1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.
Paul’s greeting to the Colossians is heartfelt; he pains for them. There is an inner conflict being fought inside Paul. His prayer’s are loving and deep and his care for the Colossians, people he has not yet traveled to and personally met, is evident. Paul didn’t need to plant the churches and care for them himself yet the care and love he expresses for these people is the same that any of us may have for people we have not met. We still strive for the well-being of others. This is the caring heart for the body of Christ.
2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
Paul understood his own spiritual conflict. In that, he understood that his spiritual conflicts were a microcosm of each member of the body of Christ. Paul wants to encourage the Colossians because when people are discouraged, it is easier for them to fall into the grip of sin and the world. Paul’s contentions this: if one is to be fully equipped for service to God, they must surrender the discouragement; that is a sign of their embedded spirit in the world. Only in God, through Christ, is where true wisdom resides. This wisdom is attainable by understanding the real power of love and growing together in God’s truth.
But even in this truth, there is a contingent of evil that surrounds us, always there to confound us, break us into pieces. Part of this is the intellectualism that exists in all eras. It is the idea of someone coming against the word of God with the purpose of shattering it under its world mindset.
Even though the heresy in Colosae is never defined, Paul’s writing eludes to the idea that false teaching has infiltrated the church. Whatever specifically troubled Colosae during this time isn’t as important as the broader message: false teaching is always a problem, inside and outside the church, in any era. We can make an inference that the teaching had something to do with wisdom and knowledge and perhaps the teaching sought for them to look to someone or something else that Christ.
Human wisdom is different from spiritual, or Godly, wisdom. Human wisdom helps us in our life. Brushing teeth before one goes to bed is a wise practice. It will help to eliminate further dental problems. Saving money is wise. It helps when an unforeseen expense pops up. These are wise things that we do in life to help us live a better life, but they don’t really get us anywhere spiritually. Spiritual wisdom is the God-given direction that feeds our soul and causes us to make life choices that affect our spiritual well-being. It could look like deciding to be nice to rude people or making a move to go to church or making sure others are provided for- items that God had directed you in and that you follow. This spiritual wisdom is the only true wisdom, for everything else eventually fades away.
Spiritual Fullness in Christ 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
If we have received Jesus, then we should continue walking with Him. This is Paul’s plea to get back to the roots of faith. Many people proclaim themselves as Christian, but few really follow. If we are to truly follow and become that holy servant God wants us to be, then we must stop playing along the periphery. It begins from the root system. Being rooted in Him, like a tree, is an important analogy. A tree’s entire source of life is found in its roots. It’s where it receives its nutrients so that it can grow tall and strong. If those nutrients aren’t available, the tree will slowly die.
The tree only grows strong when the nutrients flow through the trunk and into the branches. Just like a tree, the Christian must have a steady flow of nutrients in order to stay spiritually well. He must soak up the teaching, the knowledge, the spiritual diet that God provides in order to grow strong. When the Christian grows strong, he becomes thankful.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
There was a deceptive philosophy offered to the Colossians, something that was persuasive. It was possibly a melding of Christian faith and tradition, something that brought the worship of nature into the fold. Whatever the philosophy, however persuasive it was, it didn’t ring true to the flawless word of God.
This isn’t only a message to the Colossians but to all of us. Deceptive people are a cornerstone of this world and many, with many different motives, tend to rise and lead people away from the truth. Many American-based religions that came out of the 2nd Great Awakening have this moniker. They seem very much like traditional Christianity, but when you begin to look at the people who devised these and the theology, you begin to see a departure from the word of God.
When we don’t know the word of God, we are susceptible to the false teaching around us. This happens with cults much of the time. A person is looking for purpose and direction. That purpose and direction, although in human terms (safety, security) is also usually a spiritual one as well (what is the meaning of life, where do I fit in). If that searching person has not been introduced to the truth of God, then any persuasive philosophy could sound good, legitimate and caring.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
Part of the heresy in Colosae could have been that Jesus is not truly God. If so, Colosae could have been experiencing a Gnostic influence. The Gnostics believed that God was spirit and therefore could not inhabit a body. The spirit and flesh, according to Gnostics, were two exclusive things. The flesh was corrupt, therefor you could do anything to the flesh without affecting the spirit.
But Paul crushes that theory. He states that the deity of Christ, alive with all the power of God, has been brought to fullness. He has the authority and power over all. The Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) all dwell in the same place, in the same man. In this fullness of spirit you have also been brought into fullness. This fullness is not something earned. It is the result of your faith.
11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Along with perhaps Gnostic teaching, the Colossians could have been subject to the false teachings of the Judaizers. This was a group that preached that eternity was only promised to those who upheld both their Christian practices and the Jewish laws as well. The Colossians, who were probably mostly Gentile converts and uncircumcised, could have been very confused in how to properly follow God. But Paul assures them that, by faith, they are already heirs to the kingdom.
This happens in our society as well. Many believe that a host of religious practices guarantees them eternity. This thinking is dangerous because it creates a false notion about God and puts many people into an automatic state when it comes to their faith. If they just do what their religion demands, then they are guaranteed eternity. This could look like bible reading, attending church and charity. And even though each of those are good and proper for the soul, it always comes down to the motive. Is the motive to understand who God is? Or is the motive to begrudgingly complete tasks for the false promise of future benefit?
We are guaranteed salvation through our faith and through our actions. Our actions grow from our faith. When we submit, change our lives and proceed into a loving relationship with God, then our actions become an extension of our faith. We can’t create action and hope it translates into faith. That’s earning. Anything we do in the name of God must carry the motive of love, faith and hope in it.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Before anyone becomes a true believer, a true follower of Christ, they are dead. This is the point where God meets us, in our transgression, in the low point of our life. We’re not sick but dead, as Paul puts it, and the only way we can resurrect our life is to give it to Christ fully, unconditionally. Our sins are then forgiven. Our sins, a record of our transgressions against God, show our guilt. But these sins, or debt, are cancelled. Why? Through the death and resurrection of Christ, through his blood, the sins of those who follow Christ are nailed to the cross. In this,Christ has disabled the powers of evil, even death itself, in order for us to understand our freedom in Christ. These hostile evil entities are spoken of in different books written by Paul (Ephesians 6:12, Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 3:10).
Freedom From Human Rules 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Part of the Colossians problem could be linked to legalism. Therefore (in Pauls’ prose) is important. It is a link between his previous thought of Christ’s rescue. Since Christ has rescued us, there is no place for legalism in a Christ-centered relationship. The shadow Paul refers to is in reference to the Old testament laws. The festival, sabbath and such were requirements for the jewish people to sustain an active relationship with God. But when Jesus came, those things were stricken away, not because they were bad or unrighteous, but because the New Covenant created a new system of understanding and following of God through Christ.
18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
The Colossians also were inundated by some sort of false humility movement as well as the worship of angels. Many places in scripture people are told not to worship angels (Revelation 22:8-9, Matthew 4:9-10). Paul’s message is clear: worship Jesus and stay away from the rest.
In our life, there is also a temptation to give ourselves to things that aren’t of God. Sometimes they may look like Godly things. Maybe its constant church attendance, or charity work, or interjecting yourself into conversations to present the Godly view. All of these things sound okay on the surface, but it becomes a question of motivation. Are we trying to stay busy? Are we trying to judge? Paul is saying that although these things resemble Godly behavior, it removes Christ as the central figure in your worship. The emptiness of these items becomes apparent over time when we veer away from Christ and take up our time with other “Godly” pursuits.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Paul is referring to legalism. Belonging to the world and its rules is giving ourselves over to the same things that the Colossians are fighting against. The Judaizers famously commanded Christians to hold fast to their beliefs, but they weren’t complete until they fulfilled the Jewish laws as well. This is the equivalent of having both feet in different buckets of water. The problem with that is that it dilutes both. You can’t give your all to either. You are forgetting the very rescue that Christ has made.
Paul talks about the temporal nature of these rules. They are destined to perish. They are based on mere human commands. Even though they may sound wise (you need to confess your sins to a priest in a confessional, you need to attend church every Sunday), Paul says they are ultimately worthless in the sense of our motivations. If we are simply going through the motions, then where we are and what we are doing has little spiritual value, even if it appears to be spiritual. Besides, Christianity isn’t defined in all of the things you shouldn’t do. Christianity is about positive action forward, understanding that God is bigger than we can ever imagine, and that we can find God in our lives in an intimate way.