“. . .we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:9b-12)
Paul’s letter to the church in Colossi begins with words of praise for the believers for their faith and zeal in Christ. These words form the prelude to an issue that was troubling the church and Paul as well: syncretism, the watering down of the Christian message through the adoption of human philosophic and or scientific principles as well as pagan ideals and practices to explain reality. Paul reminded the Colossians believers of the truth because some one was telling them that Jesus was not sovereign God but a lesser deity. Someone was telling them that Jesus did not really come in the
flesh, that he only appeared to. Denial of either or both of these truths destroys our whole faith for as Paul points out, they contradict the atonement.
For the death of Christ to be efficacious He had to be both fully God and man. In addition, this work of atonement is all of Christ. We add nothing to it by following the Law or by good works.
Our God is unique. He dwells apart from mankind and yet He lives with His people in the church by His Holy Spirit. And Jesus is God, yet He is truly man as well. He is God incarnate who gave His life as an atonement for the sins of man. This assertion of the divinity of Christ and his reality as a human being counteract false teachings that take Jesus away from the central part of the faith and put the individual human being there.
The syncretism that assaulted Colossi threatens the church today. Therefore we would be wise to heed the words of Paul lest we compromise our faith by adopting secular humanist and atheistic teachings or the teachings of pagan religions and claiming they are Biblical. Ideals from such sources assail us through the media, academia, our families, our social institutions, and our neighbors. All religions except for true Christianity, no matter how good or noble they claim to be, harm and destroy those who profess them. True love is expressed and demonstrated only by Jesus Christ our Savior.