Colossians 2
Colossians 2:1: For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh,
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Colossians 2:2-3: that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
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The result of unity is a deeper understanding of God. You won’t come into a complete revelation of God all by yourself! We all see through a glass darkly. We all see part of the picture. When those pieces come together, we get a fuller understanding of God.
But what did Paul want the Colossians to be assured of? The mystery of God. The Gnostic teachers in Colossae were falsely teaching that there was deeper, secretive, mysterious teaching than what was being taught about Christ. They taught that people had to join them and learn secret rituals and doctrines in 3 3 order to earn salvation and spiritual power. Paul turns this notion on its head in Colossians 2:3 In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden. The word "mystery" in the New Testament has a different meaning from what those in Colossae thought 2,000 years ago and different from what many people believe today. In the New Testament, a mystery is not something that is mysterious or secretive or unknowable. In Scripture, a mystery is a truth that is outside of natural understanding. A mystery is something that can be made known only by divine revelation. In the ordinary sense a mystery implies knowledge withheld; in the Bible a mystery is truth revealed. [SOURCE: Christ Above Philosophy] |
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COLOSSIANS 2:4:“AND THIS I SAY, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BEGUILE YOU WITH ENTICING WORDS.”
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 Paul Badura
A functioning and civil society works best when adults communicate honestly and don’t fan unproven rumors. But Christians have an especially high bar to meet when it comes to their words and messaging. The Apostle Paul suggested that the more we understand God and appreciate His mysteries and wisdom, the less likely we are to be deceived by “fine sounding arguments” (Col. 2:4).
Peter admonishes that, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit” (1 Peter 3:10). Being rooted in God’s Word is clearly the best defense against falling victim to buying into a conspiracy theory. But assuming the best of intentions, how else can and should Christians best discern what is true versus what is false – what claims are cogent as compared to being pushed out by crackpots or those committed to spreading outright falsehoods and lies? Discernment is both a spiritual gift and an ability that can be cultivated. It can come with age, but it also comes with prayer, study, curiosity, and conversation. If we ask more questions and make less statements, we can build up a healthy reservoir of wisdom. Instead of immediately retweeting something that sounds juicy or odd, ask a trusted friend about it. In this day and age, a healthy dose of skepticism is often in order. First and foremost, always consider the source. We laugh at the Abraham Lincoln meme floating about online, purportedly quoting our sixteenth president from 1861, when he allegedly said, “The problem with information that you read on the Internet is that it is not always true.” It’s a silly joke, but it points to a larger fact: the internet is the wild west and can’t always be trusted. --Paul Badura; Daily Citizen; Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Discerning Fact from Fiction 8.24.23 |
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Colossians 2:7:
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. |
 Jarrid Wilson Files
Because of this harsh reality, many of us have our foundations ripped out from underneath us when things get tough. We must nurture the gift that God has given us. We must constantly take care of our spiritual roots, providing nourishment and care. Without doing so, our relationship with God will eventually be destroyed. Take each day as an opportunity to nurture your spiritual roots, seek nourishment through the cross of Jesus, and protection through the power of the Holy Spirit.
-Jarrid Wilson |
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Colossians 2:8:
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. |
In I Corinthians 10:20, he is exposed as the mastermind behind false religions. He inspires many people within his domain to pose as ministers. These false servants lead people astray as they mix and mingle with true servants of God (2 Co 11:14-15). Satan is also the source of false doctrine through the teachings of many antichrists (I John 2:18). Jesus told a parable in Matthew 13:24-30 in which Satan makes counterfeit disciples and scatters them among the real ones. False morals may seem like the product only of human ignorance to us, but II Thessalonians 2:7-12 attributes them to the work of the deceiver. --Chip Ingram; The Invisible War
James Moffatt renders the same verse as, "Beware of anyone getting hold of you by means of a theosophy [a branch of philosophy] which is specious make believe, on the lines of human tradition." |
Strong's Concordance writes that Paul was speaking of sophistry, that is, plausible but misleading argumentation or fallacious reasoning. Our word "sophisticate" derives from sophos. To sophisticate someone causes him to become less natural or simple; he becomes corrupted or perverted. A sophisticated person has acquired worldly knowledge and lacks natural simplicity.
Philosophy, the love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means, is not wisdom from God but wisdom as defined by man. It is man's attempt to be wise. God says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). Since man cannot see God, he concludes, "There is no God." Because man's philosophy does not consider God, its very foundation is faulty. -Bible Tools
Philosophy, the love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means, is not wisdom from God but wisdom as defined by man. It is man's attempt to be wise. God says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). Since man cannot see God, he concludes, "There is no God." Because man's philosophy does not consider God, its very foundation is faulty. -Bible Tools
This verse is the only place where the biblical writers use the word "philosophy."
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Colossians 2:13-14:
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, 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. |
The common Greek word for cancellation of a contract is chiazen, which means to write the Greek letter chi (X) across a document. Thus, the debt was crossed out. However, in Col 2, Paul uses the Greek word exaleiphein, which means to "watch over" or "wipe out." In New Testament times, the ink used was a mixture of soot and gum diluted with water. While it was lasting and durable, a wet sponge could wipe ink off the slate, leaving it clean for reuse.
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Colossians 2:13-14 doesn’t even say the Lord Jesus eliminated the consequences for sins of believers committed before their new birth. A criminal who comes to faith starts the Christian life in fellowship with God and in prison. He stays in prison until he pays for the offense he committed. An unbelieving man divorced due to adultery who comes to faith is forgiven by God and in fellowship with Him, but the consequences of his adultery are not eliminated. -Bob Wilkin; Dallas Theological Seminary
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Colossians 2:15:
15Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. |
 Alistair Begg Files
“Christ has already triumphed and, by faith, He invites us to share in His spoils. This victory is what led one of the Westminster Divines, William Gouge, to pen in his diary, “When I look upon myself, I see nothing but emptiness and weakness; but when I look upon Christ, I see nothing but fullness and sufficiency.” The Evil One is a defeated foe, though still a powerful one. When we seek to fight him in our own strength, we will find ourselves defeated. But God has provided all the armor we need. Our faith is our shield, for our faith tells us that we are forgiven children of the living God, empowered by His Spirit to obey Him and enjoying the certain hope of eternal life with Him. --Alistair Begg; Shielded By Faith 6.1.23 |
Colossians 2:16-23:
16So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
18Let 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,
19and 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.
20Therefore, 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--
21“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”
22which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23These 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.
16So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
18Let 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,
19and 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.
20Therefore, 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--
21“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,”
22which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
23These 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.