Commentary - Colossians 2:16-19

Bird's-eye view

In this section of his letter to the Colossians, the apostle Paul is addressing a two-front war. Having established the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Christ, he now applies that glorious truth to the specific errors threatening this church. The Colossian heresy was a strange mixture, a syncretistic stew of Jewish legalism on the one hand and a pagan, mystical asceticism on the other. It was a "Jesus-plus" religion. You need Jesus, plus the old calendar. You need Jesus, plus a new secret humility. Paul takes his stand on the high ground of Christ's finished work and, from that vantage point, demolishes both errors. He tells the Colossians that because they are complete in Christ, they are free from the regulations of man. The old shadows have fled because the Son has risen. The false humility of the mystics is nothing but arrogant flesh. True spirituality is not found in either rule-keeping or esoteric experiences, but in holding fast to Christ, the Head.

Paul's fundamental argument is that the Old Covenant regulations were picture-book versions of a reality that has now arrived in person. To go back to the pictures is to insult the Person. At the same time, he confronts the gnostic-like spirituality that sought a "deeper" experience through self-denial and angel-worship. Paul exposes this as a fleshly counterfeit, a distraction from the only true source of spiritual life and growth, which is Christ Himself. The whole Christian life, in its liberty and its growth, flows from our union with Him.

Outline

Context In Colossians

This passage flows directly from Paul's triumphant declaration in verses 13-15. Christ has disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them at the cross. The "certificate of debt" with its legal demands has been nailed to the cross. Because this cosmic victory is so complete, the practical consequences for the believer are immense. The "therefore" in verse 16 is anchored in this reality. Because our debts are canceled and our spiritual enemies are defeated, we are no longer under the jurisdiction of petty religious tyrants. Paul is moving from the indicative (what Christ has done) to the imperative (how we must therefore live). The Colossians were being pressured to adopt practices that implied Christ's work was not enough. Paul writes to stiffen their spines by reminding them that in Christ, they have everything.

Verse by Verse Commentary

16 Therefore, no one is to judge you in food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day,

Paul begins with a ringing declaration of liberty. The word "therefore" connects this freedom directly to the victory of the cross he just described. Because the certificate of debt has been canceled, no one has the right to act as a debt collector. The false teachers in Colossae were setting themselves up as judges, as spiritual referees, telling the believers that their standing with God depended on their observance of the old Jewish ceremonial laws. These regulations fell into two basic categories: dietary laws ("food and drink") and the religious calendar ("a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day"). These were the core elements of Old Covenant piety. Paul is not saying that it is wrong for a believer to choose not to eat pork, or to set aside a day for remembrance. He is saying that no one has the right to make these things a basis for judgment, a test of fellowship, or a measure of spirituality. The authority of these regulations as binding law has been fulfilled and thus concluded in Christ.

17 things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Here is the theological foundation for that liberty. Why are we no longer bound by these rules? Because they were never the ultimate reality. They were a "shadow." A shadow is a real thing, and it points to the object casting it, but it is not the object itself. The entire Old Covenant ceremonial system was a series of shadows, pointing forward to the coming Messiah. The dietary laws pointed to Him who is the true bread from heaven. The festivals pointed to the great events of His redemptive work. The Sabbath pointed to the true rest we find in Him. Now that the "substance", or the "body" as the Greek has it, has arrived, it is folly to go back to chasing the shadows. To do so would be like a bride, on her wedding day, preferring to look at a photograph of her groom rather than the groom himself standing before her. Christ is the reality to which all the old signposts were pointing. Now that we have Him, we have the fulfillment of all that the shadows promised.

18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, going into detail about visions he has seen, being puffed up for nothing by his fleshly mind,

Paul now turns from the legalistic error to the mystical one. The danger here is being "defrauded of your prize." The prize is the fullness of life in Christ. This is the work of a spiritual con man, a referee who disqualifies you on the basis of some arbitrary rule he just made up. This false spirituality has several characteristics. First, it delights in "self-abasement" or a "voluntary humility." This is not true Christian humility, which is a byproduct of seeing the glory of God. This is a manufactured humility, a piety that is cultivated and put on display. It is humility that is proud of itself. Second, it involves the "worship of the angels." This was likely a form of mysticism that sought to access God through angelic intermediaries, perhaps out of a false sense that man was too lowly to approach God directly. But this is a direct assault on the unique mediatorial role of Christ. Third, it is based on private visions, with the false teacher "going into detail about visions he has seen." This creates an elitist spirituality, where authority rests not on the public revelation of God in Christ and in Scripture, but on subjective, unverifiable experiences. And the root of all this? It is a mind that is "puffed up for nothing by his fleshly mind." Notice the paradox: the outward show is self-abasement, but the inward reality is fleshly pride. This entire enterprise is a product of the unrenewed, sinful nature, masquerading as high spirituality.

19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

Here Paul diagnoses the fundamental problem with this mystical nonsense. It is a failure to hold fast to the Head, who is Christ. All these other things, the false humility, the angel worship, the visions, are distractions. They are an attempt to find spiritual life and nourishment from some other source. But Christ is the Head of the body, the church. He is the sole source of its life, its direction, and its growth. Paul uses the beautiful analogy of a human body. A body grows because it is connected to the head. The head sends signals, and the body is nourished and knit together through the intricate system of "joints and ligaments." This is how true spiritual growth happens. It is not an individualistic pursuit of mystical experience. It is corporate. It happens as the whole body, connected to Christ and to one another, receives its life from Him. The growth that results is not the bloated puffiness of fleshly pride, but a genuine "growth that is from God." It is organic, healthy, and real. To let go of the Head is to sever oneself from the only source of true spiritual life.

Application

The Colossian heresy is not dead; it just changes its wardrobe. The temptation to supplement the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ is a perennial one. On the one hand, we have the legalists, who are always trying to put believers back under some form of bondage, measuring spirituality by a checklist of external performances. We must insist, with Paul, that our standing before God rests on Christ alone, and not on our diet, our calendar, or any other human regulation.

On the other hand, we have the mystics, who are bored with the simple gospel and are always looking for a deeper, more exciting experience. They chase after visions, new revelations, and emotional highs, often looking down on those who are content with Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures. We must insist, with Paul, that this is just the flesh in a different costume. It is arrogance pretending to be humble.

The antidote to both errors is the same: a tenacious, white-knuckled grip on Christ. He is the Head. All life, all truth, all growth, all stability is found in Him. We must not be disqualified or defrauded by those who would offer us a substitute, no matter how pious it sounds. True Christian growth is not found by climbing some ladder of ascetic practice or by diving into the murky waters of subjective experience. It is found by being a healthy member of the body, nourished and held together with all the other saints, drawing all our life from Christ, our glorious Head.