To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay (8)-2

To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay -- the Series of Explanation and Analysis of Scripture (8)-2

The Explanation and Analysis of Some of the Verses in Chapter 2 in COLOSSIANS

“My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ” (COLOSSIANS 2:2-3)

Here, it points out that the wisdom of God and the knowledge about His work are all hidden in Christ. If one wants to know the rules and works of God, he must know them through Christ, and only can find them and know them in Christ. Only those in Christ can have the true wisdom and knowledge. Christ is the treasure house that contains all things. He is the answer for all the questions. Therefore, to gain Christ, is to gain the key to solve the questions. If one only holds the key without opening the door to dig the treasure inside, it still does not solve any problem. Therefore, the believer must make more efforts to seek Christ and to know more about Christ. Knowing Christ is the only way to know God. If the believers want to know more about Christ, they should not rely on the knowledge and principles only, but should experience Christ more. All the knowledge outside Christ are empty principles and dead words.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. ” (COLOSSIANS 2:6-7)

The Christians must take roots in Christ and draw Him as the source and strength of life, and take Him as the foundation to build up (life and work) to show outward; thus, one can withstand the attack of the storms. The believers should take roots downward first, then can build up upward. In our daily life, it is unavoidable to encounter tests, sufferings, failures, illness, persecutions and so on. If our faith is not firm, we must be paralyzed.

A firm faith is the root to increase the thankfulness to God. Every spiritual achievement of the believers is from the grace of God. Therefore, we must give all thanks to God wholeheartedly for our progress. The more spiritual a man is, the more humble he will be. One who is proud shows that he seldom experiences the grace of God. Those who do not seek LORD earnestly, must lack the thankfulness to God; those who lack the thankfulness to God, must be cold or indifferent to God and spiritual things, or at most, neither cold nor hot. In the average people, nine out of ten receive grace without thanksgiving (Luk 17:11-19). However, the biggest difference between the believers and the worldly people is the thankfulness of the believers to God increasing as time passed.

“ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (COLOSSIANS 2:8)

Any teaching, if it is against the basic truth of the Bible, absolutely can not be called the teaching of the Christians. Satan specializes in using all kinds of people, matters, things to take captive of people and to trap the ignorant people as its slaves. The most destructive weapon of Satan to our faith is the apparently right but actually wrong principles. The characteristics of these specious principles are: <1> “rather than on Christ”, although in the name of Christianity, what they talk about has nothing to do with Christ. <2> “depends on human tradition ”, is not based on the revelations in the Bible from God, but is based on the thoughts and words of men. <3> “the basic principles of this world” seem to be wise and profound. But are just some short-sighted common sense of this world, actually are far away from the only truth -- God. The crisis of the church nowadays is that it takes the people captive away from Christ according to human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than Christ. Any study and research on the principles of theology, if can not lead people to come near and enjoy Christ, falls into the category of hollow and deceptive philosophy.

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. ” (COLOSSIANS 2:9-10)

All the characters of the Deity, are in Christ without missing anything. “The Word became flesh” in Christ, so that all the fullness of the Deity show in a bodily form, but not something abstract to human any longer.

Only by relying on Christ, one can share in the life and nature of God. To gain Christ is to gain all the fullness of the Deity; without Christ, one won’t have anything of God. Only by experiencing Christ, we can know the fullness of the Deity in details in reality. Because of our faith in Christ, we receive Christ, that is, the life and divine nature of God in us; therefore, we receive the fullness of Christ in us. As long as the believer has Christ, that is enough. On one hand, there is infinite supply in Him; on the other hand, He is the Head over every power and authority. The life of God is the fountain to abundantly supply all the needs of men. How Christ lack nothing, so the life and the living in Christ lack nothing.

“ In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, ” (COLOSSIANS 2:11)

The true circumcision is not to cut off the foreskin in the body of flesh by the hands of men, but is in Christ, to deal with the sinful nature that makes the body corrupted. Once apart from Christ, the believers will fail right away; “in him” is the secret for us to overcome. People always like something or ceremonies that are apparent, visible, and can be felt and touched. It results in losing the true meaning represented by the ceremony. The only reason that we can put off the bondage of the sinful nature, is by relying on Christ to achieve it. We must let Christ be in charge in us so that to put off the sinful nature of the old self. Let the essence of our life change and work out successfully and completely from the inward to the outward.

“having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ” (COLOSSIANS 2:12-13)

Baptism is not an initiation ceremony, but a real experience of being saved. After the baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on us so that we are in Christ. The believers have been buried in water; this does not mean a miserable ending, but a new birth full of hope. Without the death, there won’t be the birth. If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him (Rom 6:8). The believers died with and live with LORD through the baptism. It is effective in the power of God, and also because the person concerned has faith. The believers experience the fact of being saved through faith -- having been buried together ( died together); it is also through the faith, that the believers experience the fact of victory -- resurrect together. For us to be saved and to overcome, are all the efficacy that God works in us. Only the life of Christ can swallow up the death, and only the life of Christ can make us resurrect.

Before believing in LORD, one was a dead man, and was powerless and helpless, and weak in morality but can not extricate oneself. Many people always think that sinners are those criminals in prison and those with corrupt morality and reputation; but are not clear that those who are proud and conceited, jealous, slanderous behind others, selfish and self-seeking, and resentful and so on are all sinners.

Since God forgive all our transgressions and sins that we did before believing in LORD, He won’t look into the criminal cases and sins in the past. Therefore, anyone who admits one’s guilty and accepts Jesus Christ as his savior, can receive the new birth. However, after the rebirth, one must conduct oneself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Php 1:27); otherwise, no sacrifice for sins is left (Heb 10:26-27).

“ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ” (COLOSSIANS 2:14)

What Christ has cancelled is not the law itself (Mat 5:17), but is “the curse of the law” ( Gal 3:13). Before believing in LORD, all people are under the curse of the law. LORD Jesus Christ come to fulfill the Law (Mat 5:17).

“So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. ” (Rom 7:12)

“We know that the law is spiritual; ” (Rom 7:14)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:17-20) As long as we deny ourselves and pick up our own cross to follow LORD, and let Christ be in charge in us completely, we can do what is impossible for us to do before, such as being truly humble, good, righteous, holy and so on; what’s most important is to trust and obey God completely, thus, we can gradually conform to the likeness of the true children of God.

The believers were reborn to be in Christ. The Holy Spirit of Christ is in every believer. By relying on the Christ in us, we can not only obey all the laws and commandments, but also can do righteousness surpassing that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law: trust and obey God; be humble and deny oneself; do not hold anger and hatred; be away from evil and adultery thoughts; treasure and take good care of the marriage; live a life honestly; do not act repay an eye for an eye; do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good; love the neighbor as oneself and also love the enemies; give to the needy in secret without expecting any reward; be patient and forgive others; do not love money; work hard and be thrifty, self-disciplined and willing to help; do not be anxious about anything; do not judge others and so on. (Mat 5-7).

Therefore, we must not have only partial understanding and emphasize one part of the truth at the expense of another. To obey the law and commandments, do good deeds, and do what is good and righteous are the duties of the believers. However, the only correct way is to do “from inward to outward”; that is, only by relying on Christ inward, one can really be able to do it and do it well, and truly be saved and renew the whole life of the believers. Therefore, the mistakes are absolutely NOT in: obeying the law and commandments, doing good deeds, and doing what is good and righteous. The mistakes are in: doing it by relying on oneself, but not through knowing Christ and by relying on Christ to do it. If only by relying on oneself, one can never really do it and do it well; and it is impossible to reach the standard of righteousness and holiness of God.

For a long period of time, there is serious prejudice and misunderstanding on the truth and teachings in the Bible. As to the truth of “Righteousness through faith and being justified through Christ, but not be justified and declared righteous by observing the law and doing good deeds”, it is for the purpose to emphasize that the only source and way for us to be saved and be justified and be holy is -- LORD Jesus Christ. However, law and good deeds are actually righteous, are what the believers must obey and do. Those who do not obey it and do it and do not change their life, they are completely against God and won’t be able to enter the eternal life. Those who look down or overlook the teachings on Bible such as the book of JAMES and so on, who even call “recommending to obey the teachings of LORD Jesus Christ on the mountain(Mat 5-7)” as “heterodoxy”, such people are the real heterodoxy! However, these erroneous points are widely existed and accepted in the believers nowadays. We must be alert and get back to the complete truth in the Bible. By relying on Christ, one should conduct himself in a manner worthy of the Gospel (Php 1:27).

“Triumphing over them by the cross”, because this cross has paid off the debt of us before, and also has crucified our body, it becomes what we boast about. The way for the believers to overcome, is to know better and experience more the cross. The cross took captive the domination of the darkness to show its victory. If we do not really experience the cross practically and crucify our old self, we can not overcome. If we still live in sins, and be a friend of the world, we will be a friend of the domination of the darkness and become enemies of the cross (Php 3:18). If we deliberately keep on sinning, fall away, and do not repent, it is “crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” (Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26-27).

It is edited and compiled under the guidance of Holy Spirit. All thanks, praises and glories be to God!

(COLOSSIANS 2:2-3; 6-15)

COLOSSIANS 2:2 “ My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,”

(NOTES)

“united in love”:

Here, “united” shows the needs to build up the body of Christ (church) and to be unity (Eph 4:16). The life of the faith of the believers is not to only pay attention to one’s own moral uplift without thought of others; but need to be united with other believers; while in the church, the love has the uniting power.

“so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding”:

This verse shows that the reliable faith comes from the understanding, and the reliable faith makes one to “know”. I “know”, therefore, I have the faith; I have reliable faith, therefore, I really “know”; I really “know”, therefore, my faith is firm (Col 2:5,7). Therefore, to “know” and to have the faith complement each other and bring out the best in each other.

“the mystery of God, namely, Christ”:

indicates that the redemption and the plan of the administration of the kingdom are all accomplished in Christ; it is also carried out and achieved through Christ ( Eph 1:3-12; 1Co 15:24-28; 1Co 1:15-20).

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) All kinds of different teachings often shake the mind of the believers and make them even doubt what they believe in. Therefore, they need the comforts, exhortations and encouragements from others.

(2) Besides directly receiving the comforts and encouragements from God, the believers should also comfort and encourage each other with words and deeds.

(3) What can comfort and encourage the believers most, is prayer.

(4) The principles divide people, and the love unites people. Love is one of the fundamental factors to build up the church to be unity, but not the principles. If the love of one another in the church disappears, the church will be disintegrated.

(5) In the spiritual war, the unity is the strength. The individual believer is easy to be defeated. Only by being united together with love, we can resist the attack of the evil forces.

(6) A member on the body can not exist alone; we must unite with other members. Whenever we drift apart from the church, we will become weak.

(7) If the believers treat one another with love, that will make everyone encouraged by the love of LORD and strengthened in the faith in LORD. Therefore, not only the faith produces the love (Col 1:4), but also the love strengthens the faith.

(8) The faith of the believers is not a blind superstition. One must be clear why he believes, and this faith is inspired by the understanding.

(9) The more faith one has, the more he will know Christ; the more one knows Christ, the firmer the faith will be.

(10) As to the Christians, the mystery of God is not a hidden secret any more; but is a public secret. As long as we enter into Christ, we will know this mystery.

COLOSSIANS 2:3 “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

(NOTES)

“wisdom”:

refers to the capability to see through the truth of the facts.

“knowledge”:

indicates to understand and distinguish through understanding, and transform the truth and facts systematically to the guidance of the behavior in life.

True “wisdom” and true “knowledge” are two sides of one thing and can not be separated.

“all”:

refers to the whole, not only a part.

This verse points out that the wisdom of God and the knowledge about His work are all hidden in Christ. If one wants to know the rules and works of God, he must know them through Christ, and only can find them and know them in Christ. The teachings of the heterodoxy emphasize the way of salvation through wisdom and knowledge. Here, Paul points out that only those in Christ can have the true wisdom and knowledge.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Christ is the treasure house that contains all things. He is the answer for all the questions. Therefore, to gain Christ, is to gain the key to solve the questions.

(2) If one only holds the key without opening the door to dig the treasure inside, it still does not solve any problem. Therefore, the believer must make more efforts to seek Christ and to know more about Christ.

(3) Knowing Christ is the only way to know God. If the believers want to know more about Christ, they should not rely on the knowledge and principles only, but should experience Christ more.

(4) All the knowledge outside Christ are empty principles and dead words.

COLOSSIANS 2:6 “ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,”

(NOTES)

“received”:

that is believed (Joh 1:12).

“Christ Jesus as Lord”:

“Lord Christ Jesus” is the full title of LORD. “Lord” refers to Him as the ruler of all things in the universe; “Christ” refers to Him as the promised “Messiah” by God to save the worldly people; “Jesus” refers to Him as “the Word became flesh”, the God and the man.

“to live in him”:

It implies that: (1) live according to His words (Mat 7:24-27); (2) do as Jesus Do (Joh 13:15; 1Jo 4:17; Eph 4:20); (3) he is the standard and criterion for us to live a life (Col 3:3,11,15,17,18,23).

As to the Christians, we have faith first, and then we have the deeds, thus, our life of faith is complete.

“received” is the past tense; “continue to live” is the present tense. The former is what happened momentarily; the latter is what progresses gradually. The former is to get; the latter is to hold. The former is “He became mine”; the latter is “I become His”.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) We received Christ Jesus; that is to received Him as the “Lord”. We must entrust the authority of our life to Him completely and let Him take charge of everything.

(2) Faith without deeds is dead (Jam 2:17,26).

(3) We received the grace through our faith in LORD, and receive blessings through living in the words of Lord (Mat 7:24).

(4) It is through faith and obedience that the believers accepted Christ Jesus as the Lord. In the like manner, they should live a life of “Christ Jesus as Lord” through faith and obedience.

(5) What the believers received is LORD Himself, but not principles. Therefore, what we should obey in our life, is Christ in us, but not any regulation, teaching, habit and tradition. Therefore, we should learn well to pay attention to the work of His Spirit in us.

(6) Only when we “live in Him” and unite with Him more closer, we will live a life that the saints should live.

COLOSSIANS 2:7 “ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

(NOTES)

“rooted”: just as the trees take roots deep into the earth; it shows that one has a spiritual life of communion with LORD in the innermost.

“built up ”: just as the project of a building, it develops upward continuously from the bottom; it shows the establishment of the characters of the Christians. The former is the hidden part in the life of the Christians; the latter is the apparent part in the life of the Christians.

“rooted and built up in him”:

The Christians must take roots in Christ and draw Him as the source and strength of life, and take Him as the foundation to build up (life and work) to show outward; thus, one can withstand the attack of the storms (Mat 7:24-27).

“strengthened in the faith”:

Some interpreted it as being strengthened through faith. However, most of the Bible scholar consider “faith ” as the object to be strengthened and established; that is, the “faith” is more confirmed such that it won’t be shaken. The faith is strengthened because of being rooted and built up in Him.

“as you were taught”:

It indicates that the more we know and are clear about the truth and teachings received, the firmer our faith will be. The faith comes from knowing God; the more we know God, the firmer our faith will be. Those who have the faith most, are those who know God most.

“overflowing with thankfulness”:

Thankfulness to God overflows just as water fills up the cup and overflows.

This indicates that because we know clearly the received truth and teachings, we understand sincerely that all are the grace from God, but not because one is better than others, such as the life of us is rooted and built up in Christ and we are strengthened in faith and so on. Therefore, one overflows with thankfulness to God from one’s heart.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) The believers should take roots downward first, then can build up upward.

(2) In our daily life, it is unavoidable to encounter tests, sufferings, failures, illness, persecutions and so on. If our faith is not firm, we must be paralyzed.

(3) A firm faith is the root to increase the thankfulness to God.

(4) Every spiritual achievement of the believers is from the grace of God. Therefore, we must give all thanks to God wholeheartedly for our progress.

(5) The more spiritual a man is, the more humble he will be. One who is proud shows that he seldom experiences the grace of God.

(6) Those who do not seek LORD earnestly, must lack the thankfulness to God; those who lack the thankfulness to God, must be cold or indifferent to God and spiritual things, or at most, neither cold nor hot.

(7) In the average people, nine out of ten receive grace without thanksgiving (Luk 17:11-19). However, the biggest difference between the believers and the worldly people is the thankfulness of the believers to God increasing as time passed.

COLOSSIANS 2:8 “ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Any teaching, if it is against the basic truth of the Bible, absolutely can not be called the teaching of the Christians.

(2) Satan specializes in using all kinds of people, matters, things to take captive of people and to trap the ignorant people as its slaves. The most destructive weapon of Satan to our faith is the apparently right but actually wrong principles. The characteristics of these specious principles are: <1> “rather than on Christ”, although in the name of Christianity, what they talk about has nothing to do with Christ. <2> “depends on human tradition ”, is not based on the revelations in the Bible from God, but is based on the thoughts and words of men. <3> “the basic principles of this world” seem to be wise and profound. But are just some short-sighted common sense of this world, actually are far away from the only truth -- God.

(3) The crisis of the church nowadays is that it takes the people captive away from Christ according to human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than Christ

(4) Any study and research on the principles of theology, if can not lead people to come near and enjoy Christ, falls into the category of hollow and deceptive philosophy.

COLOSSIANS 2:9 “ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,”

(NOTES)

“all the fullness of the Deity ”:

That is the summation of God himself and the nature of God.

“in bodily form”:

that is to express and show in details so that it is easier for others to understand.

This verse indicates that all the characters of the Deity, are in Christ without missing anything. “The Word became flesh” in Christ, so that all the fullness of the Deity show in a bodily form, but not something abstract to human any longer.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Only by relying on Christ, one can share in the life and nature of God.

(2) To gain Christ is to gain all the fullness of the Deity; without Christ, one won’t have anything of God.

(3) Only by experiencing Christ, we can know the fullness of the Deity in details in reality.

COLOSSIANS 2:10 “ and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”

(NOTES)

“and you have been given fullness in Christ”:

refers to the life and divine nature of God; it is because of our faith in Christ, we receive Christ in us; therefore, we receive the fullness of Christ in us.

“who is the head over every power and authority”:

refers to Christ as the Head of all things.

This verse shows that as long as the believer has Christ, that is enough. On one hand, there is infinite supply in Him; on the other hand, He is the Head over every power and authority.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) The life of God is the fountain to abundantly supply all the needs of men.

(2) How Christ lack nothing, so the life and the living in Christ lack nothing.

COLOSSIANS 2:11 “ In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, ”

(NOTES)

“a circumcision done by the hands of men ”:

refers to the circumcision on the body outward. “circumcision” is the mark of the covenant between God and His chosen people -- the Israelites (Gen 17:10). The male baby of the Jews must be circumcised on the eighth day after the birth. The teachings of the heterodoxy include the regulation of obeying the circumcision and so on, and think that men must be circumcised to be saved.

“circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, ”:

That is, the true circumcision of the heart (Rom 2:28-29).

This verse means that the true circumcision is not to cut off the foreskin in the body of flesh by the hands of men, but is in Christ, to deal with the sinful nature that make the body corrupted.

The spiritual meaning of “circumcision”:

its spiritual meaning is to deal with the body, or to get rid of the sinful thoughts and power. Therefore, whoever only has a mark on the body, while in his life and conducts does not show the practical efficacy of the circumcision, is not considered to be circumcised according to the Bible (Lev 26:41; Jer 6:10).

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Once apart from Christ, the believers will fail right away; “in him” is secret for us to overcome.

(2) People always like something or ceremonies that are apparent, visible, and can be felt and touched. It results in losing the true meaning represented by the ceremony.

(3) The only reason that we can put off the bondage of the sinful nature, is by relying on Christ to achieve it. We must let Christ be in charge in us so that to put off the sinful nature of the old self. Let the essence of our life changes and work out successfully and completely from the inward to the outward.

COLOSSIANS 2:12 “ having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. ”

(NOTES)

“having been buried with him in baptism”:

The “baptism” of the believer shows that he has been crucified with Christ on the cross and was dead already. And has been buried in the water; “having been buried ” declares the fact of the truth, that is, declares the ending of all the past.

“in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”:

implies that only in the power of God and through the faith, it can make the “baptism” meaningful and effective.

The spiritual meaning of “baptism”:

is to let the sinful body “ having been buried with Christ” in the water ; through this, the believers were baptized into the death of Christ (Rom 6:3), and their bodies are not to be used by sins and evils any more so that they are saved from this world. When the believers get up from the water after the baptism, it is an oracle that “we will also live with him” (Rom 6:5-8) to become a new creation.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Baptism is not an initiation ceremony, but a real experience of being saved. After the baptism, the Holy Spirit descend on us so that we are in Christ.

(2) The believers have been buried in water; this does not mean a miserable ending, but a new birth full of hope.

(3) Without the death, there won’t be the birth. If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him (Rom 6:8).

(4) The believers died with and live with LORD through the baptism. It is effective in the power of God, and also the person concerned has faith.

(5) The believers experience the fact of being saved through faith -- having been buried together ( died together); it is also through the faith, that the believers experience the fact of victory -- resurrect together.

(6) For us to be saved and to overcome, are all the efficacy that God works in us. Only the life of Christ can swallow up the death, and only the life of Christ can make us resurrect.

COLOSSIANS 2:13 “ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,”

(NOTES)

From verse 13 to verse 15, it is to explain how God make us get the grace from verse 10 to verse 12.

“the uncircumcision of your sinful nature”:

refers to the depraved and corrupted nature in our body.

“were dead”:

refers to the spiritual death; that is, having no sense to know God and having no power to resist sins.

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) Before believing in LORD, one was a dead man, and was powerless and helpless, and weak in morality but can not extricate oneself. Many people always think that sinners are those criminals in prison and those corrupt morality and reputation; but are not clear that those who are proud and conceited, jealous, slanderous behind others, selfish and self-seeking, and resentful and so on are all sinners.

(2) Since God forgive all our transgressions and sins that we did before believing in LORD, He won’t look into the criminal cases and sins in the past.

(3) Therefore, anyone who admits one’s guilty and accepts Jesus Christ as his savior, can receive the new birth. However, after the rebirth, one must conduct oneself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Php 1:27); otherwise, no sacrifice for sins is left (Heb 10:26-27).

COLOSSIANS 2:14 “ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ”

(NOTES)

“the written code”:

is a commercial terminology, and refers to the debt proof written by the debtor. Although the gentiles do not have law directly from God, the requirements of the law are written on their hearts by God (Rom 2:14-15). When a man offends God, his conscience will have a deficit to God, just as a receipt for a loan signed by oneself. Therefore, the law “was against us and that stood opposed to us”, because it testifies our failure and shows that we all own God debt.

“took it away”:

God took away the accusation of the law to the former criminal case of the believers.

“nailing it to the cross”:

refers to having been crucified with Christ (Rom 6:6; Gal 2:20; Gal 5:24; Gal 6:14).

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) What Christ has cancelled is not the law itself (Mat 5:17), but is “the curse of the law” ( Gal 3:13). Before believing in LORD, all people are under the curse of the law. LORD Jesus Christ come to fulfill the Law (Mat 5:17).

“So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. ” (Rom 7:12)

“We know that the law is spiritual; ” (Rom 7:14)

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mat 5:17-20) As long as we deny ourselves and pick up our own cross to follow LORD, and let Christ be in charge in us completely, we can do what is impossible for us to do before, such as being truly humble, good, righteous, holy and so on; what’s most important is to trust and obey God completely, thus, we can gradually conform to the likeness of the true children of God.

(2) The believers were reborn to be in Christ. The Holy Spirit of Christ is in every believer. By relying on the Christ in us, we can not only obey all the laws and commandments, but also can do righteousness surpassing that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law: trust and obey God; be humble and deny oneself; do not hold anger and hatred; be away from evil and adultery thoughts; treasure and take good care of the marriage; live a life honestly; do not repay an eye for an eye; do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good; love the neighbor as oneself and also love the enemies; give to the needy in secret without expecting any reward; be patient and forgive others; do not love money; work hard and be thrifty, self-disciplined and willing to help; do not be anxious about anything; do not judge others and so on. (Mat 5-7).

(3) Therefore, we must not have only partial understanding and emphasize one part of the truth at the expense of another. To obey the law and commandments, do good deeds, and do what is good and righteous are the duties of the believers. However, the only correct way is to do “from inward to outward”; that is, only by relying on Christ inward, one can really be able to do it and do it well, and truly be saved and renew the whole life of the believers. Therefore, the mistakes are absolutely NOT in: obeying the law and commandments, doing good deeds, and doing what is good and righteous. The mistakes are in: doing it by relying on oneself, but not through knowing Christ and by relying on Christ to do it. If only by relying on oneself, one can never really do it and do it well; and it is impossible to reach the standard of righteousness and holiness of God.

For a long period of time, there is serious prejudice and misunderstanding on the truth and teachings in the Bible. As to the truth of “Righteousness through faith and being justified through Christ, but not be justified and declared righteous by observing the law and doing good deeds”, it is for the purpose to emphasize that the only source and way for us to be saved and be justified and be holy is -- LORD Jesus Christ. However, law and good deeds are actually righteous, are what the believers must obey and do. Those who do not obey it and do it and do not change their life, they are completely against God and won’t be able to enter the eternal life. Those who look down or overlook the teachings on Bible such as the book of JAMES and so on, who even call “recommending to obey the teachings of LORD Jesus Christ on the mountain(Mat 5-7)” as “heterodoxy”, such people are the real heterodoxy! However, these erroneous points are widely existed and accepted in the believers nowadays. We must be alert and get back to the complete truth in the Bible. By relying on Christ, one should conduct himself in a manner worthy of the Gospel (Php 1:27).

COLOSSIANS 2:15 “ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ”

(NOTES)

“the powers and authorities”:

Generally speaking, refer to all kinds of the angels; narrowly speaking, only refer to the evil force in the spiritual world (Eph 6:12). According to the context, it should refer to the latter.

“triumphing over them by the cross”:

Because this cross has paid off the debt of us before, and also has crucified our body, it becomes what we boast about (Gal 6:14).

(LIGHT IN WORDS)

(1) The way for the believers to overcome, is to know better and experience more the cross.

(2) The cross took captive the domination of the darkness to show its victory.

(3) If we do not really experience the cross practically and crucify our old self, we can not overcome. If we still live in sins, and be a friend of the world, we will be a friend of the domination of the darkness and become enemies of the cross (Php 3:18). If we deliberately keep on sinning, fall away, and do not repent, it is “crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” (Heb 6:4-6; Heb 10:26-27).

Reference:

1. Jiale Huang: “Christians’ Digest of the Scripture Analysis Series”.