Colossians (Pt 2): Jesus Is Not EnoughFrom series Colossians: The power of the cross.
Read Part One: The Immanence of God and the Pre-Eminence of Christ
...'You need to believe this philosophy, think this way, celebrate the New Moon and other religious festivals, recognize the Sabbath day, not eat pork, and also, if you could please get circumcised.’
To help us understand chapter 2 of the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Colossians it would be diligent for us to first read his epistle (letter) to the Galatians. You see, geographically Galatia and Colossae are not too far apart from each other, and many of the trends in fashion, thought and literature are shared. For this reason some of what Paul says to the Galatians, he also says to the new church in Colossae.
A call to be circumcised
In Galatia, the Jewish Zealots were telling the new Gentile converts that they had not gone far enough in their conversion. They were telling them that their conversion was incomplete and were calling for people to be circumcised, in keeping with the law of Moses. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul explained that this was a complete misunderstanding, and if they were circumcised they would be participating in a system that was outdated and unnecessary.
In Galatians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul writes the following:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Paul picked up this message in his epistle to the Colossians:
In him [Christ] you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12).
Bishop Tom Wright says:
'In circumcision, 'putting off' a small piece of human flesh is trivial by comparison to 'putting off' an entire way of life, and entire sphere of existence.'
A new state of being
In Colossians 2, the Apostle Paul explained that when the new converts were baptized into the Christian faith, they were committing the whole of their lives, from that point on, to the glory of God. Baptism was the sign of going down into the water as one state of being, and rising again out of the water as a completely new state of being. Paul likened this to Jesus dying on the cross, literally coated in the sinfulness of humanity, but rising again on the third day in glory, completely pure and completely holy.
By telling people that they needed to be circumcised in order to be ‘fully’ saved, the Jewish Zealots were communicating the message that Jesus was not enough. That the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross ‘was not enough’. That God’s master plan for redeeming humanity, was not enough. In communicating that Jesus wasn’t enough, these people were claiming that they knew better than God.
Reality found in Christ
We read in verse 17 of Colossians 2, that Paul places circumcision alongside eating restrictions, religious festivals and celebrations, even the Sabbath day itself. He describes them as a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
The Apostle Paul’s message in Colossians 2, and indeed in many of his epistles, is that Jesus IS, always HAS been, and always WILL be enough.
To discover more about Paul's teaching in Colossians, read Part Three, The Triumph of the Cross
Related Content
2 - John The Baptiser
Bertin Hermo Sermons
Being Blind On The Road - Saul's Conversion
Guest Speaker Sermons