To Whom Do We Listen?

In him you also were circumcised -- not, however, with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal of the fleshly body, that is, through the circumcision done by Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. Disarming the rulers and authorities, he has made a public disgrace of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:11-15


One reason Paul wrote to the people of Colossae was to warn them of false teachings. Paul wanted them to know there was no reason to believe and rely on these teachings – they had the Lord and they had the gift He gave to us when He gave us his Son on the cross.

Due to these false teachings, the Colossians had many wrong ideas about Jesus and many wrong ideas about the customs and traditions of the time. One of these was in relation to circumcision. They were being taught they must be circumcised to be right with God. However, Paul makes it clear to them that this is not true. By placing our lives in the hands of God, by trusting Him and surrendering to Him, by putting off the sins of this world – that is how we are circumcised. It is not the physical act of circumcision that makes us right with God. It is the spiritual circumcision, the putting off of the sins of the world and discarding our old lives to be made new in Christ.

Because Jesus gave his life on the cross, there is no need for traditions and “acts” to find our way to God or to our eternal home in heaven. Thru Jesus we have all we will ever need – grace, mercy, forgiveness, a relationship with God.

While reading thru the commentary on this passage at Enduring Word, I found this –

“Paul wrote in another place that if the rulers of this age – by which he meant both the spiritual powers of darkness and their earthly representative – had known what would happen on the cross, they would have never crucified Jesus (1 Corinthians 2:8). They were defeating themselves and didn’t even know it.”


All those teaching falsely and insisting we must live by the “law” as opposed to God’s Word were intimidated by Jesus. He took away their perceived control and their power when he came to earth as a man. They began to feel insecure in their own teachings and in their position in the religious and political communities of the time. They felt the only way to change this was to “get rid of” Jesus. But, oh, how wrong they were. And, oh, how thankful I am!!

As I look around at the world today, I see some of the same things taking place -- people filled with insecurities and fears and placing the blame on God. It’s so much easier to place the blame on Him rather than to take responsibility ourselves and turn our lives over to God, isn’t it?

I suspect that someday these same people in our world today may feel similar to how those that persecuted Jesus might feel if they had lived to see and experience the outcome of their actions. They are trying to fight off God’s Word and diminish it and ultimately missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime – ETERNITY!