Colossians 2:8-10 NLT
[8] “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. [9] For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. [10] So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
How can we navigate this life in a world cluttered with philosophical propositions that try to explain the meaning and purpose of life without God? From the meaningless meandering into oblivion of evolution, from jihad to polytheism, to everything in between, how can we know the truth?
First, what is the source of all these conflicting philosophies, all claiming to be the truth?
Paul said “they come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world?” What did he mean? Human thinking, independent of God, will always look for a way to leave God out of the picture. Their reasoning, in tandem with the spiritual forces, influenced by the “god of this world”, will always contradict God and His revealed truth.
Romans 1:19, 21 NLT
[19] “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them…
[21] Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.”
In the end, discovering and believing the truth comes down to one thing…evidence. In a court of law, the verdict of “innocent” or “guilty” depends on the evidence presented. Only accurate evidence can prove guilt or innocence beyond reasonable doubt.
So, what about this message we are called on to believe? What evidence do we have that this message about Jesus, and all its implications, are true? One test will sweep aside all objections and secure a proof that passes all the tests…the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Did He rise again, as He said He would, or is He still in the grave together with all the promises He made?
No matter how many atheists and agnostics have tried to disprove the resurrection, it is a fact of history that stands unassailable throughout time. The resurrection of God’s Messiah was prophesied throughout the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New.
Unlike all other attempts to provide a substitute for the truth, Jesus is alive. Since He is alive, and lives by His Spirit in every believer as He promised, every other promise He made stands on this truth. Jesus is who He is, the Son of God, whom the Father appointed to be Lord over all creation.
Faith in the truth about Jesus, who He is and what He did, has remarkable consequences. Unlike human philosophies that can never transform a life, faith in Jesus causes people to make a rightabout turn. From darkness to light, they start to live again with a brand new nature, in union with Jesus.
Although this new life enables us to move towards God, we still have the tendency to slip into sinful ways. However, God has provided both His Spirit and His Word to empower us to overcome this old wayward nature.
Now, Paul says, there is another truth that we need to know, to reassure and encourage us on this journey towards holy living in preparation for our eternity with Jesus.
Our life on this earth is not a random, haphazard affair, hoping that, against all odds, we will make it in the end. It is imperative to understand that, in partnership with the Holy Spirit in us, we are purposefully moving towards a predetermined goal.
We have two reasons to have hope…
- “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.”
Everything we hope for and anticipate for our eternal future rests on Jesus. All the evidence of Scripture reassures us that He is worthy of our trust. Since He is, throughout eternity, our mediator, the man Christ Jesus, He remains forever one of us, died for us, lives in us, and represents us to the Father.
1 Timothy 2:5 NLT
[5] “There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.”
- “So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Our union with Jesus secures in us the hope and promise of perfection. However imperfect we are now, even in our best moments and highest aspirations, our union with Christ guarantees that God will achieve His goal of perfect Christ-likeness when we see Him face to face.
1 John 3:2 NLT
[2] “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”
There is no teaching, religion, or philosophy originating in human thought that can come near to this truth, promised by the one who said He would die and rise again and did it!
So, we travel through this maze of life with the hope burning in our hearts that in Christ we are already complete (perfectly holy), and that this perfection will be fulfilled when we see Jesus as He is.