Empty Deceit

This week we will continue what we learned last week in Rooted from Colossians 2:6-7.

I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments…See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 2:4, 8

My husband has been known to say that the best lies contain a certain amount of truth. Truth mixed with a lie makes it more believable. Throw in a little truth or even a lot and the deception won’t set off alarms.

On one of our trips to Hong Kong, my husband’s co-worker who lived there showed us around one of the shopping districts. Many of the “stores” were stalls lined up outside going on for several city blocks. There were inside stores too. While we fought our way through the crowds, my husband’s co-worker warned us about knockoffs of name brands. A purse might look like a Gucci purse being sold for a great price, but closer inspection would reveal some small detail like a backwards “G” on the clasp that would illumine the deception.

Two Biblical examples of deception mingled with truth also come to mind. The first was in the beginning… The serpent, or Satan, comes to Eve in the garden. He is described as being craftier than any other beast. He said to Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). Phrasing it this way makes it seem nigh impossible that God would actually command such a thing. It is as if God would be cruel to forbid eating the fruit, and Eve would know that God was not cruel. The serpent also framed his words to be similar to what God had said with a few important tweaks.

God had said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). God was incredibly generous in what He gave Adam and Eve to partake from. Out of all created trees, there was only one that God said they weren’t to eat from. Two words – any and every – but a monumental difference in truth. Eve sinned and was deceived because she failed to stand firm in what she knew about God.

The second example is probably familiar as well and is found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The scene is set when the Spirit leads Jesus to the wilderness where He fasts for forty days and is tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-2). As you can imagine, Jesus must have been famished. In Colossians 2:2 Paul desired the Colossian believers to be encouraged because when we are discouraged, we are more susceptible to temptation. I know my susceptibility rises with skipping one meal or not getting a good night’s rest. I can’t imagine how discouraged and susceptible I would be after forty days of fasting and sleeping in the wilderness.

In Satan’s first two attempts, he began with, “If (or since) you are the Son of God…” Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God. He tried to take the truth of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God and use it to manipulate or deceive Jesus into doing what he wanted. In each of the three temptations, unlike Eve, Jesus responds with truth and obedience to the Father’s will. He quotes Scripture. On the second temptation, Satan attempted to be even more devious by also quoting Scripture, adding that bit of truth to his deceptive temptation. Jesus saw right through that ploy and again responded with Scripture but in the correct context. In Jesus’ response to the third temptation, He not only counters with Scripture, but He tells Satan to be gone!

Can you see why Paul began chapter 2 (our divisions not Paul’s) the way he did? It is essential that we are encouraged, knit together in love with other believers, having the wisdom, knowledge and understanding that are in Christ, walking in Christ, being rooted, built up and established in our faith and abounding in thanksgiving. Then we will not be taken captive by deception no matter how good it sounds. We will recognize and combat the lies because we know truth. Later in Colossians 4:5-6, Paul commands us to conduct ourselves wisely towards outsiders, make the best use of the time, and let our speech be gracious and seasoned with salt so that we will know how to answer everyone.

Jesus did this perfectly in every instance. He knew the Scriptures, so He was prepared to combat temptations and deceit. We too need to be prepared with a ready answer.

Let’s break down our two verses a little more. Paul is warning the Colossian believers to be vigilant. He didn’t believe they had already succumbed to deceit, but he knew the danger of being unprepared. He tells the Colossian church that the arguments would sound plausible. My husband went to a Christian university. For chapel one week, they brought in two speakers: one argued creation, the other argued creative evolution (a view that seeks to combine the ideas of creation with that of evolution). In this case, the one arguing creative evolution did a better job than the creationist. Hence, his argument sounded totally plausible. Even so, my husband was not swayed from the truth of Scripture.

Universities and colleges are fertile grounds for many plausible arguments. Studies show between sixty and eighty-eight percent of children from evangelical homes turn from their faith during their young adult years. Without the grounding in Scripture and the tight knitting together with other believers, the worldview taught in our schools and supported by peers will seem plausible. Attending church or youth group weekly or having Christian friends is not necessarily the rooted foundation young adults need. For further information, Answers in Genesis published an insightful article on this.[i]

The term “take captive” was used for theft. Paul is illustrating what the false teachers wanted to do – rob the Colossian believers of the truth they knew. He lists four methods they used. The first is through philosophy which simply means a “love of wisdom”. Philosophy isn’t bad if it is God’s wisdom we are loving, but during Paul’s era, philosophy had a more expansive meaning. It could include almost any theory. Paul’s use of it in verse 8 is referring to the false teaching particularly about the sufficiency of Christ. The false teaching might have been a combination of Gnosticism and Jewish mysticism, but regardless of the specifics, this philosophy did not magnify Jesus which secondly made it empty deceit. It had no value.

False teaching was according to human tradition. It was from man not God. Your church may have certain traditions like a benediction at the end of the service or having a Christmas Eve service, but we must be careful that man-made traditions are not being made equal or superior to Scripture or that they are not contrary to Scripture. God’s Word is the ultimate authority.

Fourth, Paul refers to “elemental spirits of the world.” The Greek stoicheia had multiple applications, and theologians classify its use in verse 8 under “interpretive difficulties.” One thought is that Paul had in mind regional gods (similar concept in 2 Kings 17:26-29). Other prevalent spirits were the gods of the stars, planets and even of the physical elements. Jewish teaching combined angels and astral powers who protected the planets. We would know them as demons that sought to enslave under the guise of freeing a person (1 Corinthians 10:1-22). Paul mentions elemental spirits again in 2:18.

The King James translates this phrase as “the rudiments of the world.” The second school of thought is that stoicheiarefers to basic elements of learning, rudimentary teachings. This definition could tie to 2:16-19 where we see false teachers promoted dietary restrictions and observing specific calendar dates as a means of salvation or sanctification. Either way, it boils down to Jesus plus ______________ (fill in the blank) mentality. Believers need Jesus plus intermediary beings or specific practices. Scripture teaches Christ alone.

Paul ends his sentence contrasting the four deceptive methods of taking us captive with “and not according to Christ.” This is the crux of the matter. If it doesn’t align with Christ, Scripture, and what the gospel message proclaims, it is false.

For Reflection:

1. In the Old Testament God commanded certain dietary laws and rituals (specific sacrifices, cleansing laws, etc.), so we know that those kinds of things or traditions are not bad in themselves. They become sin when they become the end answer to our holiness in place of Jesus’ and the Spirit’s work. We fall into this thinking when we make rules about and base our holiness on particular ways to worship or specific things we can or cannot watch, listen to, or participate in. What in your life have you made into Jesus plus ________________?

2. If you are to put the “Jesus plus __________” off, what truths would help you replace that thinking? (For example: Jesus plus so-and-so’s approval. Truth: Luke 12:47 – fear God not man who can only affect our physical body. Genesis 1:26-27 – you are made in God’s image therefore, you have value. Romans 8:31-32, 35-37 – God is for you. He loves you unconditionally and nothing can separate you from His love.

3. What are some deceptions prominent today (i.e., “It’s my body.” “Love is love.”)? What deception have you been buying into instead of standing firm in God’s Word? Or maybe you aren’t buying into the deception, but when confronted, you aren’t countering it with truth.

[i] Beermer, Britt and Ham, Ken, “Already Gone Part 1: An Epidemic on Our Hands.” Answers in Genesis. October 2000 and May 2017. https://answersingenesis.org/christianity/church/already-gone/