Sabbath School Week

Read for This Week’s Study

Colossians 2; Heb. 7:11; Isa. 61:3; 1 Cor. 3:6; Deut. 31:24–26; Rom. 2:28, 29; Rom. 7:7.

Memory Text:

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16, 17, NKJV).

Have you ever been asked why you keep the Sabbath? Perhaps even this week’s memory text was used as “evidence” against it. Yet, the text was written not about the fourth commandment, but in response to errors taught by some false teachers in the church. What were these errors?

First, the false teaching is described as “philosophy,” “the tradition of men,” “the basic principles of the world,” and “not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8, NKJV).

It also involved circumcision and the keeping of Jewish festivals (Col. 2:11, 16), along with Jewish purity rituals and regulations connected with food (Col. 2:16, 21). It involved the worship of or with angels or an attempt to emulate angelic worship (Col. 2:18).

And, finally, it was based on “the commandments and doctrines of men” and possibly involved ascetic practices (Col. 2:22, 23).

These false teachers were clearly religious and sincere, but they also got the gospel wrong. This week we’ll see why. And we will see why the memory verse has nothing to do with our keeping the seventh-day Sabbath.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 7.

Supplemental EGW Notes

Because men are not of the same stamp of character, this is no reason why they should draw apart. If we are children of the heavenly King, we shall not be at such variance that we shall stand in one another’s way.
It is by the Lord’s orders that His servants have varied gifts. It is by His appointment that men of varied minds are brought into the church, to be laborers together with Him. We have many different minds to meet, and different gifts are needed. God’s servants are to work in perfect harmony. I thank the Lord that we are not all exactly the same, while we are all to have the same spirit—the spirit that dwelt in Christ. The apostle John was not the same as the apostle Peter. Each was to subdue his peculiarities and soften his temperament, that they might help each other, through belief in and sanctification of the truth.
It is the righteousness of Christ that goes before us. It is His character that we are to copy. And then what?—The glory of the Lord shall be our rearward. Our Leader goes before us, and as we follow Him, He imparts to us His righteousness, which is revealed in our lives by a well-ordered life and a godly conversation. It is faith and works that makes us Christians, preparing us to sit together in heavenly places with Christ.
Is Christ divided?—No. Christ abiding in the soul will not quarrel with Christ in another soul. We must learn to bear with the peculiarities of those around us. If our will is under the control of Christ’s will, how can we be at variance with our brethren? If we are at variance, we may know that it is because self needs to be crucified. He whom Christ makes free is free indeed. We are not complete in Christ unless we love one another as Christ has loved us. When we do this, as Christ has given us commandment, we shall give evidence that we are complete in Him.
We must have the faith which prophets foretold and apostles preached—the faith that works by love and purifies the soul.—This Day With God, p. 262.

The Lord Jesus acts through the Holy Spirit; for it is His representative. Through it He infuses spiritual life into the soul, quickening its energies for good, cleansing from moral defilement, and giving it a fitness for His kingdom. Jesus has large blessings to bestow, rich gifts to distribute among men. He is the wonderful Counselor, infinite in wisdom and strength; and if we will acknowledge the power of His Spirit, and submit to be molded by it, we shall stand complete in Him. What a thought is this! In Christ “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him.” Colossians 2:9, 10.—Our High Calling, p. 152.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Job asked, “Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12, NKJV). Paul answers: in Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3, NKJV; compare 1 Cor. 1:30). If we have Christ, we have everything, even the “full assurance of understanding” the purpose of life (Col. 2:2, NKJV). Through Him the mystery of God, which embraces the entire plan of salvation, has been revealed.

Read Colossians 2:1–7. What is Paul’s purpose in writing this epistle?

The Greek word paraklēthōsin means “encouraged” or “strengthened” (Col. 2:2). Paul’s desire is not only to help the believers in Colossae recognize false teachings but also to “unite” (sumbibasthentes) them in Christian love. The tense used for both verbs—“encouraged” and “united”—indicates Paul’s confidence that this epistle will achieve its intended purpose.

He did, however, commend them for “your good order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ” (Col. 2:5, NKJV).

The Greek term taxis, translated “order,” is used in the New Testament in reference to the priestly orders of Aaron (Luke 1:8, Heb. 7:11) and Melchizedek (Heb. 5:6, 10, NKJV; Heb. 6:20, NKJV; Heb. 7:11, 17, NKJV), but Paul applies it to order in the church (1 Cor. 14:40), including here. Sometimes there is a tendency to consider church order and organization as merely an ecclesiastical institution with no theological significance.

But by prescribing proper decorum in worship (see, for example, 1 Corinthians 11), and specifying how elders and deacons should be selected (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1), Paul was very careful to preserve order in the church. Through these measures, God’s wisdom and the teachings of the Bible are preserved and promulgated.

As a result of the correct teaching that the Colossians had received from Paul’s associates, they had “steadfastness” of faith. It cannot be shaken because it rests on a solid biblical foundation that, if adhered to, would help protect them from the errors being promoted by the false teachers.

What has been your experience with the need for “order” in your own spiritual life?

Supplemental EGW Notes

The revelation of God’s love to man centers in the cross. Its full significance tongue cannot utter; pen cannot portray; the mind of man cannot comprehend. . . . Christ crucified for our sins, Christ risen from the dead, Christ ascended on high, is the science of salvation that we are to learn and to teach.
“Who, being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6–8, R.V., margin). “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God.” “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). . . .
Here are infinite wisdom, infinite love, infinite justice, infinite mercy—“the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Romans 11:33).
It is through the gift of Christ that we receive every blessing. Through that gift there comes to us day by day the unfailing flow of Jehovah’s goodness. Every flower, with its delicate tints and sweet fragrance, is given for our enjoyment through that one Gift. The sun and moon were made by Him; there is not a star that beautifies the heavens which He did not make. There is not an article of food upon our tables that He has not provided for our sustenance. The superscription of Christ is upon it all. Everything is supplied to man through the one unspeakable Gift, the only-begotten Son of God. He was nailed to the cross that all these bounties might flow to God’s workmanship.
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Surely there are none that, beholding the riches of His grace, can forbear to exclaim with the apostle: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 178.

The Word of God, like the character of its divine Author, presents mysteries that can never be fully comprehended by finite beings. . . .
If it were possible for created beings to attain to a full understanding of God and His works, then, having reached this point, there would be for them no further discovery of truth, no growth in knowledge, no further development of mind or heart. God would no longer be supreme; and men, having reached the limit of knowledge and attainment, would cease to advance. Let us thank God that it is not so. God is infinite; in Him are “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3. And to all eternity men may be ever searching, ever learning, and yet they can never exhaust the treasures of His wisdom, His goodness, and His power.—The Faith I Live By, p. 14.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

The theme of Colossians is one of the clearest maxims for living the Christian life: “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Col. 2:6, NKJV). We receive salvation by receiving a Person, not just a body of teachings. But receiving Jesus also includes accepting all His teachings, as given through the apostles and prophets of the Bible (see Eph. 2:20).

More than anything else, accepting Christ means a death to self, a complete surrender of self to the living Christ.

The Living Word (Jesus) cannot be separated from the Written Word (the Bible). They are two sides of the same coin. In fact, only through Scripture can we know Jesus. We “walk” or live our lives “in Him,” meaning that we allow His Word and His Spirit to guide us in all our decisions and practices.

In Colossians 2:7, Paul employs a common biblical metaphor that likens Christians to plants. We become rooted in Christ by accepting Him as our Savior and ordering our life according to His Word. That is how we become “established in the faith.”

How do the following passages illuminate the plant metaphor as a symbol of believers? (See Isa. 61:3, Matt. 3:10, Luke 8:11–15, 1 Cor. 3:6.)

Paul clearly delineates the two alternatives open to believers. One is to remain a “planting of the Lord” (Isa. 61:3) and continue being complete in Christ by holding on to Him and His teachings. The other could be likened to an artificial plant that may look real but is actually lifeless. By adopting human philosophies and traditions, we are taken “captive” (Col. 2:8, ESV). Although Christ has set us free, it is possible to be enslaved again with a yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1; compare Acts 15:10).

In short, accepting unbiblical teachings means rejecting Christ, because those who buy into false teachings have, unfortunately, adopted a different gospel and have accepted human authorities over the authority of Scripture (see Gal. 1:6–9). This was a danger in the early church and remains so today.

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?

Supplemental EGW Notes

Of the almost innumerable lessons taught in the varied processes of growth, some of the most precious are conveyed in the Saviour’s parable of the growing seed. . . .
The seed has in itself a germinating principle, a principle that God Himself has implanted; yet if left to itself the seed would have no power to spring up. Man has his part to act in promoting the growth of the grain; but there is a point beyond which he can accomplish nothing. He must depend upon One who has connected the sowing and the reaping by wonderful links of His own omnipotent power.
There is life in the seed, there is power in the soil; but unless infinite power is exercised day and night, the seed will yield no return. The showers of rain must refresh the thirsty fields; the sun must impart warmth; electricity must be conveyed to the buried seed. The life which the Creator has implanted, He alone can call forth. Every seed grows, every plant develops, by the power of God. . . .
The germination of the seed represents the beginning of spiritual life, and the development of the plant is a figure of the development of character. There can be no life without growth.
The plant must either grow or die. As its growth is silent and imperceptible, but continuous, so is the growth of character. At every stage of development our life may be perfect; yet if God’s purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be constant advancement.
The plant grows by receiving that which God has provided to sustain its life. So spiritual growth is attained through cooperation with divine agencies. As the plant takes root in the soil, so we are to take root in Christ. As the plant receives the sunshine, the dew, and the rain, so we are to receive the Holy Spirit. If our hearts are stayed upon Christ, He will come unto us “as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” As the Sun of righteousness, He will arise upon us “with healing in His wings.” We shall “grow as the lily.” We shall “revive as the corn, and grow as the vine” (Hosea 6:3; Malachi 4:2; Hosea 14:5, 7).—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 197.

The Christian is likened to the cedar of Lebanon. I have read that this tree does more than send down a few short roots into the yielding loam. It sends strong roots deep down into the earth, and strikes down farther and still farther in search of a still stronger hold. And in the fierce blast of the tempest, it stands firm, held by its network of cables beneath.
So the Christian strikes root deep into Christ. He has faith in his Redeemer. He knows in whom he believes. He is fully persuaded that Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour of sinners. . . . The roots of faith strike deep down. Genuine Christians, like the cedar of Lebanon, do not grow in the soft surface soil, but are rooted in God, riveted in the clefts of the mountain rocks.—Our High Calling, p. 331.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.