Bible Commentaries
Colossians 2

Verses 1-23

DOCTRINAL CORRECTION

8 It is difficult to discern that the divine religion given to Israel in the flesh may be one of the greatest hindrances toward an appreciation of the grace which is ours in Christ Jesus. Hence the Spirit of God forces it down to the same level with human philosophy and tradition by alternating them in this passage. The empty seduction and rudiments, the circumcision, baptism, and shadows refer to the rites and ritual Jehovah gave His earthly people. Yet they are interspersed with references to the authority and teachings of men. Ritual is just as dangerous an enemy as rationalism. As God's Complement, Christ is the answer to philosophy: as our Complement, He is the end of religion.

8 By a striking figure the apostle warns us lest we lose all our possessions in Christ by a legal process, such as is served when property is seized for debt. Legality levies an attachment on us so that we lose the enjoyment of our possessions and philosophy interferes in the same way.

11 The spiritual history of those who know Christ as their Complement may be summarized in three words: death, and burial and resurrection. Not, of course, literally, but in Him. Two rites, in Israel, set this forth in figure. Circumcision is the cutting off of the flesh. It signifies death. Baptism pictures both burial and resurrection. Now, the believer need not be circumcised, for Christ, his Complement, descended into death itself. In Christ's burial he has been baptized. In His resurrection he has been raised from the dead. Faith in God's operation is all the ceremony needed to place the believer beyond the tomb in full possession of every privilege ever procured by the rites of religion. Christ, our Complement, makes full provision for our approach into the divine presence, just as the brazen altar and the laver provided for the approach of the priest in the tabernacle (Exodus 27:1; Exodus 30:17).

14 The decrees issued by the apostles from Jerusalem (Acts 15:23-29) were a standing symbol of the subjection of the nations to the Circumcision even though they absolved them from observing all the rudimentary rites, especially circumcision.

Doctrinal Correction

15 Not only is the believer exempt from the authority of the apostles of the Circumcision, but, in spirit, he is beyond the reach of all human jurisdiction. Even before His resurrection our Lord reminded Pilate that he had no authority whatever in His case except what had been granted him from above (John 19:10-11). By His rising He reversed the sentence of death pronounced against Him by the Sanhedrin and the Roman governor.

16 The prohibition of certain foods under the law, the observance of festivals and fasts and rest days, all foreshadowed the rest and joy and plenty of that future kingdom on the earth, in which the body of Christ has no part. The divine picture of our portion is the physical body of Christ, risen and ascended and seated at God's right hand in the celestial spheres. As the physical members are to this body, so we, His spiritual members, are to Him. We, too, are roused and seated there, and are the instruments through which He will effect His Father's will in the empyrean.

19 "Holding the Head" is a succinct expression of our duty as members of the body of Christ. A conscious connection and subjection to Him as our Head will sever us from the things of the world, whether it be its religion (however divine its origin) or its philosophy. Any attempt to improve our position before God by physical means, whether it be an appeal to the senses or a curbing of its normal needs, denies our completeness in Christ.