Colossians 2:1-10: “Don’t Be Taken Captive By
Philosophy, In Christ Are Hidden All The Treasures Of Wisdom & Knowledge”
By
1. In our last study, we looked at verses 15-29 of chapter 1.
1.1. To combat the Gnostic heresy, Paul began to declare the preeminence of Christ in all things in our study. The Gnostics were teaching that the intermediary of angels, and certain visions and special knowledge was needed in order to understand more about God and truth. However, in that study Paul refutes these ideas by demonstrating the preeminence of Christ in these ways:
1.1.1. He is before all things.
1.1.2. All things are created by Him.
1.1.3. All things are created for Him.
1.1.4. In Him all things hold together.
1.1.5. He is the head of all things, including the head of the Church.
1.2. We looked at more of the background for this study regarding “The Colossian Heresy”:
1.2.1. We discussed what is called the heresy of “Docetism” which denies the humanity of Christ and saw Christ as this Phantom that walked around.
1.2.2. We discussed Jewish Mysticism and its prevalence in the religion of the Jews some more.
2. Today, we are going to look at verses 1 through 10 of chapter 2.
2.1.
Paul expresses his
concern for the people of the
2.2. Paul will tell us that God’s mystery which he preached, is Christ Himself. We will look at what Paul means by the word “mystery” and how that the knowledge of God which we can know through Jesus Christ is available to all, not just a select few who receive the “special” knowledge.
2.3. Paul will state that in Jesus Christ, God’s mystery are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
2.4. Paul will tell the Colossians to beware to not be taken captive through philosophy (referring to the teachings of the Gnostics), and then we will look at the three reasons that Paul gives for why a person should look no further than to Jesus Christ, as revealed in the scriptures, to know God.
3. VS 2:1 - “1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face,” – Paul tells the Colossians that he wanted them to know how great of a struggle that he was having on their behalf as well as those in Laodicea, and for all who hadn’t personally seen his face
3.1. Along with verse 7 of chapter 1 where Paul mentions that the Colossians learned about the grace of God from Epaphras, this verse is another indication that Paul may not have even visited this church of Colossians, for he speaks of those who ‘have not personally seen my face’.
3.2.
‘
3.3. It was difficult for Paul to persuade believers he had never met in his letters since though he might assert his apostleship and respective authority, this didn’t mean that the ones he sought to persuade would accept him as an authority over themselves.
3.4. As a good shepherd of God’s people, Paul deeply cared for each church and everyone within each church, and his words here tell us he was deeply stirred and even grieved when anyone stumbled in their faith in Christ: ‘how great a struggle I have on your behalf’.
3.5.
Paul
had a good reason for being concerned for the church in
Revelation 3:14-22: “14 “To the angel of the church in
4. VS 2:2 - “2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,” – Paul’s desire was to see that all of the believers in the churches would have their hearts encouraged and knit together in love, and that they would attain to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding of God’s mystery, which is Christ Himself
4.1. The Gnostic teachers were giving their followers secret ‘knowledge’. This was knowledge that was only available and conferred from the Gnostic leaders to their followers. Paul uses word play here to tell the Colossians that God has ‘true knowledge’ that He desires to give them, and this knowledge is a ‘mystery’ (Paul uses the word that means “an unveiling” not something that is hidden to all but a few), and the ‘mystery’ that God has to give is ‘Christ Himself’.
4.2. Paul desired true “unanimity” amongst the believers in the church in Colossae, that their hearts would be ‘knit together in love’, but this unity must be based around the essential Christian truths concerning Jesus Christ and Him died for our sins and raised again from the dead. There is no unity without some agreement about what is true.
4.3. Paul says here that he wanted the Colossians to have ‘the full assurance of understanding’ and the ‘true knowledge’ (not the secret so called knowledge that was actually lies from the pit of hell), and this comes from ‘God’s mystery’ which is ‘Christ Himself’.
4.4. The word translated ‘knowledge’ here is “epignosis’ in the Greek which means “an accurate, precise, or correct knowledge.”
4.5. Paul told the Corinthians that when he was around them that he desired to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified: 1 Corinthians 2:2, “2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” If all that we can know about God comes through knowing Jesus Christ, then Paul’s perspective was perfectly in focus.
5. VS 2:3 - “3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” – Paul tells the Colossians that it is in Christ where all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden
5.1. We discussed early in this book study that the word ‘all’ is a key word in this book and that when it is used it means ‘all’!
5.2. The Gnostics were promising their followers secret ‘wisdom and knowledge’, but Paul declares to them that it is in Christ that ‘all’ of the ‘treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ are to be found.
5.3. If all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge about God are to be found in Christ, then it must also be true that to the very degree that a person looks for wisdom and knowledge outside of Christ is the degree to which they are being kept from having wisdom and knowledge and are being deceived and deluded from the truth!
5.4. All that we can know about God in this life comes to us from the revelation God has made to us, and that revelation is Christ, and He is the message of our Bible and found on every single page of our Bible.
5.5. So, the Bible then contains ‘hidden’ ‘treasures’ for the treasure hunter, the one who is hungry to know the Lord. In Phil. 3:7-9, Paul writes about the fact that he counted everything in his life, including his pedigree, accomplishments, and privileges, to be dung in view of the greater value of knowing Christ: “7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith”
5.6. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon has the following entry for this Greek word that is translated ‘hidden’ here:
614 ἀπόκρυφος [apokruphos /ap·ok·roo·fos/] adj. From 613; TDNT 3:957; TDNTA 476; GK 649; Three
occurrences; AV translates as “hid” twice, and “kept secret” once. 1 hidden, secret. 2 stored up.
5.7. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon has the following entry for this Greek word that is translated ‘treasures’:
2344 θησαυρός [thesauros /thay·sow·ros/] n m. From 5087; TDNT 3:136; TDNTA 333; GK 2565; 18
occurrences; AV translates as “treasure” 18 times. 1 the place in which good and precious things are
collected and laid up. 1a a casket,
coffer, or other receptacle, in which valuables are kept. 1b a treasury. 1c storehouse, repository, magazine. 2 the things laid up in a treasury, collected
treasures.
5.8. The Greek word translated ‘wisdom’ is “Sophia” which is the Greek word that is typically used to convey this.
5.9. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon has the following entry for this Greek word that is translated ‘knowledge’:
1108 γνῶσις [gnosis /gno·sis/] n f. From 1097; TDNT 1:689; TDNTA 119; GK 1194; 29
occurrences; AV translates as “knowledge” 28 times, and “science” once. 1 knowledge signifies in general intelligence,
understanding. 1a the general
knowledge of Christian religion. 1b the deeper more perfect and enlarged knowledge of this religion, such
a s belongs to the more advanced. 1c esp. of things lawful and unlawful for Christians. 1d moral wisdom, such as is seen in right living. Additional
Information: For synonyms see entries 4678, sophia; 4907, sunesis;
and 5428, phronesis.See entry 5826 for comparison of synonyms.
6. VS 2:4 - “4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.” – Paul tells the Colossians that he had said these things about Christ so that no one would delude them with persuasive arguments
6.1. Evidently, the Gnostic teachers were very charismatic and smooth in their speech, and thus many people were convinced by their arguments.
6.2. We as people are so easily influenced by someone who is smooth and charismatic, and skilled in the art of debate and motivational speaking. When I turn on the so-called Christian television networks I often find on there televangelist men or women who are very good in the art of communication and persuasion. They are demonstrative and loud and appeal to those things that our flesh craves. They might tell us, for instance, that God doesn’t want His people to live in poverty and that we are God’s special child, and in our flesh we are agreeing. Then, they tell us that if we have faith that God will bless us materially to the degree of our faith, and we all want to be blessed. They might then tell us that if we send them “seed money” that this will be an expression of our faith and miracles will happen in our life. Many don’t question those things that these televangelists say because these speakers are so convincing and persuasive. But, an argument can be extremely persuasive and also straight from the pit of hell, and one day you can ask Eve about how persuasive the lies were one day in the garden of Eden when the serpent told them to her.
6.3. Used car salesmen tend to be just as persuasive as some of these televangelists are, but it seems that many times those who call themselves Christian are more discerning about investigating the facts before buying a car than they are about investigating the teachings that they hear from someone who is speaking about the things of God in a very ‘persuasive’ manner.
6.4. On television, there are some men and women who are often doing these infomercials for different products, and they are very persuasive. They tell you, for instance, that if you buy the XW windshield repair kit that for the mere investment of $19.95 you will never have to worry about having a crack or a pot mark on your windshield, and if you buy from them today they will throw in a genuine leather steering wheel cover and a full American and Metric ratchet set, all for only $19.95, and shipping is free. Some just do not get the fact that if something seems too good to be true that it almost certainly cannot be true, and they send in their money only to receive a bunch of junk that isn’t worth anything and doesn’t do what was advertized. Years ago I listened to one of these and sent in money to buy a one-size-fits-all wrench that you can use in any situation, and after I got it I realized that I couldn’t use it anywhere. But, as discerning as many people are to these flimflam scam artists, there are many more people who will be persuaded by a persuasive preacher and not check out from the word of God the truth of what they are being taught.
6.5. When a man or woman is making huge amounts of money for doing the ministry, regardless of who they are or how persuasive they may be in their presentation, you need to be discerning of the fact that they are just a con and their ministry is under God’s condemnation because they are scamming and ripping off God’s people and preaching lies from the pit of hell.
6.6. Many times false teachers will tell you twenty-five truths and then insert one lie from the pit of hell, and we must be wary of the fact that the Lord tells us in His word that the Devil is going to come to us not as a devil with a pitchfork, but rather “as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14), and because of how they appear God’s people are taken off guard and swallow their lies hook line and sinker.
6.7. In Romans 16:18, Paul referred to the speech of these false teachers as being “smooth and flattering” (they tell you things that appeal to your flesh): “18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.”
6.8. Paul said similar things about the treasures of wisdom and knowledge being in Christ in other letters which he wrote, for example:
6.8.1. Romans 11:33, “33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”
6.8.2. 1 Corinthians 1:20-24, “20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God…“30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”
6.8.3. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8, “6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
7. VS 2:5-7 - “ 5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” – Paul tells the Colossians that though he was not with them in body that he was with them in spirit rejoicing to see their good discipline and the stability of their faith in Christ, and as they had received Christ they were to walk in Him, firmly rooted initially and established in their faith as they were instructed
7.1. Paul wanted the Colossians to see him as being there with them ‘in spirit’ as he was constantly praying for them and thinking about them, and struggling with them whenever they struggled.
7.2. What did Paul mean when he tells them, ‘as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in Him’?
7.2.1. First of all, I think that he is telling them to not depart from the simplicity of the gospel that they had come to believe when they received Christ. There was nothing new that they needed to add to their faith, no special knowledge, mediation or worship of angels, no observance of days or feasts, no circumcision, no superstitious rites they needed to perform, no asceticism to take up, etc., that they needed to add to their faith in and service to Christ that would make them any more spiritual or help them to know God.
7.2.2. They needed to continue to build upon that foundation in the apostle’s teachings that they had already received and been taught.
7.2.3. They needed to continue to walk in faith and obedience to the Lord (‘as you were instructed’) and reject the false teachers and teachings.
7.3. All of us who are Christians need to continue to be ‘rooted’ in our faith, ‘built up in Him’, and ‘established’ in our faith.
7.4. In verse 7, Paul tells the Colossians that in their growth and improvement in the things of God that they needed to be ‘overflowing with gratitude’ to God because of His grace, mercy and love in working in their lives through Christ as He had done. When we consider all that the Lord has done for us “in Christ” we should all be filled with ‘gratitude’ to the Lord.
8. VS 2:8-10 - “8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. 9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;” – Paul tells the Colossians to see that no one takes them captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men and the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ, for in Christ the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and they have been made complete in Him and He is the head over all rule and authority
8.1. The Gnostics were trying to take captive anyone who would listen to their deceptions and heretical beliefs and practices. Paul tells the Colossians to beware that they are not taken captive by them.
8.2. The Greek word that is translated ‘philosophy’ is only found this one time in the New Testament. The word is a combination of the Greek word “philos” which means “brotherly love”, and “sophia”, a word that simply means “wisdom.” Thus, the word literally means “love of wisdom.” These two Greek words are that those from which our English word “philosophy” comes from as well.
8.3. Here Paul speaks of philosophy as coming ‘according to the tradition of men’, in other words these were the things that those in the world that is in rebellion against God in Paul’s day, believed. Today, we might refer to these things as being “humanism” or “worldly wisdom.” This is the kind of wisdom that goes against what God’s word teaches to be true.
8.4. When we think of the field of ‘philosophy’ held by many today that is opposed to the teachings of Christ and the Bible, many things might come to our mind. We might think of the rationalistic beliefs fostered by science that teach, for instance, the Big Bang Theory about how the universe came into being as a result of a bunch of matter that exploded. We might consider the theory of Macro Evolution about how life evolved to its complex form from a single cell bacteria found on the earth in a bunch of goo, etc., etc.
8.5. Today, we might want to apply this teaching to those groups who call themselves Christians but who are off base in their theology such as the various cults who have beliefs that contradict the very essential teachings of the scriptures. For instance, Mormons teach that Jesus Christ is a created being, the spirit-brother of Lucifer, and they are poly-theists and believe that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each gods, and that they also have a father, mother, aunts, uncles, etc., etc. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ is really Michael the Arc Angel, etc., etc.
8.6. Paul though is thinking specifically of the Gnostic teachings here as the types of ‘philosophy’ that the Colossians ought to beware of being caught up into. He was thinking of the Gnostic combination of Platonic dualism, Jewish mysticism, and occultic practices that were based on superstition. He was thinking of coming to God through the mediation of angels, the idea of gaining special knowledge through the Gnostic teachers, Epicureanism (eat, drink, and be merry), Asceticism (denying the body all joy and pleasure and separating one’s self from the rest of mankind), keeping of certain religious days and ceremonies, requirement of circumcision, etc., etc. Paul is telling the Colossians to beware of these types of ‘philosophy’.
8.7. Paul says here that these teachings were according to “the elementary teachings of the world,” and we saw in our first study that this referred to superstitious beliefs:
Bob
DeWaay discusses this in an article on the Colossian Heresy on his web site: cicministry.org/commentary/issue69.htm,
and he writes the following about the word “stoicheia” used in these
passages:
“The
problem is that the term stoicheia has a broad range of meanings. These
include “elementary instruction (like abc’s), the physical elements (earth,
wind, fire and water in ancient understanding), or spirit beings seen to rule
over the elements (elemental spirits.)”3 Clinton Arnold has provided
exhaustive research on this term as used in religious contexts (both pagan and
Jewish) in the ancient world. He wrote an entire chapter on the subject of the stoicheia.4
What is compelling about his research is the broad range of material from which
he draws. He concludes that the stoicheia are evil, hostile powers.5
It was these that both Jews and Pagans feared as is shown by many examples
cited by
So,
from what DeWaay has written we can see that there appears to have been a
certain set of superstitions believed by those who held the Colossian
Heresy. Another form of superstition is
today’s practice of Astrology which holds that the fate and fortunes of people
are determined by the alignment of the stars and planets. Nancy Reagon, the wife of former president
Ronald Reagon was one who constantly had astrologers give her advice for
husband about when the alignment of stars and planets made more favorable
certain meetings or events.
8.8. Paul refers to the teachings of the Gnostics as being ‘empty deception.’ When promising freedom and enlightenment through their teachings, all these men could provide was in reality ‘empty’ and they were deceiving others by teaching lies for truth. One has to wonder whether many of these Gnostic teachers actually knew better and simply wanted to make converts so that they could lead others astray.
8.9. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon has the following entry for this word translated ‘empty’ here:
2756 κενός [kenos /ken·os/] adj. Apparently a primary word; TDNT 3:659; TDNTA
426; GK 3031; 18 occurrences; AV translates as “vain” nine times, “in vain”
four times, “empty” four times, and “vain things” once. 1 empty, vain, devoid of truth. 1a of places, vessels, etc. which contain nothing. 1b of men. 1b1 empty handed. 1b2 without a gift. 1c metaph. destitute
of spiritual wealth, of one who boasts of his faith as a transcendent
possession, yet is without the fruits of faith. 1d metaph. of endeavours, labours, acts, which
result in nothing, vain, fruitless, without effect. 1d1 vain of no purpose.
8.10. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon has the following entry for this word translated ‘deception’ here:
539 ἀπάτη [apate /ap·at·ay/] n f. From 538; TDNT 1:385; TDNTA 65; GK 573; Seven
occurrences; AV translates as “deceitfulness” three times, “deceitful” once,
“deceit” once, “deceivableness” once, and “deceivings” once. 1 deceit, deceitfulness.
8.11. Paul gives three arguments in these verses for why one should not get caught up in the worldly wisdom or philosophy of that day, such as that which the Gnostics believe:
8.11.1. In Christ ‘all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.’
8.11.1.1. Christ is not one of many manifestations of deity, as the Gnostics taught that angels were manifestations of deity. Christ was God.
8.11.1.2. The ‘fullness’ of deity which is contained in Jesus Christ is expressed in a few places in scripture, including:
8.11.1.2.1.John 1:1, 14-17, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
8.11.1.2.2.Hebrews 1:3, “3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
8.11.1.3. Christ is not part God and part man, He is “fully God,” and He is “fully man.” “All” of the “fullness of deity” dwells in Christ, He does not simply have part of deity.
8.11.1.4. Christ is not a phantom as the Gnostics imagined, one who is wholly God and not man, rather He is God fully dwelling “in bodily form.”
8.11.1.5. Christ is and also shall always be “fully God and
fully man.” Even after His
resurrection, Jesus showed to His disciples the scars in His hands and feet and
the hole where the spear pierced His side.
Forever, Jesus shall bear those marks of humanity upon Himself as a
reminder of His being fully man (and God), and also what He endured on
8.11.2. The believer is ‘complete in Him’.
8.11.2.1. The Greek word “plarao” is translated “complete” in verse 10 and it is the verb form of the adjective “plaroma” which is translated “fullness” in verse 9. Paul then is saying that Christ’s ‘fullness’ as deity in bodily form is our “completeness.”
8.11.2.2. As believers in Christ, we must come to learn that Christ is our sufficiency in all things, all that we need. Because He is fully God, the full expression and presence of God in human form, He is able to give to us all that we need in this life and the one to come.
8.11.2.3. If we are complete in Christ, what more do we need to know to understand better and draw close to God?
8.11.3. Christ ‘is the head over all rule and authority.’
8.11.3.1. Paul will go on in this chapter to talk about how that on the cross Christ conquered all of the principalities and powers in the heavenly realm.
8.11.3.2. Because Christ is over all rule and authority, it would only make sense if it were possible to go straight to Him concerning any spiritual endeavor. Any lesser mediators, such as the angels that the Gnostics went to and even worshipped, are not able to get a person close to God. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6-7, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father, but through Me,” and so we would be foolish not to heed the words of the One who is over all rule and authority in all of creation.
9. CONCLUSIONS:
9.1. Beware of worldly and supposedly spiritual philosophy that contradicts what the word of teaches.
9.2. If all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, are you a treasure hunter? Do you daily look for treasure buried in the word of God for you?
9.3. Do you see yourself as complete in Christ because of all of the fullness He possesses, the fullness of deity in human form?