By Ruth Dusingize 
HIGHLIGHT: Being complete in Christ involves knowing Him and growing in Him. It also involves trusting entirely in Him for salvation and not in regulations or ordinances. This week, we are studying more about the events that were valid until the Cross(as portrayed in the Old Testament) and the events that continued on even after the Cross and how all these point to Jesus Christ as emphasised by Paul in Colossians 2.
Memory Text: Colossians 2:16-17 NKJV
[16]So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
[17]which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
SABBATH; In this study, we see how Paul confronted false teachers who mixed human traditions, Jewish festivals, philosophy, and ascetic practices with the gospel. Their teachings—rooted in “the doctrines of men”—got the gospel wrong and were “not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
What was nailed to the Cross? This week, we’ll see why Colossians 2:16,17 speaks to the Mosaic ceremonial law that foreshadowed Christ — the true substance of every shadow. Paul reminds us that salvation rests not in rituals, but in a living and growing relationship with Jesus. As we study, we’ll rediscover the freedom and fullness that come only through Christ our Creator and Redeemer.
(READ Colossians 2:8,11,16,18,21-23)
SUNDAY: THE WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Our God is not the Author of confusion as 1Corinthians 14:33 says. In regard to this, Paul commends the Colossians for the order they have in the church and encourages them to keep this up and stay united in love. Order in the church is one way through which God’s words of wisdom and teachings are preserved through the ages. In the same vein, order in the church creates a great foundation for believers to strengthen their faith in God through deep study of His word, personified in Christ Jesus, in whom we find all knowledgeable of truth and wisdom of God. This further highlights the full assurance of understanding of the purpose of life that we get only in Christ, as Paul declares to the Colossians and to us, the believers of today.
(READ Job 28:12; Colossians 2:1-7; 1Corinthians 1:30; Luke 1:8; Hebrews 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:11,17; 1Corinthians 11; 14:40; 1Timothy 3; Titus 1)
MONDAY: ROOTED AND GROWING IN CHRIST
Paul commends the Colossians to “receive Christ Jesus the Lord and to walk in Him.” Jesus spoke of Christians as trees. We are the planting of the Lord. We are rooted because the Lord has planted us, He has rooted and grounded us in our faith and understanding of His word. We become rooted in Christ by accepting Him as our Saviour and ordering our lives according to His word. We ought to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in all our decisions and practices.
In addition, as a planting of the Lord, we remain grounded in Him by continually holding onto Him and His teachings. And through this, we are continually growing in Jesus Christ and will continue to produce good fruit. Furthermore, being established in faith prevents a believer from being swayed by false teachings.
(READ Matthew 3:8; Colossians 2:6,8; Ephesians 2:7,20; Isaiah 61:3; Matthew 3:10; Luke 8:11-15; 1Corinthians 3:6; Galatians 1:6-9; 5:1; Acts 15:10)
TUESDAY; NAILED TO THE CROSS
Circumcision was one of the practices which separated the Jews from the Gentiles during Paul’s time and they were considered to be compulsory for one to be Christian. However, Paul refers to the circumcision of the heart which occurs when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ through baptism. By doing so, we acknowledge that our old self and life have been crucified together with Christ and are made alive in Him because He was victorious over death through resurrection.
Therefore, Paul urges the believers of Colossae not to worry about the outward circumcision “made with hands” or about keeping the ceremonial law which showed a commitment to God by such means. The only means to be made new now is Christ Jesus.
(READ Colossians 2:11-15; Matthew 27:37; John 19:19&20; Deuteronomy 30:16; 31:24-26; Romans 2:28&29; 7:7; Luke 2:1; Acts 17:7; Acts 10:28,34&35; 16:4; Ephesians 2:14&15)
WEDNESDAY: SHADOW OR SUBSTANCE?
Paul highlights religious festivals, new moon celebrations of which food and drink included. However, these were practised on other given sabbath days that were instructed by God in the Old Testament along side the sanctuary services which all pointed to the work of Jesus Christ, who came, bore our debt and was crucified to set us free. Hence, when He died at Calvary, the temple veil tore into two, signifying that it is the ceremonies and ordinances as stated in the ceremonial law as written by Moses, that were put to an end and are no longer necessary in this day and age. However, this does not mean that the moral law came to an end, of which the Seventh-day sabbath lies, which furthemore was instituted before sin in the garden of Eden.
(READ Colossians 2:13,16-19; Matthew 6:1,5,7,16; Hosea 2:11; Leviticus 23:11,24,32; 1Corinthians 5:7; 15:23)
THURSDAY; COMMANDMENTS OF MEN
The Mosaic law foreshadowed the sacrifice that Jesus Christ offered at Calvary by which we are saved. Therefore, we are no longer bound by the ordinances that fell under the same Mosaic law. However, the Pharisees added human requirements that made it burdensome for the believers at that time to exercise their faith. This, Jesus was strongly against. Paul is against the same as well and warns the Colossians about it. However, all truth is found in the word of God for it is Christ Jesus who is the fountain from which springs the truth of Scripture as Paul and other Bible writers emphasise.
(READ Colossians 2:8,20-23; Galatians 4:3,9; Matthew 27:51; Daniel 9:27; 2Peter 3:13; Mark 7:1-13)
FRIDAY; FURTHER THOUGHT
Keeping his eyes fixed on Christ, a follower of Christ is to move steadily forward in the path marked out, discarding all ideas that are not in harmony with His teaching.
The truth of God is to be the subject for his contemplation and meditation. He is to regard the Bible as the voice of God speaking directly to him. Thus, he will find the wisdom which is divine.
(READ The Acts of the Apostles pp.474&475 by Ellen G White)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS;
- Paul commends the church of Colossae for their order. What has been your experience with the need for “order” in your own spiritual life?
- What has been your own experience with what it means to die to self in order to receive Christ? Why must that be a continual process?
- Although the Seventh-day Sabbath is not an issue in Colossians 2, how might you apply Paul’s counsel about not passing judgment on others?
- How can we make sure we understand that our only foundation for salvation is from what Jesus has done for us, outside of us, in place of us, regardless of whatever He does in us?
- How does the moral law point to Jesus? How is Jesus the fulfilment of the law? Why is it false to say that the moral law is an obstacle to the Gospel?
Edwin Kyle Kule