludes this passage by telling the saints at Colossi that he was present in spirit with these dear saints that he had never met, rejoicing at their good order and the firmness of their faith in Christ Jesus. I cannot help but take note of something. Rick Warren is loved by many and has been called "America's Pastor." He has built his organization by seeking to find out what unconverted people want in a local "church" and giving it to them. In his book, The Purpose Driven Life, Warren tells us (pg 105) that we are lying when we tell someone, “I’ll be there in spirit.” He claims we can only be where our physical body is. I wonder which of the myriad translations he used in the book did not have this statement by Paul. Any teacher that cannot embrace all the God has given us in His Word should not be highly regarded. The apostle rejoiced to see firmness of faith in Christ and stability in Colossi - our ambition ought to be to possess the same attributes they did. We should not be led astray by those who are careless with the Scripture or focused on earthly things.

We have the gospel. We have Christ. Let us be firm in our faith and immoveable on the truths given to us by our great and holy Creator.