Background - Part Two

Background.  Been struggling with the second part of our background material.  Let’s face it background can be boring.  This post, I confess, borders on the technical and laborious part of study.  Yet imbedded within the methodological part of research can often be some really profound and important theological truths.  These are the kind of truths that change us, free us and are vital to our spiritual growth. 

This is what today is going to be like.  We will wade through some technical historical background, which will illuminate a fundamental truth that is the one primary focus for the letter to Colossae.  It is an important post.  I will do my best to keep it simple and interesting and you do your best to hang to the end.  Deal?  It is important you get to the end.  The end is what matters today.  Stick with me friend.  It will be worth it.

Background.

Seems easy enough doesn’t it.  I thought it was until I spent some time with the exceedingly scholarly Norman T. Wright (perhaps I used too many adjectives there).  Brilliant yet controversial, he kind of disagrees with what all the other commentaries are saying regarding the state of the church at Colossae and the purpose of Paul’s letter.  That always makes me nervous and I would normally dismiss that resource, but I see his point.  That is why my head was hurting and is still hurting as I mentioned in the last post.  But more about that in a bit.  Right now I will share what most all the other commentaries describe and then I will readdress his argument.  I really thought this was going to be easy.  My bad. 

In our last post, I talked about “who” Paul was writing to and their relative insignificance in light of all the other churches that Paul had corresponded.  In this post, we are going to dive into another very important background topic before I commence with my memorization.

Why is Paul writing the church at Colossae? 

The reason has something to do with a “hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Col 2:8) that Paul feared might compromise the church at Colossae.  Apparently, there was a movement under way espousing this philosophy but was still in its earliest of stages and the church hadn’t yet fallen under its sway. 

Paul was being proactive not reactive in writing to them, preventive not corrective.  Paul was warning them.  Paul was genuinely concerned that somehow the Colossians might somehow be deceived and taken captive by a “philosophy” that certain people were peddling.  Paul had a shepherd’s heart driven to protect his sheep.  Every. Last. One.  Even the least important and insignificant. 

What was this deceptive philosophy?  Well there doesn’t seem to be any real consensus among the scholars but while they can’t agree on the probability about the “deceptive philosophy”, they can agree on what is plausible.  Paul is responding to people who:

1)   Advocated certain aspects of Jewish life and liturgy as necessary (2:16)

2)   Valued visions, perhaps in conjunction with angelic worship and mediators to God (2:18)

3)   Stressed a certain kind of asceticism or self denial which was supposed to lead to a deeper spirituality through the practice of various regulations (2:18; 20-21)

4)   Sought to procure and promote an unspecified wisdom or deeper knowledge (2:8,23)

Right now I can’t clearly explain what each one of these things mean.  I do have a vague idea but I am pretty certain that as I memorize my way through chapter two, it will become much clearer.  We will get back to it then.  Looking forward to that. 

Ok so why I have a headache.  It has to do with the disagreement regarding the spiritual state of the recipients of the letter.  Some scholars say that the Colossians had already completely fallen to this deceptive philosophy and some say they hadn’t.  Some say they were gentile Christians while others say they were converted Jews and the four problems outlined above had to do with their adherence to their Jewish roots.  Ouch!  This is where I got my headache.  I see both sides. 

So how do we handle the disparity?  By focusing on the essence of Paul’s point.  When we melt it all down it comes to this.  “Paul regarded the views these people were espousing as devaluing and in effect deprecating the person and work of Christ.  In his letter to the Colossians, Paul seeks to counter this “error’ by stressing the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ”.  (The Expositors Bible Commentary p.268)

To put it plainly, Jesus wasn’t enough.  The fundamental effect of this “deceptive philosophy” was that they needed Jesus plus something else.  Fact. No other letter stresses the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ more than Colossians.  So if we back into the discussion, we can arrive at a workable conclusion that if Paul is stressing this supremacy and sufficiency than we can surmise that the problem must have been that the “deceptive philosophy” was advocating the opposite; Jesus was neither supreme nor sufficient. 

Hmmmm.  Sounds like the very thing that caused me to be wrecked.  My identity and security were wrapped up in Jesus plus something. 

        

         Jesus plus my position. 

         Jesus plus my purpose. 

         Jesus plus my bank account. 

         Jesus plus my relationships. 

         Jesus plus my health. 

There are more but you get the idea.  I had fallen into what the church at Colossae was being threatened with.  Jesus wasn’t enough and you needed something more.  Just Jesus folks.  Just Jesus.  That is the reason for my memorization.  This is why I am spending my year letting this truth sink into my head.  Just Jesus.

Everywhere you turn “deceptive philosophy” abounds today.  Jesus isn’t enough screams at you with every advertisement, billboard or commercial.  Isn’t that what marketers are really preying on.  That deep ingrained faulty belief system that tells us that we need something else.  Rather than run to Jesus to fill the void we run to something or anything else thinking it will satisfy.  It might for a time but it rarely has the sustaining power we long for.  Jesus is all we need.  Might as well just swallow that truth and make it your own as soon as possible.  Trust me, it’s easier then getting wrecked. 

To wrap things up, the last two posts we settled some important aspects concerning background.    First, the church at Colossae was the least significant church that Paul ever penned a letter.  Secondly, there was some kind of deceptive philosophy afoot that Paul wanted to warn them about.  A deceptive philosophy that we can’t nail down in its specifics but can conclude had something to do with Paul’s urgency in reminding them of Jesus’ supremacy and his sufficiency.  Jesus was all that they needed.  They were complete in Him.  Only Him.  We are too!

If you are still with me than thumbs up.  I am proud.  I thought I would leave you with a little worship to nail down the lesson from this post.  Sit back and let the words from this familiar song minister to your spirit a fresh.  Love you.  Shalom.

Next stop…memorization. 

“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.”

                                                               Colossians 2:9-10 (NKJV)