6 As you therefore have received Christ
Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and
built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to
the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.
9 For
in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have
come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In
him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the
body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were
buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the
power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were
dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive
together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing
the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside,
nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities
and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn
you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or
sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the
substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you,
insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed
up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19 and not holding fast
to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its
ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.
Paul
has been clearing away a space in the first part of this letter that allows him
to express the concerns that give rise to this letter. He has offered his
prayer of thanksgiving for their faith, hope, and love. He has commented upon a
hymn popular in that area that magnifies Christ as the one who holds together
and reconciles creation itself. He reminds them of the suffering he has
experienced due to his faithfulness to Christ. This fact should show his
genuineness as an apostle. This Christ-centered opening clears a space for him
to discuss the issue he sees arising in this congregation.
He has a concern about false
teaching in verses 2:6-8. They received Christ Jesus the Lord when they received
the gospel. This receiving is to affect the way they lead their lives. They are
to grow in the faith as Epaphras and others from his team taught them. They are
to do so with thanksgiving or gratitude for what God has done to save them.
Christ has liberated them. Therefore, and here comes his concern, he does want
human philosophies and empty deceit make them captive again. We need some care
here. Paul used philosophy to express his thoughts. So does the Gospel of John.
Paul obviously had great respect for learning and knowledge. His concern is
when people use it to steer people away from Christ.
In 2: 9-15, Paul will focus upon the
two errors he sees. One is theological. You see, the fullness of deity dwells
in Christ. Yet, some are not satisfied with Christ alone. He wants us to
understand that Christ, properly followed, will bring us to the spiritual
maturity we need. Two is practical. He will talk about a spiritual circumcision
that deals with our natural rebellion. Baptism is the sign, as we think of it
as burial with Christ when we go under the water and resurrection as we come
out of the water. Think about this for a moment. We already experience this
resurrected life through the power of God and in the Holy Spirit, even as we
await the future fullness of salvation when Christ returns. God has cancelled
the debt we owed to God due to our sin. We knew about this debt because of the
Law, the supreme expression of which is the Mosaic Law. Yet, God nailed these
legal demands to the cross, so that now, everything is about our connection or
identity with Christ. Christ already has victory over every spiritual authority
we might think is out there. Here is the paradox of the cross. The helplessness
of the cross is triumph and victory.
In
2: 16-17, if all this is true, Paul seems puzzled that they have allowed people
to come into their community and tell them they must obey certain rituals and
extreme demands upon diet in order to follow Jesus. The problem he sees is that
while such practices might be helpful in our discipleship, and they might even
sound like “radical” discipleship, the reality is that we can focus upon them
rather than Christ.
In
2: 18-19, Paul sees a threat of angelic mediators. His concern is that someone
or a group is going to disqualify them from receiving the prize Christ wants to
give them. They urge strict physical discipline, worship of angelic beings, and
they even dwell upon visions they claim to have had. Such persons are not
holding on to Christ. If they did, they would connect at a deeper level to the
church as the body of Christ. That is how they will grow.
Some
myths are harmless….some things we choose to believe are downright dangerous:
Myths
can also be dangerous when it comes to spiritual life.
Consider
the persistent myth that it does not matter what you believe, so long as you
believe it sincerely. Every spiritual path leads to God. Really?
What
you believe is important for your spiritual maturity. Properly understood, your
beliefs are the lens through which you view the world and yourself, and
therefore will affect what you do with your life.
What
do you really believe about God? How
passionately do you believe it? How well
can you articulate your faith… how theologically literate are you? If we probed
inside that compartment in your brain labeled “What I believe about God” what
would we find?
Paul
is telling us that a life worthy of the Lord means checking mind and heart
regarding who you believe God is.
One
of the reasons Paul wrote this letter was to bring theological clarity. This
young church was theologically confused and immature. He is offering a
spiritual health warning to them. I find myself wanting to do the same today.
Could
you be deceived?
An
example from the world of technology might help. I like technology. It has been
a tremendous advance in my studies and communication. I came across and article
that is exciting to me.
We
do not think much about “Hi-Fi” today. It means “high fidelity” records on
which I used to play my music. Yes, vinyl records were important to me. I have
noticed that they are making a comeback, at least if my trips to Half-Priced
Books is any indication.
Wi-Fi
could become as pervasive in our world as the air. Wi-Fi allows us to deliver music
instantly, seamlessly, wirelessly, and digitally. Wi-Fi is our window into the
world of information. My phone, television, and computer all connect to Wi-Fi
and then out to the world of information and communication.
The
article refers to a recent innovation will allow the flow of information to
increase to as fast as the speed of light.
They call it “Li-Fi” because it transmits information through pulsating
light in LED bulbs. It will transmit data as fast as 224 gigabytes per second.
In a real world experiment in Estonia, individuals could receive 1 GB of
information per second, 100 times faster than Wi-Fi. The innovation is like a
wireless fiber-optic network that will deliver data anywhere in the room. Lest
you think the flickering light will drive you crazy, it will flicker so fast
the human eye cannot perceive it.
Li-Fi
is a very promising upgrade for an Internet-dependent world, but despite the
hyperspace speeds it promises, it's still going to deliver the same old World
Wide Web. We will still be sorting through vast universes of data, but at a
higher rate of speed and with the same concerns we have today about what is
true and useful and what is false and downright destructive to our souls. No
matter how fast we learn to deliver the information, you still have to consider
the source.
Let
us back up for a moment. In all of these cases, “Fi” is in the title.
"Fidelity" means loyalty or faithfulness, but it also means --
especially in audio technology -- a true copy of the original. The phrase has
fallen into disuse in this era of MP3 and other digital recordings, but back in
the days of vinyl records, Hi-Fi was the criterion that differentiated a merely
adequate recording from a great one. "High-fidelity," or hi-fi,
became the gold standard, both for recordings and for the devices that played
them back.
Ironically,
digital recordings, by their very nature, demonstrate lower fidelity than
vinyl. This is because they convert the curving waveform of the original analog
signal into a series of tiny steps. A little something is lost with each
stair-step -- although such differences are barely discernible to the human
ear.
The
old vinyl-record technology -- being an analog as opposed to a digital signal
-- is, in purely abstract terms, of higher fidelity. The problem comes with the
delivery system. Particles of dust on the record's surface, not to mention
scratches, create annoying hisses and pops. If the turntable's stylus becomes
worn or was of poor quality to begin with, the output degrades even further.
This is the reason why -- for all but the most fanatical audiophiles, who
babies their vinyl records and invests in the most costly diamond styli for
their high-end turntables -- CDs and mp3s have largely beaten out vinyl in the
marketplace.
The
ultimate standard is what the listener hears. So, too, with Christian witness.
It matters little how closely, in the rarefied setting of worship inside the
church walls, our personal concept of Christian discipleship tracks with the
original example of our Lord. If we cannot reproduce that song of faithfulness
consistently, in everyday settings -- as a smartphone with a pair of cheap
earbuds can deliver our favorite tunes, as we walk the treadmill down at the
gym -- then what good is the abstract, technical definition of high fidelity?
Colossians
2:6-8 contain a warning against false teachings. Paul cannot take for granted
the continuance of the faith, so he gives advice in v. 6-7 and warning in v. 8.
We may have to
expose some dangerous myths. Our baptism and our participation in the Lord’s
Supper say that we want to identify our lives with Christ. In what way does
Christ define who we are?
6 As you therefore, Paul
referring back to 2:5b and their grounding in the faith, have received, implying transmission from one to another, a technical term in early Christianity
for transmitting tradition, Christ Jesus
the Lord, Paul using "Christ" rather than "gospel"
here, since the problem is the subversion of the truth concerning Christ. He also stresses the historical person in
referring to Jesus and the acceptance of him as Lord. Followers of Christ cannot fill up “Christ”
with any meaning they wish. It always has a connection to the Jewish
apocalyptic preacher, Jesus of Nazareth. Paul urges his readers to continue to live your lives in him, the
reception of Christ as Lord is to affect the way you live your lives, 7 rooted, built up in him, and
established, a legal term, suggesting a ratified and binding contract, in the faith, just as you were taught. Paul
contrasts what his team taught them with the “human tradition” he will mention
in verse 8. The appropriate response to Christ's lordship is obedience to
Paul's teaching. If they live their lives this way they will be abounding in thanksgiving. Thanksgiving
is the end of all human conduct, whether exhibited in words or works. In Paul, gratitude for the saving action of
God in Jesus Christ forms the starting point and context of all Christian
prayer. Therefore, with special emphasis, Paul here calls on believers to thank
God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.[1] 8 See
to it (blapetema, suggesting the imminence of peril and the reality of the
danger) that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to
the elemental (stoicheia),
suggesting the letters of the alphabet, spirits
of the universe, and not according to Christ. We find the first reference
to false teaching. Christ won liberty
for them, but now, they are going back on Christ. We should note the danger
that they whom Christ has delivered from darkness could fall from into a
slavery worse than their former condition.
This passage disparages "Philosophy" in this context, though it
may extend to the ethical issues involved.
In Paul's day, philosophy tended to mean subtle dialectics and
profitless speculation. The philosophy or false teaching has its source in the
traditions of people and as subject-matter it is the rudiments of the
world. The careful student of scripture
needs to be aware of the danger philosophy poses to biblical exegesis.[2]
Yet, a word of caution is in order. Paul uses philosophy. His letters follow
the general pattern of rhetoric, which was a branch of philosophy. One can read
the rhetoric of Aristotle to see this. One can also read Aristotle on ethics to
see the basic notion of the virtuous life, which compares well with the virtues
and vices Paul lists later in this letter as well as his contrast of the works
of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. What Paul is opposing, however, is to
fill up the revelation of God in Christ Jesus with philosophical meaning in a
way that dismisses the apostolic witness. When Paul says “philosophies,” he is
not talking about philosophical schools that existed in his day. Combined with
the specific warnings about festivals, angel worship, etc.,
"philosophy" refers to that which for us expresses the idea of
‘religion.’”[3]
This would be an important distinction. It steers us away from a sense that
Paul wants people to steer away from knowledge or learning. Rather, Paul wants
to steer us away from those things that prevent the proper worship of Christ,
and which twist the message of the gospel to include regulations and actions
that would stifle the freedom Paul wants the church to have.
Colossians 2:9-15 has the theme of
an antidote the Colossian error. Paul will condemn the theological error in
verses 9-10 in replacing inferior beings with Christ as the head, and the practical
error in verses 11-15 of insisting on ritual and ascetic observances as the
foundation of their moral teaching.
9
For in him the
whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. Paul
substantiates the charge he made in verse 8. The fullness of divinity dwells in
Christ, not other powers, as the false teachers suggested. Paul pairs his
warnings against such teaching taking them captive, or having these religions
or philosophies rob them, with a positive defense. Paul reminds the church that
Christ already fills them. The New Testament tells of the full, genuine, and
individual humanity of the Man Jesus. However, in that man has entered One who
is qualitatively different from all other people. He is not simply a better
man, a more gifted, a more wise or noble or pious, in short a greater man. The
New Testament lives and acts in the knowledge and on the presupposition of what
Paul says here. This passage demonstrates and exercises divine omnipresence.
God is eternal, a notion that embraces time. God enters time and becomes
temporal, without ceasing to be eternal. God is Eternal in time.[4]
Admittedly, maintaining the transcendence and immanence of God in a coherent
way is difficult. The doctrine of the Trinity clarifies the question of union
and tension between transcendence and immanence. Here, it arises with even
greater sharpness, for Paul writes of the dwelling of deity in Jesus Christ.[5]
This means that 10 you have
come to fullness in him. True life is union with Christ. Paul is relating
to “fullness” in a way that reflects the polemic. Christ embodies the divine plaroma and as a part of Christ's body,
they participate in it. John Calvin
takes Paul to mean, “As to God’s dwelling wholly in Christ, it is in order that
we, having obtained him, may possess in him an entire perfection.” He then
reflects on those “who do not rest satisfied with Christ alone,” for they
injure God in two ways. They detract from the glory of God by desiring
something above the perfection of God. They are ungrateful, seeking elsewhere
what they already have in Christ. Christ has the resources from which God will
bring us to fullness, completeness, or maturity. Paul further identifies
Christ, who is the head, suggesting
the vital energy or source, of every
ruler and authority. In apocalyptic literature, the end of the present age
overthrows evil forces. Here, Paul
announces that the end has already happened. In moving to this announcement,
Paul affirms Christ's present lordship over every hostile spirit-power. Today, we can see an ecumenical point. The
Roman pontiff has historically caused division by making extravagant claims for
authority in the church. This verse is an argument against the notion of
referring to any human being as “head” of the church, for the New Testament uses
such a term exclusively for Jesus Christ. The use of such a term for the Roman
bishop has always been an occasion for justifiable offense.[6]
What do you believe about Jesus?
Christians would continue to
reflect upon this question down to the present. The earliest debates within the
church focus on Jesus. At least six major councils of church leaders from 325
A.D. – 680 A.D. debated Christology ….what we believe about Jesus.
Many groups have thought about
this along with us. They have come to varying conclusions.
Judaism historically has thought
of Jesus as one of many false messiahs.
Islam thinks of Jesus as a
prophet of Allah, who never really died. In fact, he had a family and Allah
will bring him back at the end of time to wage a war against non-Muslims in
Jerusalem. God does not have a Son, says the Quran.
Hinduism accepts Jesus as one of
many manifestations of the divine that they call Brahman. He is like a god or
guru for the Christians.
Mormonism rejects the Trinity,
but does think the risen Jesus appeared in America in the 600’s AD.
Jehovah’s Witness say he is
better than angels are, but has no intimate connection to God.
Some people keep making the case
that Jesus is political and is on one side of the political divide or the
other. As much as I used to like politics – this election season has soured me
a bit – I find it disconcerting that so many preachers and teachers in the
church want to identify Jesus with a particular political agenda. If such a
person showed up, could you see the spiritual con here?
When I attended Indiana Wesleyan,
I had a summer in which I worked at a little factory. Eventually, one of the
co-workers started talking about the church he attended. He talked of “Jesus
only.” It started out sounding good. However, as he got into it, it started
sounding strange. He referred to the passage in Mark 9, the Mount of
Transfiguration, where three disciples saw vision of the risen Lord, but also
Moses and Elijah. A cloud appears and they hear a voice saying they are to listen
to Jesus, and when the cloud lifts, in the KJV, the disciples saw no one, “save
Jesus only.” Out of that text arose the belief by this group that neither
Father nor Spirit exists. Therefore, they believe in “Jesus only.” I eventually learned that it was a brand of
Pentecostalism that denied the Trinity, called “oneness” Pentecostalism or
“Apostolic” Pentecostalism.
If he showed up in your life,
could you be spiritually conned?
Let us get back to the passage.
Do you believe that the fullness of deity dwells in Christ? When people try to
tell us that we have many sources for knowledge of God, do we have courage to
say No? You see, Paul summarizes right Christology in this short phrase. If God
exists, it makes sense God would clarify who God is by revelation. God does not
leave us groping in the dark.
Do you really believe the risen
Christ became head of every ruler and authority and has disarmed them (verses
10 and 15)? Many forces spiritual, cultural, economic, and political seek
authority in your life and mine. Jesus rules over all, and seeks your
liberation.
In 2: 11-15, Paul elaborates on the
theme of "fullness of life in him."
Paul turns to the practical errors.
The key phrase is "putting off ..." clearly referring to
baptism. Getting rid of old clothes and
re-clothing after baptism is suggestive, as we also find in Galatians 3:27, “As
many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ.” 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual
circumcision. A circumcision exists that is wholly the work of God. It is through faith and in baptism that the
new life begins. "Circumcision" is aorist, referring to their
baptism. Paul chooses the words to
express the completeness of the spiritual change. This circumcision occurred by putting off the body of the flesh, unregenerate
nature that would hold the believer in bondage, in the circumcision of Christ. You
put off your unregenerate nature, for 12
when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. Baptism is
the grave of the old nature, and the birth of the new. Beneath baptismal waters, the believer buries
past sin. Emerging, the believer rises
to a new hope and new life. It is the
seal of God's adoption and the earnest of the Spirit. Baptism is a symbol of identifying with
Christ in his death and resurrection.
One should also note that only by belief in the resurrection does one
obtain the benefits of the resurrection.
The reference to circumcision here is not to suggest that the philosophy
opposed involved the Jewish practice.[7] In
Paul, we find the notion of the already and the Not Yet of salvation. In this
passage, Paul is bold enough to describe the resurrection of the baptized as a reality
that is present already. Yet, the tension with the future of salvation is still
present when Colossians 3:3-4 Paul still says that that God still hides the new
life of believers with Christ in God.[8] An
exchange of place takes place between the innocent Jesus and sinner whom Christ
represents before the Father. This exchange takes place only if, for their
part, the sinners for whom Jesus died let their lives, having fallen victim to
death, link to the death of Jesus, which this verse suggests takes place in
baptism. Only then does the expiation that the death of Jesus makes possible
actually come into force for individuals.[9]
Paul uses the analogy with Old
Testament circumcision, only now Christ is doing it, stressing that a human
being cannot put off our sinful nature. You cannot do it yourself. Do you
believe this about salvation?
In 2: 13-15, some scholars suggest Paul
quotes a fragment of an early Christian hymn. 13 Further, when
you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you
alive. The "life" referred to could be regeneration or the future
life of immortality. God’s saving plan, the divine mystery that God now
reveals, consists of the fact that “Christ is in you, the hope of glory.” The
Messiah of the people of God is also the Savior of the world of nations.
Therefore, Christ is not only the hope for this or that individual, but also
the riches of the glory of the divine plan of salvation among the peoples. In
this passage, only by union with the Messiah Jesus as this takes place in
baptism gives individuals a part in this glory. God made you alive together with him (Christ), when he forgave us all our trespasses, suggesting
a debt owed to God that God has cancelled, 14
erasing the record, using the technical terms implying the debtor or
contractor. It seems to suggest Gentiles
and Jews signed a contract that stood
against us with its legal demands. Dogma is decree or ordinance, esp. the
Mosaic Law. Greek commentators refer the
word to the Gospel. Paul refers to the validity
of the bond and active hostility of the bond. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. God nailed the law to
the cross and destroyed it with his body.
Here is another example. Paul will also say that he will boast in
nothing except the cross of Christ, by which the world has been crucified to
him and he has been crucified to the world (Galatians 6:14). Only the aspect of
the law that was against us is what God nailed to the cross. It refers to false ritualistic prescriptions
that were gaining ground. In the OT and
Jewish literature, especially in apocalyptic literature, there was a widely
accepted teaching that God had a book recording everyone's deeds. As an aside, some would suggest that
Christians repeat the action of Christ on the cross in a sacramental way.
Salvation refers to liberation,
health, healing, and wholeness. What is keeping your life sick and weighted
down? To the one wandering around lost, saving is guidance. To the one living
in bondage, saving is liberation. For the one guilty, saving is forgiveness. To
the sick of soul, saving is depths of emotional and spiritual healing. God has
already buried you and raised you. New life has already begun in you. Do you
believe this about salvation? You are no longer under the accusation of the
Law. You are in the hands of the gracious God who showed up in Jesus and gave
his life for you.
15
He disarmed the
rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them
in it. Christian hope is not just individual
hope in God but hope for the world, for the kingdom of God, and only in this
context hope for one’s own salvation.[10] We
need to note the triumph of Christ over all His enemies. Truly, “Jesus is
Victor.” The statement is a challenge, a sign under which the presentation of
the prophetic work of Jesus must always stand.[11] God has stripped away the powers of
evil. God has publicly displayed them as captive. We see here the paradox of
the cross. The helplessness of the cross is its triumph; the shame of the cross
is its glory. He continues the message of Christ's triumph. Christ has defeated the spirit-forces that
accused them. Christ repelled the
assault of the enemies. Paul refutes the
idea that they are the helpless victims of false teachers.
Paul presents the practical error of ritualism and
asceticism in 2: 16-17. 16Therefore
do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing
festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. Mosaic regulations were only with
meats. False teachers went beyond legal
regulations. He refers to annual
festivals, monthly festivals, and the Sabbath laws. Andrew Lincoln says the regulations are
clearly part of Judaism that this “philosophy” has taken over in order to deal
with its notion of the cosmic powers. The issue of food and drink is likely
part of strict asceticism. We see this in the reference to calendar observances
as well, all of which have parallels in the Old Testament, but the point is not
to obey Torah and maintain Jewish identity. Rather, the effort is to please the
cosmic powers in verse 8 and in verse 20.
We find a later usage of this theme in a respected document of the
second century AD.
As for
Jewish taboos with respect to food, along with their superstition about the
Sabbath, their bragging about circumcision, and their hypocrisy about fast days
and new moons, I hardly think that you need to be told by me that all these
things are ridiculous, and not worth arguing about. 2How can it be anything
but godlessness that makes men accept some of the things made by God for man's
use as created good, and reject other things as useless and superfluous? 3And
is it not impious to pretend that God forbids a good deed on the Sabbath Day? 4And
are they not asking for ridicule when they boast of the mutilation of the flesh
as a sign of their choice by God, as if for this reason they were especially
beloved by him? 5Again, when they constantly gaze at the stars and watch the
moon, in order to observe months and days with scrupulous care and to
distinguish the changes of the seasons which God has ordained, in order to
cater to their own whims, making some into festivals, and others into times of
mourning, who could call this evidence of devotion rather than of folly? 6All
this being so, I think that you have learned enough to see that Christians are
right in holding themselves aloof from the aimlessness and trickery of Greeks
and Jews alike, and from the officiousness and noisy conceit of the Jews. But
as far as the mystery of the Christians’ own religion is concerned, you cannot
expect to learn that from man.[12]
Observance of
sacred times was part of the old dispensation.
The point Paul seems to make is that of attributing significance beyond
what the new covenant would allow. These
holy days can express our own weakness.
The prescriptions are part of the ascetic way of life. Many viewed fasting as prelude to receiving a
revelation from the gods. Paul seems to
reject the festival days because of their connection with angel worship. Was the main influence on these false
teachers Jewish or pagan? It appears
reasonable to think of a “pagan” religion that is syncretistic, using some
Jewish practices for their own purposes.
17 These
are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. We might note the contrast between the ordinances of
the Law and the teaching of the Gospel.
We can see the conception of the shadow in relation to the new
covenant. Such reasoning suggests why
Paul offered the attack he offers here. Observance of the regulation of v. 20
shows a misunderstanding of God's purpose.
It is living in the shadows where fear and inhibition abound. The reality is Christ. The imagery of a
“shadow” was part of the Hellenistic world ever since the powerful allegory by
Plato in The Republic concerning the
cave. Paul uses the imagery, not to refer to the philosophical Idea or world of
Forms in Plato, but to the “reality” of Christ. The “shadow” is this world of
appearances. The use of soma in this
context refers to the invisible realm of true ideas or true being. Lohse in his
commentary and R. J. Karris in his Hermenia
commentary and R. P. Martin in his commentary suggest that Paul is using
the terminology of the philosophy to his own ends. The “reality” or “substance”
is also a philosophic term, suggesting that which is beyond what the five
senses can deliver. Paul also introduces an eschatological element, for such
things are a “shadow” of “what is to come.” Christ has already initiated “what
is to come.” His point is that the true reality of Christ, the image of the
invisible God in 1:15 and the one in whom the fullness of deity dwells in 1:19
and 2:10, means that the “shadow” no longer has any grounds for continued
existence. The practices of this philosophy are superfluous. Paul wants his
readers to keep the main thing the main thing: Hold fast to Jesus Christ and
live in him.
In 2: 18-19, Paul presents the threat he sees in
angelic mediators. 18 Do not
let anyone disqualify you. The word evokes the image of an umpire ruling
against a contestant in a game and thereby depriving that person of any prize.[13] Paul warns them that false teachers could
cheat them out of their prize. They have detached themselves from Christ. The
career of the Christian, so to speak, is that of the contest in the
stadium. Christ is the one who dispenses
the rewards. Eternal life is the wreath.
False teachers have attempted to trip them up in their race. They are persons frustrating those who
otherwise would have won the race. Such teachers disqualify his readers by insisting on, suggesting a group trying
to force its opinion, self-abasement (or
humility), which may refer to fasting.
We should note that the Greek world considered "humility" a
vice. Here, it has become
self-conscious. His point is that by
appealing to intermediary beings there was the appearance of humility as over
against going to God. Their profession of humility was a cloak for excessive
pride. The false teachers insisted on worship
of angels, suggesting their veneration as part of the cult. The worship of
angels is a substitution of the inferior for the superior worship of the head,
which is the source of spiritual life.
The Essene community within Judaism venerated angels as well. These
speculative mystics are "balancing in the air" and "treading the
void" by their ideas, expressing pride and emptiness of teaching. Further,
dwelling on visions, using a hapax
legomenon (a word used only one time in the New Testament, and therefore whose
meaning is dubious), which translates to mean something such as “goes on about
a vision.” Clearly, Paul has something very specific in mind when he is warning
his church, and yet he neglects to name explicitly what that the thing is. Paul
would assume, a typical pattern of his, that the church would be clear
concerning his meaning. After a study of
the combination of worship of angels and visions, one might suggest the meaning
is that the opponents insist on fasting and worship of angels that they see
when entering the heavenly realm through such visionary experiences. Fasting
would be the required preparation for visions.[14] The false teachers are puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, referring to
the "Flesh," a “human” way of thinking unenlightened by Spirit. These
opponents claim great spiritual experiences, while in reality trip people up in
their spiritual journey through the arrogance of their claims. Further, they
are 19 not holding fast to the
head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments
and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. The human body provides
Paul with his analogy. The point is that
each part of the body is important. Each part thrives in connection to the
whole. Thus, individuals are important. To state the obvious, Paul was
important to the church of his day and, as it turns out, to the church through
the ages. His apostolic witness continues to shape Christian witness. The body
imagery that Paul uses does not mean that creative individuals will not be
influential. Rather, his image of the body reminds us that regardless of who we
are as individuals, we are also part of a community. We can say the same thing
about the notion of the individual in the modern era. Hegel, for example, had a
profound view of the importance of the community in the formation of the self.
We are not isolated individuals, as philosophers like Descartes, Locke, and
Hume can sound at times. The isolated self is a weak self. Even the “rugged
individual” of American legend was part of small communities, such as villages,
wagon trains, and gold mining towns. The “rugged individual” was still part of
a family. Thus, Paul joins Christ and body.
The opponents of Paul are among those whom one could expect to adhere to
Christ, but they are not. The false teachers have excluded themselves from the
church. They have become detrimental to
the well-being and growth of the body of all followers of Christ. Nevertheless,
the channels of that life are the different members of his body, in relation to
one another. The result is growth. Such
growth assumes the specific action of Christians in bringing this growth.
Christ is the head, both in the sense of source and the authority. Christ is
the one from whom growth of the body comes. Yet, other agents for the growth of
the community are the members of the body who make mutual contributions. The body of Christ is free to
practice self-organization. The body of Christ becomes a self-regulating,
organic process that continuously reacts to its changing environment, building
and unbuilding itself.
In the incredibly diverse nation
America has become, the Christian community needs to gain deeper insight into
who it is. Do not let such deception make you go through a period of wasting
your life spiritually on that which cannot satisfy.
One, an authoritative charismatic
leader can lead people astray. Devotion to one person or teacher, no matter how
good he or she might be, will not satisfy. It can all sound good. They sound
sure of what they are saying and may intimidate you into thinking about things
the way they do. Someone had taken them captive.
In the 1980s, a woman happened to
attend church when I was leading a Sunday school class on United Methodist
beliefs. After a few classes, she said something like, “You mean, I do not have
to believe everything you say?” Well, you can imagine, longtime United
Methodists laughed, but she was serious. You could see the liberation she felt
on her face and in the way she kept growing as a disciple.
In the same decade, I visited one
of the sweetest elderly women of the church who had recently battled a disease.
She unfolded a story of listening to a television preacher regularly. One of
his promotions was to sell a handkerchief. When she received it in the mail,
she prayed and placed it where the disease was. Of course, now, many years
later, she was still battling the disease. Here comment, in tears, was that she
must not have enough faith. I was angry with the television preacher. What I
felt was the injustice and the spiritual hurt he had caused this elderly woman.
Two, people can turn to forms of
legalism to try to make themselves better.
Legalism will not satisfy your
spiritual hunger. The legalist wants to shame people. God will not love you
unless… God will not love you until… Paul puts legalism in perspective.
The danger of legalism is that it
can all sound quite spiritual and even like a radical disciple. Yet, these
things did not have real substance…they were just faint images of reality.
Three, people can look for
experiences to validate their faith.
High spiritual experiences can
all sound good. They may satisfy for a moment. Of course, experience is common
in religious life.
·
Wave
of emotion in worship
·
Passionate
end-of-camp pledge moment
·
Commitments
at a Great Banquet or Emmaus weekend
·
Deep
surge of joy in prayer
At camp meetings on the frontier,
a phenomenon known as “barking” became a sign that God had touched you. Be wary
of people who claim to have found the “secret” to something and give you the
feeling you are missing out. Do not become addicted to an experience. As Paul
will clarify, true worship glorifies Christ, not the experience one has. Thus,
if an experience leads to a claim of being spiritually superior over others, or
to persuading others to imitate it, it becomes a wrong a path.
What you believe matters. It will
shape the way you live your life. We need to be alert to the myths that are out
there. Some of the myths creep into the church. We are entering into a time
when pressure from the culture and even the government will seek to shame the
church into compliance. Will you have eyes to see and ears to hear the truth?
In particular, grow in your grasp
of who Christ Jesus the Lord is and your grasp of salvation. If you do, you
will not open the door for another person or group to con you regarding your
spiritual journey.
Honestly, your life depends on
it.
I invite you to reflect upon the
importance of community in your life. We are one already. If we do not realize
that now, we will learn it the hard way.[15]
Solitude can teach us much about who we are. We need such times, of course.
Yet, community shapes our character and personality. Community shapes whom we
are.[16]
We form community through the ability to pass time with people we do not and
will not know well, talking about nothing in particular, with no end in mind
other than to build trust in each other. To form a community involves
individuals becoming neighborly. We do not have a community in the way we have
things. Community is something we do.[17]
Reflect upon people you value in a way that you want to more like them. They
have purpose, heart, balance, gratitude, and joy. Such persons are likely to
have a deep form of spirituality. They are people of faith who practice their
spirituality in a community. They may be of a variety of religious traditions.
They band together for the sake of improving themselves and their community.
Their isolated candle burns brighter when part of a community. They are part of
something beautiful.[18]
The word “conscience” is from Latin,
conscientia, formed out of two words that mean, “knowing together.” Conscience
is not an inner voice. Conscience is the ability to think and act with outside
help from parents, teachers, coaches, and others of the community. They help to
shape our individual conscience. Formative events help shame the conscience as
well. A weak, faulty, or unclean conscience means we lose the ability to judge
right from wrong. We lose our moral compass. A good conscience requires
maintenance. The gathering of the Body of Christ in worship, learning, and
service is one way we recalibrate our moral compass. We acknowledge we help
from others. Fellow believers become the channel for the Holy Spirit to repair
the damaged conscience through the renewal of mind and heart.[19]
[2]
Barth (Church Dogmatics I.2 [21.2] 731)
[3]
(Barth, Markus and Helmut Blanke, “Colossians: A New Translation With
Introduction and Commentary” [The Anchor Bible [New York: Doubleday, 1994],
308).
[4]
Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.1 [59.1] 160, 187)
[5]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 1, 415)
[6]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Volume 3, 430)
[7]
Andrew Lincoln
[8]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 3, 605)
[9]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 2, 428)
[10]
Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 3, 179)
[11] Barth (Church
Dogmatics IV.3 [69.3]
[12] Diognetus 4, a letter written around
150 AD.
[13]
Andrew Lincoln
[14]
Andrew Lincoln
[15] We
are all one, and if we don’t know it, we will learn it the hard way. —Bayard
Rustin, American civil rights leader.
[16]
One can acquire everything in solitude, except character. —Stendhal (pen name
for the French essayist, Marie-Henri Beyle).
[17]
Community, I am beginning to understand, is made through a skill I have never
learned or valued: the ability to pass time with people you do not and will not
know well, talking about nothing in particular, with no end in mind, just to
build trust, just to be sure of each other, just to be neighborly. A community
is not something that you have, like a camcorder or a breakfast nook. No, it is
something you do. And you have to do it all the time. —Wendell Berry.
[18]
Most of the people I know who have what I want — which is to say, purpose,
heart, balance, gratitude, joy — are people with a deep sense of spirituality.
They are people in community who pray or practice their faith; they are
Buddhists, Jews, Christians — people banding together to work on themselves and
for human rights. They follow a brighter light than the glimmer of their own
candle; they are part of something beautiful. —Anne Lamott, Traveling Mercies:
Some Thoughts on Faith (Anchor Books, 2000), 100.
[19]
Inspired by Peter W. Marty, “Conscience means ‘knowing together,’” The
Christian Century, August 24, 2017.
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