Today I received a note from someone whose persuasive arguments sound lofty and “right” but in reality are false through and through. As the believers in Colosse had to deal with these that came right out of the “pit of hell” to promote their self-righteousness, so has this person. Listen to this:
quote: And – at an advanced level – soaked in the Enlightening Shower at the Union – instant elimination of all ignorance, barriers, individual human sufferings and sorrows and all fears (fears are born out of ignorance) – including the Fear of Death; and Gift of Illumination, Oneness, Joy and Pleasure and Eternity unknown to most of us.
But in reality my heart aches for this person for he/she does not know the preeminence of Christ nor the fullness of having been as Paul so eloquently says in chapter 1: “delivered from the power of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of the Son he loves,” This person who wrote me is still dwelling in the domain of darkness and if died today would encounter the fury of hell itself. This is what drives me to write and share! If only he would see the beauty of Christ, ….so enough said….here’s what Paul is teaching the Colossians….
Who is Christ to you and more importantly to me? Paul clearly focuses our attention on who He is and from when He came to rescue us from our sins. If we know Him and are reconciled to Him then those who claim “truths” which sound noble, but are in fact arguments which foster self-reliance, can be filtered and discerned by His Spirit who indwells us. Joh 16:8 “And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment –”
Christ: He is the supremacy of God eternal, invisible, God only wise, He is Creator of that which was before eternity; He is the head of the Body, the Church for which He laid down his life on a cross and shed His blood for you. He is the firstborn of the dead. Kenneth Wuest writes regarding “firstborn”:
“The Greek word implied two things: priority to all creations and sovereignty over all creation. In the first meaning we see the absolute pre-existence of the Logos. Since our Lord existed before all created things, He must be uncreated. Since He is uncreated, He is eternal. Since He is eternal, He is God. Since He is God, He cannot be one of the emanations from deity of which the Gnostic speaks…”
Those that would lead us progressively astray use three tactics, one of which are persuasive arguments which sound reasonable. If we fall prey to those arguments, we find that our mind, body and spirit are now captivated by these false arguments. And lastly, these that would provide these false arguments begin to judge us according to what we eat or what we touch. Vs 23 “Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and ascetic. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.” [MSG]
Because of this it is vital that we recognize our “enemy,” the “lions in the road,” and his weapons so that we can employ: 2Cor10:4-5 “for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.” We must know; study to show ourselves to be approved workmen; be in the Word so we can discern truth from error. Sounds like a Berean!
