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eLesson 006

Text: Colossians 2:9-2:17
Subject: Jesus and Salvation

 Printable PDF version of this lesson

Colossians – Part 4

To grow more ... you must know more. That is one of the important lessons in the book of Colossians. Growth is stunted if knowledge is not increasing. Almost half of chapter 1 is about increasing the believers’ knowledge of Jesus ... mostly about increasing knowledge about who He is. Then in chapter 2 there are several more verses about Jesus ... mostly about what He has done. Colossians 1:13-23 and 2:9 -15 are important passages about Jesus. They add up to 19% of the book … 18 of the 95 verses. Re-read these two passages noticing the similarities and the differences in what they state about Jesus.

Jesus is God, Colossians 2:9. Only God could do the great things described in the following verses. Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. Therefore, He could be our perfect priest and perfect sacrifice. He could once and for all pay for our sins. Only the perfect, sinless God-man could do that. Jesus was God in bodily form. Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, has been here. Other religions are man reaching out or up to find or create some kind of god. However, Jesus is God actually coming to us. In Jesus, "All the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" 2:9.

Jesus saved us fully. In Him, we have been made complete, 2:10. He has saved us completely and fully. Our salvation is His completed work ... not ours. The warning in 2:8 is about the empty, vain, and worthless deception of philosophy and man-made tradition. However, in 2:10 we have been made complete, full, and worthwhile in Jesus. He has ultimate authority. Therefore, we are ultimately saved. We are not holding on to God. If we were, we could lose our grip and be lost. Instead, He is holding on to us, John 10:27-30. No one is more powerful than God is. Therefore, we are safe in His hand forever. "In Him all fullness of Deity dwells ... and in Him you have been made complete" Colossians 2:9-10.

Salvation is a spiritual circumcision, 2:11. No one needs to be physically circumcised to be saved, Acts 15 and Galatians 5:6. Actually someone may be physically circumcised and yet uncircumcised of heart, Jeremiah 9:25-26. That danger in Old Testament days is still a danger today ... outward religiosity without inward reality. The outward demonstrations of Christianity save no one. Those things are of no value in saving anyone. My wedding ring does not make me married. It only testifies that I am married. I am married because of the covenant I made with my wife in a church over 35 years ago. That covenant is in force if I wear my ring or not. Without the covenant, the ring means nothing. The covenant, not the ring, makes my marriage real. Life with God begins with a personal covenant with Jesus ... believing in Him ... receiving Him as Savior. Without that, all the outward trappings of church life are meaningless. At the moment we are saved ... we are spiritually circumcised. Life with God begins with a circumcision of the heart, Jeremiah 4:4 (a forthright verse). If your fellowship adds any tradition, behavior, or spiritual experience to the Gospel … change fellowships.

Salvation is a spiritual baptism, 2:12. The Bible uses the word baptism to describe what happened to all (not some) believers at the moment they were born again. Salvation is a spiritual washing, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Titus 3:5. No matter what some fellowships teach, the Bible states that all believers are all baptized into one body by one Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:13. It is a spiritual baptism. However, there is also the New Testament example of water baptism. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch along the desert road to Gaza. Paul, just a few days after arriving in the Roman colony of Macedonia, baptized Lydia of Thyatira. Paul baptized the jailer in Philippi. If you have not been water baptized ... why not? Be baptized. Unfortunately, many unsaved men and women have been baptized as part of their church traditions. They are falsely trusting in rituals to save them. However, water baptism saves no one. No good work can save anyone, Ephesians 2:8-9. As Paul said to the Philippian jailer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved" Acts 16:31. Believing in Jesus results in salvation. Then water baptism testifies to the reality of spiritual baptism. At the moment when you were saved, you were spiritually baptized. That spiritual baptism, attested to by your water baptism, unites you with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection, Romans 6:3-7.

You are now alive! You were dead in your sins. Then after you believed in Jesus, you are alive with Him, Colossians 2:13-14. Sin results in spiritual death. God judges sin. The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. God issued a certificate of debt against us because of our sin. However, He took that certificate and nailed it to the cross. On the cross, Jesus paid for all our sins. Now, since believing in Jesus, we have been forgiven for all of our sins. Our certificate of debt has been taken away. It has been fully paid. It is gone. We are no longer dead in our sins. We have already made the transition from death to life, John 5:24. Our eternal life does not begin at the gates of Heaven. Our eternal life began here on earth at our moment of salvation. We are now alive in Christ.

Jesus disarmed them. Colossians 2:15 may be narrow ... or may be comprehensive. In the narrow sense, Jesus disarmed Satan and all the demonic principalities and powers, Hebrews 2:14-15. The "Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil" 1 John 3:8. In doing that, He made a public spectacle of Satan and his demons. However, in a more comprehensive meaning, Colossians 2:15 could include all rulers and authorities, good and bad. Jesus disarmed them ... meaning that He stripped Himself of, or put off from Himself, all other authorities and powers. That could include angels, demons, governments, the Levitical priesthood, and even the Old Testament Law. In this broader sense, Jesus did it alone on the cross. He alone was the complete and final sacrifice. He alone accomplished our salvation. He separated Himself from all other authorities and did it alone. Therefore, no other authorities have any power over us when it comes to salvation. Now even the Old Testament Law has no power over us, Romans 6:14 and 7:6.

Two more warnings complete the first half of Colossians. After those warnings, Paul and Timothy moved on to the practical application section of their letter. That pattern is typical of letters Paul wrote or co-wrote. A good pattern for us is: know … grow … apply … multiply. Before you move on in Colossians, reread the first two chapters. Make two lists from 1:13-23 and 2:9-15. First, list all the statements about who Jesus is from both passages. Can you find ten? Then list the more than fifteen things He has done. Afterwards, read on through chapters 3 and 4 as a preview of what is to come.

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Study Questions Answers at end of lesson.

1. Complete this sentence from the beginning of this lesson.

    “To grow more … you must ________ ________.

2. Explain in simple terms how Jesus could be fully God and fully man at the same time.

3. What is the difference between Christianity and other religions?

4. Explain John 10:27-30 in your own words.

5. Which saves us … being circumcised of flesh or circumcised of heart?

6. In the Biblical sense, how many believers have been baptized by the Spirit?

7. What does water baptism do … and what does it not do?

8. When does eternal life begin?

9. What certificate was cancelled when you believed in Jesus?

10. Who besides God has any ultimate power over believers? Why?

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Personal Reflection No answers provided for these questions.

1. What are you doing to prevent stunted growth?

2. What temptations do you face to try to add to what Jesus did in saving you?

3. What good things do you do because He saved you?

4. What man-made traditions does your fellowship try to add to the Gospel?

5. Why is Jeremiah 4:4 so forthright?

6. How could someone be circumcised of flesh but uncircumcised of heart?

7. Have you been baptized with water after you believed in Jesus? If not … why not?

8. Should your church’s rules or traditions prevent you from being baptized with all the water you can get after you have been saved? Someday, would you rather stand before God having been baptized once too many times or once too few times … with too much water or too little water?

9. Jesus has done so much for you. How do you … and should you respond?

10. Have you truly trusted in Jesus for your salvation? Are you circumcised of heart? If you have any doubt, visit www.911GOD.org to settle this once for all of eternity. It is too important to delay.

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Answers to Study Questions

1. Complete this sentence from the beginning of this lesson.

    “To grow more … you must know more.

2. Explain in simple terms how Jesus could be fully God and fully man at the same time. If you answered this question and think you explained this adequately, you did not. There are things about the infinite God that cannot be understood by our finite minds.The correct answer to this question is, “I can’t explain it.”

3. What is the difference between Christianity and other religions? Other religions are man reaching up to find god … or trying to create god by their own work. Christianity is God coming down to earth in the person of Jesus Christ.

4. Explain John 10:27-30 in your own words. The all-powerful God is holding on to us. We are not holding on to Him. Our security is in His strength and work … not in ours.

5. Which saves us … being circumcised of flesh or circumcised of heart? We are saved by being circumcised of heart by believing in Jesus.

6. In the Biblical sense, how many believers have been baptized by the Spirit? All!

7. What does water baptism do … and what does it not do? Water baptism testifies to our salvation … identifying us with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

8. When does eternal life begin? At the moment of our salvation … not after our death.

9. What certificate was cancelled when you believed in Jesus? The certificate of sin -caused debt.

10. Who besides God has any ultimate power over believers? Why? No one does because Jesus disarmed all powers and authorities.

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