By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Colossians 2:6
"Na, kua riro na te Ariki, a Karaiti Ihu i a koutou, kia pena ano ta koutou haere i roto i a ia".
"O lenei, fa‘apei ‘ona ‘outou talia le Ali‘i o Keriso Iesu, ia fa‘apea ‘ona ‘outou ola ai ‘iā te ia".
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him".
These words were written to a church that gathered in the city of Colossae. That ancient city is filled with inscriptions, memorials, and buildings which proclaim the power of Caesar. They declare him Lord of the world, with Rome as his realm.
Colossae is also filled with temples and monuments honouring various gods and religious ideologies. While these are shaped by human tradition, ultimately we know they are animated by demonic powers and authorities.
In the midst of this confusion, Paul urges the Christians at Colossae to remain captivated by Christ. In a city so proudly proclaiming Caesar as lord, Paul reminds the church that they received Jesus as Lord.
The phrase in verse six, “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,” would have been profound in this first-century Roman province. Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not.
Paul is saying loudly: be captivated by Jesus and his Lordship. The political-religious implications for the church at Colossae reverberate. Don’t let your hearts become captive to Caesar's lordship, or any other god or ideology.
In verse eight Paul writes, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.” See to it. Be watchful of one another, look out for one another, see to it together that no one takes any of you captive.
Colossae is filled with hollow and deceptive philosophies—worldviews about humanity, politics, and the creation that don’t have substance and don’t recognise the sovereign source of reality, the God of the Bible. These have been shaped by human tradition but deeper still, they are a stronghold of the elemental powers and authorities.
Paul says: in a Roman Province, where the spiritual powers and authorities work through political power and philosophical power, be captivated by Christ. He is the only true Lord. In him “the whole fullness of deity lives in bodily form”. He is head over every power and authority.
Christ is head over the whole earth; he is the head over every power and parliament. He reigns above every governing body. He has authority over all philosophies, over every religious ideology. He has ultimate power and authority over the spiritual powers and authorities.
These words are a comfort and challenge to me. This age, just as much as in ancient Colossae, clamours for our allegiance—to political ideology, to different worldviews, to movements and trends.
The question is: are our hearts first and foremost captured by Christ? Can we confess that he is indeed Lord? Or are our hearts slowly drifting, becoming captivated by the world with its empty philosophies?
