Colossians 2:9-12

The following is a Bible study originally posted on our Bible Study Group.

Basing Our Thinking on Christ

We tend to get an inferior feeling – that we aren't smart enough to
understand God and His ways. So, as we saw last Saturday, we turn to
human tradition and worldly philosophy to help us feel closer to God
or more religious.

However, Paul says we need to have confidence in our ability to build
a biblical life philosophy. Why? Because we're so smart? No, as we
saw in 1 John 2:16, our own sinful nature will base its thinking on
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Instead, Colossians 2:8 tells us to base our thinking on Christ, and
verses 9-12 will tell us why.

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you
are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the
circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also
were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised
Him from the dead."

A foundational Christian doctrine is the deity of Christ. The Bible
teaches that "all the fullness of the Godhead" is in Christ –
literally, in His body. In other words, Christ's physical body (his
hands, his eyes, his brain, his heart… can you picture this?) were
just a temporary housing place for the God of the universe. No
wonder Jesus had such power that when a sick woman touched the mere
hem of his clothing, she was healed!

The apostle John warned the believers in the first century not to
believe everyone they heard, but to check them out carefully (1 John
4:1-3). The key to recognizing if God's Spirit was in someone was to
see if he acknowledged the deity of Christ. Those who will submit
themselves to the power and authority of Christ, because He is God in
flesh, can be trusted (Col. 2:10).

Now here is the secret to success in your Christian life and this is
where all this doctrine gets practical. (Please grab these truths to
heart, dear friends!) "You have been given fullness in Christ"
(verse 10). Wow! No, you are not God in human form. LOL! Rather,
God Himself filled your human body at the moment you took Christ as
your personal Savior from sin. He dwells in you, with the same power
He gave Jesus. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are
not your own? (1 Cor. 6:19).

Jesus is not a house guest but seeks to be the Lord of your
earthly "temple," your body. Yes, it is a daily decision to give Him
control over your thoughts, decisions and actions, but realize your
potential in Christ! You do not have to hand over your ability to
reason to people. You don't have to bow to the world's great
thinkers and philosophers, simply because they might know more or are
the "experts." The same God who created the universe in its
unfathomable splendor resides in YOU and wants to renew your mind.

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"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding
out!

"For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?"
"Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?"

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be
glory forever. Amen.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may
prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
(Romans 11:33-12:2)

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Let me share with you two pictures of what Christ can do in your
life. First, God's mental makeover is like the ancient Hebrew
tradition of circumcision. The Jews were commanded by God to
circumcize their infant sons so that all nations would know they
served God. This symbolizes what God wants to do in our minds. He
wants to "cut off" our old sinful natures (thought patterns and
actions). Our new ways of thinking should be so radically different
that everyone around us knows we belong to God.

(I can't help adding this thought: just like the Jews circumcize
their INFANT sons instead of grown men, it seems to me that the
earlier a new, baby Christian begins to have her thought patterns
changed, the less painful the process could be.)

Secondly, when we are baptized, we show everyone watching that God
now lives within us. How? Being lowered into the water pictures how
Christ was buried after He died. We are saying that our old way of
living and doing is being put to death. Next, as we are raised out
of the water after baptism, we show that we are being given new life
in Christ.

Think of the almighty power of God that, early on a dark and dewy
Sunday morning, slashed the power of death forever and raised Jesus
from the tomb. Colossians 2:12 says the that the power of God, the
same power that raised Christ from the dead, gave us a new life of
victory over sin. This all happened the day of our faith in Christ.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

Women, I wish we could all meet face to face and discuss these
verses. I can picture us shooing the kids into our toy room, brewing
a big pot of coffee and mixing up some iced tea, and sitting down in
our living room. I'd want to look at each one of you in the eye and
try to impress on you how precious you are to God. He took on human
form and died on the cross. We'd look out my window at the beauty of
creation or stay up late to see the stars. We'd cry when we realized
that the Creator gave up heaven to become a – (gasp!) – human!

We'd shiver as we talked about the darkness of death and how it
steals our closest loved ones from us. We'd eat snacks together and
laugh about cutting calories AFTER the chocolate brownies were eaten,
but deep inside we'd agree that we're all afraid of death and
disease. Yet our precious Heavenly Father conquered death long ago,
and despite our fears, we know we'll see our loved ones again.

Girls, please listen to me! God has "cut off" your old sinful life.
He now wants to replace it with His awesome power. You CAN think!
You can reason! You can immerse yourself daily in His Word, His love
letter to you, so that you also can be an expert. You can know the
mind of God, and you can speak with authority. Yes, it may take work
to get to know God and his philosophies, but my prayer is that you'll
make this pursuit the highest priority of your life.

I'm sorry that these discussions have been so deep and long. Paul is
famous for starting his books with heavy theological debates. I know
we're all wives and mothers, and we tend to get stuck in a thought-
rut of dishes and grocery lists and car pools. However, unless we
first grapple with these meaty biblical truths, we won't be ready to
discuss the ultra-practical verses at the end of Colossians. God is
seeking to renew our minds.

I have some discussion questions for us. Who wants to speak up on
one of these issues?

1. What are some examples of human traditions and philosophies that
can deceive us? (Thanks, Kaylene, for the example you've already
given.)

2. List some examples of a time when your thinking was based on "the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."

3. List some other ways God's power was shown in the bodily form of
Christ.

4. Can you name some groups that deny the deity of Jesus Christ? Why
should we not trust what they say?

5. What practical things can we learn from the two symbols of
circumcision and baptism?.

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