Colossians 2
2
1For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at La-odice´a, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; 2that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and#2.2 and of the Father, and not found in best early manuscripts. of Christ; 3in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. 5For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
6As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Dead but Risen with Christ
8Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: 11in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12#Rom 6.4. buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13#Eph 2.1-5. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14#Eph 2.15. blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16 #
Rom 14.1-6. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. 18Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19#Eph 4.16. and not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
20Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(touch not; taste not; handle not; 22which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Colossians 2
2
1I want you to know how hard I'm working for you, and for those at Laodicea—in fact for all those who haven't met me personally— 2so that you may be encouraged. May you be bound together in love, experiencing the great benefit of being completely sure in your understanding, for this is what the true knowledge of God brings. May you know the revealed mystery of God, which is Christ! 3In him you can discover all the rich wisdom and knowledge of God.
4I'm telling you this so that no one will fool you by spinning you a tale.#2:4. Literally, “false arguments.” 5Even though I'm not physically there with you, I'm with you in spirit. I'm so happy to see the way you stick together and how firm you are in your trust in Christ. 6Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, go on following him, 7grounded in him and built up by him. May your trust in him continue to grow strong, following what you were taught, full of gratitude to God.
8Watch out that nobody enslaves you through their philosophy and worthless delusions, following human traditions and concepts of this world, and not following Christ. 9For the fullness of God's divine nature lives in Christ in bodily form, 10and you have been made full#2:10. Or “complete,” “whole.” in him. He is supreme over every ruler and authority.
11You were “circumcised” in him but not by human hands. You have been set free from sinful human nature by the “circumcision” Christ performed.#2:11. Clearly this is not talking about physical circumcision but what it was supposed to mean spiritually. 12You were buried with him in baptism, and you were raised with him through your trust in what God did by raising him from the dead. 13And even though you were dead because of your sins and being physically “uncircumcised,” he brought you to life together with him. He has forgiven us all our sins. 14He wiped out the record of our debts according to the Law that was written down against us; he took away this barrier#2:14. Note that the barrier is on our side, not God's. by nailing it to the cross. 15He stripped away the power of spiritual rulers and authorities,#2:15. Clearly speaking about evil spiritual agencies. and having publicly revealed what they were truly like, he led them captive behind him in victory.
16So don't let anyone criticize you for what you eat or what you drink, or regarding which religious festival, new moon ritual, or ceremonial sabbaths you choose to observe.#2:16. In this context Paul is referring to the various yearly festival days of the Jewish ceremonial system. 17These are just a shadow of what was to come, for the physical reality is Christ. 18Don't let anyone cheat you out of your prize by insisting you have to beat yourself,#2:18. Self-mortification; the phrase could also be translated “false humility.” or worship angels. They think they are better than anyone else because of visions they say they've had, and become ridiculously conceited in their sinful minds. 19Such people are not connected to the head that directs the body, nourished and joined together through the body's sinews and muscles. As the body is united together it grows the way God wants it to grow.
20If you died with Christ to the religious demands that this world insists upon,#2:20. Probably referring both to Jewish religious regulations and to pagan ceremonies and taboos. why would you make yourself subject to such demands as if you were still part of this world? 21Things like: don't handle that, don't taste that, don't touch that! 22These commands refer to things that don't last since they're used up,#2:22. This tends to indicate that the rules are about food and drink which will of course be consumed and then “used up.” and they're based on man-made requirements and teachings. 23Such rules may make some kind of sense to those who practice self-centered piety, who are so proud of being humble, and who “mortify the body;” but in reality they don't help at all in dealing with sinful desires.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com