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Fall Quarter 2023: God’s Law Is Love
Unit 3: Christ Frees, Law Enslaves
Lesson 12
Sunday School Lesson for the week of November 19, 2023
By Craig Rikard
Devotional Reading: Leviticus 25: 8-17
Background Scripture: Colossians 2: 6-23
Key Text: Colossians 2: 6-7a
Lesson Aims
- To understand Paul’s method of evangelizing the Greek world
- To realize the inspired means Paul developed to speak to both Jews and Gentiles
- To understand the importance of embracing simple truth versus thrilling falsehood
- To learn to discern falsehood and false teachers
Historical/Theological Background
Paul’s Journey
When we usually think of Paul’s journey we think of his travels, his missionary journeys. However, we rarely consider the fact that Paul was also on a spiritual journey. We can note the spiritual enlightenment in Paul’s life through his letters. There are important, varied changes in Paul’s later letters in comparison with his earlier epistles. Paul was not a complete, finished, spiritual man as soon as he met Christ. He experienced a myriad of moments that changed his life and his perspective of life. He was learning more and more about the relevancy of his Christian faith in those moments and sought to impart them to the early churches. We are able to witness Paul’s spiritual journey as he writes through the years.
As a pharisee, Paul was steeped in Judaism. After encountering Christ on the Damascus Road, we can still hear Paul’s Judaism as he writes his early letters. His great struggle was to reveal the inclusive nature of the Gospel, especially acceptance of the Gentiles without demeaning the value of the Law. As the years pass, the struggles encountered by the early churches expanded. Those early struggles of melding the Gentile and Jewish Christians together as one body in Christ became just one problem. The introduction of eastern religions, mystical religions, and the early expressions of Gnosticism compounded the problems facing the church. False teachers became a major concern. Remember, the Judaizers continued to try to force Gentile Christians to convert to Judaism as well.
From Judaism to Mysticism and Other Religions
The early letters proclaimed the supremacy of Jesus Christ and the Gospel to Judaism. Now, Paul is writing of the supremacy of the Gospel over the message of the false teachers, especially the more mystical teachers. There were several more eastern-based religions attempting to hijack Christianity. These often involved the special knowledge and the special role of angels in salvation. Now, our lesson turns to Colossians, which begins to counter the teachings emerging in the Greek world. Paul’s missionary journeys have exposed Paul to a more Greek-understanding of the world.
Walking through the Text
Paul Preaches and Teaches Christianity in the Greek World
Paul was a great evangelist. Instead of appealing solely to his Jewish audience, which would prove far easier, he understood his calling to include the world. At least with the Jewish audience he shared an appreciation and knowledge of the Old Testament, especially the Mosaic Law. There was little common ground between Paul and the Gentiles in the Greek areas. Perhaps a few Gentiles had some knowledge of the Old Testament, but most were far more steeped in Greek philosophy, mysticism, and various religions that were appearing throughout the world beyond Israel. In the opening of Colossians, an inspired Paul has found the means to continue confronting the Judaizers and also capture the ears of the Gentiles. He addresses the arguments of the Judaizers using Greek understanding. The church consisted of both Jewish Christians and Gentiles. The Judaizers took aim at the Gentiles and the Greek world by declaring they had to observe Jewish festivals and the requirements of Judaism if they want to become a Christian. In other words, Christians must also be faithful to Judaism. Listen as Paul uses “Greek thinking” to proclaim Christ. In verses 16-17 he strongly tells the church not to let anyone judge them (especially the Judaizers) according to the dietary, rites, and festivals of Judaism. Now listen as he drives home his point using Greek thinking in verse 17: “These (the Old Testament requirements of the Law) are a
shadow of the things that were to come.”
The truest and deepest spiritual reality could not be found in the “shadows.” He goes on: “The reality, however, is found in Christ.” Again, Paul never taught or believed the Old Testament and the Law were unnecessary. They were always pointing to the coming of the Christ. The Law was not equivalent to the Christ. The Law could not save. However, it pointed to our need to be a righteous people and to our inability to accomplish that righteousness on our own. True righteousness only comes through the grace of Jesus Christ. He was and is the very light of God, the light of the world that reveals God’s truth. In this one passage, Paul has countered the argument of the Judaizers and captured the ears of the Gentile Christians in a Greek world.
Have you been able to grasp Paul’s perspective of the Old Testament and the Mosaic Law as they relate to Christ? In what ways do you think the Old Testament was pointing to the need of Christ and the coming of Jesus?
Plato was a major philosopher in the Greek world. He lived some 300 years before Christ. His philosophy was close to the truth of Christianity. Some scholars describe Plato’s teaching as “proto-Christian.” Plato’s Allegory of the Cave points to the need for real life made possible through real light. I ask pardon for oversimplifying his allegory. Imagine the sun is at your back. Behind you are real trees, mountains, and all other facets of creation. We cannot turn and look at this perfect reality because the sun is too bright. Since the sun is at our back it creates a reflection of the perfect world behind us and reflects it off the wall of a cave. What we see is not the perfect creation. We see its shadows. Since Plato predated Christ, the only means which might help him and his audience see the perfect world was through intellectual enlightenment. But still, no one could “think their way” into looking directly toward the sun into the perfect world. It is here that Christianity can find some common ground with Plato. The Old Testament revealed a God whom we would not see. When Isaiah entered the temple in chapter 6 and saw a vision of God his first words were, “Woe is me!” Those in the Old Testament world believed if one saw God they would die. Mere mortal man or woman could not gaze upon the divine. God was too bright!
However, what if God appeared on the wall? What if God became flesh and lived in our world, among us? What if God appeared in our imperfect world and empowered us to see the divine nature? What if the perfect, brilliant light of God was manifest in Jesus, allowing us to look upon God? In I John, he writes: “What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, and have touched with our hands.” John was speaking of Jesus Christ. Jesus was God incarnate. He was the light of the world that revealed perfect truth in our yet imperfect world. The epistles of Paul and John reveal they used the thoughts and images of the Greeks to preach Christ in the Greek world. Our eyes are forever growing clearer, and one day we will see clearly, for God has come in Christ. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians in chapter 13, “Now we see dimly, then we shall see face to face.” We are following the Light of the World, and light always illuminates.
Consequently, Paul and the author of Hebrews spoke of the events, images, and teachings of the Old Testament as shadows pointing toward the coming of the Light of the world. Again, Paul understood the Old Testament as the gift of God, pointing us toward Jesus Christ, the one of purest light and truth. Paul’s emphasis on the Old Testament as pointing to Jesus silences the Judaizers. Why should new Christians keep Old Testament rites, rituals, and meticulous laws in order to know God and his love? They only pointed toward the full extent of God’s love. To the Greeks, Paul was saying, “Jesus Christ is the one for whom you have been seeking.” Both Jewish and Gentile Christians meet at this point and move forward in the Kingdom of God.
In what ways does Plato’s Allegory of the Cave foreshadow the coming of Christianity? In what ways does it fall short? According to Paul, what is the value of the Old Testament? How does the Old Testament fall short in saving us if separated from the gift of Jesus? Do you think there are some who want to “add” to the Gospel, creating requirements to become a Christian other than faith in Jesus? How would you lovingly respond to such attempts?
The Simplicity of Christianity
False teachers had arisen with complicated systems to find God. Some of these “systems” involved angels and the hierarchy of angels. Gnosticism was not a full-blown religion during the time of Paul. However, false religions did not begin in perfect form. Seeds of untruth were planted and over time grew, often in a many different directions. The seeds of Gnosticism were around though not yet the Gnosticism which would later attempt to hijack Christianity. We do not have the time to explore the different forms of religion sprouting in the Greek world. What we do need to understand from our text is that Paul confronts such untruth with the simple truth that God, out of purest love, saved us through the grace of Jesus Christ. Just as the early churches did not need to return to Judaism’s 612 laws and its rites and rituals, the Gentiles did not need to engage in fruitless philosophy and the complicated religions involving angels and the worship of angels.
We can still make Christianity difficult to understand. How we live out our faith in Jesus naturally leads to some disagreement and different interpretations of Scripture. We are to engage in a “lovers dialogue” that helps deepen and broaden our understanding. My dear peer, Dr. Rick Lanford, had me preach a revival for him many years ago. Every night a deaf young man attended with his faithful mother. I noticed he watched my lips and face and seemed to hear “what his ears could not hear.” I later asked Rick about him. His answer deeply touched me. I still think of that moment today. After one of Rick’s sermons the young man walked forward during the final hymn. He pointed to the wooden cross mounted high above the pulpit and then pointed to his heart. Message received! That moment captures the simple beauty, wonder, and power of Christianity.
Can you share the simplicity of the moment you chose to follow Jesus? Do you remember the simple truth that drew you to Christ? Do you think we might make a mistake in often asking people to give their personal testimony because it is story that’s very remarkable? (This doesn’t mean we should not ask, but rather, should we only ask those with such stories?) Why do you think people who have simple stories of a transformed life in Christ are seldom asked?
Paul encourages us to be careful of those teachers who teach complicated means of knowing God and following Christ. In Paul’s day, the new teachers of such religions were filled with hubris. After all, they knew something that others did not. Others were dependent upon their every word. They saw themselves as bastions of truth. Christianity and hubris share no common ground. Certainly, Paul had knowledge of which others were unaware. However, as we study Paul, we note a deep sense of humility. He believed strongly in the common ground at the cross. There are many voices and many presentations of Christianity today. We do not need to judge them incorrect or false until we have listened. The spiritual ear can usually discern pride and arrogance from a leader. Also, if a sermon or teaching goes beyond the Gospel as expressed in Ephesians 2 it steps into dangerous territory. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2: “By grace we are saved through faith. It is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.”
Paul points out that the appeal of such complicated presentations is that they “sound wise.” The leader always seems to know something new that others do not. But eventually such falsehood is exposed. The quest for something new in our faith is a real temptation. We’ve had our canon of Scripture since around 300 AD. We had it in Paul’s circulating letters, in the Gospels, and through oral traditions prior to establishing the canon. For almost 2,000 years we have listened to the same story and studied the same passages of Scripture. However, Christianity is anything but boring. When one greets the day in prayer, they immediately bring God into their day. When they live that day looking for God’s presence and lessons there is always something special about that day. I illustrated this to a Bible class once by asking everyone to not turn their heads or look around. I then asked them to share with me the items in the room that possessed the color maroon. Hardly anyone answered. I then said, “Now look around.” They saw maroon in a multitude of places in the room. I shared with them that we see what is on our hearts and in our minds. If we start the day seeking Christ in nature, our experiences, and our interactions, the day is anything but boring. Certainly, not every day is thrilling (whatever that means). I personally thank God for the “ordinary days.” On such days I offer thanks to God for the life I have in Christ. Each moment of life is a gift. Scripture moves from the page and into life as we seek Jesus in our day.
What are some of the ways you can recognize Jesus at the beginning of your day? How do you think we can go about our day while seeking Christ at the same time? Can you share an “ordinary moment” in which God taught you something very valuable? Can you share an ordinary moment in which you recognized the presence of Jesus in another?
Yes, there can be a degree of complication involved in following Christ. However, it is not the Gospel that is complicated; the complication lies in our attempts to express eternal truth in human language. As we’ve noted in Paul’s doctrinal and theological passages, he can prove difficult to read and understand. Again, this is mostly rooted in his use of metaphors and language. He is a man who knows the Gospel. He has experienced Jesus and understands the role of the Old Testament as they relate to Jesus. Explaining what he has experienced and knows in a way that both Jews and Gentiles understand can prove difficult. Yet Paul, through prayer and the inspiration of the Spirit, finds a way. Still, at the heart of Christianity is the truth that Jesus was God incarnate, saving the world when the world could not save itself.
Paul challenges all of us. When we encountered Jesus, we knew little doctrine or theology. We knew we were failing at saving ourselves from meaninglessness, and hopelessness. We found meaning and hope in Christ! We found eternal life in Jesus! We have been growing in our understanding every day since. We see the presence of God in places we formerly would not have looked. We see Jesus in each other; thus, everyone is valued and precious. We see and experience the remarkable simple Gospel in ways that transcend our ability to express it. Remember Paul’s statement, “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into mind of man what God has in store for those who love him.” (I Cor. 2:9)
Have you, in a discerning and loving manner, recognized the temptation to “add something new” to the Gospel? Why do you think some are tempted to “complicate” the Gospel? How does our entertainment culture make this temptation very real? What do we do to move Scripture from the page into life? What is most exciting about your life as you follow Jesus? How do you discern a teacher of truth from an errant teacher?
Prayer
Almighty God, there are a lot of contenders for our attention. There is much noise in the world. Help us to live in serene confidence that you are present at all times, in every moment. Open our eyes to those things that seem simple until we recognize their eternal beauty. We pray for the gift of discernment. Empower us by your Spirit to always differentiate between truth and falsehood. Teach us to be truthful in love. In Jesus name, Amen.
Dr. D. Craig Rikard is a South Georgia pastor. Email him at craigrikard169@yahoo.com.
