In this chapter, Paul specifically addresses the heresy the Colossians were listening to and being swayed by. They were being swayed by people who were supposedly giving them insight into spiritualistic things, the "elemental forces of the world", vision into other realms, etc. Don't be deceived into reading over that, this instruction still applies today. I have seen "pastors" and "prophets" lead plenty of people astray, if not away from the faith completely, because they were "claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated without cause in their fleshly mind (v.18)." The sheep they were supposed to be shepherding were promised delicious food and but left starving, as these teachers never cared about the bread of life more than they cared about the supernatural.
So let us tread carefully, and ALWAYS return to the Bible as our source of truth for testing everything, holding on to what is good, and avoiding every kind of evil (1 Thess 5:21-22). If the Bible speaks against it, there is a reason, and if we are being taught things not in the Bible, I question, at the very least, its necessity. If God did not reveal something to us in His Word, it was because He, in His infinite wisdom, did not deem it necessary for it to be there. Consider the sufficiency of scripture, and let us dive in....
Breakdown:
2:2-8 Stay in Christ
2:9-15 Benefits of Christ
2:16-23 Specifically avoiding the fruit of the heresy
Paul begins addressing the heresy by telling the Colossians that in Christ are "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." This is key for the Colossians to remember, because as verse 8 tells us, they were being taken captive by "philosophy and empty deceit" and things that "have an appearance of wisdom (v.23 NIV)." So he tells them that
all wisdom and knowledge is hidden in Christ! They have no need to go elsewhere, and, in fact, going elsewhere serves no purpose at all! Listening to this heresy literally
was taking them captive, because they were trapped from finding true wisdom and understanding so long as they continued to believe it.
Here we find the some of the true danger of false teaching in the church. Myself, I am a huge proponent of truth. Even if someone is making a good point, I cannot stand it if they somehow misuse the Bible in the process; it is unacceptable. Paul here shows the antidote for this. He doesn't tell the Colossians just where they are making a mistake, he actually spends
most of his time writing about what they should be paying attention to instead, Christ! He doesn't give them a list of don't s and things to avoid, he emphasizes over and over and over again the dos and the things to grab a hold of. This is our example for dealing with heresy and false doctrine today; not to avoid the topic, but to emphatically speak the truth, right out of the Word. Truth should never be on the defensive, it should be racing full steam ahead to free the minds of people who are enslaved to empty speculations and ear tickling concepts. Lies have the power to enslave, truth frees. Unfortunately, lies often have "the appearance of wisdom," and so are received by those who don't know any better....
Back to the text, where Paul tells the people to walk in the Lord, rooted and established,
"just as you were taught (v.7)." Don't listen to the false teachers, just do what you were taught from the beginning, to walk in Christ and be firmly rooted in Him and in faith. All the while being overflowing with thankfulness (and why shouldn't they/we?).
***A brief aside. As I type this out, I am just beginning to realize how much the Bible often says in just one or two sentences, that if we take the time to think and analyze, we are mining for gold instead of the raking for leaves we usually do. I take no credit for that analogy. Here I am typing for 40 minutes and I get through 7 verses. Yeah baby. :)
Now, again, for about 6 verses, Paul rehashes the majesty and personal benefits of Christ, showing the Colossians, again, how He is all they need.
1)In Him the full nature of God dwells bodily
2)We are filled by Him, who is the head of every ruler and authority
3)We have the circumcision of the Messiah (of the heart)
4)We are raised with Him through faith
5)He made us alive while we were still dead in trespasses
6)He erased our debt of death by his death at Calvary
7)He triumphed over all rulers and authorities by His victory there
Again, if the Colossians (or, uh, US) have such great promises and victory in Christ, why are we swayed away from centering our focus on Christ by the lust (disguised as wisdom) for more "spirituality" or appearance of holiness? We have too much in Christ to be satisfied looking for other things! Let us remember our first love and return to Him.
On to verse 16-17, Paul claims that things in the law, such as the sabbath, festivals, food regulations, etc., are all foreshadows of the Messiah, and now that He has come, these things are of no value to us. Christ is true substance, while all else is shadow. Since Paul is so willing to call even other things in the Bible "shadows" compared with Christ, how quickly must we be willing to count all other things as rubbish compared with the surpassing greatness of know Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8)?
Verse 18: Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind. (NASB)
How many names could you stick in this verse? Certain preachers that delight in sharing all their wonderful "visions"? Let's look at this more in depth.
-Teaching about "super spiritual" things (angels, personal visions, etc.) has the appearance of wisdom and greatness (a trap Paul has already mentioned)
-"Taking his stand on visions he has seen..." have you ever seen a preacher base his entire ministry off of what God was telling Him personally, or what God was revealing to Him, without ever actually picking up the Bible? Be careful.
-"Delighting in self absement..." or how about a private school with a ridiculous dress code and strict rules about male/female contact?
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"Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize..." anything based around these topics is garbage!!! They want to talk about visions, about certain skirt lengths, or about proper Sabbath observance, etc., when these things are of no value (v.23), and are defrauding the people who listen to them! Such a leader is not holding onto God (v.19). If we have died to the world through Christ, why do we act as if we must still observe all these things, or chase them (v.20)? These are all human commands and doctrines, not ones of God, and they concern things that are temporary, whereas Christ is ours forver (v.21-22)!
If you are a believer who can realize (myself included) that you have been defrauded by this sort of thing in the past or present, just remember that you have Christ, always will have Christ, and always have had Christ. Our God is so humble, that although we spend our whole lives searching after other truths, and satisfactions in other things, He accepts our deathbed repentance. How could Paul warn the Colossians with any hope of seeing change if this were not so? God is the father of the prodigal son, who waited every day for His son to return, and also the father of the son who did everything right, only to forget that his father loved him and everything the father owned was his! Let us remember our first love, Christ, and that all His benefits are ours. But at the same time, let's pursue Him and not the gifts He has.
Lastly, verse 23, Paul reminds us that such things are of no value in guarding aginst the lusts of the world. Simply denying yourself things that you are tempted by (anything at all) is not a cure for the itch. The cure is in setting our minds on what is above (which Paul gets into in Ch. 3), and having our desires be there as well. Where our treasure is, there out heart will be also (Matthew 6:21, Luke 12:34). If our desires are in heaven, and found in Christ, we will not desire things here on earth. A lofty goal, to be sure, but one we are called to, and,
by the grace of God only, is attainable.
