A Summons to Steadfastness
2:6 The Greek text begins with “therefore,” indicating that what the apostle is about to say is linked with his preceding discussion on the content of the mystery which is Christ himself. As someone has said, “Whenever you see a therefore in Scripture, go back to see what it is there for!”
To stand firm does not mean to stand still. Paul is aware that the best defense is a good offense. Consequently, he admonishes his readers to continue in their faith. By receiving the gospel they have received Christ Jesus as Lord. But that past event has an abiding significance upon their lives because they are to live in union with him—literally, to “walk with Christ.” By stating this, Paul reinforces a theme common in his writings, namely, the relation between theology and ethics (3:1ff.; Eph. 4–5). Those who have received Christ are to live in Christ; or, those who are in Christ (the indicative of the Christian life) are to become what they are (the imperative of the Christian life).
2:7 Paul amplifies what it means to live in union with Christ by utilizing the images of planting and building. The NIV rooted … in him—or any English translation for that matter—does not quite capture the significance of the Greek tenses that are employed. For rooted, Paul uses the perfect tense, which, in Greek, describes a present state that is the result of some past action. Here the meaning that the perfect passive conveys is equivalent to “having been rooted.”
For the building metaphor, Paul uses the present tense, which describes continuous action. The building up of their life in Christ (epoikodomoumenoi) and the establishing (bebaioumenoi) of their faith are ongoing processes that are possible only because they are already rooted in the Lord. Hence the imperative tone in the NIV: Continue to … [be] built up in him, strengthened in the faith.
Some commentators suggest that the reference to the faith should be understood as “by your faith” (an instrumental dative) or “with respect to your faith” (a dative of reference). If the former, then the idea is that they are being built up by means of their faith—faith is the instrument of their growth. If the latter, then Paul desires that the Colossians grow in their faith (so NIV, RSV, GNB). Perhaps it may be wrong to make such a fine distinction, because as one grows in Christ one is established both in and by faith.
As you were taught is a specific reference to the gospel that the Colossians heard and had come to know as the truth of God (1:6). Paul is on the verge of exposing the heresy, and he wants his readers to know that their growth in Christ depends upon following the gospel as originally delivered to them (1:5–8; 2:6), not some secondary traditions of the false teachers (2:8).
And overflowing with thankfulness: Paul has already mentioned thanksgiving (1:3, 12) and will do so again in 3:15 and 4:2. This phrase surely ties in with his previous admonition to walk in the Lord (2:6). In other words, the Christian life is to be characterized by gratitude to God.
Christian Versus Human Tradition
2:8 Earlier, the readers were cautioned about some of the methods employed by the false teachers (2:4). Now, in a stern warning (see to it), he exposes this heresy even further. First, its effect is to enslave its victims. The word sylagōgeō describes the action of one kidnapping or plundering and then making off with the catch as a prize. It is an appropriate way of portraying the malicious and seductive nature of the heresy.
Second, it is hollow and deceptive philosophy (RSV: “philosophy and empty deceit”; GNB: “worthless deceit of human wisdom”). This is the only time that the word philosophia occurs in the NT, so it must have been a special feature of this heresy. Paul is not objecting to the study of philosophy (lit., “one who loves wisdom”), because in the Hellenistic world religious communities offered their teaching as philosophy. His concern is with those who have turned the pursuit of wisdom into a “philosophistry” characterized by empty and deceitful practices. This teaching is hollow because it does not contain the truth; it is deceptive because it captivates people and prevents them from seeing the truth.
Third, these teachings are human and not divine in origin. The teaching according to Christ is Paul’s reference to the word of truth, the gospel, which came to the Colossians directly through Epaphras (1:5–7) and indirectly through Paul as God’s appointed servant (1:23, 25). The false teachers cannot make such a claim, because their doctrines come from human sources and from the basic principles of this world (stoicheia tou kosmou, lit., “elements of the universe”). Most English translations add the word “spirits” or principles to the phrase and come out with “elemental spirits of the universe” (RSV), “elementary principles of the world” (NASB), or “ruling spirits of the universe” (GNB). In Heb. 5:12, the NEB translates the phrase as “the ABC of God’s oracles.”
As the additional notes will show, there is a wide variety of scholarly opinion as to the meaning of these concepts in the NT (Col. 2:8, 20; Gal. 4:3). The term stoicheion indicates something basic or rudimentary, such as the fundamental principles of learning (the ABCs), or the elements from which the world was created (earth, air, fire, and water). These principles may have been elevated to the level of spirits or angels in the Hellenistic world.
Stoicheion also designates the heavenly bodies that in some cases were personified and worshiped. The control that these elemental spirits had over human beings (fate) could only be broken by correct knowledge (gnōsis) and/or ritual, usually in the form of magic or ascetic practices (cf. 2:20–23). But these stoicheia could also be the source of wisdom or knowledge and in this way provided the substance of the false message that Paul deals with in the subsequent verses (2:16–19) and exposes as being contrary to the gospel of Christ.
2:9 In this verse Paul returns to a theme already developed in the Christ hymn (1:15–20) and reemphasizes that the Colossians do not need any additional source of revelation or authority for their spiritual life. Christ is not simply another of the spiritual forces that make up the fullness (plērōma) of the universe (cf. 1:19). He is superior to all others because he alone is God incarnate and the whole fullness of deity is found in him.
2:10 But there is more to this wonderful message: The one who is the fullness of the Godhead is likewise the fullness of each believer. The community is fulfilled in him. The Colossians do not need to look beyond Christ for their understanding of the universe; nor do they need to supplement him in their personal lives, because those who are “in Christ” participate in his fullness now (the Greek present tense este, “you are”). In other words, there is nothing lacking in their relationship to God. Paul ends by reasserting (cf. 1:15–20) Christ’s preeminence over all alien powers (who is the head over every power and authority). There is no need, therefore, to pay homage to them!
Additional Notes
2:8 For some comments on the false teaching at Colossae see the Introduction. Nearly every major commentary has a discussion on the heresy as well as on the meaning of stoicheia tou kosmou: for example, Lohse, “The Elements of the Universe” (pp. 96–99), and “The Teaching of the Philosophy” (pp. 127–31); Martin, pp. 80–100; Schweizer, “Excursus: The Colossian Philosophy (2:8),” in his commentary, pp. 125–70.
Additional and more technical studies include “stoicheia,” in W. F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2d ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), pp. 768–69; A. J. Bandstra, The Law and the Elements of the World: An Exegetical Study in Aspects of Paul’s Teaching (Kampen: J. H. Kok, 1964); G. R. Beasley-Murray, “The Second Chapter of Colossians,” RevExp 70 (1973), pp. 469–79; E. Burton, “The Elements of the Universe,” in his Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1921), pp. 510–18; G. Delling, “stoicheō,” TDNT vol. 7, pp. 666–87; C. A. Evans, “The Colossian Mystics,” Biblica 63 (1982), pp. 188–205. A volume listed in For Further Reading, F. Francis and W. Meeks, eds., Conflict at Colossae, contains the following articles: “The Colossian Heresy,” by J. B. Light-foot; “The Isis Initiation in Apuleius and Related Initiatory Rites,” by M. Dibelius; “The Heresy of Colossians,” by G. Bornkamm; “Paul’s Adversaries in Colossae,” by S. Lyonnet; “Humility and Angelic Worship in Col. 2:18,” by F. O. Francis; and “The Background of EMBATEUEIN (Col. 2:18) in Legal Papyri and Oracle Inscriptions,” by F. O. Francis. Cf. also M. D. Hooker, “Were There False Teachers in Colossae?” in Christ and the Spirit in the New Testament, ed. B. Lindars and S. S. Smalley (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973), pp. 315–31; Schweizer, “Christ in the Letter to the Colossians,” esp. pp. 451–55; for other contributions by Schweizer, as well as additional foreign sources, see his Colossians, pp. 121, 311. A unique but helpful interpretation of the stoicheia is provided by W. Wink in “The Elements of the Universe in Biblical and Scientific Perspective,” Zygon 13 (1978), pp. 225–48.
There continues to be debate whether stoicheia tou kosmou should be translated as “elements of the universe” or “elemental spirits of the universe.” According to Schweizer, the designation “elements” does not include the stars and astrological spirits “until the second century A.D. Further, these elements are never adduced in the New Testament lists of powers and authorities, not even in Colossians (1:16; 2:10). Our starting point must be the fact that there is no contemporary evidence for the meaning of ‘elemental spirits’ or ‘stars.’ The power which they wield, by binding men to the “world” through ascetic “regulations” (vv. 20f.), is, then, probably comparable to the power belonging to the commandments of the law, which are certainly not demons either” (p. 128).
W. Wink goes through the history of research on the stoicheia but concludes that prior to the third century A.D. there is no evidence that they were regarded as personal beings or fallen angels or that they were divinized in any form. The meaning of the term can only be determined from the context, which varies in the NT, for example, the constituent elements of the physical universe (2 Pet. 3:10, 12), philosophical presuppositions (Col. 2:8), religious laws and practices (Col. 2:20; Gal. 4:3, 9), or the rudimentary or first principles (Heb. 5:12).
The True Circumcision and Its Effects
2:11 It already has been noted that the doctrine of baptism has a significant place in this epistle (see note on 1:14). In this section (2:11–15), Paul turns to baptism as a way of explaining the means and the results of the believers’ union with Christ. With the exception of the language of circumcision, the thoughts are similar to those developed in Romans 6:1–11 and Galatians 3:27–28. It is quite possible that the peculiar beliefs and practices of the Colossian false teachers necessitated this clarification on circumcision and its relation to new life in Christ through baptism.
By insisting that the Colossians already have been circumcised, Paul diffuses any claim for the continuation of this rite in the community. But their circumcision, he clarifies, is not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, literally, “not from human hands.” As Gentiles, they have no need to undergo a cultic rite that was practiced by the Jewish people as a sign of membership in the covenant. Nor should they subject themselves to any initiation rites of the false teachers that degrade the body and the flesh.
Believers are circumcised with the circumcision done by Christ. This had nothing to do with the circumcision of Jesus as a Jewish boy (Luke 2:21). Rather, Paul is referring to a circumcision that belongs to Christ and that Christ performs when believers are united to him in baptism. Paul’s main point is to contrast physical (outer) and spiritual (inner) circumcision. To experience the circumcision of Christ is nothing other than being buried and raised with him in baptism through faith.
The essence of this spiritual circumcision consists of the putting off of the sinful nature (lit., “the body of flesh”). Christ, in other words, liberates individuals from their unregenerate nature (“body of sin,” Rom. 6:6; “body of death,” Rom. 7:24). Paul develops similar ideas when he talks about the “old man” that is “put off” in baptism (Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9, 10) or the crucifixion of fleshly passions and desires (Gal. 2:19; 5:24).
What a tremendous message of liberation and victory this is for a congregation being seduced by a group of false teachers still enslaved to cosmic powers and authorities and seeking to free themselves through useless rituals and ascetic practices (2:16–23)! The Colossians needed to remember that Christ defeated (apekdysis, “putting off,” “stripping,” “disarming”) these spiritual rulers in his death and triumphed over them in his resurrection (2:15). This victory, Paul reminds his readers, is theirs because they have been circumcised with the circumcision done by Christ, for by union with him in baptism by faith he frees humanity from the powers of evil.
2:12 Since the “circumcision of Christ” is baptism, then this verse should be viewed as an elaboration of that truth rather than as an introduction of some new ideas. The Greek text begins with the passive participle syntaphentes, which is translated having been buried. The NIV correctly implies this continuity of thought in its translation. The RSV “and you were buried” may give the wrong impression that burial with Christ in baptism is a different experience.
The similarity of ideas in Colossians 2:11–15, Romans 6:1–11, Galatians 3:26–27, and Ephesians 2:1–10 suggests that these passages were part of standard baptismal instruction in the early church. There are, to be sure, some different nuances and applications necessitated by the context of each epistle. But basically, they teach (a) that baptism is a faith-baptism, that is, it is for believers who put their faith in Christ, (b) that it is a participation in Christ’s death and resurrection, and (c) that it has ethical implications because in it the believer receives new life from Christ.
The imagery of burial (death) and resurrection (new life) comes from the NT practice of immersion—the believer was literally lowered into the water. Burial symbolized death to the old life, and the emergence from the water symbolized the new or resurrected life in Christ. Thus, in a very profound way, baptism outwardly symbolizes or dramatizes the inner experience of the forgiveness of sins.
All this should not lead to the conclusion that baptism is only a symbol of some prior experience such as repentance or conversion. Since the baptism of the NT is a faith-baptism, it is not uncommon to find forgiveness, regeneration, and justification linked with this rite (John 3:5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1 Cor. 6:11; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 3:18–21). In other words, baptism, when accompanied by faith, has a sacramental as well as a symbolical function. God, by his Spirit, has chosen to make something happen in baptism. Baptism is both the expression (symbol) and the vehicle (means, conveyance) of God’s grace. It declares as well as effects one’s union with Christ’s death and resurrection (cf. Rom. 6:1–10); it is an initiation into Christ’s body, the church (1 Cor. 12:13); it is God’s way of stamping the believer with his seal of ownership (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
The believers in Colossae who were buried with him in baptism were also raised with him. The most logical inference is that this “raising” is part of the baptismal event (from the Greek text en hō = in whom/which. Thus the RSV “in which [i.e., baptism] you were also raised with him through faith” and the GNB “in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith …”). Paul also presents Christ’s resurrection as the supreme manifestation of God’s power. This final thought is not unlike Eph. 1:19 where God’s power is demonstrated in the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
It is significant that the action described in verses 11–12 is in the past tense (the Greek aorist): “you were circumcised” perietmēthēte); “having been buried” (syntaphentes); “having been … raised” (synēgerthēte). In other words, these are realities that these believers already possess by virtue of their union with Christ in baptism. There is no need to look for any additional spiritual experience to supplement their faith. The false teaching has nothing to offer that is not already theirs in Christ.
2:13 The new life that these believers now possess in Christ is contrasted to what they were before their baptism. Basically, they were spiritually dead (cf. Eph. 2:1). This spiritual death manifested itself morally by their sins (paraptōma—or “trespass”). Thus, by way of a contrast, there is a connection with verse 11, where Paul talked about their “spiritual circumcision” (cf. Eph. 2:11, 12). The continuity with verse 13 is shown in the fact that God made you alive with Christ. As Christ was raised from the dead by the power of God, the believer, who is in Christ through baptism, has been raised (2:12) and brought to life (2:13).
The Greek text also illustrates how carefully Paul wishes to emphasize their union with Christ. The word for life (zōē) is prefixed with the preposition syn (synezōopoiēsen). This preposition is repeated with the pronoun “him” (syn autō), leaving no doubt that their resurrection and quickening to new life is God’s action in Christ alone.
This new life in Christ has resulted in a radical change in their moral life. Before, they were dead in their sins; now, they are spiritually alive (God forgave us all our sins). The change from you to us probably indicates that Paul is using traditional material familiar to the early church (note Matt. 6:12 in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts”). This “forgiveness” also has taken place in the past (the Greek aorist tense). Hence, there is no need to look beyond their experience with Christ to other alternatives.
2:14–15 Here Paul begins his elaboration upon the meaning of forgiveness in terms that are particularly applicable to the situation. His main point is that forgiveness of sins means victory over alien powers and freedom from legalistic practices. Again, all the action is described in the aorist (past) tense: He “forgave” (charisamenos), “canceled” (exaleipsas), “nailed” (prosēlōsas), “freed” (apekdysamenos), and he “triumphed” (thriambeusas) over these powers and authorities.
In discussing the nature of forgiveness, Paul refers to a hand-written certificate of indebtedness, similar to a bond or I.O.U. (Greek, cheirographon). Scholars are divided on the meaning of this term and the proper interpretation of the entire phrase, the written code, with its regulations, that was against us. Some of the suggestions include (a) the law of Moses, (b) the covenant between Adam and the devil, (c) a certificate of debt, such as an I.O.U., from mankind to God, (d) a heavenly book on which God recorded human sins, or (e) Christ himself.
A significant number of interpreters understand this either to be a reference to the Jewish law—thus God’s regulations—or to the man-made traditions of the false teachers that resulted in transgressions. In either case, human beings were unable to keep to these precepts, so these stood as a written code against humanity until Christ canceled it by his death.
Either interpretation makes good sense for a number of reasons: first, there are examples in contemporary Judaism in which the law was applied this way; second, it fits the context of this passage in which Paul is dealing with specific legalistic practices that worked against individuals unless they were kept; third, it helps to explain the occurrence of other terms in the verse, such as having canceled and the regulations (tois dogmasin). Although the exact meaning of Paul’s phrases cannot be traced with certainty, it is clear that his main point is to emphasize the decisive and complete way Christ’s death on the cross took care of humankind’s indebtedness to God.
The negative aspect of Christ’s work on the cross is the cancellation of the bond of indebtedness; the positive side is Christ’s triumph over the evil powers. Here, on the cross, Christ disarmed the powers and authorities.
Paul enlarges this conquest in imagery of a victorious general leading his captives home in a victory procession in which their defeat would be proclaimed publicly. Christ’s defeat of these evil powers has meant that they have been made a public spectacle by triumphing over them by the cross. The crucifixion and resurrection (verse 12) are the supreme historical (public) events of Christ’s victory over evil.
Verse 15 also repeats an emphasis that has been seen throughout the epistle, namely, that in Christ alone, by virtue of his work on the cross, the evil rulers no longer have control over the believer. The readers would remember 1:13, where Paul said that they have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought safely into the kingdom of his dear Son. All those who have been baptized into Christ and made alive with him (2:12) participate in his victory over evil.
Additional Notes
2:11 Beasley-Murray carried this imagery of circumcision even further: “In this context ‘putting (or stripping) off the body of flesh’ is most plausibly contrasted with the minor operation in circumcision: bluntly it appears to say that instead of stripping off a little piece of flesh, as in circumcision, the Christian has stripped off his whole body of flesh, and this happened because Christ was ‘circumcised,’ that is, killed on the cross, the Christian shares so completely in that event, it is as if he himself had suffered that appalling bloody death” (“The Second Chapter of Colossians,” RevExp 70 [1973], p. 474).
2:12 Beasley-Murray’s comment on the symbolic sacramental nature of baptism in the early church speaks to this point: “In such a setting baptism is less a testimony to a faith previously received than a declaration of a faith here and now embraced, an embodiment of conversion to Christ, and a submission to him who is able to save. In such a milieu it is not surprising that the spiritual realities of conversion and baptism are merged together, for in that context they do fall together” (“The Second Chapter of Colossians,” p. 476).
On Paul’s emphasis on resurrection in baptism, it should be noted that, in Romans, the resurrection is spoken of as future (“we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was,” 6:5). This (cf. also 2 Cor. 4:14; 2 Tim. 2:11) could be a correction to a certain element in the Gentile church that thought that the resurrection was completed in baptism (2 Tim. 2:18). In Colossians, Paul’s emphasis is upon the present reality of the resurrected life in Christ because the false teachers were claiming that the soul was still in the process of ascending to heaven (Schweizer, pp. 144–45).
2:14 A good description of some of these views is provided by W. Carr in his article, “Two Notes on Colossians (1. Col. 2:14; 2. Col. 2:18),” JTS 24 (1973), pp. 492–500. Carr’s conclusion is that the dogmas (regulations) are not God’s rules but “those decisions of men which issue in transgressions” or “the autograph of our self-condemnation in all its detail” (p. 496).
For reference with respect to Jewish and Hellenistic literature, see Lohse, pp. 108–9; Martin, Colossians and Philemon, pp. 83–85. Martin is attracted to a view that takes the cheirographon as a book of works kept by God in which all of humanity’s sins are recorded. Although the record is used by the evil spirits to accuse men and women of their fleshly and unspiritual condition, it ceases to be binding, because Christ has destroyed its effectiveness by his death on the cross. It appears, however, that such a view may concede too much. Would Paul not fall into the heretic’s trap by acknowledging the existence of something so preposterous as such a list? For another view, cf. O. A. Blanchette, “Does the Cheirographon of Col. 2:14 Represent Christ Himself?” CBQ 23 (1961), pp. 306–12.
2:15 The verb apekdysamenos is an aorist middle participle. As a deponent verb, however (apekdyomai), it is active in meaning and makes God the subject. Thus, “God stripped the evil powers of their dignity and authority” (see Lohse, pp. 111–12; Martin, pp. 86–88; Bruce, pp. 239–40; Abbott, pp. 258–61).
A Manifesto of Christian Liberty
2:16 Christ’s defeat of these evil powers forms the basis for Paul’s polemic in this section. Therefore refers back to the work of Christ and his victory over those spiritual rulers and authorities that were thought to exercise power over the Christian. Christ has freed these believers, and they must guard that freedom by resisting all attempts from the false teachers to subject them to another set of legalistic rules and regulations.
This entire passage is somewhat difficult to interpret. First, Paul uses slogans and phrases that were employed by the false teachers. Though these would have been familiar to the Colossians, they are difficult for the modern reader to understand. Second, in spite of such specific references to the beliefs and practices of the false teachers, it is impossible to identify the heresy with any precision. Some of the things that Paul says look Jewish; others appear more pagan and Hellenistic. A third alternative, and one that attracts the most attention, is that the heresy represents a form of syncretism that combined elements from a number of religious sources (see discussion in the introduction).
Identifying the heresy is not essential for understanding Paul’s basic message. He wants to reassure his readers that, by virtue of the person and work of Christ, they have no need to surrender their freedom to legalism (do not let anyone judge you). The anyone refers to the person(s) attempting to set up as a judge over members of the congregation who do not follow certain laws with respect to food and the observance of religious festivals.
These regulations go far beyond the requirements of the OT, since the food laws that governed the people of the old covenant were set aside by Christ (Mark 7:19) and declared nonbinding upon the Gentiles (Acts 10:9–16; 15:19–29). One gets the distinct impression that the regulations threatening the Colossians were all man-made traditions. People in the ancient world would abstain from certain foods for a variety of reasons (cf. Rom. 14:17, 21; 1 Tim. 4:3).
The Colossians are not to be bound by rules with respect to food (what you eat or drink) or the religious calendar (a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day). It is quite possible that these “special days” governed what a person might or might not eat as well. At any rate, Paul declares freedom from all regulations imposed by the false teachers. By submitting to such regulations, the Colossians would be acknowledging the continuing authority of the evil powers over them. They need to remember that in Christ they have been set free from such tyranny (2:20).
2:17 All these dogmas are a shadow of the things that were to come. At one time such rules may have served as a transitory “type” or shadow of something more permanent in the future. But since the age of fulfillment has come in Christ, these rules have no further intrinsic value. Their function in foreshadowing has been surpassed by Christ: He is the reality (cf. RSV: “the substance belongs to Christ”; GNB: “the reality is Christ”; NIV: the reality, however, is found in Christ).
The word used to express reality is sōma. On the one hand, it may simply distinguish true reality (substance) from appearance (shadow). But sōma is the same word that Paul uses for the church as the body (sōma) of Christ (1:18; 2:19). This fact, along with the corporate identity that exists between Christ and the believer, makes one wonder whether Paul actually has the church as Christ’s body in mind. If so, he would be saying that the reality that exists in Christ is likewise shared by members of his body, the church.
2:18 One of the devastating effects of all false teaching is the division that it creates within the Christian community (cf. 1 Cor. 1–3; 1 John 2:7–11). When certain individuals, for example, set themselves up as the spiritual elite by claiming special access to visions, revelations, tongues, prophecies, and so forth (1 Cor. 14), they ignore others who cannot make such claims. At Colossae, this took the form of judgment or condemnation: Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Quite possibly this heresy had some affinity to the mystery religions, in which such visions were received when the initiate performed certain rites or entered (embateuō) into the innermost part of the pagan sanctuary.
The reference to the worship of angels goes far beyond anything found in Scripture. True, angels were regarded as celestial beings, intercessors, messengers, agents of God, and so forth, but they were never worshiped as a class of spiritual beings. The elevation of them to cosmic powers and the veneration of them as objects of worship must, therefore, belong to this syncretistic heresy. The angels may, in fact, be the principalities, powers, and authorities that Paul mentions throughout the epistle. If so, they would be worshiped for their power as well as for their control over human beings.
The Greek word used for humility is tapeinophrosynē, which, on other occasions, is a positive and commendable disposition of character (3:12; Eph. 4:2; Phil. 2:3; 1 Pet. 5:5). Here the context shows that the heretics were guilty of a false humility in connection with their worship of angels. The RSV translates it as “self-abasement,” indicating the inward and selfish nature of their cultic conduct.
Paul continues his scathing indictment of these perpetrators of deceit: They claim to be spiritually superior because of their visions and cultic practices, but there is no substance to their claim (such a person … his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions). It is all vanity and without purpose.
The source of this vanity lies in an unspiritual mind. The false teachers may have thought that they were in communion with God; they may have believed that they were inspired by the Spirit. But their thoughts and actions were of human rather than divine origin. Thus they remain under the control of the flesh (sarx). Paul does not mean to imply that the flesh, in itself, is evil; verses 18 and 19 together show that the problem is in putting one’s trust or self-confidence in the flesh rather than in Christ.
2:19 The false teachers have fallen into error because they have stopped holding on to the Head, from whom the whole body … grows. Paul already has discussed the headship of Christ as it relates to the cosmos and the church (1:15–20; 2:10). Here he applies that concept to the problems facing the church by using the analogy of the human body (cf. 1 Cor. 12:12–31; Eph. 4:15–16). Because these false teachers have detached themselves from Christ, they have deprived themselves of the true source of nourishment and unity.
Christ himself is the only true source of life for the church, for under his control the entire body is supported (epichorēgoumenon). This is a present participle, indicating that the process of support or nourishment is a continuing one. The same continuing action applies to the unity of the body as well (symbibazomenon): Under Christ’s control the whole body is held together by its ligaments and sinews (cf. Eph. 4:16). These anatomical features provide the necessary cohesion for the body. But they can do so only if they remain joined to the head.
Under the headship of Christ, the body grows according to God’s plan. Literally, the Greek translates into an awkward phrase “it (the church) grows (unto?) the growth of God.” The basic meaning, however, is that God provides the pattern for the church’s growth; he also is the source of that growth, which is mediated through Christ, the head.
All of what Paul has been saying adds to his indictment of the false teachers for being vain and carnal (2:18). Since they have cut themselves off from the source of nourishment, unity, and growth, it follows that they are undernourished, fragmented, and stagnant. In fact, the imagery can be carried even further, for it leads to this inescapable truth: The one who separates himself from Christ, the head of the church, is cut off from the church, the body of Christ; the one who separates himself from the church is cut off from Christ, the head.
2:20 One cannot help but notice the repetition of Paul’s earlier thoughts in 2:6–23. First, he applies the truths of the Christ hymn to the situation at Colossae (2:6–10); then he explains the effect of the believer’s union with Christ in baptism, culminating in victory over all spiritual rulers and authorities (2:11–15). The heretics, however, did not claim that victory in Christ, because they continued to live in bondage to these spiritual powers—a bondage that manifested itself in cultic practices and angel worship.
Now, in verses 20–23, Paul resumes his indictment of the heresy by exposing its nature even further. Anyone practicing this false religion, he claims, is still enslaved to the cosmic powers. They do not live out the fact that at the time of their baptism (2:11, 12) they died with Christ and were set free from the power of the ruling spirits of the universe.
The tragedy is that the false teachers are not living in the victory and freedom that is theirs in Christ. Since you died to the powers of this world, why, asks Paul, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules? The Greek word (dogmatizesthe) was used in 2:14 and translated as “regulations.” Here, it occurs in the verbal middle form, which carries the idea “why do you subject yourselves to dogmas …?” why … do you submit to its rules?
2:21 The first characteristic of such rules and regulations is that they are enslaving (“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”). Such prohibitions can make people paranoid and paralyze them in their conduct for fear of sinning. Apparently this heresy had a long list of foods that were religiously unacceptable, that is, unclean (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1; 1 Tim. 4:3). There does not appear to be any deliberate gradation in this list, although “to handle” (haptō) can imply taking hold for the purpose of possessing.
2:22 Second, these rules and taboos are temporary (these are all destined to perish with use). Literally translated, the Greek reads: “which things are all for corruption in the using.” Without exception these taboos are subject to dissolution (decay). Why, then, stake so much of your life on things that have no enduring consequence, no eternal reality, no lasting effect?
Third, they are human precepts (human commands and teachings). No doubt this is an allusion back to such passages as 2:8 and 2:17–18, where Paul already has discussed human traditions and regulations. The idea here is similar to a reference Jesus makes to the Pharisees: “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’ ” (Matt. 15:7–9; cf. Mark 7:7). A similar concern occurs in Titus 1:13–14, where Paul appeals to them to be “sound in the faith” and to “pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.” The church of Jesus Christ continually needs to be on guard lest human traditions rob its members of their freedom in Christ.
2:23 Fourth, they are deceptive and useless: The thoughts in this verse are quite similar to those in 2:18, where Paul talked about visions, false humility, and worship of angels. Here, he adds that the rules and regulations have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body. At best, however, all of these requirements are counterfeit, for they can deliver only appearances and impressions. The wisdom, worship, and humility do not bring them closer to God; the ascetic practices have no effect in preventing sins of the flesh. Basically, all such human attempts at religion are worthless—they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Additional Notes
2:17 The grammatical problems of the phrase to de sōma tou Christou are discussed by Schweizer, pp. 157–58. Perhaps a nominative (ton) originally stood in place of the genitive, thus meaning that in contrast to “shadow,” “the body is Christ”; or, to supply words to produce the meaning, that “the body belongs to Christ” or “the body, however, is the body of Christ.” In spite of this, “The only point that is not altogether certain is whether it is Christ or the church that is set as reality in contrast to the shadow” (p. 158).
2:18 The word embateuō has been discussed by a number of scholars: Carr, “Two Notes on Colossians,” pp. 492–500, gives it the meaning of entering into the sanctuary “of the mind” rather than a sanctuary connected with initiation into one of the mysteries. Consequently, the translation of the verse reads: “Let no one judge you unfit to be a Christian with his personal wishes about religious excess and his haunting the courts of heaven at worship with angels, his so-called visions, puffed up by his private earthly imagination” (p. 499). This view comes close to that of Schweizer, who talks about a kind of “religious meditation” in which an individual would receive a vision of God (“Christ in the Letter to the Colossians,” p. 454).
For other comments, see Francis, “The Background of EMBATEUEIN (Col. 2:18) in Legal Papyri and Oracle Inscriptions,” in Conflict at Colossae, pp. 197–207. Francis concludes that embateuein does not confirm a type of mystery religion, but in the context of Colossians is used as a word for entering into heaven; H. Preisker, “embateuō,” TDNT, vol. 2, pp. 535–36. In the commentaries, Bruce, pp. 248–49, esp. n. 93; Martin, pp. 94–95.
The problem of angel worship is explored by Francis, “Humility and Angelic Worship in Col. 2:18,” in Conflict at Colossae, pp. 163–95. He takes the phrase “worship of angels” as a subjective genitive, meaning that it is the angels who worship and not people who worship the angels, as is commonly thought. See also A. R. R. Sheppard, “Pagan Cults of Angels in Roman Asia Minor,” Talanta 12/13 (1980–82), pp. 77–101.
2:20 The choice, as Schweizer points out, “is between the ‘world’ and its elements on the one hand and ‘heaven’ and the sovereignty of God on the other” (p. 166). Much of Schweizer’s understanding of the false teaching relates to Gnostic ideas of the soul’s ascent to heaven. Consequently, he understands Paul’s polemic in this verse accordingly: “Since the Colossians are anxious that they may not, after their death, be able to ascend to that region above, the author stresses the other side of the matter: they have actually been transposed into that region above already, even if this fact is not yet clearly evident. They must therefore no longer allow regulations to be made as though they were still living in the world” (p. 166).
2:23 The translation and exposition here do not indicate the difficulties commentators have with a text that many describe as “hopelessly obscure.” For attempts to clarify its meaning, see B. Hollenback, “Col. 2:23: Which Things Lead to the Fulfillment of the Flesh,” NTS 25 (1979), pp. 254–61; Houlden, Paul’s Letters from Prison, pp. 199–200; Lohse, p. 124–26; Martin, pp. 98–100; Schweizer comments that “the verse is almost impossible to translate” (p. 168).