Bible Study from June 1, 2020 - Colossians 2:10-13

We begin our study with reviewing Colossians 2:10. How are we “filled” up, in connection with Christ? In Him, we receive the many blessings, earned for us through Christ (all that we need), in the beautiful way Paul describes them. Paul begins with a way we are no longer “filled” up - and that is by Old Testament circumcision, “made with human hands” (v.11). Jesus was circumcised, as a Jew (Luke 2:21), and as part of His perfectly fulfilling the will of God in our place. (We saw passages last week, in Genesis 17 and Deuteronomy 10:14-16, on the need for Old Testament Jewish baby boys to be circumcised at 8 days old, to be brought into covenant relationship with God and to continue in that relationship with circumcised hearts.) With the New Covenant, brought to and fulfilled for us by Jesus, we are freed from the Jewish ceremonial laws, including circumcision. Circumcision is replaced by a “circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of our flesh” (our sinful nature, with which we were born) “by the circumcision of Christ” through, Paul explains, the gift of baptism (v.11-12).

Some Jews who said they believed in Jesus, however, were also saying that only by undergoing the Old Testament circumcision could people really be saved. They wanted people to follow these and other Old Covenant ceremonies. See Acts 15:1ff. Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus and what He had done for us was not enough, they said. Paul strongly opposed this false teaching. We looked at his words in his letter to the Galatians, where that church was struggling with the same problem. Paul says,”neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of faith and baptism. (See his arguments in Galatians 6:13-15, 3:23-29, and 2:3-5, in connection with the Acts 15 passage.) Circumcision is no longer necessary. If we are circumcised, though, thinking we must do so to be saved, then we are severing ourselves from Christ, thinking He has not done enough to save us and we must do something more, on our own. (See Galatians 5:1-6.)

In baptism, in contrast, Paul says, we have been buried with Jesus and died to our old life, and have also been raised with Him to a new life with God, even as Jesus was raised from the dead after His own death for us. This is “the powerful working of God,” Paul says, and is received “through faith,” which is also a gift of God, connected with baptism (v.12 and Ephesians 2:9). This is God’s doing, not ours.

We also looked at many Bible passages that emphasize that God works through His Word connected with water in baptism to bring us what we need. We cannot give birth to ourselves, but are “born again” “through water and the Spirit“ (John 3:1-6). In baptism we die to our old life and rise to a new life in Christ, Paul says in Romans 6:3-6, just as he says in Colossians 2:12. We are cleansed by “the washing of water with the Word,“ in Ephesians 5:25-27. God saved us by “the washing of regeneration and renewal, by the Holy Spirit.” Even the Old Testament predicts that God will sprinkle water on people to cleanse them from sin and give them a new heart and a new spirit, by means of the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:25-26). There is no water-related activity in the New Testament other than baptism, through which God works. All this is not work made by human hands, but by God. We can baptize, but God is bringing all the gifts. We can share the Word, but God brings people to new life with Him, through the Word and baptism.

God also works through His Word to bring people to faith, through the Holy Spirit. (See 1 Peter 1:23.) We just heard about that on Pentecost, last Sunday. Peter preached the Word about Jesus as Messiah and Savior; but he also called people to repent and be baptized, for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He also said, “This promise, this gift from God, is for you and for your children and for all who are far off.” The Word of Christ and baptism are for anyone and everyone; and that day, 3,000 people were baptized (Acts 2:1-41).

Luke reminds us also that even repentance is not something we do in our own power, but God “gives repentance” to people of Israel (Acts 5:31) and to Gentiles (Acts 11:15-18). God gets the credit, when people come to faith, through the Word and through baptism. And we are called to use both of these gifts of God in reaching out to people. See Mark 16:15-16, Matthew 28:18-20, and read through the Book of Acts. You will see the Word and the water with the Word, baptism, used constantly together for people. See Acts 16:13-15, as just one of many examples. In the case of infants and small children, we use baptism first to bring people to faith, and then strengthen that faith through teaching the Word. In the case of older children, we use the Word first to teach about Jesus, and then baptize, and then use more of the word with people, all their lives. In it all, it is God’s doing, from beginning to end since, as Paul will go on to say in Colossians 2:13, we were dead in our sins and sinful nature. We could not do anything to make ourselves alive. God made us alive. We will hear more about how He did that next week.