Sermon Tone Analysis

*Text*: Colossians 2:11-15

*Title*:  The Spiritual Benefits of our Union with Christ~/ Your Part in Salvation!

*Theme of the book of Colossians: *Jesus Christ: The preeminent and all-sufficient Savior* \\ Theme of Text:  *Christ has made you complete in him through his death, burial, and resurrection.

*Proposition: *Completely give your life to Christ; He gave His life for you.

* *

*Introduction*

The church at Colossae was facing some difficult times.

The false teachers were attacking Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of the Christians belief.

This false teaching included some aspects of legalism.

In verses 9-15, Paul states that the believers are complete in Christ!

There is no need to follow some legalistic rules of the Mosaic system.

In this passage, Paul states the blessings that the believer has in and through Jesus Christ.

Are many of you still reading through Colossians?

If you are not doing any kind of Bible study, I would encourage you to read and study through Colossians or James.

You will be hearing many messages from both books, spend time in them and learn from these books!

If you are reading and studying Colossians, have you noticed a reoccurring phrase or theme in the book?

The name of Christ is mentioned throughout the book, but the phrases “in him” “with him” “by him” and “through him” occur an astonishing # of times throughout chapter two.

Go through your Bible and study what you have as a believer from Christ.

These are the greatest benefits or spiritual gifts that you can receive.

In this passage, we see that believes are circumcised by Christ, Baptized with Christ, Made alive with Christ, and forgiven by Christ.

There is only one thing that the believer does in this section: “faith in the working of God.”

The rest of the passage talks about what Christ did for the believer, but the only thing man does for salvation is have faith!

Completely give your life to Christ; He gave His life for you.

*1.

**The Believers Benefits in Christ  v.

11-14*

When a person becomes a Christian, Christ gives that person a number of spiritual blessings.

Perhaps the most complete list given in the New Testament is in Romans 5:1-11.

These verses here in Colossians are given to combat the false teachers in Colossae, but they also serve as a doctrinal exposition of the believer’s salvation.

* *

*a.      **Circumcision by Christ~/ Circumcised  v.

11*

Through Christ, the believer has his life “spiritually circumcised.”

In the Old Testament, all Jewish boys had to be circumcised when they were 8 days old.

This meant that they belonged to the nation of Israel (Gen.

17:9-14).

Many believed that physical circumcision was the enough to save them, but the Jewish person was supposed to have another type of circumcision in his life; it is a “spiritual” circumcision of the heart (Jer.

4:4 Deut.

10:16).

In Romans 4:9-12, Paul explains that Abraham was counted righteous by his faith, not by his circumcision; for Abraham had faith and was counted righteous before he was circumcised (Gen 15:6).

Physical circumcision only had true value when the heart of the person was truly committed and faithful to the law.

Spiritual circumcision happened at salvation, so the Colossian believers did not need to be physically circumcised as some of the false teacher were telling them.

There no need to be enslaved to these ritualistic practices!

The significance of circumcision is important.

Circumcision was the outward indication that a man was born sinful and that he needed cleansing.

The cutting away of the male foreskin on the reproductive organ was a graphic way to demonstrate that man needed cleansing at the deepest level of his being.

No other part of the body demonstrates that depth of sin, inasmuch as that is the part of man that produces life and all that he produces is sinful.[1]

Children are born with a sin nature; that sin nature is passed along through the seed of men.

(This is also significant pertaining to the Virgin Birth.

Mary was conceived Christ through the Holy Spirit and not from a man.

The sinful nature of man was not passed on through Mary to Christ; therefore, Christ was not born a sinner!)

All people are born sinners; therefore, everyone must have Christ remove their sin in order to be spiritually circumcised.

It is a divine work in contrast to man’s human work done by “hands.”

Now this has already happened, but it is also a future reality.

We could call this an “already not yet” concept.

This is a common theme in the New Testament.

We have “already” been spiritually circumcised.

Christ has removed our sin from us.

There is a problem though; we still have a sin nature that tempts us to sin even though we are believers.

We have “not yet” been glorified into our perfect bodies with Christ.

After our death or the rapture, we will spend eternity with Christ and will not have our sinful nature.

Paul is talking about circumcision at salvation.

There is no requirement and no spiritual benefit for physical circumcision since Christ came; but at salvation, Christ spiritually circumcises every believer.

He connects the believer intimately with Him by cutting off the sinful condition of the person.

Through Christ, a believer has been removed of his sinful condition before God.

Now this happens through the death of Christ.

The “circumcision of Christ” talked about in this verse is referring to his death.

Believers are united with Christ in his death.

Just as Christ’s death killed sin, the believer is united with Christ in his death to kill sin.

A Christian is no longer seen as united with sin, but is united with Christ through is death.

Sin is conquered for the believer through Christ’s death!

(Gal.

3:27-28; Rom 2:29; 6:1-14; Gal 5:1-12; Eph 2:5-6)

 

Romans 6:1-14 (NKJV) \\ 1 What shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not!

How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be /in the likeness/ of /His/ resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with /Him,/ that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.

Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For /the death/ that He died, He died to sin once for all; but /the life/ that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

13 And do not present your members /as/ instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members /as/ instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

*b.

**Buried and Raised with Christ~/ Buried and Raised  v.

12*

Baptism is the symbolic act of the believer’s participation in the death and burial of Christ (Rom 6:3).

Through baptism, we see that believers are intimately connected with Christ’s burial and resurrection.

Now baptism is not a magic rite or ritual, but baptism is an act of obedience in which we confess our faith and express the symbol or essence of our spiritual experience.

Apart from true faith in the “working of God,” baptism is meaningless.

Outward baptism symbolizes the inner forgiveness of sins.

Baptism does not save you from sin; it is “faith” in Christ that saves you from sin.

 

“Buried with Him,” indicates that real death has occurred and the old sinful life is a thing of the past.

“Raised with Him,” indicates that we are completely alive in Christ and through Christ alone!

(I Cor.

12:13; Eph 1:13; 2:6; 4:30; Col 3:1) this is a completed action that happened in the past.

We are now able to participate in the risen life with Christ.

Six things we see about baptism:

1.)

It is a faith-baptism that is only for people who have put their faith and trust in Christ (here).

2.) It is a participation and declaration in and of Christ’s death and resurrection- signifies the believer has been buried and raised from the dead with Christ.

(here).

3.) It has ethical implication because the believer receives new life in Christ.

(Romans 6:8)

4.) It is an initiation into Christ’s body, the church (1 Cor.

12:13).

5.) It is God’s way of stamping the believer with His seal of ownership (Eph.

1:13; 4:30).

6.)

It is always through immersion and not from sprinkling or another method.

(Matt.

3:16)

 

*~*Man’s part in salvation:*

The only part that man plays in this entire section of verses if faith!