Colossians 2:1-15

Colossians 2:1-15
I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. ² My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. ⁵ For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

When Paul says he is contending, I believe he is speaking of prayer.  And it's not just a, "Dear God be with those people and meet their needs.", type of prayer.  How many Christians do we know go through their day:

• Discouraged in heart?   
• Have no sense of unity or belonging?
• Have a shallow understanding of the riches of God?
• Have no clue of the wisdom and knowledge of God?

Paul prayed that they would know these things so that when a fraud came along they would know it.

I take two things from this paragraph. I need to pray MORE and I need to pray BETTER.

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

How did we receive Christ? We received him by faith.  Live in faith.  He is our source and as we get to know him, thankfulness will flow.  It will be automatic.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

We accepted Christ on faith. There is no intellectual side of faith. It's not something you can prove through science.  Therefore don't let someone talk you out of what know and believe.

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. ¹¹ In him 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.

Jesus is fully God.  He is in charge.  Just as real circumcision cuts off flesh, Jesus spiritually cut us off from our flesh.  Victory over our flesh is ours.  It's just that many of us like certain sins and don't want victory or we believe our problem is just too big.

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 
We were dead.  We ARE alive.  We are forgiven.  We are debt free.  Our enemy is unarmed. Is there a smile on you face yet?

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.