First heresy. That Yeshua is not Incarnate.
Paul wastes no time in launching his defence of the deity of Yeshua. We see this in the first fifteen verses of chapter 1. In verse 1 he describes himself as “ an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God “. In verse 4 he praises the Colossians for their “ faith in Jesus Christ “. In verse 2 he wishes the Grace and Peace “ from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ “ giving them equal status. In verse 5 he praises the Colossians for by their faith and hope in Yeshua, they have shown their love for all the saints. In verse 13 he points out that God has delivered them from the power of darkness and has conveyed them “ into the kingdom of the Son of his love.” In verse 14 he demonstrates that it is through Yeshua that they have redemption through his blood for the “ forgiveness of sins. “
This culminates in Paul’s statement concerning Yeshua at the beginning of verse 15 that “ He is the image of the invisible God. “ God sent Yeshua into the world as His representative to care for His creation and to reveal his heart to mankind.
Chapter 3 v7
“…..whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father, through Him.”
Second Heresy. False teachers at Colosse had incorporated into their heresy the worship of angels. They presented Yeshua as merely one of these angels; a spirit created by God and inferior to Him.
Paul’s answer commences in Chapter 1 v16.
“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence. “
Paul boldly states that Yeshua and Yeshua alone is the One who created all things, whether they be material or immaterial, seen or unseen. Having created all things, He Himself cannot be a created being but is eternal. He is “before all things “ and therefore must be eternal.
As God Yeshua created all things but He did so for His pleasure. And as “ in Him all things consist “ that means that He maintains the universe and everything that is required for life’s existence and continuance. He is therefore completely pre-eminent in Creation and, of course, in the church.
Third Heresy. The belief that divine power and attributes were divided amongst various emanations from God.
We see Paul’s answer in Chapter 1 vs 19-20.
“For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. “
The term “fullness” seems to have been used by some heretics to indicate a sphere between heaven and earth where the hierarchy of angels live. But Paul takes the term “fullness” to refer to the complete embodiment of God. All the divine powers and attributes are not spread out among created beings but dwell completely and permanently in Yeshua so that He can reconcile all things to God.
Man is reconciled to God when God restores man to a right relationship with Him through Yeshua and Yeshua alone. Yeshua is the only intercessor for human beings and fully embodies all of God’s power and nature.
1 Timothy 2:5
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all …”
Fourth heresy. The heretics at Colosse claimed to possess a secret window and transcendent knowledge available only to the spiritual elite.
Paul’s answer is in Chapter 2 vs 2-3 where he wishes that the Colossian believers would be: –
“…. attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. “
Paul tells his readers that they can understand the mystery of God without false philosophy. There is no need to go beyond what they have been taught. All knowledge is found in Yeshua. All the riches of truth necessary for salvation, sanctification and glorification are found in Yeshua and Yeshua alone, who Himself is God revealed.
Colossians 1 vs 26-27.
“…. the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of His glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory… “.
So, argues Paul, stay with the gospel as taught. The same gospel is taught to every person and is based in Yeshua and not in any foolish claim to special knowledge.
Fifth heresy. The claim to special knowledge which leads to salvation but which actually leads to the robbery from the people of their salvation through foolish philosophy and empty deceit.
Paul issued the following warning in Chapter 2 v8.
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
“Philosophy” here refers to men’s attempts to find out by intellect and research what can only be known by divine revelation.
“Empty deceit” refers to the false and valueless teachings of those who profess to offer secret truths to those in their inner circle. This is an appeal to curiosity and vanity.
“Traditions of men” refers to the elementary rules and regulations that certain teachers were seeking to Impose on believers according to the dictates of human philosophy.
“The principles of the world” shows that far from bringing advanced, profound knowledge, the beliefs of these false teachers were simplistic and immature, and like all the invented, fallen, Satanic and human systems are.
These teachers were not walking with Yeshua. Therefore Paul did not want the Colossians to be deceived by the persuasive rhetoric of these false teachers who assaulted the person of Yeshua. These false teachers sought to rob people of what was wonderful but offered nothing substantial in its place.
Paul had already stated the remedy in Chapter 2 vs 6-7.
“ As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk with Him, rooted and built up in Him, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”
Sixth heresy. Greek philosophy argued that matter was evil and spirit good.
Paul’s answer is found in Chapter 2 v9.
“For in Him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily….”
Paul defends the fundamental tenet of our faith that Yeshua came to us in a physical, human body. i.e. the Incarnation. That God became a man bodily contradicts the heretic idea of the inherent evil of that which is physical and the claim that Yeshua could only have been a spirit.
Verse 9 contains two very powerful assertions. Firstly, that the fullness of the Godhead dwells eternally in Yeshua. And secondly that the fullness dwelt in Him as One having a human body. Yeshua in the Incarnation was not only fully God but fully human as well.
Paul presents the same argument in Philippians Chapter 2 vs5-7.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of man.”
Seventh heresy. That the universe was maintained and sustained by lesser spiritual beings emanating from God.
Paul’s answer is found in Chapter 2 v10 where he tells the Colossians:-
“… you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principalities and powers.”
Before we look at Yeshua as “head of all principalities and power” , it may be worthwhile considering what Paul meant by saying that the Colossian believers were “complete in Him”.
Through Yeshua the Colossians had put off the power of sin and the flesh; they had received new life and had been freed from the power of demonic forces. There was nothing that the believers needed to be added to what they had received from Yeshua at the time of their conversion. Thus, they are complete in Him.
And Yeshua alone can do this as He is supreme over all creation and all beings, human and spiritual. Yeshua is the Creator and Ruler over the universe and all spiritual beings. It is foolish to be pre-occupied with angels.
The writer to the Hebrews knew this (Hebrews chapter 1 v3) when he wrote of Yeshua “…. who being the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of God’s person, and upholding all things by the word of His power ….”
Eighth heresy. Salvation may be obtained through legalistic observance of dietary laws and festivals.
Paul’s answer is found in Chapter 2 v16.
“So, let no-one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. “
We may assume that some false teachers at Colosse were tempting the believers to bind themselves to the outward observances of Judaism e.g. dietary restrictions. But Yeshua had freed them from such restrictions. Even circumcision had always been a symbol of man’s need for the cleansing of the heart.
Deuteronomy Chapter 10 v16.
“Therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff- necked no longer.”
Circumcision was to be the outward sign that comes from faith in God. The outward affirmation of the already accomplished inner transformation of conversion is now the believer’s baptism in water.
The essential factor for salvation is of course faith in Yeshua. No unbeliever can escape the grip of sin, the flesh the world and Satan.
It is God who takes the initiative and exerts a life-giving power to awaken sinners and unite them with Yeshua. God’s free and complete forgiveness of guilty sinners is for those who put their trust In Yeshua not in rituals etc. Everything which went before was a “shadow” of Yeshua. Even the Sabbath was given as a type of the rest which would be the portion of all who believe in Yeshua.
Hebrews Chapter1 vs 1-3.
“ God , who at various times and in various ways, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power ….”
Ninth heresy. That an irrational mysticism could lead to greater blessing and holiness.
Paul’s answer is found in Chapter 2 v18.
“ Let no-one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind …”
Paul warns the Colossians not to allow false teachers to cheat them of their temporal blessing or eternal reward. There is no spiritual growth apart from Yeshua. Those who do not trust in Yeshua alone may appear to be humble. But this is false. Their search for a new spiritual experience or advocacy of some sort of work as necessary for salvation is actually human pride.
Like virtually all cults and false religions, the false teachers of Colosse based their teachings on “visions” or “revelations” they had supposedly received.
Paul had warned elsewhere about the “fleshly mind. “
Ephesians chapter 4 vs 17-19.
“ This, I say, therefore and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is within them, because of the blindness of their heart, who, being past feelings, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness .”
Members of Yeshua’s body on earth should only seek their satisfaction and sufficiency in Him.
Tenth heresy. That through rigorous self –denial holiness and salvation can be achieved.
Paul’s answer is found in chapter 2 vs 20-23.
“Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why as though being in the world do you subject yourself to regulations concerning things with perish with using – according to the commands and doctrines of men? These things indeed have the appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility and neglect of the body, but have no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”
Paul points out the futility of Ascetism which is an attempt to achieve holiness through rigorous self-denial or even self-affliction. Ascetism is powerless to restrain sin or to bring a person to God. Man-made prohibitions lead to obsessions over such things as food and drink rather than giving attention to the Lord Himself.
Taking care of one’s body is of course common sense (avoiding over-indulgence) but it has no eternal value. But the extremes of ascetism serves only the individual’s pride. They seek only to put on a public show of their supposed holiness. Yeshua knew all about this: –
Matthew chapter 6 v16.
“ Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you they have their reward.”
In Ascetism we see “self-imposed religion”. That is, the adoption of forms of worship according to human ideas rather than the word of God. And in this lies their futility. We can only do better in life out of love for the One who gave Himself for us. In Him we can grow spiritually. Everything else is folly!!!