Colossians
2:8a
"Beware
lest any man…"
So
in the Colossians Church there was somebody who was guilty of this
and Paul didn’t name him, but he certainly made the congregation
aware of what he was doing. This was also true of John in his
Revelation of Christ within the first three chapters which set the
stage for what followed from there. The language used by John to
express his observations is what has caused many debates and
struggles over the years about just what this account means and the
LORD'S purpose of having it revealed through
John. It stands as a warning against all the stumblingblocks and falsehoods that would
spring up through man in an effort to bring man back under the
deceiver after they have been set free form his tyranny, by
Redemption and mans acceptance of it. It is the course of the
resistance of the revelation of Christ that Paul is here addressing
as he does elsewhere in his Epistles, which I feel includes the book
of Hebrews, because of what it reveals.
Colossians
2:8
"Beware
lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the
tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ."
Tieing
verse 8 and verse 4 together. This falls under the LORD'S own words
as I've shared from Matthew chapter 22 and verse 5 about the making
light of Him and the the destruction that followed in 68-70 AD in
verse 7. Does history repeat itself? Yes, it does because man does
not seem to learn from his own lessons. Even when this is all based
on his own actions or enactions as in being a liberal, lukewarm
person taking the less offensive middle ground. Today our politicians
twist or wrest their words and by so doing do not say what they mean
in plan language but twist what is meant, by this method they hide their true intent. Instead for their words
being for our clear understanding of purpose, they use the way Satan
twisted God's own word to woman in Genesis 3. It is like the card trickester when he shuffles three cards and we are to pick a particular one. He used misdicetion to cause us to loose the cards placement. Thereby deceiving her
to take the action that both she and Adam did, this was repeated with
Jesus after His fasting stay in the wilderness. This was a period of preperation for Him and the next three years during which time He revealed the Father to the Hebrew world. But He had the
benefit of being filled by the Holy Spirit of separation which He
acknowledged on His way into the wilderness. Before Satan tried to
beguile Him by the voice of mans own flesh as he had woman and Adam
through woman.
Colossians
2:4
"And
this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words."
Listen,
I’ve been telling people for years, that we’re not going to have
someone come in behind our pulpit and just flat out and out say, "Now
look folks, I’m going to deceive you." You know better than
that, nobody would do that, but rather they come up there like wolves
in sheep’s clothing and as angels of light, don’t they? Form the very beginning hirelings bluff people into seeing them as a gifted pastor, preacher, teacher or evangelist, when in fact they are not approved of God. Again I
got an e-mail where this Church had a guest preacher situation, and
it was pitiful what he was proclaiming. Yet the congregation didn’t
even realize what he about doing. Well he was a wolf in sheep’s
clothing. We're sure the guy didn’t come into that pulpit and say,
"I’m going to fill you up with false teaching today. But
instead these false teachers make it sound like they’re the
authority and you’d better believe it. Like Paul say, "they
come with enticing words." Let’s compare that then
with the Apostle himself, and let’s go back to Romans chapter 16.
Paul is always showing the opposite side of the coin with his own
ministry. That he would never deceive any body, he would never bring
anything but the Truth and Who's the Truth? Christ the Life giving
and Living Word, the Spirit.
Romans
16:17-18
"Now
I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences
contrary to the doctrine (teaching)
which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve
not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; (their own
physical, material appetite. Boy doesn’t that ring a bell? My
they’ll come into our congregations and just milk them from start
to finish, to line their own pockets by fleecing them, or use the
less obvious means of causeing decision (heresies) among the people)
and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the
simple."
We’re
not talking about simple minded people, but rather believers who are
not yet rooted and grounded in the Truth. And like a child who is
still simple these early believers could be so easily led astray.
They're the hundreds and thousands who are still under the
tutorial-ship of the Holy Spirit in His training camp. So Paul is
warning them to be aware. This was the nature of those addressed in
the Corinthian letters. For such people offer nothing but to fill
their own physical and material desires. Now let’s go to another
one in 1Corinthians chapter 2, and we want verse 4. This is how he
came to these congregations as opposite of false teachers.
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