In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul warns them about false teachers. One of the key indicators he gives on how to tell a false teacher is that they are "not holding fast to the Head," to Christ (Col 2:19). They stray, he says, because Christ is the one that nourishes and knits together the body and without Him they will deviate, they will leave the body. These teachers and their falsehoods "have indeed an appearance of wisdom," Paul says, but "they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh" (Col 2:23).
Isn't it the truth? Is that not a primary common denominator among false teachers? Oh, they often claim they're all about Jesus, but when you examine their claims you find they're all about the Jesus they like and not so much about the Jesus they don't. They may be heartily involved in helping the poor and can point out every word Jesus said about helping those in need. He did say it and we ought to heed it. But they will swiftly eject His statements like, "The poor you will always have with you" (Matt 26:11). They embrace the grace of Christ with warm messages of forgiveness for all but reject His warnings (Matt 7:13-14; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 23:13-19, etc.). They assure us all of a pleasant outcome when Jesus warns of a hell "where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48). They hold tightly to the Jesus they like and loosely (if at all) to the one they don't.
Of course, since Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), the outward presentation of God (Col 2:9), our singular physical representative of the Father to the world. It's not just the Jesus of the gospels they need to hold tightly to. It is the Jesus of all of Scripture. It is Christ, found in every page of the Bible. And that Christ doesn't look quite like that narrow version false teachers like to present. He was from eternity past. He lived a sinless life and died on the cross for us, His blood providing the peace we lacked with God. His death and resurrection are the method and model for our dying and rising to new life (Col 2:13), a life that is changed by the process. And we must examine ourselves to insure that we are not merely clinging to the Jesus we like and ignoring the Jesus that makes us uncomfortable. We must hold fast to that Christ; He alone is our life (Col 3:3).
2 comments:
We must always be on guard to not be holding one part of Scripture in opposition to another. Scripture is a whole picture, but far too often, we are only looking at a part of it, and as inherent idol makers, we elevate that portion we're focused on.
Jesus is my Head, indeed, and His Spirit is life in my veins. As a member of the Body of Christ, I would never wish to separate from our Head, who holds lordship over us all, while caring perfectly for me as an individual member. I also want to have proper knowledge of the Lord and not cling to false views of Him derived from my own imagination, as you warn. That knowledge only comes as I study and learn God’s Word in increasing measure over time spent in this earthly relationship with Him. Therefore, the older--and, hopefully, wiser--member of the Body I become, the more I know Christ and the more abundant my life is (John 10:10b).
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