![]() ![]() I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. But they’re just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.Ĭolossians 2:2-23 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995) They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and austere. So, then, if with Christ you’ve put all that puffed-up and childish religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? “Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Don’t go near this!” Do you think things that are here today and gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a deep enough voice. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. All those things are mere shadows cast before what was to come the substance is Christ.ĭon’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. So don’t put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy days. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. ![]() God brought you alive-right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. Going under the water was a burial of your old life coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. No, you’re already in-insiders-not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. His power extends over everything.Įntering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. School’s out quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving. You received Christ Jesus, the Master now live him. ![]() My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ. I’m a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I’m on your side, right beside you. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.” All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. ![]()
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