6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 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. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. —Colossians 2:6-15

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Big Idea:

is all you need to be

Reveal Answer

.

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1. Christ is our confirmation (2:6-7)

• a. Receiving Christ (v.6a)
• b. Walking in Christ (v.6b)
• c. Rooted in Christ (v.7)

Be

and keep

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.

2. Christ is our divine liberator (2:8-10)

• a. False teaching takes you “captive” (Gr. sulagogon): carried off bodily (v.8)
• b. As he thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7
  

  For as he thinks in his heart, so [is] he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. —Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)

You cannot

Reveal Answer

what you cannot

Reveal Answer

. —Craig Groeshel

• c. “The whole fullness of deity dwells bodily (v.9)
• d. You have been claimed by the creator and ruler of the universe (v.10)
  

3. Christ is our victory (2:11-15)

• a. Circumcision of the Heart (v.11)

circumcision symbolized separation from the

Reveal Answer

. Now,

Reveal Answer

, we experience a

Reveal Answer

circumcision - our hearts are

Reveal Answer

.

• b. Baptism (v.12)
• c. Death to life (v.13)

Without

, we can do

Reveal Answer

to get

Reveal Answer

.

• d. Our sins are forgiven (v.13)
• e. Our debt is canceled (v.14)

We are not only delivered from the

of

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, but from the

Reveal Answer

of

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.

At the cross

our

Reveal Answer

. It is there we find our

Reveal Answer

and our

Reveal Answer

.

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Small Group Questions

1. What did God teach you through this passage and message? Share the work of God in your heart with the group.

2. What questions did this passage and sermon raise in your mind?

3. How have you felt spiritually alive in Christ? How have you kept growing?

4. Have you ever felt the impact of false teachings leading you or those close to you astray? How did you overcome it?

5. How does the cancellation of our debt through Christ impact the way we view and handle guilt in our lives? How can we remind one another of the victory we have in Christ, especially during times of doubt or difficulty?