THE ALL-INCLUSIVE, EXTENSIVE CHRIST REPLACING CULTURE FOR THE ONE NEW MAN TABLE OF CONTENTS
Message One
The Urgent Need for Our Culture to Be Replaced by the All-inclusive, Extensive Christ
Scripture Reading: Col. 1:12-13, 15-18, 27; 2:8, 14-15; 3:4, 10-11
I. The book of Colossians was written because the church in Colossae had been pervaded with culture, and the saints had been distracted from Christ by culture—2:8, 16-17; 3:10-11:
A. In Colossae culture had flooded the church, replaced Christ, and carried off the saints as spoil—2:8.
B. The enemy of God uses culture to replace Christ; he will try to use the good aspects of culture to replace Christ—cf. Phil. 3:4-8.
C. According to the book of Colossians, Christ is replaced by culture; Colossians indicates that the ultimate replacement for Christ is our culture.
D. In Colossians the authority of darkness refers especially to the good aspects of culture and of our natural being—1:12-13:
1. The saints in Colossae came under the authority of darkness by allowing the highest aspects of culture to invade the church—2:8.
2. The highest products of culture are nonetheless aspects of the authority of darkness by which Satan controls people—1:13.
3. Anything that is a substitute for Christ becomes the authority of darkness to control us—v. 13.
II. Human culture arose after the fall of man—Gen. 4:16-22:
A. After leaving God's presence, Cain constructed a city for his protection and self-existence—vv. 16-17:
1. Within this city he produced a culture without God, a godless culture.
2. In the garden God was everything to man—his protection, maintenance, supply, and amusement; when man lost God, he lost everything.
3. Man's loss of God forced man to invent human culture, the main elements of which were cities for existence, cattle-raising for making a living, music for enjoyment, and weapons for defense—vv. 20-22.
B. Apparently, a culture without God was invented by the man who refused to go God's way and thereby lost God; actually, the intrinsic factor of culture was the instigation and incitement of Satan, God's enemy, within the man who departed from God—vv. 7, 16-17; Matt. 12:26:
1. Such a culture, which was without God and was united with Satan, became a model representing all human cultures throughout the ages and signifying that these cultures are without God and have followed Satan and are united with Satan—cf. Luke 4:6, footnote 1.
2. The godless culture began as a seed in Genesis 4, and it will develop throughout the history of the human race until it consummates in Babylon the Great in Revelation 18.
3. The Lord's word in Matthew 24:37-39 indicates that the godless culture at the time of Noah will develop to its uttermost in the period of the Lord's coming.
III. Culture is a frustration to God's purpose concerning Christ and the church—Eph. 3:10-11; 5:32:
A. Something very subtle stands in the way of Christ and the church; this subtle opposing element is culture—Col. 3:10-11; Eph. 2:14-15; Col. 2:14-15.
B. Culture is a great frustration to experiencing Christ; unconsciously and subconsciously, we are frustrated by culture from the experience and enjoyment of Christ—Phil. 3:7-8.
C. Our growing up into Christ in all things and arriving at a full-grown man is hindered by our subtle, hidden culture—Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:13, 15-16.
IV. Human culture stands in opposition to the kingdom of God—Matt. 10:16-25, 34-39; 12:29, 46-50:
A. Sinful things do not oppose the kingdom of God as much as human culture does.
B. Human culture has become a basic part and a great portion of the kingdom of Satan—v. 26.
C. Culture has become a stronghold of Satan; in a subtle way he maintains a hold on culture and utilizes it to oppose God's kingdom—Acts 26:18; Col. 1:12-13.
V. Christ as the all-inclusive, extensive One is versus culture and should replace our culture with Himself—v. 18; 3:4, 10-11:
A. The purpose of the extensive revelation of Christ in the book of Colossians is to deal with culture—2:8; 3:10-11.
B. In this book Paul presents a vision of the all-inclusive, extensive Christ to impress us with the fact that this Christ should replace our culture—1:27.
VI. The kind of Christ who replaces culture is the all-inclusive, extensive Christ, the preeminent One, the centrality and universality of God's economy—vv. 15-18; 2:16-17; 3:4, 10-11:
A. The Christ who can replace our culture and become everything to us is the all-inclusive, extensive Christ—1:15, 18.
B. The book of Colossians was written in order to reveal the all-inclusive, extensive Christ who deals with our culture and replaces our culture with Himself—3:4, 10-11.
C. In His salvation God not only saves us from sin, judgment, the lake of fire, the world, and the self; He also saves us from everything that replaces Christ, including our culture—Heb. 7:25.
D. The all-inclusive, extensive Christ is in us, and we need to allow Him to fill our entire being and replace our culture with Himself—Eph. 3:17a; Col. 1:27; 3:11.