Book of Colossians
Commentary
Commentary
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Author: Christopher J. E. Johnson Published: Feb 8, 2024 [creationliberty.com] |
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Introduction
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
-Matthew 28:19-20
These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:26-27
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Paul dictated this letter while he was imprisoned in Rome, and sent it to the Christians in the city of Colosse, a city in the region of Phrygia, which is now Turkey, near the cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis. This is not to be confused with the Island of Rhoades, where the Colossus of Rhoades (one of the seven wonders of the world) stood, because those people were also sometimes referred to as "Colossians."
Paul was likely informed by Epaphras, a fellow preacher in Christ, that the Christians in Colosse were being led astray on some matters by false teachers, who sought to bring them into bondage under Old Testament laws and ceremonies. Paul warns them of the danger of these false preachers, reminds them of the Gospel of Christ which he instructed them, exhorts them to faith in Christ alone, and encourages them in their shared bonds of prison for preaching the truth.
Chapter 1
[v1] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
Paul identifies himself, as he does at the beginning of nearly all his epistles, and emphasizes that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ "by the will of God," which is to say it is not by the will of men; neither of his own will, nor was he sent by another man's instruction. Paul includes Timotheus who was not only brethren in Christ, but he also labored and suffered together with Paul, serving his needs while he waited in a Roman prison.[v2] To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colosse (coh-loss) was a city in the western central region of the Phrygian Kingdom, which is part of the country of Turkey today. Paul greets the Christian brethren of the church in Colosse with the standard salutation he gives to all the church to whom he writes, with wishes and prayers of grace and peace from the Father and Son.[v3] We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
When Paul says "we," it is meant both he and Timotheus, and would likely conclude even Tychicus and Onesimus, who took dictation of the letter for Paul. Paul reminds the Colossians that he prayed often for their good, and gave thanks to God for them, specifying that the Lord God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is a distinction that we must still make today because there are many religious cults (just as there were in that day) who did not believe that Christ is the Son of God.[v4] Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
It stands to reason that Paul is not referring to when they were first saved, because he would have been present for their faith in Christ being established at conversion, but rather, he is referring to hearing about their preaching of Christ to others, confessing him openly, which was, at that time and in that heavily pagan region, potentially dangerous. Paul also received news that the church had done well in caring for the needs of one another as a family ought to, so he praised Christ for this, and edified the church for their good deeds.[v5] For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
They love the saints and preach Christ because they believed the truth of the Gospel that Paul had preached to them, namely, that their reward is great in heaven for their good works. (Mat 5:12) There is no physical evidence for these things (at least, not until the final prophecies of Revelation come to pass), but rather, there is currently hope of them because of their faith, which is why "faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." (Heb 11:1)[v6] Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
That is, the Gospel of Christ had come to Colosse through the preaching of Paul, at the instruction of Christ, who brought it from heaven, as it had been brought to all nations around the world, as Christ had instructed them. (Mat 28:19-20) Not only has the Gospel gone out into the world, but it has born fruit, meaning that some were converted to Jesus Christ in many places around the world, and just like the church in Colosse, they were given repentance, faith, and hope, and loved one another. It was not that they simply professed Christ (as many lackidaisical churchgoers do today), but rather, they had a good knowledge of the spiritual understanding of the doctrine, and had a great affection for it, meaning that it was near and dear to their hearts, while they exercised good discernment and reasoning with their mouths in honor of Jesus Christ, willing to suffer blowback for speaking the truth.[v7] As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
Epaphras preached to the Colossian church, and seems to have been a pastor and evangelist, who preached the Word of God sincerely, serving the people in faithfulness, mercy, and truth. He is also called Paul's "dear fellowservant," which means he was likely a very close friend, which makes sense because he was also a fellowprisoner with Paul (Phm 1:23), and even though Epaphras was not an apostle, Paul commended him and personally held him in high regard for the work that he did for Christ.[v8] Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
Epaphras sent Paul reports of what was happening, which also makes sense because reports were easily manipulated by those who hated Paul and his compananions, so having someone local he knew he could wholeheartedly trust was important. This was edification of Epaphras as well as the Colossian church because he reported their great love for one another according to the direction of the Holy Ghost, and they would all hear about his commendation of them to Paul.[v9] For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
For many reasons, Paul and Timotheus prayed for the Colossians, and he points out that this was one of them, knowing that the Colossians did good works in obedience to Christ, he continued to pray that they would be filled with the knowledge of the will of God, so they would gain spiritual wisdom and understanding since, at the time, they did not have the New Testament Scriptures to fall back on as we do today.[v10] That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Paul prayed for them to have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding from the Lord so they would walk upright according to Christ's Gospel, showing themselves to be meek, temperate, patience, loving, and honest in all things, that they may be pleasing in His sight, producing fruit as the trees of righteousness crafted and planted by Jesus Christ, and share that knowledge of God with others both in word and deed.[v11] Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
This continues the list of things that Paul prayed for on their behalf, which includes being "strengthen with all might," in that they would be strong in the face of temptations, persecution, and tribulations of all kinds, reflecting the perfection of God in word and deed during those trying times, to bear those afflictions with patience, to not be easily provoked to anger when attacked, and to maintain joy in the Holy Spirit while suffering for the sake of Christ. (Mat 5:10-12)[v12] Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
When Paul prayed for their many blessings, he also gave thanks for them that, not only has God saved them, and not only has He answered prayers to richly bless them, but He has given them the greatest gift of all, which is eternal life with the Lord Jesus Christ, to inherit the unspeakable riches of heaven as His children. Paul also emphasizes the saints "in light," which is opposed to the Jewish darkness, which is not to say that all Jews were walking in darkness, for there were some who understood and believed Christ, but the majority continued in darkness despite the evidence of miracles through the apostles, and despite the Scriptural evidence provided by the law and prophets that proved Christ to be the Messiah.[v13] Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
The power of darkness is the authority over darkness, which is Satan, who is the father of lies (John 8:44), and he keeps the Jews in darkness, using their pridefulness in their works and traditions as a weapon against them. We Christians were delivered from this darkness (i.e. a blindness to one's sin nature and unbelief in the power and mercy of God through Jesus Christ), and translated into the kingdom of Christ, which is not meant in the sense of the Kingdom of Heaven (as I used to teach when I misunderstood this) because we have not yet been translated (i.e. taken from one place to another) to the Kingdom of Heaven, but rather, this is a translation from darkness to light, and thus, the "kingdom of his dear Son" means the church, by which we were adopted as children into the light of Christ.[v14] In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
We have redemption, meaning that we were repurchased from Satan's darkness by the price of Christ's shed blood on the cross (Rom 3:25, Eph 1:7, 1Co 6:20), which (by the promise of God) has the power to save all men if they come to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow of sins) for the remission of sins, which is given as a free gift by the grace of God through faith. (Rom 5:15-18)[v15] Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Some believe this to be a contradiction because the Bible says that "no man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18), and yet, the apostles saw Christ, who "is the image of the invisible God." Their folly is in their ignorance and misunderstanding of the meaning in correlation with other Scripture.No man has seen the fullness of the deity of Christ, who is the Living God, or in other words, no man has used the eyes of his flesh to see the spiritual fullness of the Lord, in His natural being, which is something mankind cannot comprehend. Few men at the time saw Christ in a carnal form, but His essence was of the Everlasting Father (Isa 9:6), being the image of the invisible God in inward being, bearing His likeness in meekness, kindness, and mercy, being in a form of flesh for the purpose of offering the perfect sacrifice and being the mediator of the New Covenant. (Heb 9:15)
The phrase "firstborn of every creature" is often misunderstood to mean that Jesus Christ was created, which is heresy, and a form of blasphemy because that belief ultimately accuses God of being a liar. (Tts 1:2, Col 3:8) The word 'firstborn' is used for Christ in the sense of authority, not creation (Psa 89:27), which means that just as the firstborn son of a royal family is given power over all in the land, so too is the Son of God given power over all creation.
[v16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Jesus Christ is eternal just as the Father, and He is the Creator of all things, just as the Father, and thus, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are co-creators, being one God and three entities at the same time. The sun, moon, stars, angels (including fallen angels), as well as animals, nature and the laws that govern it, mankind, and all authorities among men are under Christ, which power was given Him by God the Father, and Paul ends by emphasizing that "all things were created by him, and for him," meaning that Jesus Christ created all things under His authority, and for His glory.[v17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
This not only means he is before all things in terms of order, that He is the Great I Am and created all things, but specifically that He is infinitely more worthy of honor than any man or angel, and any office they can hold. By the will and word of Jesus Christ, all things consist, meaning that the cycles of the heaven and earth are maintained by Him, they will not perish until the day He has declared they will perish, and all things that take place therein are under His supervision and allowance.[v18] And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
The body of Christ, which is the church, is not any single location or temple, but rather, it is the collective body of anyone who is born again in Christ, either on earth or in heaven. Christ is the head of that body, meaning that He is in authority over it, and there is no king or priest that can take his place, which is in opposition to heretical Catholic doctrine that teach a pope can take the place of Christ, to become Christ on earth.(Read "Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Paul further points out that Christ is not just from the beginning, but IS the beginning, meaning that He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, as indicated also in Revelation 22. Christ is also the "firstborn from the dead," which is not to say that He was the first to be resurrected from the dead, but the first to be resurrected from the dead unto eternal life; which is not to say that Jesus is not eternal, but He came to show us the way and set the example, so we would know that we may have eternal life as He does. (1Jo 5:13) This was done so Christ would have all preeminence, meaning that he would be honored over all men and angels, of which there is no doubt that he is due, and no one would take glory from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[v19] For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
This verse is a bit difficult to understand, but it seems to follow from the context that the "fulness" that dwelt in Christ was the characteristics or nature of God (in the spiritual sense, not the physical form), which would be His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence, because if Christ did not have these qualities, He would not be equal with God, which was an uncompromisable condition to be the perfect Lamb sacrifice for sin. These qualities are communicated through Christ by His deliverance of grace, mercy, pardon of sin, adoption of the saints, and sanctification of the church; with all these combined, it demonstrates His spiritual equality with God the Father, doing that which is pleasing in the sight of God, that this great work of mercy would be performed through Christ the Son.[v20] And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
There is enmity between God and men, but it is on the part of men that it continues because God wants all men to come to repentance for the forgiveness of their sins. (2Pe 3:9) Reconciliation is not just a reuniting of two parties at odds with each other, but it is a restoration of friendship, and God had to take the first step in that reconciliation process because Christ did what no man could do with His shed blood on the cross, which bridged that divide for all those who come to repentance and faith.The phrase "all things" is contextually refering to those who are saved in Christ, whether in heaven or earth, because it would be nonsensical to say that the inanimate objects should need reconciliation, nor the celestial bodies (sun, moon, and stars), nor would it make sense to say that devils and angels would be reconciled, because devils cannot be reconciled, and angels never needed to be reconciled to God. Those of us who are born again in Christ will be reconciled, in the sense that we will be brought together with our spiritual family, meaning that we are separated for a time, and will be united in the end; both those already in heaven and those who will remain on earth in the final days.
[v21] And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Though he was addressing the Christians at Colosse, this applies to all Christians in general, that we were alienated from friendship and eternal life with God (Eph 4:18), being as a foreign agent in our corruption, not belonging with Christ's church, and therefore, viewed rightly as an enemy of God and His people. Before we were regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we were enemies against God in our own minds and hearts, justifying the lusts of our flesh by our unrighteous judgments in our hypocrisies, but once we were cleansed and sanctified by the works of Christ, we have reconciliation with God "now," in this present moment, because Christ's work was finished. (John 19:30)[v22] In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
This is not to say that we are holy, unblameable, and unreprovable, but it is Christ that is holy, unblameable, and unreprovable, and because of "his flesh through death," we are imputed with His righteousness (Rom 4:19-25), we have the white robes of Jesus Christ covering us (Rev 7:9), which makes us holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in the sight of God the Father because, when He looks at us, He sees the righteousness of His Son.[v23] If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
We ought to consistently stand on the solid foundation of the rock (Mat 7:24-29), which is Christ (1Co 10:4), to cling to His Gospel, no matter what men might say or do to us, nor what they might say and do to corrupt that Gospel. This same Gospel of Christ was preached by His apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to "every creature which is under heaven," which was a Jewish phrase to mean "all men around the world," of which Paul was just one of those ministers called to that work.[v24] Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
With the calling of the work of ministry also comes persecution and tribulation, which Paul suffered greatly for Christ and the saints, and he points out the Colossian Christians in particular because they could relate, knowing that he had gone to prison and suffered beatings for the sake of Christ's Gospel. Paul is saying that there are sufferings which he suffered, and sufferings yet left to be suffered, or in other words, afflictions that he had not suffered there only because he as limited in time and ability, and therefore, the Colossian church picked up those sufferings for the sake of Christ.[v25] Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
This is not a repeat of the same concept because in verse 23, Paul was referring to himself being a minister of the Gospel, where in this verse, he is referring to being a minister of the church, by which he suffered afflictions for their sake as well as Christ. This is the "dispensation of God," which is derived from the word 'dispense', which means "to deal out" or "to divide up" or "to distribute." Thus, we are in the dispensation of Christ, in which we suffer some more and some less depending on the time and location, according to the will of God, as Paul suffered his own afflictions according to God's dispensation on him.[v26] Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
This is not meant in the sense of the Bible as a whole, because the Bible contains a great many mysteries, which are things hinted at, which God has not yet explained to us; rather, this is meant in the sense of the Gospel of Christ specifically, which was only revealed in bits and pieces here and there by the Old Testament prophets, but could not be understood in its entirety through many generations. This Gospel which was once hid is now "made manifest," because not only is it now made known to the saints, but was only demonstrated by Christ, and His apostles by the Holy Spirit.[v27] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Not the entirety of the Gentiles, nor the Jews, for most did not come to repentance and faith, and so they have been left in darkness, being incapable of understanding without the Holy Ghost for guidance (1Co 2:14), but rather, those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit are given understanding and love of the truth (2Th 2:10), which is of the highest value to them that believe (Mat 13:44), namely, Christ abiding in the saints through the Holy Spirit, believing on His promises, having hope of the glorious things to come by His Word.[v28] Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
The apostles preached this same Gospel, and they were "WARNING every man," which gives us insight into the Gospel they were preaching. This is not the happy-go-lucky feel-good doctrine of modern-day leavened preachers, avoiding the warnings of sin and death in hellfire, in which they cite a "repeat-after-me" prayer which does nothing for the salvation of anyone, but rather, this was a warning of God's wrath on the wicked, preaching the moral laws of God so that men would come to repentance (i.e. a state of brokenheartedness before God for their wicked deeds) for the remission (pardon/forgiveness) of sins. (Luke 24:44-47)Those who would hear and understand would also be taught "all wisdom," which is not meant in the worldly wisdom of men, but in the spiritual wisdom of God in His Word (1Co 2:6-7), to teach them the foundations of Christ, and how it reveals the mysteries of the law and prophets. We learn these things that we can live according to the way which pleases Christ, that we may be presented perfect (i.e. merciful and charitable) as our Heavenly Father (Luke 6:36), in accordance to His character.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Perfection" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v29] Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
Paul labored according to that doctrine, to warn sinners of the wrath to come, and to teach them the way to eternal life in Christ. He said that he strived, not in that he had to fight against the Gospel, but rather, it was the spiritual battle against princes of the darkness and wickedness of men who hate their neighbors, which caused Paul much grief; this all is in accordance with the will of God in this dispensation, and the power and might of God was shown through Paul in his time of suffering and weakness. (2Co 12:9)Chapter 2
[v1] For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh;
Laodicea was a city near to Colosse, and likely would have shared the same problems that Paul addressed in this letter, and so likely would also have had a copy of this letter shared with them. Paul's "great conflict" is not meant against the churches, but rather, against those who are the enemies of Christ that trouble the church, parading themselves as Christians in name only, teaching false doctrines to not only the friends that he knew, but also the brethren which he had not yet met face-to-face.[v2] That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
There are many times that Christians need comfort from the teachers who are called in Christ, reassuring them to stand firm on faith in Christ when they are conflicted and confused by false teachers, when they suffer afflictions of life without knowing why, or when they struggle with the temptations of sin. We should always lean on the Lord for our help (Jer 17:5), but we are not meant to be alone (Heb 10:25), and so the bonds of love in the Holy Ghost between the children of God make our fellowship together enjoyable and comfortable, which strengthens our resolve against those who seek to corrupt and divide us.This unity must be in the truth of the Holy Spirit, through the understanding given to us in the Word of God by Christ and His apostles, to give us "full assurance" (or complete confidence) in his promises (Acts 17:31), otherwise it is a fake unity and fake faith that stems from trust in the words of men. (1Co 2:13) In that unity, we acknowledge the "mystery of God," which is namely in Jesus Christ, and at the time, it was new, so this needed to be emphasized, especially for the sake of the Jews, and those who understood Jewish ideology, so they would know and could acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the mysteries of the Old Covenant.
[v3] In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
In "whom" indicates God the Father and Christ the Son collectively, being one God and separate entities at the same time. In the Lord is all wisdom and knowledge because He is omniscient (i.e. all-knowing), and from Him comes all truth and spiritual doctrine, so that there is nothing more valuable than His Gospel.[v4] And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
Paul did not write the previous verse because they were ignorant of that truth (for he had previously taught them these things), but rather, he said it for their safety, as a reminder to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, "lest any man should beguile you with enticing words," or in other words, to prevent a leavened preacher (who comes to us under false pretenses, with greed of self-gain) from using crafty seductions to deceive us with good words and fair speeches. (Rom 16:17-18) Such men are very charismatic and skilled speakers, which can easily fool men with sanctimonious preaching of foolish and pernicious (destructive) doctrines (2Pe 2:1-2), who (in our modern day) put on fancy suits and stand behind a pulpit in a church building to make himself appear to be a man of God, hiding behind the name of Jesus for show, to trick the audience so they will give him glory, honor, and money.[v5] For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
Though Paul was not physically there with them, his concern and affection for them was still so great, it was as if he was there with them, and because he received word of the sin and deception among them from false teachers, he judged the matter and prayed for them, being with them in spirit, connected to them through the Holy Spirit. He also edified them in their disciplined "order," which alludes to their offices of elders and deacons, who performed their duties in mercy and truth according to obedience in Christ, watching over the church and doing their best to protect against corrupt doctrines.[v6] As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
This is not a "receiving" of Jesus as is common and apathetic in church buildings in our day, but rather, this is a belief that springs from the gift of repentance; a humility before Christ seeing Him as the only hope of mankind, the most benevolent King, who redeems His servants wholly, giving us total remission of our sins, and the joy of grace in eternal life to come. Therefore, we ought to live as He lived, or more specifically, to practice what He preached, to demonstrate in our words and deeds the love, charity, longsuffering, patience, mercy, meekness, and temperance that Christ showed us by His example. (Eph 5:8)[v7] Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
This is a metaphor to trees, which is often used in Scripture to describe Christians and the church as a whole, and in this case, Christ is the ground in which we are rooted, meaning that all nutrients comes from Him, otherwise, there would be no fruit and no tree. A foundation of our faith has been laid in Christ (Heb 12:2), and both Paul and Epaphras (their minister in Christ) had taught them these things, so they should remain faithful to that doctrine, that they would grow in strength and knowledge of the truth in Jesus Christ alone, being thankful to Him alone for the riches of His mercy.[v8] Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
With the establishment of our faith in mind, we ought to listen and be cautious of all men who come to preach in the name of Christ, searching the Scriptures in comparison to what they teach to discern if they are preaching the truth (Acts 17:11), otherwise, we might be fooled by someone who enters into the church unawares (Gal 2:4), and using enticing words of vanity (1Co 2:4), they fool us and rob us of our great "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (as Paul said in verse three), causing us to lower our guard and drop the armor which was given to us by the Word of Truth (2Co 6:7), thereby, the Lord would take away spiritual blessings He gave us according to His Word, because His promises are conditional to our faith in Him. (Mat 6:33) When such deception is snuck into the church, it is first done through philosophy (i.e. a way of thinking), which is not according to the wisdom of Scripture, and comes from the education of men, and it should be noted that this is not a condemnation of all philosophy of the world, for some is beneficial for the flesh, but rather, this is referring to science (i.e. knowledge) falsely so-called (1Ti 6:20), which always leads to corrupt ideologies that (whether in short term, or over long periods of time) lead to sins of all sorts and worship of devils (i.e. false gods) through false religions.Once the philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) of man is corrupted, he will use vain deceit, which are useless and empty promises and irrational arguments, having no foundation in the truth of God's Word. These useless deceptions are founded in the religious and nonsensical traditions of men, and they learned them from the "rudiments of the world," which are the principles of their first education, whether it be from secular sources or corrupt religious sources (e.g. Judaism, Catholicism, Islam, etc), and they worship these ideologies instead of worshiping Christ, to learn His philosophy (i.e. way of thinking), and to value His precepts above all other things.
[v9] For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
That is the Godhead (i.e. the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost) resides in Christ, and though this may be difficult for us to comprehend because the ways of God are mysterious to us in our limited capacity to understand Him, the Godhead dwells in Christ like a tabernacle, just as the tabernacle of the Hebrews in the wilderness, which was simple on the outside, but glorious within. This does not take away the omnipresence of God (being at all places at all times at the same time), but it is a personal, divine dwelling, which is a mystery that we cannot fully understand, but should be believed for the sake of the work in Jesus Christ. (John 14:11)[v10] And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
This is not said in the sense of completeness of our entire existence because we are still in the flesh, which must die in its corruption, but rather, this is said in the sense of our perfection of spirit through regeneration of the Holy Ghost, being a new creature in Christ. (2Co 5:17) Therefore, our spirits reflect the "head of all principality and power," in both men and angels, which Paul adds not only as worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also to emphasize worship of Him alone because there were still many at that time who worshiped angels, using them as mediators, similar how the Catholics today vainly worship their goddess they call "Mary" to mediate on their behalf.(Read Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v11] In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
That is, we are circumcised in Christ according to His philosophy (i.e. way of thinking), being disciples of His doctrine, which is a circumcision that is not physical. Circumcision was a sign of sanctification, but only a shadow of things to come; not a ritual that brought about righteousness as the Jews foolishly believe, thinking they can do the impossible and keep the whole of the law by the act of circumcision, and ignore the weightier matters of the law (Mat 23:23) by judging themselves with righteous judgment (John 7:24) to have the circumcision of the heart (Deut 30:6, Jer 4:4), which is to be pricked in their hearts (Psa 73:21, Acts 2:37), to have the foreskin of their hearts exposed (Deut 10:16), to see their sin for what it is, and to be brought to the humility of repentance (Jms 4:6, Psa 34:18) to seek the grace of the Lord for salvation.(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Circumcision" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Therefore, Paul says, we "put off," or cut off, the sins of the flesh in a spiritual circumcision. The spiritual blade of that circumcision is Christ, specifically His grace by His shed blood, and regeneration of the Holy Ghost on the souls of men, which awakens their conscience and leads them down the narrow path of faith in the Word of God and charity towards men.
[v12] Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Paul also refers to baptism, which is similar in the sense that it is not a work that can be done for salvation (as many false religious cults teach), but a symbol or representation of it. Baptism is a representation of being dead and buried in Christ by going under the water, and then emerging from the dead, just as Christ arose from the dead.Many practice baptism without faith (and likewise, without repentance, which is a fake faith, Mark 1:4) that makes baptism pointless, but for us who have been regenerated by the Holy Ghost, we see it for its spiritual perspective, that as Christ was raised from the dead, so we shall be raised from the dead, and Paul emphasizes that it was God's work that raised Christ from the dead, notwithstanding that Christ raised Himself from the dead because He is God. (John 2:19-21)
[v13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
We Christians are not dead in our sins when it concerns the body because the body is still corrupt and must die. Only when we die are we freed from the sin of the flesh in full, but in spirit, we had been made a new creature.The "uncircumcision of your flesh" is not to be taken in the literal sense, but in the metaphorical, being a symbol of the corruption of sin, and "quickened" by Christ, which means to be made alive. This means that our souls are resurrected and by the gift of life in Jesus Christ, and with His gifts of repentance and faith, He has forgiven us of all our sins by the mercy of His blood sacrifice for us.
[v14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
This would have a double meaning, both in the previous context and the proceeding context. The first would be the record book of debts, which God keeps for the coming Day of Judgment in which all men will face trial for their debt of sin, and the second would be the law, which is not to say the law is not good (because it is, Rom 7:7, 1Ti 1:8), but it was "contrary to us," meaning it was in conflict against our nature as fallen men because it was not agreeable to a philosophy of sin, and thus, Christ had to come to take it "out of the way," which is not to say that it was no longer viewed as debt, but that He canceled out the debt, to live under its curse, nailing those debts to the cross, soaking them in His glorious blood, so they could no longer be read, nor held to any charge of God's children.[v15] And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Whereas false teachers can spoil, or rather, disarm us, if we trust in their corrupt philosophies, so too did Christ do the opposite to Satan and his minions (i.e. "principalities and powers"), disarming them, in which they thought they were well-equipped to spoil men with sin and death. Christ exposed them, and made a show of their folly openly as He raised Himself from the dead and triumphed over them, whereas they thought they had won by putting Christ on the cross, to shame him before men and angels, in the end, they lost the battle, and the war.Paul makes mention of this to quell any fears in the saints of God to move forward in stalwart faith, setting up the next verse...
[v16] Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
The Lord Jesus Christ has completed a work in us (the saints of God), and therefore, that work is complete; done thoroughly, not in part, or with exception. If we were to argue otherwise, it would be blasphemy, as it would carry with it a logical conclusion that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are incompetent (in that they made a mistake in the process) or evil (in that they lied to us in the Bible), both of which are nonsense.Though we Christians are charitable to men, and preach the Gospel of peace to them, we are not the servants of them (Eph 6:6), nor bound to them by any spiritual yoke. (2Co 6:14) Therefore, since Christ has made us free, we have no need for any ceremony outside of baptism and communion, which are the only two rituals commanded of us by Christ (the first to be done only once, and the other to be done freely, on unspecified occasion).
Under the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, we are not under the Old Covenant, and therefore, there is no ordinance for meat or drink, nor is there anything naturally occuring that is unclean, which cannot be consumed, so long as such things are consumed with thankfulness to God in appropriate moderation. The world raises questions as to the health ramifications of consuming certain meat or drink depending on the circumstances, but that is an entirely different subject because that has nothing to do with the context here, namely, that religious ordinances restrict meat or drink, and that there are none in the New Covenant other than drinking blood and meats offered to idols, which the church was commanded not to do by the apostles. (Acts 15:20)
Christians under the New Covenant are not bound to honor any particular feast day as they did in the Old Covenant, such as Passover for example. The Passover feast (i.e. the religious traditions which are performed during it) is prophetic of the coming of Jesus Christ, and therefore, those who celebrate Passover are celebrating seeking the Messiah they cannot yet find, instead of honoring and looking to the Messiah who has already come.
(Read "Should Christians Celebrate Jewish Passover?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The new moon refers to the sacrifices brought to the temple every month (Num 28:11), which Christians have no commandment or obligation to do under the New Covenant. The "sabbath days" refer to both the seven-day sabbath and the 50-year jubilee sabbath, which Christians under the New Covenant have no commandment or obligation to keep, and even the Jews had rules and regulations that no Gentile could keep the sabbath even if they wanted to (and provide many logical reasons why that is the case, and I have details concerning that in my free-to-read book, Corruptions of Christianity: Seventh-day Adventism), but Christians should stand firm on the New Testament faith of Jesus Christ, having no part with the keeping of sabbath rituals, because, as Jesus said, the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath (Mark 2:27), and He is the fulfillment of the sabbath. (Mat 5:17)
(Read "Keeping the Sabbath is Not a Christian Requirement" & Corruptions of Christianity: Seventh-day Adventism here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
In the dispensation under the Old Covenant, the Jews were sanctified from the Gentiles (or, at least, they were supposed to be), and the ordinance of meats was a symbol to represent the difference between the clean and unclean, but now that Jesus Christ has fulfilled these things, both Jew and Gentile have become one in Christ (Gal 3:28), and so the shadow of meat ordinances is gone. This was the lesson the Lord taught to Peter as well, when he was taken into a trance before he went to the house of Cornelius to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. (Acts 10:13-15, Acts 10:34-35)The feast of Pentecost, which was a celebration at the end of the harvest season, to enjoy the firstfruits of the harvest, was a shadow of the harvest of Christian converts, which are the firstfruits of the Spirit. (Rom 8:23) The new moon is representative of the church, which receives all its light from the greater light of Jesus Christ, so that when the old things under the law have passed away, all things become new (2Co 5:17), and so the structure of the church and its ordinances are different because it is under the priesthood of Christ rather than the priesthood of Aaron and the Levites. (Heb 7:11-12)
The body in this context is referring to Christ because it is the body that produces the shadow. Do children who see the shadow of their father try to cling to the shadow, or do they follow the shadow to find their father? These ordinances were a sign to point us to Christ, which is the substance behind the shadows, but sadly, many false religious cults today still believe they must keep the ordinances of the Old Covenant to produce what they believe is "righteousness" by their works, and they do so only to their own destruction because they have rejected Christ to chase His shadow.
[v18] Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
Paul is encouraging Christians to stay on the narrow path to follow Christ, that they would not be turned astray to false teachers and false prophets, who would deceive them for his selfish gain, thereby stripping them of their reward in heaven for their faithfulness. It seems that Paul is, once again, using the well-known example of the Olympic games and the reward that the runner would receive (1Co 9:24), and in that day, there were problems with competitors who cheated, as well as judges who withheld prizes to the rightful winner, cheating them out of the reward they should have had for their work, and thus, if a Christian is misled down a false path, he will not receive the reward for his work, which would be rightfully due to him, but which the false teacher cannot give him.He mentions "voluntary humility and worshipping of angels," which is not to be taken in the sense that these things were to be done, but rather, he was warning Christians to beware those who taught them to do these things. The phrase "voluntary humility" is referring to any practice in which men do and say certain things to give an appearance of humility among men, such as Catholic monks laying face down on the ground, or Charismatics, Pentecostals, or Adventists crawling around on their hands and knees.
(Read "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
The "worshipping of angels" refers to those who pray to angels as a mediator with Christ, rather than just going to Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins because He is the only mediator between God and men. (1Ti 2:5) For example, the Catholics put their trust into a false goddess they call "Mary," and worse still, they believe you have to go to a priest, who then tells you to pray to Mary, who they believe goes to Christ, and then Christ goes to the Father, but this false doctrine has led billions of people to hell, and they will receive no reward for all the works they did because they did not lay a foundation in Jesus Christ alone. (1Co 3:11)
(Read Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
Thus, men of corrupt minds (and those simple-minded men who follow them, making no effort to search the Scriptures for understanding, Rom 16:17-18) assume things that they do not know, meaning that they presume that angels will do all of the things they imagine, but they have never seen any such thing, nor do the Holy Scriptures teach it. Thus, they have imagined themselves to be knowledgable to all things spiritual according to the worship of their own minds, and lifted up in their pride, believing their thoughts and opinions to be swoll, which is why they put on a show of humility instead of being humbled to repentance by the gift of Christ. (2Ti 2:25)
[v19] And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
Paul is referring to those who do not look to the Christ as the Head of all the church, contradicting themselves both in their doctrine and their works. Those who chase shadows instead of looking to Christ are not part of the body of Christ, they are not joined together in the same yoke, they do not rely on the same nourishment of grace, they are not knit together with other Christians in true charity, and do not increase with the gifts and blessings of the Spirit, and therefore, they should be removed from among the church because they are not part of the body which receives all things from the Head. (Acts 8:20-23)[v20] Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Paul is suggesting that if any who read this are "dead with Christ," they are crucified from the rudiments of the world, which means the principle teachings the world teaches us (or, in this context, religious traditions from the minds of corrupt men), in which they train us from a young age in the way of thinking which contradicts Christ. We have the philosophy of Christ as Paul indicated in verse eight, and so having Christ as the Head, then we are not bound to those ordinances which did not come from Christ, and so in like manner, if a man puts the religious traditions of men as his head, then he is subject to those ordinances for his grace (which can never be attained through such methods, Eph 2:8-9), and once again, he has no part with Christ because he does not receive the same nourishment as the children of God.[v21] (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
This is a note (in parenthesis) to describe the teachings of shadow-chasing doctors of divinity, in which they teach men that they cannot touch certain things, or even touch things that have been touched by others who were considered "unclean," so that the Pharisees who returned from the marketplace would bathe themselves on the off-chance that they had been in some contact (direct or indirect) with an unclean person, which they foolishly thought made them spiritually "clean." The "taste not" doctrine would include many things, some of which would be the eating of swine's flesh, or the flesh of any animal that chewed the cud or divided the hoof (Deut 14:8), and likewise, the Jewish doctors taught that one should "handle not" any such creature, nor come in contact with anyone who handled anything they considered to be unclean.[v22] Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
This can either mean that the shadow-chasing Jewish doctors believed that all those who touched, tasted, and handled those things which were forbidden would perish, or that Paul meant that those who look to such ordinances would perish because it is folly to believe that observing those ordinances can bring one spiritual purity. Although the commandments of the law came from God, their purpose was prophetic, to give wisdom and understanding to men, but the prideful doctors of divinity implemented them for an alternative purpose that was not given by God, namely, to push the false religious narrative that observing these things allows a man to obtain righteousness by his works, which is nothing more than a lie of Satan, which is why Jesus Christ nailed them to the cross, as Paul pointed out in verse 14.[v23] Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.
This means that such corrupt teachers show wisdom to some degree, in teaching men not to honor the satisfying of the flesh, and offer up to God worship willingly, in the sense that they would do things above and beyond the commandments of God by their own free will. It is good to worship God in zeal of one's own free will, it is good to humble oneself to the knowledge of others who are more learned and experienced, it is good to neglect the body of the lusts of the flesh, but it is NOT good to use these things as a vehicle to obtain honor and glory from men, which is a lust that often overcomes men in religious leadership.Chapter 3
[v1] If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Paul was not questioning their belief in Christ, but rather, this is again a hypothetical statement to teach a path of logic. If we are risen with Christ, then it stands to reason that we would follow what He says, and to seek the eternal things of heaven (specifically, the grace and blessings which are granted to us by the Spirit of God from heaven), which is where Christ resides and likewise our permenant home (John 14:2-3), rather than the temporal things of the world.[v2] Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
In the general sense, we ought to set our passions and our zealous attachment "on things above," which would be all things that concern heaven, so we would think on those things regularly, having great desire for them, as we would think of treasure and peace that awaits us, so all our investments would be aimed to acquire those things. This is not said in the sense that we should take no thought for the things of this world, for we must take thought for things under our responsibility for our families, but rather, it is foolish to derive happiness from the possession of material things, and we should think many steps ahead of where we are, looking to use material possession for the benefit of the Kingdom of Heaven.In a more specific sense to the context of these verses, it is better to think on the spiritual things of Christ, and how we might please Him by our words and deeds, and to add souls to the Kingdom of Heaven, rather than to think on the vain religious traditions of men. The "things on the earth" would be the erroneous philosophy of the Jews, or any other religious tradition that operates in a similar way, which focuses men on performing vain, earthly tasks to gain imagined spiritual benefits.
[v3] For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
In context, we Christians are dead in Christ concerning the Old Covenant, in which we were in sin, and at that time (before we were regenerated by the Holy Spirit), we were bound to the law (i.e. our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, Gal 3:23-25) and rituals. From the perspective of the world, we are no different from them, which is why our life is "hid with Christ," meaning that it is pleasing to God, according to His will, that our regeneration in the Holy Ghost be secret from the world, hidden from the eyes of men, and cannot be understood by them without the help of the Holy Ghost (1Co 2:14); they are confused about how we can, through much grief in the world, have joy and love for others, seeming to be insane according to their perspective, only because they do not understand the eternal life given to us by Christ.[v4] When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Christ is our life, meaning that He is the wellspring of living water by which we are given life, grace and wisdom (John 4:14), and when He appears for the second time in the final days, then we will be risen together with Him, to be caught up with Him in the clouds to be forever with the Lord. (1Th 4:16-18) The words "in glory" means that the glory of Christ is what we will be clothed in, being given His robe of righteousness (Rev 7:14), being made perfect in His holiness.[v5] Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Mortify can mean to destroy, but that is not the way it is used here. In this sense, it is meant to subdue, or bring into subjection, the body of sin (1Co 9:27) because even though we are cleansed in spirit, our flesh is still corrupt in sin. He does not say "which are upon the earth" because we cannot understand that our flesh is obviously on earth, but that such mannerisms of the flesh will have no place in heaven, and only take place on the earth specifically.We should discipline our bodies against fornication, which is any sexual interactions outside of marriage, and he adds "uncleanness," which was the old way of including any acts of incest and sodomy/homosexuality. Sodomy and incest are classified under fornication, and Christians can simply address the sin of fornication when addressing those people, but uncleanness is added here by the Holy Spirit to address them as vile in the sight of God, and that such things should never be done by those who claim to be saved in Christ.
The word 'inordinate' generally means "irregular" or out of natural order, which would include things like effeminate men (1Co 6:9), which are cross-dressing queers and what are known today as "transgenders." Anyone who would claim such things to be ordinary or good cannot be said to be of Christ because the Holy Ghost would lead them away from such things.
The word 'concupiscence' (con-cewp-eh-senss) can be generally defined as lust of the flesh, specifically concerning sexual desire. There is a natural concupiscence which God created in man for the lawful procreation of children, which can be enjoyed in the bounds of marriage with moderation, but Paul distinguishes this from "evil concupiscence," which is an uncontrolled lust which falls under covetousness, to fulfill such lust unrestrained, without concern of what evil thing one might do to obtain satisfaction of the flesh.
That flows into the next point which is covetousness, which is not a desire for money or material things, but rather, it is an love of money and material gain that is without discipline, moderation, and thought of charity to others, in which a man is willing to do evil to gain what he wants, forming a love affair for earthly things. All these points are classified under covetousness, which Paul adds "is idolatry," which is worship of anyone or anything that is not God, and as Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters," and in that same verse, He said, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (i.e. mammon = money)
[v6] For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
The children of disobedience are those who break the laws of God, and reject the Gospel of Christ. These are rebellious sinners who want no part with Christ and His church, and who reject any rebuke, correction, or discipline of their sin, and who commit the previously listed sins, and/or approve of those who do them (Rom 1:28-32), without fear of judgment. We warn men of the wrath of God to come for their sakes, that they would receive the gifts of repentance and faith, but the children of disobedience (which is the vast majority of the world) will not hear it, and thus, they prove that they hate the Living God, and so they will be destroyed by Him.[v7] In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
We were once the children of disobedience, but were adopted into the family of God through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. This verse helps us distinguish what it means to walk as children of disobedience, or to walk in sin, because he notes that we "lived in them."Those who are dead in sin (as opposed to dead in Christ) are living a life of sin, taking no thought to the conscience against sin, giving himself over to sin, being focused on fulfilling the lust of the flesh, has great pleasure in it (both during and after), and in many cases flaunts it to others in his home, work, and abroad. In times past, we too walked/lived according to our sins, cared not for the consequences of it, nor how it affected our neighbors, and most of all, we did not consider how it grieved and angered the Lord.
Thus, it should not be said that a Christian never sins, nor that he never slips in the temptation of sin (1Jo 1:8-10), but he does not enjoy the sin, and suffers inwardly at the thought of it, being grieved of his sin, which is the essence of repentance. By the guidance of the Holy Ghost, working in our consciences, we are given a disgust of sin, like a sheep falling into the mud pit and wanting to get out to be clean, while the pig falls into the mud pit, rolls around in it, loves every moment of it, and when finished, anticipates returning to it.
[v8] But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Now that we have been forgiven of our sin and disobedience, and been regenerated by the Holy Spirit with a renewed conscience, we should separate ourselves from sin. Among these is anger, not meant in the general sense of anger, but in wrath and malice, which is an attitude of deep-seeded hatred, by which we would be glad to see others injured without a just cause, simply to satisfy our lust for revenge.Included in this list is blasphemy, which is condemnation of God, attributing His holy words and works to be evil, which is to equate Him with the Devil in that sense, and so a man shows his deep hatred of God by his unbridled tongue. (Jms 1:26) Paul adds a condemnation against all "filthy communication," which is anything that would be classified as cursing or swearing according to any language or culture, things which carry grotesque or sexual innuendo, or anything that is generally derogatory in nature, which means any words which have the sole or intended purpose of lessening the merits or reputation of a person or thing; none of which help our neighbors, edify the church, nor glorify Christ.
[v9] Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Paul continues to condemn any lying words, which would be included under anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, or filthy communication, depending on the context and circumstance. As Christians, we are given a love of truth according to the Spirit of Truth (2Th 2:10, John 15:26), and so we should abhor lying lips (Pro 8:7), knowing that we once did these things, we now ought to put them away from us, to abstain from them.[v10] And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
The new man is our souls revived by the blood of Christ, by which we are imputed with the righteousness of Christ. (Eph 4:24) Though the world only sees the outward man, which day-by-day ages in the natural decay process of the flesh, the inward man is renewed day-by-day in the knowledge and understanding of Christ, knowing the glory of heaven to come by the grace of His salvation, and that our spirits are regenerated to reflect the image of the Savior, by which God is well pleased when He sees us cleansed by the blood of His Son.[v11] Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
The new man is one who has been spiritually regenerated by the Holy Ghost in the grace of Jesus Christ, and thus, in the newness of the spirit (Rom 7:6), earthly categories have no meaning, so that there is no difference between Jew and Greek because both are one in Jesus Christ. (Gal 3:28) Whether or not a man is circumcised has no bearing on his standing with Christ, and neither does his place of birth or his first language.Paul refers to Barbarians because they did not speak the common tongues of the Greek and Romans, and likewise the Scythians, or Scyths, who were nomads who were even more of a barbaric nature, living in what is today Ukraine and southern Russia; all these were looked down upon by other societies. Bond men (e.g. servants, prisoners, etc) were also looked down upon by free men, but if they have been born again through repentance and faith in Christ, then they are the children of God, and so Christ, being the source of "all" spiritual blessings is "in all" who are saved, being omnipresent (i.e. in all places at all times), strengthening and uplifting all His disciples.
[v12] Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
That is, we ought to put on the following as we would put on clothing, to adopt these things to be as natural as the clothing we wear on a daily basis, and to uphold the philosophy in faith that we are "the elect of God," which are made holy by the righteousness of Jesus Christ in us, and deeply loved and cared for by God, as a father to his children. Mercy should be deeply imbedded in us, so much that when one Christian suffers grief, we also suffer grief, being genuinely compassionate without deceit or manipulation.We should cloth ourselves with kindness, which is goodness and gentleness that should be shown to all men, but most especially to the other saints. Also, a "humbleness of mind," which means that a Christian looks upon himself as the worst of sinners, is open to criticisms against his character, to consider himself to be inferior to others in knowledge and understanding, and to generally esteem others to be better than himself. (Phil 2:3)
We should add meekness to our attire, which is not to succumb to jealousy of the knowledge or gifts of anyone else, but to be genuinely happy for them in their blessings, and to adopt a quiet spirit (1Pe 3:4) of patience that endures insults with a calm demeanor. Also, we add longsuffering, which endures not just the words, but also the evil actions of others, not to be easily provoked to anger. (1Co 13:5)
[v13] Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Forbearing is another way of expressing patience, but includes the context of "ceasing" or "stopping" a particular thing; for example, if someone says something evil or railing against you, you would "forbear" their evil surmisings (1Ti 6:4), refuse to return the evil and railing, and wish for blessings upon them. (Rom 12:17, 1Pe 3:9) Also, to forgive them is to overlook small offenses, and be ready and willing to forgive more grievous matters when they come to us with a repentant heart, no matter their age, status, rank, or situation, just as Christ forgave us in our wickedness, when He had no reason to do so other than His great kindness, which He has established in us, and so we share with others.[v14] And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
The outer garments, which are seen most among men, and which offer the most protection of the body, should be charity, which ought to be the basis for all the other qualities previously listed because, without charity, forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, meekness, and longsuffering are all deceitful acts of hypocrisy. To be "perfect" before our Father in heaven (Mat 5:48) is to be merciful as He is merciful (Luke 6:36), and so to show charity is to demonstrate "the bond of perfectness," showing the signs of unity in the Spirit of God in brotherly love according to the commandments. (1Pe 2:17)(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Perfection" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)
[v15] And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
That is, when we need to make decisions about what we should do or say, we should "let the peace of God rule" in our hearts, or in other words, we should let God's principles of peace be the governing rule within us, to be the decider of what is good, and so the church should operate in the same way among one another, doing what is best according to the principles of peace. It is contrary to the principles of peace and unity in the Spirit of God for the members of the body of Christ to fight against one another, and so it is better to treat one another with understanding and patience to please the Lord, and be thankful that we have been blessed with the church, who are all there for one another with love and support in any situation.[v16] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Jesus Christ is the author of both the Old and New Testaments, and so "the word of Christ" is referring to the Bible as a whole, which teaches us wisdom "richly," meaning that is the highest value wisdom that can be obtained, far superior to worldly wisdom because it leads to salvation and eternal life in Christ. These doctrines should "dwell in" us, meaning that we study and memorize the Scriptures, so that they would live within us, shaping our philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) to match Christ's (Col 2:8), and that we would be able to recall it in time of need, both for our own strength, and for the benefit of others in debate with unbelievers.When we are blessed with the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of God, we should share it with others, both in private teachings among the church, in edification and exhortations, and in public teachings, educating men in Christ's Gospel. The singing of songs in praise of God is the end of the works of perfection in us, meaning that after salvation is given to us, the forgiveness of our sins, and eternal life, with all the blessings that come with being a child of God, the end result is singing in happiness and praise to the Lord for His great kindness, and so we ought to keep the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in our hearts, that we might sing them to God, just as we have the promises of God memorized in our hearts for recitation.
[v17] And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Whether in song, or in study, or in conversation, or in any civil circumstance we find ourselves in, we ought to speak and do that which is honoring of the Lord Jesus Christ, praying for His strength and mercy in all we do, that we would glorify him in word and deed. In like manner, we give thanks to God the Father, whether in song or prayer, for the Lord Jesus Christ, and for His grace to send His Son to us, because all mercies and blessings flow to us from the Holy Ghost, by the will of Christ, according to the grace of the Father.[v18] Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Paul shifts the context a bit from the institution of the church to the institution of the household in marriage and family, and first commands wives to submit themselves to the authority of their husbands. This shows that the duty of a wife in total submission to her husband is "fit in the Lord," or in other words, it is suitable for a woman to submit to the man she has married according to the establishment of God, to be at his side, to support him as a proper help meet (Gen 2:18), and not to attempt to rule over him in any manner (1Co 14:34), which is a selfless sacrifice of love towards him, for men see the complete submission of their wives to be the greatest form of love a woman can show to a man.[v19] Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
In like manner, the man should show his woman love, caring, concern for her safety and well being, and though there are times when unruliness might occur in her, the man should exercise great patience, as the Lord exercises with us, which women should also view as a great form of love. Men who feel slighted in their authority can become hurt, which can lead them to use their authority in a cruel and tyrannical way, shooting bitter words or denying them affection, care, protection, provision and/or assistance in their time of need; turning their wives into little more than servants, rather than treating them as they would treat their own flesh and blood. (Gen 2:24)As an added note, this concept of charity between a husband and wife is simple. Both the man and the woman should look at how they behave around someone else, and ask themselves if that is how they prefer to be treated because that is what it means to love others as yourself. (Mat 7:12)
[v20] Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
Children are commanded by God to obey their parents in all things, which excludes things that are sinful, because God never forces people to obey commandments contrary to His moral law. Parents can rightfully be disobeyed in circumstances that force children to do evil, but in anything else that is good, or in all things that are indifferent to moral commandments, children should be obedient to what their parents (i.e. both mother and father) are instructed, and as Paul points out, this is pleasing in the sight of God, and He will bless the children for their obedience.[v21] Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
There are fathers who do not take care for their words and actions when it concerns their children, and mistreatment of their children over the years has a devastating effect when the children grow into adults; by which they develop a wrath and disgust for their father, who provoked them to hatred by continually offering contemptuous words, disapproval of accomplishments, consistent scolding over vain matters, frequent angered expressions, unreasonable punishments, severe and cruel lashings, neglect of educational duty, wasteful spending of resources, and leaving nothing for an inheritance. Due to that mistreatment, by which he ignored the children, doing only the bare minimum to get them to an adult age, pushing them out of the house as soon as possible, the children are left discouraged, meaning that their spirits are broken in grief, they have no understanding by which they can move forward to be productive, and they end up sluggish in their duties, unprepared to work and do good business for productivity, having no one to turn to for their help and understanding because the father disregarded his duty to instruct and guide them so they could grow and prosper.[v22] Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
Not all things concerning spiritual matters of worship, but in "all things" in context to the boundaries of a lord's authority over servants, in obediance to those things which are morally good for them to command or indifferent to law. The "eyeservice" means that a man will do the work he is called to do, but he will only do it under the watchful eye of his overseer, or in other words, when no one is watching, he does nothing, seeking to gain the praise and honor of those around him for his feigned deeds.The work we do as servants should be done in obedience to Christ, not to please men, but to please God, fearing his accounability to the Lord, "in singleness of heart," which is to avoid any double-hearted attitude, in which one has secret, hidden evil intentions. Focusing on the Lord in servitude will ensure that, no matter the disposition a servant might have towards his master, he is concerned with putting a black mark on the name of Christ by any shoddy work, and will protect and honor his master's property willingly to glorify Christ.
[v23] And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Although this can easily be considered a general proverb, that we should all do our work as if we did it directly for the Lord Jesus Christ, the context is speaking to servants, who are in servitude unwillingly, meaning that they were either born into it, or signed up for it unknowingly, and are subject to the life of a servant, perhaps temporarily at the very least. They should not do their work with malice, having to be forced into the labor, but to accept the labor willingly for the good of their masters, to have the master's best interests at heart.There is a 21st century narrative that all slavery is bad, but not all slavery was a bad thing, depending on the laws and circumstances. There were slaves who entered into servitude for a few years for the agreement to receive enough to purchase his own land at the end of his service, and agreed to those terms willingly. Others loved their masters who treated them well, and chose to remain servants in their household. (Exd 21:5) Whatever the circumstance, duty and honor to the master is pleasing in the sight of the Lord, and He will bless those who work well as they worked unto Christ, and not unto men. (Jms 4:10)
[v24] Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
This is a reminder that should be kept at the forefront of the minds of servants, knowing that they serve Christ, they will receive eternal inheritance as the children of God. (2Co 4:18, John 20:29) They may not receive any reward in this world, and could be mistreated, but in the life to come, they will enjoy unspeakable rewards because Christ is a kind and generous Master who keeps His promises, and the saints are greatly cherished by the Father.[v25] But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
This is not just said for the servants, but also for the masters, that each will receive reward or punishment for their own words and deeds. The Lord takes note of servants who are lazy and defraud their masters, and the masters who cheat and abuse their servants, and He will avenge those injuries one way or another, at His appointed time. The Lord "is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34), meaning that He does not judge a man by his status, rank, degree, office, or station, but rather, He judges them by looking into the depths of the heart (Pro 21:2), to see the intricate, hidden thoughts and intents of it (Heb 4:12), and determines what is just and true to each man according to the responsibilities of his lot in life.Chapter 4
[v1] Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
In my opinion, this verse belongs at the end of the previous chapter, and it is unknown why those who numbered these verses put this verse at the beginning of this chapter, when it seems to conclude the previous thoughts, rather than starting a new one. The King James Bible translators agreed to keep the chapter and verse numbers the same as had been established in previous English translations, so I would not credit this error to them, nor would I say this is an error of God's Word, for the Word of God is still perfect; it was man who inserted the number references, and thus, this is only my personal critique of the numeral label on this particular verse.Masters who owned slaves were to treat them just and equal, which is not to say that slaves are equal in status to the master, but they should treat them equal as men (i.e. to love their neighbors as themselves), and also equal among one another, not giving one preferencial treatment over another with personal bias, paying them proper wages, giving them proper food and clothing, being temperate and kind with them, and caring for them when they are sick or injured. These things should be taken with solemn consideration, knowing that all our deeds are recorded and judged by "a master in heaven" who will recompense for unjust words and actions. (Mat 12:36, 2Th 1:6)
[v2] Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Because of the incongruency of the numbered verses, some may take this to be instruction only for masters, which is not the case because all Christians should continue in prayer and supplication. (Phil 4:6) Paul adds that we should "watch... with thanksgiving" (Eph 6:18) which is the faithful nature of thanksgiving, and a necessary component to avoid hypocrisy because to be thankful for the mercy of God in prayer, while not watching for the completion of those things for which we have prayed, to be indifferent to the Lord's performance of the things He has promised us, is a contradictory attitude against the basis of our faith.[v3] Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
Withal, or likewise, not only continuing in prayer and thanksgiving for that which the Christians of Colosse needed individually, or among the local church, but also for the apostles and their companions, not so much for the release from prison (although I am certain he would have hoped for that), but because he saw his bonds as chains of honor, suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ, and so he instead made a request of charity, that they might pray for "a door of utterance," to have the Word of God opened to him, and to have the opportunity opened to him that he could preach the truth of Christ's Gospel, namely the mystery of it, which was unseen in the clouded darkness of Jewish doctrines.[v4] That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
That is, Paul is revealing that Christ is hidden behind the shadows of Jewish traditions and rituals, and that He came to take those things away and free us from our sin, which things Paul "ought to speak," which is what a faithful man will do, speaking the truth in the way he was taught according to the Scriptures, that it would be profitable to Christ and grow the church, and soley for that purpose, not having corrupt ulterior motives of popularity and paycheck hidden in his heart.[v5] Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
This almost seems to be a play on phrases because the Jews saw "them that are without" to be the Gentiles, but Jesus told us that "them that are without" are those outside the church. (Mark 4:11) Thus, we should "walk circumspectly" (i.e. to be alert and keep watch on all sides, Eph 6:15-16), and redeem the time, which essentially means that there are wicked men all around us, even when they try to portray themselves as "good people" (Rom 3:10-12), and therefore, because the days we live in are evil, we ought to redeem the time we have been given by the Lord, with circumspect diligence (i.e. dutiful focus on doing good works and preaching the truth, take precautions against those who will trouble us, that we use our time to the best efficiency that we can for the Lord Jesus Christ, to use the wisdom He has given us to win souls for Him (Pro 11:30), and to attend to the care of the church. (1Pe 5:2-3)[v6] Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Graceful speech is such things that are said concerning grace, which would be virtuous things, such a speech that edifies the church, to grow in wisdom and understanding, and to have affection for others, sprinkled with faith, meekness, and patience. Ungraceful speech would be things said which contain derogatory words, lewd innuendos, filthy implications, and other foolishness, which is not restricted in the sense of exposing the works of darkness (e.g. as one might use analogies in jest to shine a light on the sinful philosophies and deeds of men), but rather, they should not be part of our normal, day-to-day conversations.Our conversation should be refined to the point where other Christians enjoy hearing what we have to say because our speech is "seasoned with salt" which brings the light of Christ to darkness by providing understanding of His Word, and preaches His wisdom for our good. These edifying conversations would prepare us to know what to do in our lives, and how we answer every man of the hope that is in us with meekness and fear. (1Pe 3:15)
[v7] All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:
Tychicus was a companion of Paul from Asia (Acts 20:4), and was tasked as a messenger to both Colosse and Ephesis. (Eph 6:21) He was one of Paul's most trusted companions, which was important for communication since Paul had many enemies that would stop or corrupt his words, and so having a "fellow servant in the Lord" was important, not only for trust, but also for the preaching of the Gospel, which Tychicus would do as he traveled.[v8] Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts;
Tychicus was sent to Colosse that they might know Paul's state, that is, his condition and circumstances, to receive any news about his ministry and court proceedings. Likewise, Paul desired to know their state, about the growth of the church, as well as any problems the elders and deacons had run into, how they were handling certain matters both within the church and against "them that are without," as well as any successes in their preaching of the Gospel.[v9] With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.
Oneismus was once a student of Philemon (Phm 1:10-11), who apparently ran away from him for some unknown reason, and was later converted to Christ by Paul. He became a minister of some sort to the Colossians, although his role is unclear because we are not given enough information in the Scriptures, but he was also tasked with preaching and communication delivery along with Tychicus.[v10] Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
Aristarchus was from Thessalonica (that was in the region of Macedonia, Acts 19:29), and not only worked frequently with Paul (Phm 1:24), but he was also a prisoner in Rome with him, and greeted the Christians at Colosse because they knew him. The same with Marcus, or Mark, or in full, John Mark (Acts 12:12), who was the nephew of Barnabas, and the very John who had originally abandoned Paul and Barnabas, which caused the two friends to have a dispute and go their separate ways over the matter (Acts 15:37), and Paul notes that Marcus (or John Mark) had a letter of commendation that was sent to them that, despite past ordeals, he was to be received as brethren in Colosse, which indicates that he had redeemed his reputation by his later works.[v11] And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellowworkers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.
Obviously, this is not Jesus the Christ, but rather, one who we might in English call "Joshua," which was a common name among Jews, and is still a common name in English countries. The name "Justus" was a surname name (or last name) that was also somewhat commonly adopted, and does not necessarily indicate relation to Barsabas Justus in Acts 1:23. When Paul says "these only are my fellowworkers," it does not mean that he had no other fellowworkers abroad, but rather, these were the only Jewish men present with him at the time, and this is an interesting note because the corrupt Catholic organization claims that Peter was in Rome, while this verse indicates that he was not, otherwise, he would be listed among these fellowworkers, to provide comfort to Paul in his affliction, or more likely, would be in prison alongside him.[v12] Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
Epaphras was a citizen of Colosse who frequently preached there (Col 1:7), and it stands to reason he would be quite close with the church in the city, therefore, he saluted them, which means to send warm regards to them. He prayed for them daily with great passion, that they would be bold in perfection, which only the saints of God can be, by the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to them, to become merciful as God is merciful (Luke 6:36), and to have the knowledge of God's Word understood clearly by them, so they would put it into practice.[v13] For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis.
That is, Paul was a witness to the prayers of Epaphras, and in those prayers, he showed a great passion and affection for the church in Colosse, that they would be protected from the corruptions of false teachers, and blessed richly in their words and deeds for Christ, as well as those in Laodicea and Hierapolis, which were both cities in Phrygia and close to Colosse.[v14] Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
This is Luke, the author of the book of Luke and the book of Acts, who was a long-standing companion of Paul in his travels, and obviously well-known by many in Colosse, as well as by many other churches, because of his work as a physician, proving himself very helpful to many. Demas abandoned Paul at one point (2Ti 4:10), and so this was either written before that event, or Demas later repented of his wrongdoing and reunited himself with the brother he abandoned.[v15] Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
Paul is referring to the church in Laodicea, and Nymphas, whose house the church met in, but little is known about this man, although he must have served some importance of preaching to, and caring for, the brethren in the city.[v16] And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.
Instructions are given to the Colossians to read this same letter to the Laodicean church, either that they would deliver the original letter, make a copy for them to keep, or make a copy for the Colossians to keep while sending the original letter to Laodicea, so they can see the original in the handwriting and avoid suspicion of tampering by the enemies of Paul. Paul mentions a second letter to read "likewise," and that is the letter "FROM Laodicea," not "to Laodicea," which I specify because some have thought to include some missing epistle called "Laodiceans," but no such epistle exists, and this may be referring to 1st Timothy, which was written by Paul while he was in Laodicea.[v17] And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.
Archippus was another preacher who was a close friend of Paul (Phm 1:2), who apparently was a minister in Laodicea, and this seems to be an encouragement and exhortation to continue in the work that he was doing for the Lord, even if it seemed to be grievous in some sense. The Lord had given Archippus a calling, and gifts to accompany that calling, but we get the sense that he was slacking on his duty in some regard, and therefore, Paul kindly reminded him of his duty to Christ, and that he should continue in that work until it is fulfilled.[v18] The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
Though the rest of this letter was a dictation, this final verse seems to have been written by Paul's hand, to give proof of his message with his own signature, to help prevent the fraud of false preachers to confuse the church with fake letters made to look like they were from Paul. Paul requested them to remember he was a prisoner in Rome, which is not so much to remind them to pray for him (which they already did), but this was said as an encouragement, that as they suffered for Christ, he suffered the same together with them.Paul ends his letters as he always does, wishing the grace of Christ on all the brethren, and finishing with "Amen," which is Hebrew, meaning "truly" or "of the truth." The King James Bible translators add in a note that this epistle was written from Rome to the Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus, who were both aforementioned in chapter four.
