Our scripture reading this morning comes from Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 2, verses 8 through 15. Colossians, chapter 2, verses 8 through 15. You can find this on page number 876 in your pew Bibles. Colossians chapter 2, beginning now in verse 8. Hear now the word of God. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you are also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with the circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all of our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. May God bless his word to our hearts and our minds this morning by his Holy Spirit. Beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ, throughout the history of the Christian church, there's always been a problem with people seeking somehow to add to the work of Christ. This manifests itself in many different ways, and I'm sure you can think of many yourself right now, one of which, the first and foremost way, is in the teaching of Roman Catholic theology. Roman Catholics say that we're saved by Christ's works, yes, but also by what we're doing. So Christ's work is not totally sufficient, they say. We need to add some of our sanctification, which is worked in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, but we need to add some of this to Christ's works, and our justification is not complete. So they take away from the work of Christ by adding the works that we do. Now, adding to the work of Christ is not unique to Roman Catholicism. We also see it today in Pentecostalism. The approach of Pentecostalism is to say that, well, Christ's work is okay, but his ordained means of grace, the preaching of the word and the sacraments of baptism in the Lord's Supper they're not enough. We need to do something else to add to what Christ has done. We need to have some sort of a spiritual experience by being slain in the Spirit or speaking in tongues. We need to do this to add to what Christ has done. Now, the teaching of Reformed theology throughout history has been the opposite. Reformed theology, as summarizing the great teachings of Scripture, It says that we need to be satisfied with what Christ has given us. We need to be satisfied for who Christ is as we see him revealed in his word, as we feed on him by faith in the Lord's Supper. Pentecostalism and Roman Catholicism and all the other teachings out there within Christianity that seek to add to the work of Christ are not new. Not at all. They've been around ever since the first century, and that's what Paul was dealing with partly here in the book of Colossians. In Colossians, Paul was writing to some Christians who were trying to add to the work of Christ. And they were doing this through what is known as religious syncretism. Now, that's a big word, and what that means is that they were taking some of the pagan practices which they formerly were a part of and using that along with some Old Testament practices of Judaism and mixing that and melting that all together with the work of Christ. So they were combining all sorts of different religions with Christianity to create some sort of a new package. And Paul is writing to these Christians in Colossians and telling them that Christ is sufficient. You don't need to add to the work of Christ. What Christ has done is sufficient. So he's counteracting their pagan practices and pagan beliefs by saying Christ is sufficient. So the Colossian heresy that Paul is addressing here is a heresy combining fatalism and a belief in multiple deities and a belief that these gods somehow influence every part of our life. a very superstitious belief. That's what Paul was up against in the first century. And in dealing with this Colossian heresy, Paul tells us that Christ is supreme over all human understanding. And he does this here in our text by saying that the all-sufficient Christ in his divinity and in his redemptive work provides all that we need for our salvation. So what this means is that Christ, the God-man, has accomplished our salvation. Let me say that again. Christ, the God-man, has accomplished our salvation. And that's what Paul is explaining here in this section of Colossians. And we'll proceed this morning by looking at three points which talk about this divine Christ. First, the all-sufficient Christ has a fullness of rule. So we'll look at the fullness of Christ's rule. Second, we'll look at the fullness of the deity of Christ. And third, the fullness of the salvation which Christ accomplished for us. All of which shows us that Christ has all that we need in himself and he has done all that we need for our salvation. So in looking at what Christ has done, we see first of all the fullness of Christ's rule. Look with me at Colossians 2, as I read verses 8, 10, and 15. There's a theme here that Paul is weaving through these verses, which show that Christ is supreme and has defeated the rulers and authorities of this present evil age. Colossians 2, beginning now in verse 8. Paul says, See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ. Now in verse 10. And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Verse 15. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Now then, as we look at the fullness of Christ's rule, we must explain a little bit more what Paul was dealing with here, which caused him to write what he wrote in these verses. And looking at 1st century Colossae, we see that the one word which summarizes ancient paganism is fear. Ancient pagans in the 1st century were afraid of everything. They were afraid that if they somehow angered the gods, the gods would send too much rain or not enough rain. And they invoked these deities, they prayed to these pagan gods, which they saw in everything and everywhere in their society. They called upon them in prayer to help them to drive away the evil spirits which were bothering them, they thought, the evil spirits which were causing them to have headaches and nightmares and bad dreams. So that's what these people are dealing with. That's what Paul is dealing with when he's addressing these people. And these Christians now, who have converted from this former way of paganism, are now retreating back into the paganism from which God saved them. And Paul is saying, don't do this. Don't just add Christ to your list of gods. Christ isn't just like the god thunder or the god of rain or the god of the crops. No, no, Christ is different. Christ is not just another deity. Christ, rather, is the ruler of the world. So Paul is saying to these people, put away your lucky charms, your little magical bracelets and things that you're wearing to somehow keep away the evil spirits. Put away these things, people of Colossae. Put them away because the power of God is in the gospel, not enchanting some magical incantation or some magical scheme to get away these evil spirits. The power is in the gospel and in Jesus Christ, the ruler of the visible and invisible world, Paul says in Colossians 1, 15 and 16. the head of all rulers and authorities, he says here in Colossians 2.10. And all things revolve around this Christ. As Paul warns the Colossian Christians against being taken captive to philosophy and empty tradition, he uses an interesting word in verse 8. The NIV translates this word, the basic principles of this world. You can see that in the text in verse 8. Now, that's an interesting phrase, and what Paul is meaning by this is that he's talking about the evil spirit beings that these Colossians formerly were worshipping before God saved them by the grace of Christ. And he's saying to them that now that you've become Christians, don't become enslaved to these evil spirits anymore. Christ has saved you from the darkness of this present evil age. That's what Galatians 1.4 says, that we are born in sin and we are born in darkness, but Christ has saved us out of that sin. And he has delivered his people by forgiving them of their sins. And he has destroyed the devil, it says in Hebrews 2.14. By his death, Christ has destroyed the devil. So Paul is saying, Colossian Christians, don't be afraid of what these pagan deities can do. They're not real. This is all superstition. Christ is the one we are to worship. Christ is the one we are to adore. Christ is the one we are to glorify. Paul uses the phrase here in verse 8, basic principles of the world, and he uses another similar phrase in verses 10 and 15. If you look there, you can see the phrase powers and authorities. And what he's doing is he's explaining more fully who these basic principles of the world are. And again, they're the evil spirits, the powers and authorities of this present evil age. And they're the powers and authorities that Christ has defeated, Paul says. Christ has won the victory over the powers of darkness by his person and by his work. And the way he has this authority is because he is the divine God-man, The one who died was raised and intercedes at the right hand of God for us. Verse 15 says that God has disarmed these powers and authorities, these rulers, so that they don't have any effective power against us anymore. God has disarmed them, and Christ has authority over them because of his redemptive work. Now then, as we consider our life today, we don't see people, at least in our immediate context, most of us don't see people worshipping pagan gods and idols. It's very possible we may see that, but in this church, thankfully, the gospel is proclaimed religiously and faithfully from the pulpit every Lord's Day. And we have been delivered from the darkness of this present evil age. But as the people of God, we still suffer and we still struggle in between Christ's first coming and his second coming. Now, the suffering that we experience is not as a result of these powers and spirits. We don't develop cancer because a pagan god has invaded or an evil spirit has invaded our body. That's not the case. That's not what Paul is saying here at all. But we do suffer and we do struggle and we do go through trials and difficulties. And we will continue to go through sufferings and difficulties up until Christ returns. But the promise for us believers is that even though we suffer, these powers and authorities have been defeated. Christ has defeated them and has won the victory over them by the cross. But we still suffer, and we still suffer death, and that death is a result of the fall. It's a result of the fall, the sin of man. It's not as if we suffer because of these spirits, but we suffer because of the sin of man and because we're all born sinners. So we go through death and disease. We struggle with cancer as a 26-year-old friend of mine is going through right now. Just recently, a few years ago, he developed colon cancer and he's been suffering greatly. He got married and he found out that he had cancer within a few months after his marriage. And thankfully, thanks be to God, he trusts Christ and he trusts in the blood and righteousness of Christ for his salvation. So he knows his inheritance in heaven is secure. He does not need to fear what may happen to him on this earth. But he still is suffering. And his friends and family are still mourning as he's suffering. And our prayer is that he and others who have cancer or similar diseases, that God would heal them by his mercy. But we know that God's ways are not our ways. And we know that God, in his providence, may decide to take him home. So we mourn, and we cry, and we suffer as we watch loved ones suffer and go through disease. As we watch the church universal, the church around the world, be persecuted. Even today, as we are gathering to worship in this place, there are Christians all around the world who are living in fear of being persecuted, of maybe even being put to death. It's a dangerous thing for them to gather to worship, and they are suffering greatly. But Paul says to us in Romans 8 that we don't need to fear these things. Even though we face death, we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us. So we do not need to fear death. We do not need to fear the sufferings of this world. Our salvation is secure and we rest secure in Christ, the one who has dismantled the powers and authorities that Paul is talking about in verses 8, 10, and 15. So Christ is Lord of all. it's absurd for us to think about following these pagan gods and idols when Christ has defeated them. So we're not to follow the teachings of this world, but rather we are to trust Christ. And who is this Christ we are to trust? Well, that's what Paul goes on to explain here in what we'll look at now in our second point. This Christ is the divine God-man. And our second point is that the fullness of deity dwells in Christ. The fullness of deity dwells in Christ. So look with me at Colossians 2, verses 9 and 10. Paul writes to us, For in Christ all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. As we read through the New Testament, we see that a very important part of Paul's theology is that the person of Christ depends on the work of Christ and the work of Christ depends on the person of Christ. And that's what Paul is explaining to us here in these verses. He's showing us the centrality of Christ, the God-man. Christ is central, not these pagan gods. It's Christ who is central. And he does that throughout verses 9 through 15. Look with me as I read what Paul is saying here. It's all centered on Christ. He says in verse 9, In Christ the fullness of deity dwells. In verse 10, In Christ you have been filled. Verse 11, In him, in Christ, you have been circumcised. Verse 12, In Christ you have been buried. In Christ you have been raised. Verse 13, God has made you alive in Christ. Verse 15, God has led the powers and principalities in triumphal procession in Christ. So Christ is superior to any of these pagan gods that the Colossian Christians were adding to Christ. He's superior to all that. And Christ calls on us, because of what he has done and because of who he is, he calls on us to unswervingly follow him rather than the things of this world. The deity of Christ, the divine person of Christ, is the theme Paul develops in Colossians. And there's a helpful parallel in Colossians 1, verse 19, which helps to explain what Paul is saying here in Colossians 2, verse 9. So turn back, if you will, one chapter to Colossians 1, verse 19. Here in this verse, Paul says that in him, in Christ, So Colossians 1.19 says that the fullness of deity dwells in Christ. And now in Colossians 2.9, Paul is explaining what he means when he says that. This means that God is found in Christ. He's not found elsewhere. He's not found in these pagan gods. He's found in Christ. And it is in Christ that God has manifested himself to us. Now, the question we ask is, where do we see Christ? Do we need to do something to add to Christ, like we see in Roman Catholicism or Pentecostalism? Do we need to add an experience of being slain in the Spirit or speaking in tongues? Or do we need to add our works to this Christ? No, not at all. The way that we see Christ is through word and sacrament. It's through the preaching of the Gospel each Lord's Day. And it's through feeding on Christ in the Lord's Supper. That's how we see Christ. Christ is revealed to us in his word and in his sacraments. And Christ alone is the sufficient basis for our contentment. We don't need to look outside to try to bring something in to add to Christ. Christ is sufficient. And in him all the fullness of deity dwells. When we think about that, that's a remarkable statement. In Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells. This means that Christ is not like a prophet, like Muhammad, who is a prophet of Islam. He's not a prophet that can somehow be surpassed by the next prophet who has a greater amount of revelation. No. In Christ, the fullness of deity dwells. And only the divine God-man, only Christ, can pay the penalty for our sins. So again, here we see the connection between the person and the work of Christ. Only the divine God-man can pay for our sins because the Son of Man had to become man in order to assume the nature in which our sin was committed. That's what the Heidelberg Catechism tells us in question and answer 12 through 19, a wonderful explanation of the God-man, of why Christ had to be God and man to pay for our sin. only a man could take the penalty for man's sins but only God could bear the wrath and justice of God which was to be poured out upon man's sins because it was the omnipotent wrath of God it's too great for man to bear man would be crushed under the omnipotent wrath and justice of God so Christ had to be God because only God could save us And he also had to be man, because only man should save us. Man is the one who owed the debt. Man is the one who is born in sins and trespasses, Paul says here in Colossians 2.13. Man is the one who has a code of regulations against him, he says in Colossians 2.14. And if Christ was not the God-man, if he was not God and man, The promise of salvation that we have here in Colossians 2.10 would be empty. We see here in the first part of Colossians 2.10 that we have been given fullness in Christ. That means that we have been saved in Christ. That's comforting for us. That brings comfort to the Christian. And it brings comfort because it was the God-man, the one in whom the fullness of deity dwells, verse 9 says. It was him that accomplished that salvation. So up to this point now we have seen that there's a fullness of rule that Christ has over the rulers and authorities of this world. We've also seen that there's a fullness of deity in Christ. Only the divine God-man can pay for our sins. And now we'll look at point three, which is the fullness of salvation that he's accomplished. So in light of who Christ is as the divine God-man, we now look at what he has done in saving us. We look at redemption accomplished. Look at verses 11 through 14 here of Colossians 2. Paul says, In him, in Christ, you have been circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with the circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised up with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive in Christ. He forgave us all of our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us, nailing it to the cross. So as we look now at this third point, the fullness of salvation Christ has accomplished for us, we see that he has triumphed over all things by virtue of his redemptive work. So his salvation will not fail for us, Colossians 2.10 says, because he is the head of all rule and authority. And as Paul talks about redemption accomplished, He does so by looking at circumcision. Now, that's an interesting thing he does here. He looks at circumcision, which was instituted in the Old Covenant, a promise given to Abraham, something that points forward to something greater. Circumcision in the flesh, outward circumcision, was pointing forward to something greater. It was pointing forward to the circumcision of Christ on the cross, which is what we see here in Colossians 2. Christ was circumcised for us. What does that mean? That means Christ died for us on the cross. So the Old Testament circumcision was an institution which was fulfilled by the work of Christ. And because of Christ, we no longer need an outward circumcision. But rather, what do we have? We have the spiritual circumcision of Christ in our hearts. That's what Paul says throughout the New Testament. Romans 2, 28 and 29 says exactly that. And he's saying it here as well in Colossians 2, 11. So as a result of the work of Christ, Christ has put off our sinful nature, it says here in verse 11. We're born in sin. We're born corrupt and guilty. But now Christ has put off our sinful nature. Now, this doesn't mean that we're perfectly holy in this life. Not at all. We sin daily in thought, word, and deed. And we need to, every Lord's Day, we need to pray the prayer of confession. And we need to hear the minister declare to us the declaration of pardon, the good news of the gospel, because we sin over and over again. So we are sinners, but we are redeemed, justified sinners. And we have received a spiritual circumcision, a circumcision of the heart. So the redemption accomplished by Christ was his work in his life and in his death and in being raised from the dead, it says here in Colossians 2.12. But Paul doesn't stop there. He goes on to talk about the redemption applied to believers. He goes on to say, in light of what Christ has done, in light of the redemption he accomplished, God has applied this to believers. And there are spiritual benefits for believers, Including baptism, we see here. Including being raised up with Christ through faith. And including being made alive with Christ. In Colossians 2.13, that's exactly what Paul says. We have been made alive with Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been made regenerate. Christ has given us newness of life, Paul says in verse 13. He has forgiven us of our sins. He has made us alive in Christ. And he has done this by the work of the divine God-man in dying and rising again from the dead. So the question Paul is asking to the Colossians in the statement he's making is that why are you Colossians looking to these pagan deities for newness of life? Why are you looking to idols for newness of life when our newness of life is in Christ? We must ask that similar question today when we see other confessing Christians say that we need to add something to the work of Christ. We need to add our works to Christ's works so that justification is both what Christ did and what we're doing. What Paul says is that's ludicrous. Why are you looking to add to the work of Christ? Christ has given you newness of life. Christ has given us his word and his sacraments. And he has made us alive in him. And not only that, but he's canceled our certificate of death, Paul says in verse 14. The NIV translates this, the written code. What this is, is Paul's referring here to the Mosaic law. So he's saying as a result of the work of Christ, we have also received the spiritual benefit of having this written code against us canceled. We're all guilty of breaking the law of Moses. And not only that, but we're also debtors because we're born in sins and trespasses, as he said one verse earlier here in verse 13. So we're born dead in sins and trespasses, and we are born guilty, and we are lawbreakers. We break the law of Moses. And we're debtors to God because of what we have done. We are debtors, and we are hopeless in our sins. When we read the law of God each Lord's Day, that law shows us that we don't fulfill God's commands. We fall short of that. But the good news is that as God's redeemed people, the law comes now to us to guide us in our gratitude. We have been forgiven by the work of Christ, and God's law now guides us in holiness. But we are lawbreakers, and that's what Paul is saying here in Colossians 2.14. We are lawbreakers, but the good news is that Christ has pardoned our transgressions. He has forgiven us of our debt. He has nailed it to the cross, it says in verse 15. So this happened. Our debt was canceled through the work of Christ on the cross. So through his work, the divine God-man has accomplished our salvation. and we're to be content in what he has given to us to worship him. We're to be content in the things he has given to us. We don't need to add to Christ. It's absurd to think that we would add to Christ. What we are to do is repent and believe. And if you have not repented, if you have not believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, then Paul, in the word of God, calls on us to repent and to trust Christ. Faith itself is a gift of God. And it is through this faith that we are raised up with Christ, Paul says in Colossians 2.13. So if you do not trust Christ, I pray that you will repent and believe. That you will look outward to the finished work of Christ. You're not going to add anything to what Christ has done, because Christ has accomplished our redemption and it is sufficient. So look to Christ, for from him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we come to you humbly today. Thankful that you have forgiven us of our sins in Christ. We humbly confess that we are sinners. That we have broken your law. That there's a long list, a long debt of our sins against you. But Christ has come and has nailed those sins to the cross. And he has done so because of who he is. Because in Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. So we rest assured in Christ. And we are content with what he has given to us. The wonderful revelation of his word and his sacraments. And we pray now this week that we will go forth from here strengthened. Strengthened to love this Christ. Not only in our minds, but also in our hearts. Father, help us to believe Christ both intellectually and also believe him in our hearts that he has died and was raised for us. And help us to know in our heads and in our hearts what Christ has done in redeeming us as lost sinners. Grant us faith, Father, to trust Christ. Help us to see that he is more to be treasured than anything of this world. And in Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells. Forgive us of our sins for Christ's sake. Amen.