Colossians 2:4-23 Diane Caston
Colossians 2:4–23 is a warning and a witness — a warning against false teaching that adds to the simplicity of Christ and a witness that in Him alone are we are complete.
Paul began this chapter with a plea. He wanted the Colossians to know that He was conflicted. His heart was heavy. He hadn’t seen them face to face, but He had heard good reports about them. He wanted to encourage them about how fulfilling a life in Christ could be – Their hearts could be comforted, they could be knit together in love with other believers, and best of all have the treasure of fully understanding the mystery of the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, where all of the riches of wisdom and knowledge exist. Imagine that all that we need to know and understand is in our God. That is the goal the Father has for us, and Paul was so desirous that they would understand that. So now in this following section Paul begins with a
Warning Against Deception
Vs. 4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.
Paul is warning them about what could happen. He is telling them to be on guard, because he clearly saw the danger and wanted to warn them about, warning them about persuasive words, and the lure of “hidden or deep wisdom”. We understand this clearly today with all the voices coming from different directions, different platforms, all trying to convince us of some new truth or supposed conspiracy theory. Deceivers don’t announce their deception; they usually come in using just enough truth to be persuasive. Paul wanted to alert them to this.
Paul then encourages them about what he has heard and rejoices in their present standing.
Vs. 5-7 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Paul genuinely felt he was among the Colossian Christians in spirit, even though he was absent in the flesh, and he was rejoicing in what he saw. He didn’t see a church that was given over to heresy, but one that was in what could be serious danger from the wolves roaming through the churches, stealing the sheep.
According to the commentator, Vaughan, the words order and steadfastness in this passage are both military words. “He sees the situation of the Colossians as being like that of an army under attack and affirms that their lines were unbroken, their discipline intact, and their ‘faith in Christ’ unshaken.”
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him
Just as you received Jesus, you are to walk in Him in the same way. How did we and all believers receive Jesus? by faith! So, walk in faith always. Immerse yourself with the words of God, follow them by faith, not self-effort. This is the simple key of the Christian life that we often miss.
We must always be reminded of the things we have been taught, and we must keep our relationship with Him close. We can only be drawn away if we neglect the love relationship we have with Him.
Guzik - So walk in Him, rooted and built up: Paul used a curious combination of metaphors. As Christians, we walk, but we are also rooted, and we are also built up. The metaphors are somewhat mixed, but the message is clear: be established and keep growing.
Give attention to growing, learning, obeying, dying to self. These are the keys to not being fooled.
Vs. 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
Peake says, “the best sense of the phrase cheat you is actually, “lead you away as prey.” It also had the ideas of robbing and plundering. Their goods were the salvation they had received from Christ; and both the Gentile and Jewish teachers endeavored to deprive them of these, by perverting their minds, and leading them off from the truths of Christianity.”
This philosophy that threatened the Colossian Christians was a strange eclectic mix of early Gnosticism, Greek philosophy, local mystery religions, and Jewish mysticism.
According to the tradition of men: The Colossian heresy promoted itself as traditional. It could trace some of its many ideas back to traditions among the Jews or the Greek philosophers or both. Paul here warned that the tradition of men has no equal authority to the word of God
Vs. 9-10 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. There is so much packed into this one small verse!
The completeness of Jesus and our connection with Him shows other philosophies and traditions are unnecessary. Nothing needs to be added to Him.
In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead: This is an emphatic, airtight declaration of the full Deity of Jesus. Since all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Jesus, He cannot be just like God or one of many gods. He is the One true God!
Godhead: “He was, and is, absolute and perfect God; and the apostle uses theotes (deity, state of being God, Godhead) to express this essential and personal Godhead of the Son.” (Trench)
All the fullness of the Godhead bodily: The false teaching among these believers was something like an early form of the Gnostic heresies that would come later. These Gnostic heresies made a radical separation between the spiritual and the material. That is why Paul needed to make it clear that all the fullness of the Godhead was in Jesus bodily, not in some strange, mystical sense. John also dealt with this false teaching in 1 John 4:2-3 and other passages.
And you are complete in Him: We can only be complete in Him because Jesus is truly God. If He were not God, we couldn’t be complete in Him. Anything that says we are not complete in Him also takes away from the deity of Jesus.
If all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus, and as believers we are united to Him in a faith-relationship, then we are also complete in Him. If you understand that, there would never be a reason to look elsewhere for any kind of false satisfaction.
Head of all principality and power: Principality and Power describe ranks of angelic beings, either faithful or fallen angelic beings throughout the NT (Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 3:10, Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, Paul here declares Jesus’ authority over all spirit beings. The false teaching threatening the Colossian Church emphasized these lesser spirit beings, but Paul makes it clear that Jesus is far above them.
Vs. 11-12 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
The work of Jesus in His people through spiritual circumcision is illustrated by baptism. Paul is clarifying here what is already accomplished in these believers
In Him you were also circumcised: Most of the Colossian Christians were Gentiles who had never been physically circumcised. Paul assures them that they were indeed circumcised in a spiritual sense, which is even more important than physical circumcision.
The Colossians had to deal with a whole variety of false teaching. Not only were they hearing wrong ideas about Jesus, but they also had wrong ideas about things like circumcision. Apparently, they were being taught by the Judaizers that they had to be circumcised to be right with God. Paul makes it clear that they were circumcised, by putting off the sins of the flesh.
By the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism: Paul says these Gentile Christians find their true circumcision in their baptism. Christians don’t need to be circumcised; they need to be baptized.
Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him Baptism answers circumcision, but it doesn’t illustrate it. Yet baptism does illustrate our identification with the death and resurrection life of Jesus. We were buried with Jesus and buried under the water. We are also raised with Him and raised up out of the water.
Through faith in the working of God: This demonstrates that Paul understood that the power of regeneration was not in baptism or received by the act of baptism but received through faith in the working of God.
4. Vs.13-15 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Before believing we lived in a state of sin, and a state of sin is a state of spiritual death. Those who are in the world are dead in their sins. In that state we are separated from God. As a man who is dead has no power to help himself, so a habitual sinner is morally bankrupt; though he is alive physically he has no ability to help himself, until he has the divine life or a renewed nature. Those who are separated from God are lost in their sin. They don’t even know that they are, knowing nothing of the prophesied promises, and without God in the world.
Eph. 2:12-13 at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Because of their uncircumcision in their souls, they were dead in their sins -dead by the law. As a condemned murderer is called a ‘dead man walking’, because he is under a sentence of death; so, sinners by the guilt of sin are under the sentence of the law and condemned already.
Jn. 3:18 ““He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
We are not only made alive but made alive together with Him. "It is true that He gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; He gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but you see we are not content with them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured out into us, and we have received him, and appropriated him." (Spurgeon)
Our death is reversed once we receive His sacrifice. Just like that! Christ's death was the death of our sins; Christ's resurrection is the quickening of our souls. He has made us alive together with Him: We can't make ourselves alive, but God can make us alive together with Jesus. We can never be made alive apart from Jesus.
Eph 2:14-15 “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace”
Back to verse 14 “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
We are free of that obligation to punishment required by the guilt of sin. Because without Christ’s sacrifice, cursed is everyone who does not keep the whole law.
James 2:10 “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”. This was handwriting, which was against us, and contrary to us; for it threatened our eternal ruin. This was removed when he redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,
Gal. 3:13 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree)”.
Vs. 16-17 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.
Applying the truth of Jesus’ victory considering the Colossian heresy. Rejecting the Law’s shadow.
So let no one judge you: The opening “so” is important. It connects this thought with the previous thought. Because Jesus won such a glorious victory on the cross, we are to let no one judge you in food or in drink or in other matters related to legalism. A life that is centered on Jesus and what He did on the cross has no place for legalism.
“It would be preposterous indeed for those who had reaped the benefit of Christ’s victory to put themselves voluntarily under the control of the powers which he had conquered.” (Bruce)
Food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come: The Old Testament law had certain provisions that are done away with in Jesus, regarding such things as food and sabbaths. It isn’t that those laws were bad, simply that they were a shadow of things to come. Once the substance — Jesus Christ — has come, we don’t need the shadow anymore.
Vs. 18-19 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
Paul rebukes the strange mysticism of the Colossian heresy.
Taking delight in false humility and worship of angels: These aspects of false humility and the worship of angels were parts of the false teaching troubling the Colossian Christians. That is why Paul touches back on these themes throughout the letter of Colossians. The antidote for both false teachings is simply more of Jesus, exalting Him above angels, and realizing that because of His finished work on the cross there is nothing to take pride in.
Intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head: This describes the spiritual arrogance of these false teachers and those who believed what they taught. There are few things more dangerous among Christians than spiritual pride and arrogance. We see this today in many faith teachers and those who tickle the ear and draw many away, an arrogance that they have special knowledge, or they are special because they are used by God. God hates this. He resists the proud, and give grace to the humble
From whom all the body: When these strange, mystical movements arise in the church, they don’t appeal to the whole body, but only to a few “elite” Christians. This is not the case under the Head, Jesus — He wants all the body to grow together.
Grows with the increase which is from God: This is God’s plan for church growth. As we remain faithful and connected to Jesus (our Head), then God gives the increase. It is not an unnatural growth but one rooted in Jesus, and we all become connected to Him and to knitted together to each other.
Vs. 20-23 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations- “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Paul rebukes the essence of legalism here. Pharisaism
Do not… do not… do not: This is a perfect description of legalistic religion, and we all struggle with it, defined more by what we don’t do than by what we do. Christianity is a moral religion; it does have clear moral boundaries. But at its foundation, Christianity is a religion of positive action.
You died with Christ from the basic principles of the world: Remembering this is the key to living above legalism. Our identification with Jesus in both His death and resurrection (as mentioned before in Colossians 2:12) becomes the foundation for our Christian life, instead of our law-keeping.
Which perishes with the using: “They are things which come to an end in the very act of being used. Handling them, eating them, or the like involves their destruction. Food, once eaten, ceases to be food. These are not the things that matter most; these are not the ultimate realities.” (Bruce)
According to the commandments and doctrines of men: One aspect of legalism is that the doctrines of men are promoted as the laws of God.
These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom… but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh, false humility and neglect of the body: This is the most important point of the whole subject on legalism, when we attempt self-will, neglect your flesh, and then acting all humble when you’re really proud of yourself, actually does nothing to really control the flesh. Only the Holy Spirit who lives in us can control the flesh.
All such legalistic rules may have an appearance of wisdom, but they have no real value. Legalism doesn’t restrain the flesh; it feeds the flesh in a subtle, powerful way. “In fact, the most rigorous asceticism can coexist with insufferable spiritual pride, one of the subtlest and most intractable of the ‘works of the flesh.’” (Bruce)
Self-imposed religion is man reaching to God, trying to justify himself by keeping a list of rules. Christianity is God reaching down to man in love through Christ. This is the only place to find freedom from the flesh, die to your flesh and live to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.
