The document provides a detailed outline of the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, emphasizing the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ in various contexts including doctrine, danger, and duty. It discusses themes such as legalism, mysticism, and asceticism, highlighting that believers are complete in Christ and should live out their faith by being light and salt in the world. The conclusion stresses the importance of understanding one's identity in Christ and acting in righteousness and justice.

2. Current News
Whose statue ?
Which country ?

5. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS

6. General Outline of Colossians
I. Chp 1 : DOCTRINE
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DECLARED
II. Chp 2 : DANGER
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DEFENDED
III. Chps 3-4 : DUTY
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DISPLAYED

7. Colossians
I. Chp 1 : DOCTRINE
CHRIST'S SUPREMACY & SUFFICIENCY DECLARED
1. 1:1-8 Lessons in Discipleship 1
1st : FAITH in Christ
2nd : LOVE for the brethren
3rd : HOPE in heaven
2. 1:9-14 Lessons in Discipleship II
Importance of Prayer
 Building Deep in Christ
 Sub-Structure
 Structure
 Superstructure

8. Col 1:15-23 The SUPREMACY & SUFFICIENCY
of CHRIST
1. v15-17 The Supremacy of Christ in CREATION
2. v18-20 The Sufficiency of Christ in Re-CREATION
Conclusion :
 v21 Our Past Alienation
 v22 Our Present Reconciliation
 v23 Our Future Glorification

9. Col 1:24-29 Blueprint for Discipleship
1. Know WHY … the mystery …
‘Christ in you, the Hope of Glory’
2. Know HOW … in loving communities…
3. Know WHAT … cost to consider …
4. Know WHO … as a servant …
Conclusion :
MAKING DISCIPLE
LOVING COMMUNITY.

10. Col 2:1-7 Rooted & Built Up In Christ
1. Looking Within :
ENCOURAGED IN HEART
2. Looking Around :
UNITED IN LOVE
3. Looking Above :
FAITH IN CHRIST
4. Looking Below :
ROOTED & BUILT UP IN CHRIST

11. COMPLETE in CHRIST 1 (Col 2:8-15)
1. Be Aware of ‘Christ +’
2. Be Complete in Christ
3. Be Alive with Christ

12. Col 2:8-15

13. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
v16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what
you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious
festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath
day.

14. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
Addressing False teachers & teaching …
Mixture of …
Early Gnosticism…
‘special’ KNOWLEDGE
‘matter’ is evil, ‘spirit’ is good
attaining ‘pleroma’ – ‘FULLNESS’
Judaism ….
Circumcision …
Food & Drinks …
Religious festivals …
Sabbaths …

15. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
v16 Therefore DO NOT let anyone JUDGE you by what you eat or
drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon
celebration or a Sabbath day.
Ref to Old Testament
Food Laws : Lev 11
3 Major Festivals : Lev 23, Deut 16
Passover
Pentecost
Feast of Booths
Mthly: New Moons Num10
Wkly: Sabbath Exo 20
1. “LEGALISM”
- The BONDAGE of the LAW

16. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
v16 Therefore DO NOT let anyone JUDGE you by what
you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious
festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath
day.
1. “LEGALISM”
- The BONDAGE of the LAW
Reason …
v17 These are a shadow of the things that were
to come;
the reality, however, is found in Christ.

17. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
v17 These are a shadow of the things that were to
come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Shadow : the Old Testament
Reality : CHRIST
Heb 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good
things that are coming — not the realities
themselves…
Heb 9:10 “They are only a matter of food and drink
and various ceremonial washings — external
regulations applying until the time of the new
order.”
 The BLESSING is in CHRIST

18. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
So O.T. Food Laws, Feast & Sabbath ….
No Longer Applies…
Reasons ….
Mark 7:14-19 “it is what comes out of a man that
makes him 'unclean’.”
Acts 10 – Peter’s Vision & Cornelius
1 Tim 4:1-5 “… For everything God created is good,
and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with
thanksgiving,…”
With the BLESSING in CHRIST …
the ‘shadow’ no longer needed

19. Q: Eric Liddell’s
refusal to run on
the Sabbath, is it
RIGHT or WRONG ?
Q: Is it LEGALISM ?

20. Q: Eric Liddell’s
refusal to run on
the Sabbath, is it
RIGHT or WRONG ?
Q: Is it LEGALISM ?
Mark 2:27 "The Sabbath
was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath.
Rom 14:5-6
5 One man considers one
day more sacred than
another; another man
considers every day alike.
Each one should be fully
convinced in his own mind.
6 He who regards one day
as special, does so to the
Lord….

21. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
v17 These are a shadow of the things that were to
come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Shadow : the Old Testament
Reality : CHRIST
Example …
Response to ‘LEGALISM’ …
The Spiritual Reality …
is in Christ.

22. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
v18 Do not let anyone who delights in false
humility and the worship of angels disqualify
(beguile / cheat / condemn) you for the prize.
Such a person goes into great detail (intruding /
insisting) about what he has seen, and his
unspiritual (sinful / fleshy / sensuous) mind
puffs him up with idle notions (visions).

23. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
“MYSTICISM”
Defn: the belief that direct knowledge of ‘god’,
spiritual truth or ultimate reality can be
attained through subjective experience,
intuition or insight.
2. “MYSTICISM” - Gnostic
 Seeing visions …
 Special experiences, visitations …
 Special knowledge, revelation …
– BONDAGE of the MIND

24. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
2. “MYSTICISM” Gnostic – BONDAGE of the MIND
Vs ‘Christian mystics’
- spirituality with direct experience of God
 St John of the Cross
 Ignatius Loyola
 St Francis Assisi
 Teresa of Avila
 Mdm Guyon etc
 Meditation …
 Contemplation …
 Spiritual quiet retreat …

25. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
2. “MYSTICISM” Gnostic – BONDAGE of the MIND
Modern “Mysticism” …
 New Age Movement …

26. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
“Mysticism” Gnostic – Bondage of the Mind
Response
v19 He has lost connection with the Head, from
whom the whole body, supported and held
together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as
God causes it to grow.
Col 2:9 Christ is the Head …
Body illustration :
 Rom 12
 1 Cor 12

27. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles
of this world, why, as though you still belonged to
it, do you submit to its rules:
21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"?
22 These are all destined to perish with use, because
they are based on human commands and
teachings.
23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of
wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their
false humility and their harsh treatment of the
body, but they lack any value in restraining
sensual indulgence.
3. ASCETISM – BONDAGE to the ‘FLESH’

28. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
3. ASCETISM – BONDAGE to the ‘FLESH’
Asceticism (Gk) : "exercise, training, practice."
Ascetics renounce worldly pleasures that distract
from spiritual growth and enlightenment and
live a life of abstinence, austerity and extreme
self-denial.
Common in Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism,
Judaism, and Islam.

29. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
3. ASCETISM – BONDAGE to the ‘FLESH’
Simeon the
Stylite

30. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
3. ASCETISM – BONDAGE to the ‘FLESH’
Simeon the
Stylite

31. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
3. ASCETISM – BONDAGE to the ‘FLESH’
Response :
v20 Since you died with Christ to the basic
principles of this world, why,….
 Know Who You Are In CHRIST …
Col 2:8-15
 sins forgiven
 debts canceled …
 victory assured
 spiritual circumcision …
 ‘baptism’ - death, buried & raised …
 COMPLETE in CHRIST …

32. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
Summary of Colossians
The SUPREMACY & SUFFICIENCY of CHRIST
The answer to …
LEGALISM
is the spiritual reality we have in Christ.
‘Gnostic’ MYSTICISM
is the spiritual union with Christ, the Head of
the church.
ASCETICISM
is our position in Christ – through his death,
burial and resurrection.
HOW NOT to live out our Christian Faith ….
BUT How Then should Christians live ??

33. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
LIVING out our Christian Faith…
Ref John 17:14-16…
IN THE WORLD
Yet not OF THE WORLD
Ref Matt 5:13-16
You are the LIGHT & SALT of the earth …
Let your LIGHT SHINE …
John 8:12 Jesus said "I am the light of the
world…”

34. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
HOLY RIGHTEOUS
OMNISCIENT
OMNIPOTENT
OMNIPRESENT
IMMUTABLE
JUST
ETERNAL
TRUTH
CHARACTER / ATTRIBUTES of GOD …
LOVE
MERCIFUL
GOODNESS
Communicable
Incommunicable
** List is Not Exhaustive

35. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
CHRISTIANS should stand for …
RIGHTEOUSNESS
Prov 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but
sin is a disgrace to any people.
JUSTICE
Amos 5:24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
TRUTH
John 14:6-7 "I am the way and the truth and
the life…”

36. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
Relationship : Christian & “the Authorities”
1 Tim 2:1-2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for
everyone— for kings and all those in authority,
that we may LIVE PEACEFUL AND QUIET LIVES in all
GODLINESS AND HOLINESS.
1 Peter 2:13-14 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to
every authority instituted among men: whether to
the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors,
who are sent by Him to PUNISH THOSE WHO DO
WRONG and to COMMEND THOSE WHO DO RIGHT.
Other Ref : Romans 13:1-5

37. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
Eph 5:8-14
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in
the Lord.
LIVE AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT (for the fruit of the light
consists in all GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND
TRUTH) …
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,
but rather EXPOSE THEM. For it is shameful even to
mention what the disobedient do in secret.
But EVERYTHING EXPOSED BY THE LIGHT BECOMES
VISIBLE, for it is light that makes everything visible.

38. Complete in Christ 2 (Col 2:16-23)
Christians –
in the world …
to be LIGHT & SALT of the earth …
to live righteous, just, truthful lives …
to obey state ‘Authorities’ who are to punish
the ‘wrong’ and protect the ‘right’ …
if there is ‘deeds of darkness’ to expose…
Q: How can it be done practically ?
Q: What can we learn from Church history ?

39. Q: Who is this ?
WILLIAM
WIBERFORCE
(1759-1833)
‘You may choose to
look the other way
but you can never
say again that you
did not know’
‘A private faith that
does not act in the
face of oppression is
no faith at all’
‘Let it not be said
that I was silent
when they needed
me.’

40. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
“We are not to simply bandage the
wounds of victims beneath the
wheels of injustice,
we are to drive a spoke into the
wheel itself.”
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will
not hold us guiltless.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.”
** “Never forget that everything
Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

41. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he
stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and
controversy.”
“He who passively accepts evil
is as much involved in it as he
who helps to perpetrate it.
He who accepts evil without
protesting against it
is really cooperating with it.”
“Injustice anywhere …
is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)

42. “I learned that courage was not the
absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
The brave man is not he who does not feel
afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
Nelson Mandela 1918-2013
“And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own
fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.”

43. Complete in Christ (Col 2:8-23)
In Conclusion
“You will know as much of God, and only as much
of God, as you are willing to put into practice.”

44. Complete in Christ (Col 2:8-23)
In Conclusion
Must know …
CHRIST
who you are in CHRIST
It’s not what you DO, BUT what Christ has DONE
and if you will accept His Offer …
We cannot work for our salvation …
BUT we need to WORK OUT our salvation Phi 2:12
As Light & Salt
 Speaking up …
 Standing up …
 for Righteousness, Justice, Truth …