Dead to the World’s Elements (Part 1) | Resources
Sermon Text: Colossians 2:8–15
“Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ. For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.” (CSB)
Devotional
Don’t dig up the past.
Do you ever have a flashback where you remember something from your past that seems like a lifetime ago? The other day, I was talking to someone about my name and told them my nickname from high school. When I said it, it was like a rush of emotion and a flood of embarrassing stories from my past in my mind. We all have those moments in our past, and frankly, we would like to keep them in our past. From ridiculous haircuts to silly nicknames to painful situations. I am sure there are several things in your past that are deeply personal, incredibly hurtful, and maybe even shameful.
I don’t know the particulars of your past, but here is the good news that we read from Colossians 2:
If you believe in Jesus Christ, you are no longer defined by your past. If you are a Christian, your identity has been changed. Paul tells us in verse 12 that we have been buried with Christ and we have been raised from the dead. The past tense verbs that are used in verses 11-15 are breathtaking to read. You WERE these things. You WERE dead. You WERE in debt. But in Christ, you ARE forgiven. You ARE raised from the dead. You ARE free from the record of debt. Praise God that our sin and shame are dead and buried in the grave. Your past, your sin, is buried and gone. You are now a new creation and alive in Christ. Will you live in that grace and freedom today?
Will you live as a new creation, knowing you are not who you once were?
Discussion/Reflection Questions
1. How can philosophy and human tradition possibly lead you away from Christ?
2. What guards us or protects us from being deceived by worldly theories?
3. Circumcision and baptism are pictures of the gospel. What do they teach us about what Christ has done for us?
4. What do verses 13-15 teach us about the gospel?
5. In light of this text, what does it look like to obey the prompting of the Spirit this week?
Memory Verses
“And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13–14