Tag: Jesus

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Colossians 2:16b – The Risk of Rules

… by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 

young man sitting in church, wearing a hat, drinking coffee and sporting tattoos.

Summary: In this passage, Paul gives us a rule about rules. 

Let’s review the entire verse before we start our meditation: 

“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.” 

Paul begins with “Therefore…” referring to his prior statement that God made us “alive in Christ” (Col 2:13) and has canceled our “legal indebtedness” (Col 2:14) by means of the cross, “do not let anyone judge you by legalistic requirements.“

This is not a mysterious statement or a confusing metaphor. Paul is speaking as plainly as humanly possible here. There is no chance that anyone would or could misunderstand his point. 

Except we do. 

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Colossians 2:16a – Only Jesus

Therefore do not let anyone judge you …

Summary: Paul continues to explain what it means to be a believer in Jesus. Human rules count for nothing. All that matters is faith in our Savior.

As I sat down to write this meditation, I was debating with myself about whether or not I should tackle the whole verse. The more I stared at it, the more the first seven words cried out for special attention. So … before you judge me, know that I at least thought about including the whole verses before I chopped it up.

When Paul says, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you …” I tend to think to myself, “Yeah, right.” How does Paul expect us to stop people from judging us? On top of this is a larger question: How is the church supposed to function if people are not to judge?

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Colossians 2:15a – Standing With Jesus

And having disarmed the powers and authorities …

Summary: Understanding Paul’s reference to “powers and authorities” requires that we understand the difference between the spirit and the flesh. 

I find this particular passage very intriguing. In the context of the larger passage, Paul has just stated that Jesus took our “legal indebtedness” and nailed it to the cross. Then he turns around and says that, by doing that, he has “disarmed the powers and authorities…”

Who is he talking about?

He didn’t disarm the Romans. The Pharisees and Sadducees were still in power when Jesus died. Who did Jesus “disarm”?

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Colossians 2:13a – The Greatest Gift

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. 

Summary: Paul, himself, provides the summary for this meditation. In fact, this passage summarizes the entire Bible! 

In this passage, Paul captures the heart of the entire Bible.

•   Genesis chapters 1–3 describe how we became “dead” in our sins.
•   Genesis 4 through the end of the Old Testament (Malachi 4) describe the uncircumcised life of the flesh.
•   The New Testament is all about God making us alive with Christ.
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Colossians 2:10a – Brought to Fullness

…and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.

Summary: Being brought to fullness in Christ is like going to the spiritual candy store and getting to eat all you want. 

Paul begins his sentence with the words, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form …” and ends them with today’s passage, “…and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.”

Have you ever seen a fountain where water flows into a bowl and then overflows into another bowl? Sometimes, there will be three bowls, each flowing into the other. 

The picture Paul’s words paint is similar to the fountain. The fullness of God flows into Christ, and Christ flows into those who believe in him. 

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Colossians 2:8d – The Path to Unity

…rather than on Christ.

Summary: As we come to the end of this verse, Paul points us, once again, to the only one who can save us: Jesus. 

Wait a minute! How did we get here again? 

Let’s review: 

“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

In this one sentence, Paul has outlined a major threat to those of us who believe in Jesus. A “hollow and deceptive philosophy” is a persuasive argument that looks substantial on the outside but inside is empty, void of any real value. 

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Colossians 2:7c – What Paul Sees

[continue to live your lives in him]… and overflowing with thankfulness.

Summary: Understanding why Christians should be thankful requires understanding the fundamentals of what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ. 

Paul expects us to be thankful. 

This is a theme that comes up often in his writing. In this instance, he connects our life in Christ to thankfulness. 

Why? 

Why should we be thankful? 

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Colossians 2:7a – Roots & Fruit

… rooted and built up in him …

Summary: As Paul continues his thought about living our lives in Christ, he leans on metaphors that have a rich history in the Bible. 

Paul is writing about the Christian life. He begins by saying, “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him…” And then he adds, “rooted and built up in him.” 

Essentially, Paul is mixing metaphors here. To be “rooted” is a reference to a metaphor used to describe life in Christ as being part of a plant (John 15:1-8). All plants have roots. It is the root that anchors the plant in the soil while at the same time pulling life-giving water and nutrients from the soil. 

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