Scripture Reading: Col. 2:4, 8
According to typology, the children of Israel enjoyed Christ in three stages: in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in the good land. The Passover enjoyed in Egypt was not only for their redemption; it also strengthened them to make their exodus from Egypt. In the wilderness God’s people were sustained by manna, which enabled them to build God’s tabernacle and to carry it as a testimony. After the children of Israel entered into the good land, they began to enjoy the rich produce of the land. This produce made it possible for them to build the temple for a more solid testimony, Speaking according to the type, the temple in the good land is the focus of God’s purpose on earth. God desires to have a dwelling place among His chosen people for His expression. God’s purpose is fulfilled neither by the enjoyment of Christ as the Passover lamb in Egypt nor by the enjoyment of Christ as manna in the wilderness. His purpose is fulfilled only when His people enjoy Christ as their good land.
In 1 Corinthians we see that Paul dealt with the Corinthians according to the first two stages of the enjoyment of Christ, but not according to the third stage. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 he says, “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” In the following verse he charges us to “keep the feast.” These verses point to the enjoyment of Christ as the Passover in Egypt. In 1 Corinthians 10:3 and 4 Paul refers to spiritual food and spiritual drink. This refers to the enjoyment of Christ in the wilderness. In 1 Corinthians there is no mention of the third stage of the enjoyment of Christ. But in Colossians Paul regarded the believers as being in this stage of the enjoyment of Christ.
Because the Corinthians were not in the third stage of the enjoyment of Christ, the church life in that locality was a tabernacle church life, a church life that was portable and that lacked a solid foundation. By contrast, the church life in Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians is that of the temple. It is a settled church life with a solid foundation. Stone was not used in the building of the tabernacle, but a great deal of stone was used in constructing the temple. For this reason, the temple, the enlargement of the tabernacle, was solid and settled.
The church life in Colossians and Ephesians is more solid than that in 1 Corinthians because in these Epistles the enjoyment of Christ is not elementary. It is not merely the enjoyment of Christ as the Passover or as the manna, but the enjoyment of Christ as the good land, as the portion of the saints. Today some churches may be in the first or second stage of the enjoyment of Christ, whereas others may be in the third stage.
If we would enter into the good land, we must conquer and subdue all the enemies typified by the seven tribes. These enemies are the evil rulers, authorities, principalities, and powers in the air. After these enemies have been defeated, we shall have peace, and in this peace the temple can be built.
Although the Colossians were in Christ as the good land, they had been deluded, deceived. This was the reason that Paul said in 2:4, “This I say that no one may delude you with persuasive speech.”
In order for believers to be deluded, something close to the truth must be used to deceive them. For example, counterfeit money or forged checks are deceptive because their appearance is close to that of the real things. People would never be deceived by money or by checks that are obviously false. In like manner, the Colossians were deceived by observances and practices that were close to the experience of Christ. Furthermore, certain aspects of Gnosticism were similar to the teachings of the Bible. For this reason, the Colossians could be deceived.
It is very easy to be deceived by something that is close to the real thing, by a counterfeit that is almost identical to something genuine. Without the proper discernment, it is difficult to see the difference between the teachings in the New Testament and ethical teachings like those of Confucius. When I was young, I heard a missionary say that the ethical teachings of Confucius were the same as some teachings in the Bible. The Bible teaches that wives should submit to their husbands. Confucius, however, teaches a threefold submission. Firstly, a woman is to submit to her father; then to her husband; and then, should her husband die, to her son. Concerning submission, the teachings of Confucius and the teachings of the Bible appear to be the same in principle. If we do not have discernment, we could be led astray from Christ by ethical teachings that appear to be the same as those of the Bible.
Many aspects of the Jewish religion are very good. Take, for example, the dietary regulations in Leviticus 11 and the commandment to keep the Sabbath. It seems right that, just as God rested on the seventh day after laboring for six days, man should have a day of rest after six days of labor. However, there is a problem here. According to the Bible, should we labor first and then rest, or should we rest first and then labor? We may think that because God rested after working for six days, we should do the same. But if we have light from God, we shall see that in the Scriptures God first labors and then rests, but man first rests and then works. Man was created on the sixth day, toward the end of the six days of God’s labor. After the creation of man, God rested, and man rested with God. This indicates that as soon as man came into being, he had a time of rest. Therefore, according to the principle in the Bible, we are to rest before we work. In the New Testament we see that first we receive grace, and then we work. To work before receiving grace is to live according to the law. But to receive grace before we work is according to God’s salvation by grace. If we are not clear about this, we may be deceived by the teaching of the Seventh-Day Adventists regarding the keeping of the Sabbath. We need to tell the Seventh-Day Adventists that with God work came before rest, but with us rest comes before work. According to the New Testament, receiving grace precedes working. If we do not receive grace as the capital, we shall have nothing with which to work. We cannot work unless we first receive grace. This is a basic principle.
These examples show that certain observances and teachings are similar to some aspects of God’s salvation. This was the reason that the believers in Colosse could be deceived by Jewish observances and pagan teachings and could allow those things to pervade the church life. I am concerned that the young ones may be deluded by those who advocate certain teachings or practices. We need to have a thorough understanding of the basic principles in the New Testament. Then we shall have the wisdom and the knowledge to convince and subdue those who attempt to delude us.
Paul opens 2:4 with the words, “This I say.” These words refer to what Paul has covered in verses 2 and 3 concerning the riches of the full assurance of understanding, the full knowledge of Christ as the mystery of God, and the fact that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. Paul emphasized these things so that the saints at Colosse would not be deluded. If we have seen the revelation of Christ in Colossians 1, we shall not be deceived by teachings concerning such things as water baptism and the observance of the Sabbath. We shall know that the all-inclusive Christ is the focus of God’s economy and everything to us. If we have a clear vision of Christ, no one will be able to delude us or deceive us.
In verse 4 Paul specifically refers to “persuasive speech.” Usually those who deceive others are eloquent and persuasive in speech. Beware of eloquence. A speaker may be very eloquent, but there may be no reality in his speech. Instead of being taken in by a speaker’s eloquence, we should ask if there is reality in his speaking.
Sister M. E. Barber helped Brother Nee to learn this important lesson. When he was young, Brother Nee was attracted by the eloquence and knowledge of certain visiting preachers. Whenever Brother Nee expressed his admiration for a speaker’s eloquence, Sister Barber would point out that although that preacher was eloquent and knowledgeable, there was no life ministered in his speaking. On one occasion in particular, Brother Nee thought that a certain preacher’s message was marvelous, and he was confident that Sister Barber would agree. Nevertheless, Sister Barber still pointed out that the message was void of life and reality. From that time onward, Brother Nee no longer appreciated the empty speech of eloquent preachers. May we also learn not to be deluded by persuasive speech.
If we see the vision of the all-inclusive Christ presented in the book of Colossians, we shall not be deluded by anything. No matter how excellent or how scriptural a thing; may be, it will not be able to lead us away from Christ. It is crucial that we have such a view of Christ in God’s economy.
The situation of the church at Colosse was very different from that of the church in Corinth. In Corinth, the standard was low, there were divisions, and some saints were involved in lawsuits, some even in fornication. But at Colosse the standard of behavior was much higher. As we have pointed out, the problem at Colosse was that the church had been invaded by culture, especially by Gnosticism and the Judaistic observances. These things were very refined, and for this very reason they were deceitful. Hence, we in the Lord’s recovery today must be cautious of those who appear to be highly cultured and well-educated and who speak in a gentle and humble manner. Those who are the most deceitful usually seem to be very nice. No doubt, when the serpent approached Eve in the garden, he spoke in a very refined way. Be on the alert lest you are deluded through the persuasive speech of cultured people. Only when we have a clear view of the place of the all-inclusive Christ in God’s economy shall we be able to see through delusion and deception.
In verse 8 Paul goes on to say, “Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit.” The first step, seen in verse 4, is to be deluded; the second step, seen in verse 8, is to be carried off as spoil. The word spoil here does not mean to damage; it means to be a prey or a captive. Those who are carried off as spoil are carried off into captivity.
We need to beware that no one carries us off as spoil through his philosophy. In Greek the word rendered “his” is the emphatic article. Hence, it denotes a particular philosophy. The philosophy through which the believers at Colosse were carried off as spoil was Gnosticism, a mixture of Jewish, oriental, and Greek philosophies. As Paul indicates, Gnosticism is empty deceit. Actually, every form of deceit is empty. Nothing that is real, that has real content, can be a deceit.
The philosophy and empty deceit in this verse is “according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.” The source of the Gnostic teaching at Colosse was the tradition of men. It did not depend on the revealed writings of God, but on the traditional practices of men. Many cultural traditions are good. Otherwise, no one would care for them. We need to have a keen discernment to be kept from being deceived by the traditions in Catholicism and the denominations. One principle we should follow is that of testing everything with the Bible. We should care only for God’s direct revelation in the holy Word, not for anything that is according to the tradition of men. We need not accept anything inherited from men as a tradition if it does not correspond to the divine revelation in the Bible.
Today’s Roman Catholics are bound by their traditions. Instead of referring to what the Bible says or to what God says, they often stand on what the church says or on what is taught by the priests and nuns. On some occasions I have pointed out to certain Catholics the error of worshipping Mary and have shown them that this is not according to the Bible. Nevertheless, they said that the worship of Mary is according to the teaching of the Catholic church. Other Catholic traditions are related to placing candles before images and praying to the saints to shorten the time that a relative must spend in purgatory. Although practices of this kind are not according to the Bible, Catholics follow them because of tradition. The traditions of men are also found in the denominations and in the independent Christian groups, where many believers care more for the tradition of men than for the Word of God.
The philosophy and empty deceit are not only according to the tradition of men, but also according to the elements of the world. Here and in 2:20 and Galatians 4:3, this expression does not refer to substances; it refers to the rudimentary teachings of both Jews and Gentiles, teachings that consist of ritualistic observances in meats, drinks, washings, and asceticism. In the eyes of Paul, the traditions of men were merely elementary principles. These traditions are included with the elementary principles of the world.
Paul concludes verse 8 by saying that the philosophy and empty deceit are not according to Christ. Christ is the governing principle of all genuine wisdom and knowledge, the reality of all genuine teaching, and the only measure of all concepts acceptable to God. The book of Colossians focuses on Christ as our everything.
To fall short of being according to Christ, firstly means that we do not take Christ as life (3:4). Secondly, it means that we do not hold Christ as the Head of the Body. Furthermore, it is not to know Christ as the mystery of God (2:2), nor to experience the indwelling Christ as the hope of glory (1:27). Finally, to be not according to Christ means that we do not walk in Christ (2:6).
If we take Christ as life, hold Him as the Head of the Body, know Him as the mystery of God, experience Him as the hope of glory, and walk in Him as the all-inclusive Spirit, then we shall not be deceived by anything or by anyone. Those who do not experience Christ in these aspects can easily be deceived. If you analyze the situation of those who have been deluded and carried off as spoil, you will realize that they did not experience Christ in these five ways. They did not realize that Christ alone is everything in God’s economy, and they did not take Christ as their life or as their Head. Furthermore, they did not experience the indwelling Christ as their hope of glory, nor did they live, move, and have their being in Christ. As a result, they were defenseless, and eventually were deluded and carried off into captivity. Our defense against deception is the Christ who is our life, our Head, the mystery of God, the hope of glory, and the good land in which we walk.
I believe that all these messages on the all-inclusive Christ will help to guard us against delusion and against being carried off as prey. They will build up a strong defense for us in the Lord’s recovery. Without such a defense, we can easily be deluded and carried off as spoil. But if we experience Christ as the center of God’s economy in all these aspects, we shall be protected, and we shall not be deluded or carried off as spoil.
