366-2 BEWARE OF SPIRITUAL CON MENJuly 31, 1977
Henry F. Kulp
Colossians 2: 1 - 8 For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
We told you that Paul was starting an entirely different subject in the second chapter, and the outline would be verses 1 - 8.
The great conflict that rages in this age,—verses 9 - 15 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
The victory is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verses 16 - 23 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
Satan’s great counter offensive.
1/ Now Paul says in this conflict, I pray that three things may be in your lives.
….. #1/ you might be comforted,
….. #2 you might be knitted together in love,
….. #3 That you might have the acknowledgement of the mystery of God. And literally it is the mystery of the God. HUE-THEY-HOE and then the words, and of the Father, and, are not in the original. It should be “of Christ”. And “of Christ” is genitive of source, and so it means, out from the source of Christ. So he talks about the mystery the God from the source of Christ.
2/ It is necessary to see if you are going to fight agnosticism or the other evil sects that are presenting their doctrines today, you must be comforted, you must be knit together in love, and then you must have a full understanding of the mystery.
3/ Now let us look at the word, mystery, It is a TECHNICAL WORD and it is MOO-STARE-EE-ON and it comes from the noun MOO’-STACE. This word means a person who was initiated into a Greek fraternity of the ancient world. When initiated, he had to learn the doctrines of that fraternity as part of his initiation, and so a verb came out of this—MOO-EH-O and this word is not found in the New Testament, and it means initiated by instruction in the secret of the fraternity, and this doctrine was known only to the initiated, and MOO-STARE-EE-ON comes from this, and it means to be initiated and instructed in the secret of a fraternity—in this case, in the doctrine of the age of grace.
4/ Let us understand something about the mystery.
>>>> (1) It is not found anywhere else but in the Pauline epistles.
(2) This age, the age of grace, or the age of the church the Body of Christ started with the blinding, the setting aside of Israel, and its kingdom program postponed.
(3) It has to do with the making a new man—the Body of Christ and all who believe and become members of this Body.
>>>> (4) There is no law in this program. It is purely by grace.
>>>> (5) This mystery was ordained by God in eternity past.
Romans 6: 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the
law, but under grace.
I Corinthians 2: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the
hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
>>>> (6) A pastor or a teacher, those who have the gifts from God are responsible for communicating this mystery to the people of this age.
I Corinthians 4: 1
This means they are stewards of this mystery, and Ephesians 3: 9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
They are to make all men see.
>>>> (7) The Rapture, which is a mystery will conclude this Age.
5/ It is necessary for us to see that the understanding of this mystery is the answer to all the sects of all time for this day and age. You see, all the sects either teach law, or a kingdom, or trying to make something out of this world.
6/ Colossians 2: 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
In whom are hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge—that is an amazing statement. Of course, this means the mystery from the source of Christ. It is the treasure of wisdom and knowledge, and outside of Christ and this mystery there is no wisdom, there is no knowledge. Right away you ask the question, do the folks outside of Christ in this mystery know nothing? That is what this verse says—for all knowledge is in Christ in this mystery. That means anyone outside of Christ and this mystery he has no knowledge whatsoever, he has no wisdom.
7/ But you say, is there any wisdom in this world? Is there no knowledge?
Let us turn to I Corinthians 1: 20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
When you go and gather up what the world calls wisdom, you are gathering up what God calls foolishness. That is what this verse mean. It is what God says. God says their wisdom is foolishness.
8/ There is a peculiar thing about the world, foolish. It is used in another place.
Matthew 5: 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
And Jesus said here, if the salt hath lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted.
That expression LOST ITS SAVOR is the same word as MADE FOOLISH in this Scripture. If salt is not salty, what is it? It is just so much sand. The goodness of the salt is in its saltiness. But if the salt has lost its savor, what can you do with it? What can it be used for?
9/ God has taken out of human wisdom the salt, and human wisdom today is nothing than salt that has no savor. Believe it or not, that is what this word says.
10/ I Corinthians 1: 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
God has hidden in Christ all wisdom, and when the world refuses Christ and the mystery, God did something. He took out of man’s wisdom every part of it that was real wisdom, and left man only his foolishness. So without Christ and the mystery, there is nothing. In Christ and the mystery are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
11/ Colossians 2: 4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
The word, beguile, means FALSE REASONING. Man has the power through Satan by false reasoning to present something with such enticing words and such beauty that men accept it. Inspired by Satan, man can take any one of our doctrines and prove that it could not possibly be true. Any scientist can prove that the Virgin birth could never be. But that again is part of the Word of God.
AMEN
Ref: 07/31/1977 / 325 - BEWARE OF SPIRITUAL CON MEN / 09/13/2020
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