Bible Study from July 29, 2020 - Colossians 2:16-23 Part 5

We begin this portion of our study with a quick review of what we have been focusing on in Colossians 2:16-23, the danger points mentioned there, and anything else that would keep us from “holding fast to Christ, the Head” of the church, and our own connection with one another in the body of Christ.

 

I gave another example from a local obituary (death notice) that shows the confusion about angels. We also looked a bit more at the warning about having a “sensuous mind,” which literally is a mind “of the flesh” - with an overwhelming focus on ourselves and our ideas and our fleshly desires, which can obscure our life in Christ, led by the Holy Spirit. See Ephesians 4:17, where this focus is called the futility of our minds, pulled away from the Lord. See also Romans 8:5-8, for the contrast between a mind led by the flesh and a mind led by the Spirit.

 

Colossians 2:19 tells us that only by staying connected to and listening to Christ and His Word can we also stay connected with other believers and be nourished and grow in faith and life, together with them. 1 Corinthians 10:23ff gives another example of a problem in the early church. Can you eat food that is offered to an idol and then sold as regular food? Paul reminds that idols are not real, and that we have freedom about this; but we do not want to do things that hurt the faith of others. In whatever we do, we try to honor God and be helpful to others. 1 Timothy 4:5-10 also encourages us to keep focus on “godliness” - the things of God, especially the Word of God, words of the faith, good doctrine, hope in our Savior, etc. We do not put our primary focus on the body and bodily training, though it has some value, and we try to avoid the deceitful things required by some in verses 1-3. You could also review Romans 14, especially verses 7-8,  and v. 17ff.    

 

Finally we briefly looked at a few of many passages that remind us of the body of Christ, the church, with Christ as the Head. That is where we can best grow in faith and life. See Ephesians 1:20-23, where Christ is clearly the Head of the church, His body. See also Ephesians 2:20-22 for some picture images of the church and growth in it. In these days of Covid, we cannot always get to a church building. It is hard. Yet we are still the church, and the Lord can still help us grow as believers through our Bible study and prayer and concern for one another.

 

See also Ephesians 4:4-5 and 11-16, and a very extended look at the church as the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. Notice how every one of us is important, just as every part of the human body is important. We need Christ, above all, but also we need each other and the encouragement we receive from one another. Again, this is difficult these days with limitations on how we can gather and help each other. Some of us are also in places where there are not a lot of Christians or churches to begin with. We can pray for each other, though, no matter where we are. We can keep studying His Word. And the Lord promises to be with us and help us. And remember that Christ has already done everything we need to be His people, and we have His gift of salvation already, by the faith and baptism He has given us. That is what was encouraging the people at Colossae, too, even while their original pastor was gone to see Paul and they faced challenges and those false teachers. We can always make it through, with Christ, too.