Colossians 2:6-23, Part 2

Corresponding to verses 6 and 7, verses 9-15 will draw attention to some definite doctrines that are especially relevant to the situation. And corresponding to verse 8, he will address some of the particular points raised by the false teachings under consideration. That is, although verses 9-15 contain teachings that are universally profitable for the believer, it is stated and gathered in this place because they are directed against the false teachings that Paul warns about in verse 8, and that he will enumerate in verses 16-23. We will follow his lead and first study the teachings in verses 9-15, and then apply them against the false teachings that Paul calls attention to in verses 16-23.

Verses 9-15 reinforce the teaching concerning the fullness of Christ, an idea that Paul emphasizes throughout this letter. Over and over again, he stresses the fact that Christ is complete. He applies this to the believers and adds, "and you have been given fullness in Christ." All of the false teachings that he counteracts in verses 16-23 undermine the sufficiency of Christ in one way or another. They suggest that it is acceptable or even necessary to supplement a simple reliance on the person and work of Christ with some religious observances, regulations, and experiences.

But if Christ's person and work are complete, and if Christians are complete in him, then to supplement the Christian faith with additional religious doctrines and practices, rituals, regulations, and revelations, would undermine one's spirituality rather than enhance it. Christ is so complete in his person and work that one must devalue him in order to make room for the addition of human traditions and principles. But when that happens, the person becomes "unspiritual," and not more spiritual. The Christian faith is so complete that to add anything to it is to take away from it.

He specifies several ways in which believers have received fullness in Christ. Christians have undergone spiritual circumcision, a "circumcision done by Christ," that has put off their sinful nature (v. 11). No doctrine of physical circumcision can add anything to the believer. Christians have experienced spiritual resurrection (v. 12-13). All unbelievers are dead in sin, but we have been made alive in Christ. A person is either spiritually dead or alive. Nothing could be done to make us more resurrected. The idea itself is senseless. Christians have received complete forgiveness. God has forgiven all our sins, canceled our debt, and nailed the note to the cross (v. 13-14). The language is final, and there is no room for improvement or for more forgiveness. Christians have attained complete victory. Christ has triumphed over all powers and authorities, and by our union with him, we share in his triumph (v. 15). We should stand firm in this, but there is nothing that needs to be done or that could be done to gain additional victory. Christ's work is complete, and we are complete in him.

The positive aspect of Paul's answer to false teaching is most important, because it provides the basis on which we may reject all aberrations. Any teaching suggesting that Christ's person or work is incomplete, and that we need something more in order to complete our salvation or enhance our spirituality, is automatically ruled out. For this reason, ministers ought to constantly teach and remind their listeners of the basics of the Christian faith through a positive exposition of biblical passages and doctrines. Of course, for this to benefit a believer as he faces doctrinal deception, he must have the ability to apply the truths that he knows. But this requires only some basic reasoning skills, such as the ability to make simple deductions and inferences.

Paul has some specific examples in mind, and in verses 16-23, he applies to them what he has said in verses 9-15.

It would be wrong enough to enforce the Old Testament religious calendar on Christians, with verse 17 as the reason, but verse 16 probably suggests more than this to include observances instituted by human tradition. The theological criticism is that "These are shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ" (v. 17). A stringent observer of religious food laws and holy days may think that he has a basis to be confident about his spiritual commitment and to judge himself superior to others. But Paul's criticism is that, since Christ has already come, such a person has nothing but a shadow religion, an image of the reality. Therefore, he is in fact less spiritual than those who commit to Christ in simple faith. Moreover, since Christ the reality has already come, and since Paul and others have preached about his achievements, to persist in or return to a shadow religion is at the same time a denial of Christ, the reality, the actual substance of true religion.

If we will think about it for a moment, it might surprise and sadden us to realize that much of Christendom comes under the criticism of verse 17. Of course, the entire enterprise of Roman Catholicism is a shadow religion. But if we do not consider it part of Christianity at all, and we should not, then what about those Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Charismatics, and others, who criticize other believers for failing to observe Easter and Christmas? They say that these are good days to remember Christ, and that these are great opportunities to draw attention to the faith. But first, the Bible does not teach this – to say that these are the advantages is itself a human tradition and opinion. And second, our passage explicitly tells believers to defy those who judge them on this issue. Anyone who then makes a negative judgment or criticism finds himself on the other side, in opposition to the apostle. All arguments are futile. This is the end of the discussion.

Nevertheless, it is a curious phenomenon that so many are attracted to a religion of shadow instead of a religion of reality. They prefer the symbol over the substance. And if there are no authorized symbols, because the substance has come, then they will invent some for themselves. And on the basis of tending to these symbols, they even assert a spiritual superiority over those who tend to the substance and the reality.

When we consider the nature of many of these symbols, we notice that they have at least three major characteristics. First, they appeal to the senses. Various tools, garments, and decorations appeal to the sense of sight. Special singings and instruments appeal to the sense of hearing. Food and drink appeal to the sense of taste. Candles and incenses appeal to the sense of smell. These are just a small list of examples, and some go further than others in organizing their entire religion into one for the senses. Second, they require much human effort and participation. The exercise of these symbols often demand elaborate arrangement and organization. Sometimes they require self-imposed labor and suffering. Third, and people are often blind to this, they erect a barrier between God and man. Instead of going to God directly and regularly, they institute special days and rituals, and utilize special tools and trinkets. So while God invites all believers to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), it almost seems that these people would rather participate in their man-made rituals in order to delay coming to him.

Given these characteristics of a shadow religion, we may infer several reasons behind its attraction. A religion of shadow is in fact a religion of the flesh. It purports to be more spiritual, but in reality it is all of the flesh. It appeals to the sensation and not to the intellect, to the feeling faculties of man and not to his thinking faculties. In connection with this, a religion of shadow is more concrete or even more "real," that is, from the perspective of the flesh. It is less spiritual and less intellectual, but more physical and sensual. This is what the carnal mind wants. Christianity is too spiritual and too intellectual for a fleshly mentality. Related to this is the sense that in a religion of shadow there is more for the flesh to do and more for the flesh to control. And by equating one's spirituality with fleshly activities, such a religion accommodates the pride and unbelief of its adherents. Then, some people prefer a religion of shadow simply because they are bored with the actual Christian faith. Christ is complete, and his work is complete – he does not need them to add anything. And for some, this is just unacceptable, and boring. There is not enough in a religion of reality to satisfy their lust for sensual and animalistic stimulation.

Based on the above observations, the simple way to explain the attraction of a religion of shadow is that it is really for people who do not like God very much. A simple lifestyle of reading about him, thinking about him, talking about him, and praying to him is not enough. A direct contact with God through the mind with minimal sensual activities and distractions is unattractive and frustrating to them. Their lust for fleshly stimulation thus invents more complicated theories to believe and elaborate rituals to perform. All of this, it is most important to note, is not just a matter of preference. For one to persist in a religion of shadow when God commands a religion of reality means that this person has no spiritual reality, and no true contact with God.