Colossians 2:19
“They have 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.”
At some point in life, we have all experienced losing an Internet connection. It can be pretty frustrating. Not to mention losing connection with the Lord in any way. We certainly don’t want that to happen.
I asked the Lord what He would have me share today, and I was given Colossians 2:19, which speaks of those “who have 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.”
In Colossians 2, Paul’s goal was that his audience might be encouraged in heart and united in love. He offered a warning about people who were misleading the church with teachings that sounded “spiritual” but were actually pulling believers away from Christ. He wanted believers to have the “full riches of complete understanding,” that they may know Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Clearly, Paul wanted them to remember who they were in Christ; what He’d done for them.
Paul was concerned that people might be deceived by fine-sounding arguments, even though they were people who were disciplined and firm in their faith in Christ. He wanted to make sure that they would continue to live their lives in Him, “rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith,” as they were taught. He reminded them that no one should take them “captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”
How easy it could be today with so much information available to us on “spiritual” things, to embrace ideas that are totally opposed to, or maybe even similar to, but with a twist of opposition to the teachings of Christ.
Nevertheless, Paul went on to encourage their fullness in Christ, having been made alive with Him, by forgiving their sins, “canceling the charge of their legal indebtedness” which stood against and condemned them, nailing it to the cross. He highlighted their circumcision by Christ, when they had been dead in their sins, were buried and raised with Him in baptism through their faith in God, who raised Christ from the dead.
He warned not to allow people to judge them by what they ate, drank, a religious festival, a New Moon celebration, or a Sabbath day. He explained that those things were a “shadow” of the things that were to come; the reality being found in Christ. Paul also warned about allowing people who delighted in “false humility and worship of angels to disqualify them”, and how those people “went into great detail about what they had seen, being puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual minds.”
Clearly, Paul was concerned about those rules that were merely human teachings, which had an “appearance of wisdom”, but self-imposed worship and false modesty, with harsh treatment of the body, yet lacked any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Paul described certain teachers who delighted in visions, strict rules, or mystical practices. The problem wasn’t only that their teachings were off—it’s that they were no longer connected to Christ, who Paul called the head. Christ is the essential source of unity and nourishment. Without Him, the body falls apart.
Anyone who abandons Christ—no matter how impressive their spiritual claims—cuts themselves off from the only true source of life and growth. The church grows spiritually because God works through Christ, not because of human-made systems or mystical experiences. Believers grow when they remain connected to Christ.
It’s true for us today that we keep our focus on Christ and stay rooted and grounded in Him, rightly dividing the Bible, so as not to be misled in our lives. The Greek word for “rightly divide” in 2 Timothy 2:15 is orthotomeō, which means to “cut straight,” “cut straight paths,” or “rightly divide”. It is a compound word formed from orthos (straight) and temnō (to cut), implying the accurate, precise handling or teaching of the word of truth.
I find comfort in knowing that God has provided the Bible with Jesus’ teachings as our guide for living. In addition, He has graciously given the outpouring of His Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth. In this glorious generosity, He has provided ways for us to avoid being misled and to stay connected to Him. We just need to pray, study, believe, and remember specifically what He said. He loves us and will certainly work with us to keep us on track.
Ms. Rita's Minute 