Thursday November 27, 2014

Read: Colossians 2:18-19

There was some very nasty false teaching happening in the city of Colossae. We have already seen how Paul is writing to encourage the Colossian believers and to clear up their vision of Christ and the gospel that had been made murky by the false teachers. Here is verses 18 and 19 Paul writes very clearly against these false teachers and the heresies that they are spreading and teaching in Colossae,

We don’t know exactly what these false teachers were teaching. Paul gives us a few clues in these verses. The false teachers are delighting in false humility, likely puffed up with pride themselves but pretending to be humble or insisting that others act humbly. They are participating in the worship of angels. They are bragging about their visions or special experiences, perhaps using their visions  to teach the believers instead of God’s word. And their minds are focussed on unspiritual, worldly things which puff them up with pride and idle notions. These false teachers are teaching this kind of garbage in the church at Colossae and the believers are getting confused.

In verse 19 we see the ultimate reason that these false teachers have gotten so lost: they have lost connection with the Head. These false teachers have lost connection with Jesus. Because they have lost connection with Him they themselves have gotten lost in all sorts of sinful and heretical teaching. Paul tells us that true teaching and true growth only comes through connection with Jesus Christ as God causes growth through Him.

This is important for us to remember too. We must be careful not to lose connection with Jesus Christ and end up in the same position as these false teachers or the believers that they were deceiving. We must be careful to hold onto the head. There are three ways we should do this from this passage.

Firstly, we must hold onto the gospel. Throughout Colossians Paul has encouraged the Colossian believers to hold firmly to the gospel. In Colossians 1:23 he tells them that they must hold firm to their faith and continue in the gospel. In Colossians 2:4 he tells them that all wisdom and knowledge is found in Christ so that they won’t be deceived by fine sounding arguments. In Colossians 2:8 he tells them not to be taken captive by false teaching. If we are to hold onto Jesus Christ as our head we must hold firm to the truth of the gospel and not allow our faith to become murky.

Secondly, we must hold onto relationship with Jesus. It is easy to be disconnected and confused about the gospel and about Christ when we aren't in close relationship with Him. Setting aside a regular time to spend with God in prayer and studying His word helps us to grow in relationship with Him and helps guard us against false teaching.

Finally, we must hold onto relationship with the Body. Paul returns again to the metaphor of the body here in verse 19. That body is the church. If we desire to hold onto the head we must also be connected to His body. We must set aside time to meet with His people to be encouraged and to encourage others.

Prayer:

Use the Bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

¥ Pray for those believers you know who aren’t connected with at local church. Pray that God would help them to be connected to His body.

 Walk Moment:

Spending time with other believers isn’t just a fun, optional extra to add onto our Christian life. Spending time with other believers is vital to growing in our Christian faith and staying connected to Jesus.

 Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. As a group how can you help one another to hold onto the truth of the gospel without getting murky?

2. As a group how can you help one another to hold onto relationship with Jesus?

3. Share with one another how your prayer and study life is going. Seek to encourage one another.

4. As a group how can you help one another to hold onto relationship with the body?

 Discipleship Moment For Girls

Intro:  There are many ways to describe the church in the Bible.

Share:  Some of the ways that the Bible describes the church. See how many you can think of together.
Read: Colossians 1:18 What word does Paul use to describe the church? How is the church Jesus’ body? Because the church is the body of Jesus we need to work together to get things done. What is the church supposed to do in the world? What role does Jesus play in the body? If Jesus is the head of the body, how should we treat Him?

Pray Together: Thank God for the church and for other believers. Pray that He would help us to work together well.

 Discipleship Moment For Boys

Intro:  There are many ways to describe the church in the Bible.

Share:  Some of the ways that the Bible describes the church. See how many you can think of together.
Read: Colossians 1:18 What word does Paul use to describe the church? How is the church Jesus’ body? Because the church is the body of Jesus we need to work together to get things done. What is the church supposed to do in the world? What role does Jesus play in the body? If Jesus is the head of the body, how should we treat Him?

Pray Together: Thank God for the church and for other believers. Pray that He would help us to work together well.