COLOSSIANS 2 [†]For I want you to know y how great a w struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2[†]that z their hearts may be encouraged, being a knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of b God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3[†] c in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4[†]I say this in order d that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5[†]For e though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your f good order and g the firmness of your faith in Christ.
6[†] h Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 i rooted and j built up in him and k established in the faith, just l as you were taught, abounding m in thanksgiving.
8[†]See to it that no one takes you captive by n philosophy and o empty deceit, according to p human tradition, according to the q elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9[†]For r in him the whole fullness of deity dwells s bodily, 10[†]and t you have been filled in him, who is u the head of all rule and authority. 11[†]In him also v you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by w putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12[†] x having been buried with him in baptism, in which y you were also raised with him through faith in z the powerful working of God, z who raised him from the dead. 13 a And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God b made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14[†]by c canceling d the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15[†] w He disarmed the rulers and authorities and e put them to open shame, by f triumphing over them in him.
16[†]Therefore let no one g pass judgment on you h in questions of food and drink, or with regard to i a festival or j a new moon or a Sabbath. 17[†] k These are a shadow of the things to come, but l the substance belongs to Christ. 18[†]Let no one m disqualify you, n insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, o going on in detail about visions, p puffed up without reason by q his sensuous mind, 19[†]and r not s holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20[†]If with Christ t you died to the u elemental spirits of the world, v why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21[†] w “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22( x referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to y human precepts and teachings? 23[†]These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in z promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are a of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:5 I am with you in spirit. Because both the Colossians and Paul live “in Christ” and possess the Spirit of God, there is a sense in which Paul is, in fact, present with them (see also 1 Cor. 5:3–5). To express the stability that Paul wants to see continue in the Colossian church, he employs two military metaphors—good order and firmness. The Colossians should be like troops drawn up in battle formation, standing firm like soldiers resisting the enemy.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities. The cross of Christ marks the decisive defeat of the demonic powers. On the cross, they were stripped of their power to accuse Christians before God. (Gk. diabolos, “devil,” means “accuser, slanderer.”) Nevertheless, these demons continue to exist and to exercise power to incite evil, so Christians must continue to struggle with them (see Eph. 6:12, 16). put them to open shame. This is the same term (Gk. deigmatizō) used in Matt. 1:19 to refer to Joseph’s unwillingness to expose Mary’s pregnancy and bring public shame on her. The cross publicly reveals the failure of the demonic powers to thwart God’s plan of salvation through Christ (see 1 Cor. 2:6–8). triumphing over them. The image is of a triumphal Roman military procession. The defeated king with all of his surviving warriors and the spoils of war were paraded through the streets of Rome, as a public spectacle for all to see.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Anticipating what he will soon say about false sources of knowledge (vv. 4–23), Paul emphasizes that Christ is the ultimate storehouse of divine wisdom and spiritual knowledge. His language parallels what the OT says about wisdom (Prov. 2:3–6).
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:9–15 Help for the Danger: Resources in Christ. The Colossians have everything they need in Jesus Christ. Since they are forgiven of their sins by virtue of the cross of Christ and are already living a new life in him, they should not turn to anything or anyone else to “complete” their spiritual well-being.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:23 an appearance of wisdom. The ringleader of the faction in Colossae was advocating an esoteric wisdom for daily life that would allegedly help the Colossians deal with evil spirits and cope with life’s circumstances. self-made religion. The Greek word (ethelothrēskia) could also be translated “voluntary worship,” which may allude to the fact that the false teacher was stressing the Colossians’ freedom to choose this syncretistic path contrary to apostolic tradition. severity to the body. This refers to the fasting and taboos that were part of the ascetic behavior advocated by “the philosophy.” It may have gone beyond this, however, to include forms of self-mutilation similar to what was practiced in some of the local cults. Such asceticism may appear to be spiritual, but it actually promotes nothing more than confidence in self rather than in Christ.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:17 a shadow of the things to come. The old covenant observances pointed to a future reality that was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Heb. 10:1). Hence, Christians are no longer under the Mosaic covenant (cf. Rom. 6:14–15; 7:1–6; 2 Cor. 3:4–18; Gal. 3:15–4:7). Christians are no longer obligated to observe OT dietary laws (“food and drink”) or festivals, holidays, and special days (“a festival … new moon … Sabbath,” Col. 2:16), for what these things foreshadowed has been fulfilled in Christ. It is debated whether the Sabbaths in question included the regular seventh-day rest of the fourth commandment, or were only the special Sabbaths of the Jewish festal calendar.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch.” Quotation marks are used here to indicate that these are specific taboos, which the teacher of the false philosophy is insisting the Colossians must obey. These rules are not divine but human, for the food a person eats is not crucial in his or her spiritual life (cf. Mark 7:18–19).
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:10 you have been filled in him. In this remarkable statement, Paul affirms that believers share in Christ’s power and authority over every rule and authority by virtue of their union with him. Here is the main theme of Colossians. The divine “fullness” is in Christ (v. 9), and believers are “filled in him.” Hence, they have everything they need in Christ. They do not need any other teaching to become like God. The term head is clearly used here with the sense of “authority over” (see note on 1 Cor. 11:3). This would have been an encouraging and helpful teaching for the Colossians, who clearly continued to live in fear of the demonic realm.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:4–8 Warning about a Deceptive Teaching. Even though the Colossians are doing well spiritually, they must be on guard against false teaching.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:19 not holding fast to the Head. The fundamental problem with the competing teacher at Colossae is that he has not maintained contact with Christ and has thus become influenced by evil spirits (see v. 8). As the head of the body, Christ not only provides leadership but is also a source of provision for every member of the body (its joints and ligaments) so that it grows and matures (see note on 1 Cor. 11:3). On the church as a body, see Rom. 12:5–8; 1 Corinthians 12; Eph. 4:4, 12–16.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:2 The false teachers presumably claimed access to the mysteries of God’s truth, but Paul insists that Christ is God’s mystery, and all understanding is to be found in him.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:14 the record of debt that stood against us. In the Greco-Roman world, the “record of debt” (Gk. cheirographon) was a written note of indebtedness. Paul uses this as a word picture to characterize each person’s indebtedness to God because of sin. God himself has mercifully resolved this problem for all who put their faith in Jesus by taking this note and nailing it to the cross, where Jesus paid the debt. The image comes from the notice fastened to a cross by the Roman authorities, declaring the crime for which the criminal was being executed (see John 19:19–22).
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:4 that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. Paul warns the Colossians about the direct and dangerous threat in their midst. It is important to see that the threat comes from within the church and that what the teacher(s) are saying sounds reasonable and even persuasive.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:9 in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. Christ is the visible expression of God. In his incarnation and now in his glorification, Jesus is God in the flesh (cf. 1:15–20).
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:4–23 The Dangerous Teaching at Colossae. Paul delivers a series of warnings about the teaching that is threatening the Colossian church. In doing so, he also provides important teaching on the Christians’ new identity in Christ that will help them resist the arguments of the false teachers and live worthily of the Lord.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:12–13 buried with him in baptism … also raised with him … made alive together with him. In a second metaphor drawn from Christ’s work on the cross, Paul says that the Christian rite of baptism represents an identification with Christ in his death (cf. Rom. 6:4–6) along with an identification with Christ in his resurrection (cf. Eph. 2:6). Dying and rising with Christ signifies death to the power of sin and Satan plus empowerment to live the new life that Jesus calls believers to live in imitation of him (see Rom. 6:3–11).
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:11 In him also you were circumcised. Paul here uses circumcision metaphorically for a spiritual (made without hands) action, which he describes as putting off the body of the flesh. Believers no longer live in the sphere of the flesh and its influence (Gal. 5:24) but have been transferred to the kingdom of Christ and live through and in him, under his lordship (Col. 1:13). In this “circumcision” performed by Christ, Christians have been removed from their solidarity with Adam and his sin (see Rom. 6:6) and are now in solidarity with Christ and his righteousness and can live for him, as they before could not.
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:1 for those at Laodicea. Laodicea (cf. Rev. 3:14–22) was the nearest city to Colossae, only 9 miles (14.5 km) away (see note on Rev. 3:14–22). There was a close relationship between these churches as well as with the church at Hierapolis (see Col. 4:13).
COLOSSIANS—NOTE ON 2:18 Paul lists a variety of ways the false teachers had tried to disqualify the genuine believers in Colossae. Asceticism translates the Greek word for “humility” (tapeinophrosynē). Paul probably had in mind fasting and perhaps also the taboos mentioned in v. 21. Worship of angels involves invoking angels for help and protection from evil spirits (see Introduction: Purpose, Occasion, and Background). The verb translated going on in detail (Gk. embateuō) is rare in Greek literature and difficult to interpret. The use of this word on a series of inscriptions found near Ephesus, however, has clarified its meaning here. It denoted the higher stage of mystery cult initiation that involved “entering” the innermost sanctuary of the pagan temple. The term suggests that the leader of the Colossian faction may be basing part of his teaching on spiritual experiences he gained in a pagan ritual initiation, thus showing the syncretistic nature of his false teaching. about visions. Some form of visionary experience and, thus, mystical insight was offered as part of the false teaching.