Colossians 2:1-10

Even the elect can be deceived. 

Pray for the Body of Christ. Let all we do be under the guidance of Holy Spirit and in strict adherence to the commands of God to love Him above all and care for others as we do ourselves. In doing so we will fulfill all that Christ demands of us.

Micah 6:8 love God, seek justice for all, forgive easily keeping in mind we are all mere humans and be humble.

Though the false teachers at Colosse spoke of initiating people into a superior knowledge, Paul tells his readers that they can understand the mystery of God without this false philosophy. The Gnostics sought knowledge as an end in itself, but Paul reminds the Colossians that true knowledge will demonstrate itself by bringing people together in Christian love in the church. Note how Paul joins the Father and Christ together, emphasizing their common deity and unity. Paul not only emphasizes Jesus’ deity, but also explains that He possesses all wisdom and knowledge. The Gnostics thought only certain “knowledgeable” people could join their elite group; Paul teaches that every believer has access to complete wisdom found in Christ.

Just as the Colossian believers had begun with Christ, so Paul encourages them to continue in their walk with Him. Paul uses four words to describe the Colossians’ walk with Christ. The tense of the word translated rooted denotes a complete action; the believers have been rooted in Christ. The next three words, built up, established, and abounding, are in the present tense, showing the continual growth that should characterize every Christian’s walk with Christ.

This verse has been used at times to teach that Christians should not study or read philosophy. This is not Paul’s meaning. Paul himself was adept at philosophy, evidenced by his interaction with the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers in Athens. Paul was warning the believers not to be taken in by any philosophy that does not conform to a proper knowledge of Christ. The false teachers at Colosse had combined worldly philosophies with the gospel. It seems likely that the term principles refers to the elementary rules and regulations that certain teachers were seeking to impose on believers according to the dictates of human philosophies. Paul’s strongest indictment against the heretics was that their teaching was not according to Christ, and thus they were not walking with Christ.

Paul clearly proclaims the Incarnation, the fact the God became a man bodily. In contrast, Paul says that the fullness of God exists in Christ.

Paul illustrates the adequacy of Christ by demonstrating how the Colossian believers are complete. In Christ, the Colossians have put off the power of sin and the flesh, have received new life, have been forgiven, have been delivered from requirements laid down by human traditions, and have been freed from the powers of spirit beings. There is nothing that the Christian needs to add to what was received in Christ at the time of conversion. Paul emphasizes the sufficiency of Christ in order to refute the Gnostics and the Judaizers who respectively believed that special knowledge or works were necessary to make a Christian complete. NKJ Bible

Jewish traditions prized wisdom,  and mystery cults valued knowledge. Paul affirms Christ as the true source of both. Since the believers of Colossae have Christ, they have no need for the wisdom and knowledge offered by false teachers. Ancient philosophers used lofty arguments to persuade their audiences. Paul warns the Colossians that such teachings may appear logical, but their conclusions are false.

Because Christ represents the full revelation of God, and because believers are united with Christ, the Colossians can be confident of their salvation and the defeat of worldly powers. The Greek word used here, paralambanō, can refer to the reception of a tradition —in this case, the message of the gospel handed down from the apostles. Paul urges the Colossians to continue in this tradition, which contrasts with the human traditions of false teachers.The false teaching that Paul opposes in this letter is sometimes called “the Colossian heresy.” Regardless of the specific teachings, the fundamental problem Paul identifies is that human rules and traditions are being recommended as necessary supplements to Christ. 

The Greek word for philosophy,  philosophia, literally means “love of wisdom.” Philosophy originated in Greece during the sixth century bc as the systematic and logical investigation of a subject. By the first century, “philosophy” broadly referred to any moral or religious belief system. The Jewish historian Josephus applied the term to the various Jewish groups—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Paul encountered two schools of philosophy in his travels—the Epicureans and the Stoics. In contrast, the gospel message has its origin in God. 

The very nature of God is fully present in Christ. False teachers may have asserted that Christ was one of many divine beings or that God’s fullness was distributed throughout supernatural beings, not just Christ—claims that Paul rejects. Faithlife Bible.

Colossians 2:1-10

2 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

John 1:14 | And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Romans 16:18 | For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

1 Corinthians 14:40 | Let all things be done decently and in order.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 | Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

1 Peter 5:9 | Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.