Jesus>People: Colossians 2:16-23
If one had to summarize the book of Colossians in a math equation, it would look like this..
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
The apostle that has been entrusted with spreading the gospel around the non-Jewish world wants to make that simple equation the foundation of all theological thought. In the previous passage, the apostle Paul brought up the symbolism of circumcision, baptism, and the cross and how they are symbolic of the fullness of what Christ accomplished. In the next passage, he continues to expose the silliness of all the religious rules and regulations, and how they are antithetical to the gospel message. The things that seem super “spiritual” often come from an “unspiritual mind” (Col 2:18). Paul does the best he can to tell the Church in Colossae about the dangers of adding to the Jesus equation shown above.
This passage starts with a conjunction adverb (“therefore” or “so”), which means he is adding to his previous thought. So… since Christ has accomplished so much on the cross…
Colossians 2:16-23
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
For this teaching, I’ve outlined three opposing ideas that I believe the Holy Spirit through Paul want to communicate. God is calling us all to believe and obey the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and we need to be mindful of how we can mix God’s ways with our own ways. Is Jesus truly enough for our salvation and fulfillment in life?
Shadow vs. Substance
-Adding to his previous point, Paul says don’t get hung up on the symbolism more than the substance. The “shadows” of the religious festivals and the Sabbath day have had their intended purpose lost by those that don’t rely on the supremacy of Christ.
-God loves symbolism. He still has so much to teach his people through certain days, cleanliness laws, feasts - and all of them were to get you to the goal: to know God. Now that the mystery has been revealed through Christ, we don’t have to prioritize the shadows anymore because we have the substance.
Jesus said He “came not to abolish the law, but fulfill it” (Mt. 5:17). When questioned on food permissible to eat, he essentially said “it doesn’t matter now!”, because he is the substance behind all of the food regulations in the first place! Now in this text, Paul encourages them to remain confident in the person of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, because it was enough.
What are ways that we can get hung up on the shadows rather than the substance in our lives?
Piety vs. Purity
-In regards to focusing on the issue, Jesus, Paul continues by warning against the fake humble people. We all know the people that pretend to be overly humble and well put-together. From the outside they look like they have figured out life, but on the inside, they are actually a mess. They say the right godly things in front of people, but they act like the devil when they get home. Today we would use the pious, or piety, to describe that type of fake religious person.
-These people resemble the Pharisees that killed Jesus. While they look the part of good, religious folk, they are only concerned about getting ahead in this life, and not the next. They aren’t pure in their intentions, only self-seeking. They love empty, hollow philosophies of the world (v8), they love to play-the-man-made-system, they love to quarrel over secondary issues (like angels in v18). They might be able to argue about theological topics for days, but the sad irony is that they don’t know God in a personal way. They think they are spiritual, but are desperately unspiritual at the core of their mind. (v18)
V19 - What is a body without a head? Well.. it’s a dead corpse. The Church that is led by a human head is a corpse, and Church that is led by Christ as the head will thrive. Likewise, these types of people that aren’t connected to the Head of Christ are incapable of growing in their faith, they’ve lost all direction.
-The Christian should be aware of the drastic nature of false humility, and do whatever they can to avoid being an inauthentic Christian.
What are practical ways we can avoid false humility?
Human wisdom vs. Holy wisdom
-Paul now shifts the attention away from the false teachers, and to the Church. He challenges them to check their allegiance. They can either trust humans and their wisdom, or Christ and His wisdom. There is no in between.
-Every culture and time has its wisdom of the day (“don’t handle, don’t taste,” etc.). And Paul highlights that they are always geared towards the things that are going to perish. We still have a lot of human wisdom that takes precedence over holy wisdom in our culture too. For example, “look out for yourself, because no one else will.” Or, “wait until your financially secure to get married.” These types of advice might be worldly-wise instead godly-wise, and we need to constantly check our sources of wisdom.
-All of the religious types of spiritual disciplines, such as chastity, study, and meditation can ironically hinder our spiritual growth if they are pursued without the correct mindset and heart. Paul says that “they lack any value” in preventing sin. This why we need to remember to view our lives through the gospel lens at all times. If Jesus is not at the center, we are.
Based on this passage, how can we discern whether wisdom is of God or of people?
