Spiritual Fullness in Christ — Part 2
Identity: Do Not Be Carried Away. A Word Feast devotional from Colossians 2:6–15 on discernment, identity, and remaining anchored in Christ.
WORD FEAST-DAILY DEVOTIONAL
IDENTITY: DO NOT BE CARRIED AWAY
Core Scripture: Colossians 2:6–15
Focus: Colossians 2:8
“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.”
— Colossians 2:8 KJV
THE WORD FEAST
After telling the believer to become rooted, built up, and established in Christ, Paul immediately says:
“Beware.”
Why?
Because an unestablished believer can be carried away.
“SPOIL” — SULAGŌGEŌ
The word sulagōgeō means to carry away captive, lead away as spoil, or take captive.
Paul is warning the believer that deception is not harmless.
It can capture the mind and move a person away from Christ.
This is why identity matters.
A believer who does not know whom they have received can be persuaded to receive something else.
A believer who does not know who they are can become vulnerable to someone else's definition of who they should be.
THE DEVIL'S OLD PLAYBOOK
This strategy is not new.
In Eden, God had already spoken.
Yet the serpent came with:
“Yea, hath God said…?”
— Genesis 3:1
The attack began with a question against God's Word.
Then, when Satan confronted Jesus, he used another identity challenge:
“If thou be the Son of God…”
— Matthew 4:3
But the Father had already declared:
“This is my beloved Son…”
— Matthew 3:17
The enemy questioned what God had already established.
Identity has always been a battleground.
When identity becomes uncertain, compromise becomes easier.
When the Word becomes questionable, deception becomes easier.
When Christ is no longer the foundation, another voice can become the foundation.
“AND NOT AFTER CHRIST”
Paul identifies several things that can carry believers away:
Philosophy — human reasoning elevated above Christ.
Vain deceit — deception that appears convincing but is empty of truth.
Tradition of men — human traditions given authority they should not have.
Rudiments of the world — principles belonging to the world's system rather than the fullness found in Christ.
Paul brings everything back to one standard:
“NOT AFTER CHRIST.”
The question is not merely:
Does it sound intelligent?
The question is:
Is it after Christ?
Because Christ is not one foundation among many.
He is the foundation.
LIBERATION FROM THE BONDS OF WICKEDNESS
Christ has liberated us from captivity, but we must remain anchored in Him.
Freedom requires discernment.
The believer must recognize anything attempting to carry them away from the truth of Christ.
The enemy wants to question your identity.
Christ establishes your identity.
The enemy wants to carry you away.
Christ calls you to remain in Him.
Therefore:
Know Christ.
Know your identity in Christ.
Know the Word.
Test every voice by Christ.
Do not allow yourself to be carried away.
The next part takes us deeper into the heart of this passage:
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him…”
The fullness of Christ is the foundation of the believer's completeness.
PROPHETIC PRAYERS
Father, give me discernment to recognize every voice that is not after Christ.
I declare that I will not be carried away from the truth of Christ.
May I become increasingly established in Christ and unshakable in my identity.
WARFARE PRAYERS
Every deception assigned to distort my identity in Christ, be exposed and broken, in Jesus' name.
Every voice attempting to carry me away from Christ, lose your influence over my life, in Jesus' name.
I reject every doctrine, tradition, and influence that is contrary to Christ, in Jesus' name.
DECLARATION
I know whom I have received.
I know whose I am.
I know who I am in Christ.
I am rooted in Christ.
I am established in Christ.
I will not be deceived.
I will not be carried away.
Christ is my foundation, my freedom, and my fullness.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
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