Colossians 2:16-23 [NLT]
January 16, 2013
Oak Park Baptist Church – Wed Bible Study Series
Colossians Bible Study
Paul’s continues his teaching against the heresy:
So far we have seen how Paul has greatly encouraged the fellowship in Colossae AND has given a great picture of just who Jesus was and is…
In ch2 we find Paul encouraging these believers to NOT listen to the heresy being taught in their midst, but to cling to Christ and Christ alone!
In v8 Paul had used the analogy of being taken captive like a prisoner of war by their teaching… for them to NOT allow this to happen!
And his reasoning was because they were IN Christ, they could avoid being taken captive but they must remain faithful to Him and focus on Him.
In the 2nd part of ch2 we find Paul beginning to flesh out more teaching against this heresy… again we find Paul using the word “therefore” here in ch2… first in v6 and now in v16…
The ‘therefore’ is there to reveal a transition or to emphasize a previous point. Before v16 Paul had stressed that because these believers were IN Christ that they should not be taken in by these false teachings… and they should not allow them to influence their Christian walk!
Here in the final part of this chapter, Paul deals with the possible things these believers were having to face from these teachers… things such as telling them what they could or could NOT do…
THEN Paul gives advice on how to ignore the demands of these teachers and then Paul begins to explain why they CAN ignore them… in v21-23 Paul lays out how it can be accomplished!
So let’s jump back into our study and start by reading Col 2:16-19
Here Paul lists 2 separate areas where these believers were possibly being attacked. The first area of attack was actually 2 fold… it was an attack on these believers for their NOT observing the strict dietary laws and NOT observing the traditional Jewish Holy Days and traditional celebrations!
Let’s look at v16-17
16So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. 17For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
Now we know that Paul battled against legalism his entire ministry. Paul had been a Pharisee and understood the ritualistic regimen that Judaism placed upon those who were strict followers.
Certain foods could not be eaten and there were several ‘holy days’ that must be observed by the faithful PLUS several festivals or celebrations that must be observed.
These new believers had heard Paul preach about being free in Christ and no longer being slaves to the Law, so they had set aside the ritual of Judaism for the freedom of worship in a local body of believers… a worship that was NOT as ritualistic or ceremonial… a worship that many viewed as NOT spiritual enough.
In this situation these believers were being told that if they did NOT observe the dietary laws… or if they did not celebrate the High Holy days or festivals then they were NOT truly a believer!
These false teachers were ADDING the dietary laws to Christ… I can only presume that their motive here was personal holiness. But their view of personal holiness was about keeping a set of rules…
But notice what Paul says about those dietary laws AND the observance of those High Holy days… Paul says in v17: “…these rules are but a shadow of the reality yet to come, and that reality is Christ!”
What Paul is speaking about here is that IN CHRIST we have ALL we need. Our reality as believers is fully wrapped up ‘in Christ’ and we need NO other vehicle to bring us into holiness.
We are not ‘holy’ because of our actions, we are holy because Christ died for us and has set us aside for His kingdom, through our acceptance of Him as Savior!
What Paul is saying here is that there are no personal rituals or corporate rituals that are required to be IN CHRIST! To be IN CHRIST and to be saved meant receiving Christ as Savior… NOTHING more!
Now Paul did say on other occasions that it was ok for the believer to partake in the dietary laws and the religious holy days and festivals! The danger for the believer was placing a salvific nature to those events! Those things cannot and will NEVER save us NOR give us redemption!
Today we can apply this to our lives in a very practical way. Today many people equate salvation and being a Christian with perfect church attendance, generous giving, and a life that is free from any stain…
But the reality of the situation is this…we will NEVER achieve perfection in this life. Scripture tells us we are ALL sinners and fall short of Gods glory, but that if we will confess those sins, God is faithful to forgive and cleanse us!
There is a danger in equating our salvation with our works… it is NOT biblical… it is NOT from God! Salvation is based solely on God’s grace and mercy that is offered to all. Not all will accept it OR receive it, but Christ died for all!
In essence what these teachers were teaching to the Colossians was that for them to become as ‘spiritual’ as they were… that they had to do these things to prove their spirituality!
This message from Paul was that Christ was sufficient for salvation… they had Christ and did NOT need to be ‘more spiritual’!
Paul was teaching that these rituals and dietary restrictions were NOT and never truly were part of Salvation. They were a poor reflection… a shadowy representative of what Christ brought into the world!
These things could be used to form a self-discipline of holy living, but in and of themselves these things do not cause holiness in the believer NOR do they make them ‘more spiritual’.
These teachers were espousing that these things brought you into a much holier state of being! But Scripture is clear… it tells us that we are holy because HE is holy, not because of our actions! We can be holy only because He has included us and only because He has provided a way!
So, NO amount of church attendance, tithing or good deeds will bring holiness into our hearts or souls! It is only through the person of Jesus Christ can we know true holiness.
Now I want us to understand that this ‘freedom’ that Christ and Paul taught does not mean that we are free to do as we please, when we please. This ‘freedom’ in Christ does not give us carte blanche to live the way want.
However, as believers, we must understand that we are ALL called to be holy and live holy lives… but what Paul is saying here is that our holiness is NOT derived from our actions, but holiness is derived from being IN Christ! The holiness we have DOES need to be fleshed out in our lives, but it is not derived from the actions of our lives!
Now a key thing to remember for us is that we are responsible for our actions AND as a child of God our actions should always reflect our Savior!
Our actions should always glorify God revealing Christ to the world around us… We are not a slave to ritual or ceremony, but we are called to live a life that honors Christ!
So these teachers attached these believers for them NOT observing dietary laws or the Jewish High Holy days… but he also had a 2nd area of attack, that wa in their personal worship!
Let’s look at v18
8Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud,
Actually, this attack goes even further that the personal worship of these believers, but seeks to have them shift their worship…
This teaching actually shifts their worship off of Christ and onto things that may SOUND spiritual, but are NOT because they are NOT focused on Christ… things like self-denial, angel worship or visions they had claimed God had given them…
I see the modern equivalent to this all the time in churches today. We see these charlatans on TV… they call for you to sacrifice and send them money… that God has called them and has given them special insight! They may not call for the worship of ‘angels’ but their message is all about worshipping them and not God! When focus is taken OFF Christ… Christianity crumbles!
Before the hyper-militant atheist Richard Dawkins died he was interviewed by a woman who professed to be a Christian.
She asked him a question about Evangelicals within Christianity and her point was that she did not believe in the virgin birth or the atonement from God through Christ’s death on the Cross… but yet she professed to be a Christian…
Dawkins looked at her and said, if you don’t believe in the atonement of Christ on the Cross, then you are NOT a Christian, it doesn’t matter what you claim!
These teachers were claiming to be of Christ and claimed to have a more spiritual way about them… things on the outside may have looked more ‘spiritual’ but it was a sham…
They were teaching that focus on Christ was NOT essential to salvation… that Christ was merely a part of the picture, and that they had to do things to be more spiritual and to draw them closer to God.
Paul wanted to deny this and disprove this and v19 he could NOT have been more clear about these teachers of this heresy!
v19
19and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
Paul tells us that these teachers teaching this heretical view of Christ are NOT connected to Christ… and that Christ is the head of the church!
So if they are not connected to Christ they are separate and if they are separate from Christ then they should be ignored… as far as what they are teaching!
Then in v19b we find Paul once again exalting Christ for His sufficiency… he is the HEAD of the body. We all know that a body without a head is a DEAD body!
We are dead spiritually without Christ! Christ holds it all together… in other words what Paul is saying here is that Christ is all we need! He is all we need because he is ALL powerful!
After Paul addresses the areas of attack he once again turns to the believers in Colossae and offers them basically this advice… “You have Christ, You don’t need what they are peddling…”
Let’s read v20-23:
20You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, 21“Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? 22Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.
Paul main message here is found in the 1st part of v20… “You have died with Christ and HE has set you free…”
In Christ we are free from the trappings of tradition and other man made limitations and restrictions. If we are IN Christ and seeking to live a holy and righteous life that exalts Christ… we are not bound by human tradition!
Paul continues by saying, if you are born again IN CHRIST then WHY in the world would you listen to their limitations and restrictions on you when they say things like, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?
When we succumb to and submit to human tradition we are not bringing glory to God but elevating human tradition to a place it does not deserve.
Once again, our holiness is NOT derived from what we do, it is WHO we are IN CHRIST! It is NOT about the ritual or ceremony we observe, but it is about the relationship with Christ that we enjoy!
And here Paul says that human tradition will break down and be revealed for what it is… human tradition! The more we try to enforce it and make it our way… the more it breaks down! But our relationship with Christ is eternal and living a life that exalts Christ only serves to build up… NOT to tear down!
Finally Paul says this about these teachings… look at v23 with me:
23These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
These things SEEM spiritually wise… the SEEM super spiritual because it SEEMS as if you have to have a super spiritual attitude and outlook to see them through… BUT Paul says even though it may SEEM to make you more spiritual, you will be left EMPTY and still left wanting as it pertains to sin!
Your sinful nature cannot be conquered by doing good deeds or observing some sort of ritual or ceremony! Your sinful nature can only be overcome by Jesus in your life…
It is only when you are IN CHRIST can your sinful nature be quelled and controlled! You cannot control it, but when we surrender to Christ, HE CAN!
So to summarize what Paul was telling the Colossian believers in these verses we can see that he was interested in re-emphasizing the fact that Christ was and still is all sufficient for forgiveness, redemption and salvation!
Paul wanted them to know that they did not need any sort of special spiritual knowledge and they did not have to perform for God thru ritual or ceremony or by what they ate or did NOT eat… Jesus was their savior and that was sufficient!
Let’s never forget that the rituals of our faith… regular church attendance, tithing, Sunday School attendance, active in church events… all of this is NOT what makes us holy! We are made holy because of Christ on the Cross and that He lives within us!
These things are important, but they do NOT make us holy and do NOT define us as believers. We are both made holy and defined by our Savior! Let’s pray!
