2 Colossians

Col 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Col 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Col 2:8 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.
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 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:
Col 2:12 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.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 2:14 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;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.
Col 2:16 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:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Col 2:18 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,
Col 2:19 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.
Col 2:20 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,
Col 2:21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Col 2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of
men?
Col 2:23 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.

What is contained in these few lines just might be the most important passage in the
Bible. Not only does it contain the salvation gospel, but also tells Christians who God is,
what he has done for us, and how to live as a Christian.
This passage starts with a general command to live as Christ. Christ was perfect
and without sin. We are told that we should strive to be sinless and to always be thankful.
This starts Paul’s beautiful parallelism. He begins to interweave the gospel of salvation
(as is found specifically in 1 Corinthians 15) into his teachings. He starts with Christ’s
life. Christ lived and was perfect.
The next verse goes on to warn the Christians about false philosophy, which will
be identified later, but was apparent to the readers of this epistle. And then Paul gives a
Godhead statement concerning Christ. Christ and God are one and the same, a core belief
of Christianity. Christ lived, was perfect, and was God. Not only this but Christ was flesh,
he was human. It is by him we are made whole and our sins (symbolized by, to use a
euphemism, our flesh) were cut off.
From here Paul parallels the next core belief of Christians: that Christ died for our
sins. This is the forgiveness and perfection of those who trust in Christ. All the laws that
once applied to those in the flesh do not apply any more. No more can sin separate those
who believe from God. Paul points out that it was the act of being a sacrifice and being
nailed to the cross, just as animals had been sacrificed in Israel’s time to forgive sin, was
the act that destroyed the laws. Christians are not a slave to keep any of the law.
He tells Christians that because we are not under the law, we do not have to live
as others say. We do not have to follow traditions or worship in a certain way. Christ is
the ultimate goal of the law and of the ordinances. Once Christians believe in Christ they
no longer need any written ordinances.
From here Paul completes the parallel. Not only did Christ, God, come in human
form, live a perfect life, die, and rise again, but he was also seen. Being seen is crucial to
the Christian religion. Paul writes elsewhere that if there is no resurrection of the dead
our faith is in vain.1 His resurrection, witness by hundreds of people, is the evidence of
his Godhead and our salvation. He mocks those who believe based on their own
imaginations. People have seen Christ. They had seen him die, and they saw him rise
again the third day. The Christian religion is one of evidence, not conjecture.
Because Christians live in Christ and are dead to sin, we are not to live as though
we are trying to create for ourselves a false sense of righteousness. Paul goes on to list
things, not prohibited by Christianity, but popular in the self-righteous philosophers of his
time: will worship, humility, neglecting the body, and not fulfilling any desire.
Luckily for the modern reader, Paul gives enough information to positively
identify those philosophers throughout this passage.

Col 2:8 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.

The first context clue, naturally, is that Paul points out that philosophy is destructive.
Philosophy was not attributed to every belief system but those of the Platonists and their
kin. He emphasizes this by saying “after the rudiments of the world.” Rudiments are like
building blocks. They are principles, and these principles can be identified, also being
linked to the philosophers:

Col 2:20 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,

These rudiments are the source of the ordinances which Paul then lists:

Col 2:21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;

Col 2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of
men?
Col 2:23 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.

These are precisely the teachings of Platonism in its many forms. Plotinus, and ardent
adherent to Platonism, died a withered and disgusting man because he neglected his body
such that he never bathed or took medicine.2 The body, to the Platonists, was an image of
what was perfect. The goal was to escape the body to become the highest form possible.

1
1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
2
Enneads, Porphyry: On the Life of Plotinus and the Arrangement of his Work, 2
The resurrection of the dead would be a laughing matter to the Platonists,1 as they saw
any body as less than ideal. It is these ideas that are being combated by Paul.
To compound the fact that Paul was referring to the Platonists he employed a
technique that he used often when addressing crowds: he alluded to some idea or symbol,
usually something he was criticizing that was pagan, and turned it to point to God. Acts
gives one such example:

Act 17:23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this
inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him
declare I unto you.
Act 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of
heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Act 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing,
seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

God is not in the idol. God, in fact, hates idols. The idol maker did not form God, God
formed the earth and man’s craftsmanship is worthless compared to His. Paul uses this to
insult those who follow this doctrine of idol worship and then points to God. He utilizes
the same technique in his letters.
Corinth was a wealthy and mighty city, primarily due to its strategic location for
shipping lanes. In this city was a huge fortress on top of a steep mountain which, after
taking a bus up most the way, would still make semi-physically fit, modern, Christian
travelers weary as they climbed the steps to peer inside.2 Since ancient times this point
had not only been used as a defensible location but also housed on its highest point a
temple of Aphrodite3, wholly armed with its own legion of prostitutes,4 noted by their
shaved heads.5 The fortress was one almost impossible to breech, and the temple was one
of renown throughout the world. This is what Paul alludes to as he addresses the
Corinthians:

2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Paul mocks this impenetrable fortress and says Christians will overthrow it and cast it
down. Mere spiritual weapons will destroy the jewel of Corinth and the pagan temples
who exalt themselves wherein. This was a slap to Corinthian pride and Corinthian
paganism. The same literary technique is used again in Ephesians as Paul talks about the
mystery:
1
Origen writes against the semi-Platonist Celsus “But since the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a subject of
mockery to unbelievers” Against Celsus 2.16
2
Personal experience
3
Pausanias writes in his Description of Greece “On the summit of the Acrocorinthus is a temple of
Aphrodite.” 2.5.1
4
Strabo wrote in his Geography: “And the temple of Aphroditê was so rich that it owned more than a
thousand temple slaves, courtesans, whom both men and women had dedicated to the goddess. And
therefore it was also on account of these women that the city was crowded with people and grew rich; for
instance, the ship captains freely squandered their money, and hence the proverb, ‘Not for every man is the
voyage to Corinth.’ ” 8.6.20c
5
Paul also alludes to this facet in his 1st letter to the Corinthians (1Co 11:5)
 Eph 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to
you-ward:
Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in
few words,
Eph 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of
Christ)
Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now
revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of
his promise in Christ by the gospel:

The mysteries were ancient cults, thriving in Biblical times who prided themselves on
secrecy and different levels of revelation to different levels of adherents. One had to
follow a caste system and advance in order to learn new truths.1 These were Platonic
truths and ideas:

After being admitted, the initiates were instructed in the secret wisdom which had been
preserved for ages. Plato, an initiate of one of these sacred orders, was severely criticized
because in his writings he revealed to the public many of the secret philosophic principles
of the Mysteries.2

One such epicenter for the mystery cults was located in the prosperous city of Ephesus.
Paul mocks this and turns this thinking onto its head, as he does with the idol and
with the impenetrable fortress. Paul says all people are equal. Everyone is deserving to
hear the mystery, and the mystery is that now everyone is the same rank. In God’s
system, unlike man’s, there is no caste system.
Paul’s literary technique, a mocking allusion, is crafted in set steps: he identifies
pagan symbols or beliefs, he mocks those beliefs and then he turns those beliefs to point
to God. The case is no different in Colossians 2. He first makes clear he is talking about
philosophy which then he alludes to:

Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

The shadow was an integral part of a well known allegory of Plato. Plato, in his Republic
talked of a man chained to a wall, only seeing shadows on the wall and supposing them to
be the real world. After he is finally freed and sees the truth he returns to tell the other
prisoners of it. They hate him for it and kill him when he attempts to show them the truth
also, all the while he being correct in thinking that the shadows were not reality.
Plato through the puppet of Socrates explains this allegory:

This entire allegory, I said, you may now append, dear Glaucon, to the previous
argument; the prison-house is the world of sight, the light of the fire is the sun, and you
will not misapprehend me if you interpret the journey upwards to be the ascent of the soul
into the intellectual world…3
1
Origen specifically references this to answer Celsus’ objection that the Christians do this very thing:
“Moreover, all the mysteries that are celebrated everywhere throughout Greece and barbarous countries,
although held in secret, have no discredit thrown upon them” Against Celsus 1.7
2
Hall 21
3
Republic VII
This shadow allegory was concerning introspection and a path to the One. Sight is
labeled the villain which chains mankind. Only through a Platonic ascent can man attain
the truth. Plato goes on to explain in part how this ascension is attained:

Moreover, I said, you must not wonder that those who attain to this beatific vision are
unwilling to descend to human affairs; for their souls are ever hastening into the upper
world where they desire to dwell; which desire of theirs is very natural, if our allegory
may be trusted.1

The good Platonist attains enlightenment by being above human affairs. The Christian
however is to live in the world but is not required to follow the laws of the world. In the
next chapter Paul explains we should try to not do what the pagans will be condemned by
God for doing, not because we will go to hell for such actions, but because we should
strive to serve the one who saved us.2 Christianity is about living life for God, Platonism
is about escaping life to attain the ideal. It is natural desires that keep mankind chained in
the Platonist worldview. And specifically Plato identifies eating and drinking:

But what if there had been a circumcision of such natures in the days of their youth; and
they had been severed from those sensual pleasures, such as eating and drinking, which,
like leaden weights, were attached to them at their birth, and which drag them down and
turn the vision of their souls upon the things that are below--if, I say, they had been
released from these impediments and turned in the opposite direction, the very same
faculty in them would have seen the truth as keenly as they see what their eyes are turned
to now.3

This is what Paul mocks, specifically saying eating and drinking were laws to be
discarded. He says enlightenment does not come from what we eat or drink or how we
live. To attain truth, mankind does not need to follow manmade prescriptions in
abandoning the flesh. Instead Paul specifically claims the opposite of what Plato claims
in this section: “And must there not be some art which will effect conversion in the
easiest and quickest manner; not implanting the faculty of sight, for that exists already,
but has been turned in the wrong direction, and is looking away from the truth?”4
Plato despises sight. Paul mocks this and says by sight the Christian is saved. He
says to not believe those who have not seen what they claim. Christ flaunted the truth
openly. Paul says the Platonists are puffed up in their mind. They follow the inane
reasoning of Plato who thought it was only from the mind, not external evidence, that one
could come to enlightenment. Attainment of the truth, in reality, does not depend on a
long staggering journey into the light, as the Platonists claimed, it was open and free to
everyone.
Paul’s next step is open mocking of the shadow. We are not living in a Platonic
image of purity. What we see is what is real. Christ is God in human form, and Christ
showed this to mankind openly. Paul reiterates this. He says the shadow is the law, and
1
Republic VII
2
Col 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Col 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord
Christ.
3
Republic VII
4
Republic VII
the object is Christ. Our belief is based on what we saw. Whereas the chained prisoners
were forever blind, and by extension needed Platonic enlightenment to see the truth, all
Christians need is eyesight and we can see God in his Godhead. We know God and we
know truth by looking at Jesus, not through philosophical concepts:

Col 2:8 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.
Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Fullness here is used as a meaning similar to completion. If someone has a torn garment
and patches it, the garment is full again.1 If someone has an empty basket, filling it makes
it complete.2 Fullness here refers specifically to divinity. This is not the same thing as
being filled with God, an act for which the Bible says mankind should strive.3 This
fullness is in conjunction with Godhead. It is what makes God, in fact, God.
What we learn from this whole section is that God is not the god of the Platonists
but is Christ Jesus, who loved, cried, became angry, and was hurt by man, something the
Platonists scorn.4 Jesus was perfect in all his ways, loving, and harsh on those full of
pride. He interacted with man and learned new things:

Mar 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in
heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Jesus, the Son, will not forever be ignorant about when the end of the world will be. It
will be new knowledge when God reveals it to him or when it happens. Christ did not
know everything. Despite the ravings of the Platonists, perfect knowledge is not essential
to Godhead.
Jesus was temporal, interacting in time and responding to actions of his creation.
He was not everywhere, but instead walked to move from one place to another. Arguably
he was not omnipotent, calling on God the Father for certain miracles5 and even praying
to God6 because he was subservient to him7. All the omni’s and im’s are not essential to
1
Mar 2:21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up
taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
2
Mar 8:20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up?
And they said, Seven.
3
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fulness of God.
4
Origen writes of Celsus: “He next charges the Christians with being guilty of sophistical reasoning, in
saying that the Son of God is the Logos Himself. And he thinks that he strengthens the accusation, because
when we declare the Logos to be the Son of God, we do not present to view a pure and holy Logos, but a
most degraded man, who was punished by scourging and crucifixion.” Contra Celsus 2.31
5
Joh 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his
eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Joh 11:42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that
they may believe that thou hast sent me.
Joh 11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Joh 11:44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was
bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
6
Luk 22:41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
7
1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is
manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
Godhead. Christ is the God of the Bible and not the god of Platonism. Paul is crystal clear
on this point as not to allow any deviation. He mocks the god of the Pagans. The fullness
of the Godhead is in Christ.

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto
him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
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Hall, Manly P. The Secret Teachings of all Ages. San Francisco, CA: H.S. Crocker
Company, 1928.
Origen, Contra Celsus. Online Edition Copyright © 2008 by K. Knight
<http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0416.htm>.
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Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London,
William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. 09 October 2008
<(http://www.theoi.com/Text/Pausanias2A.html)>.
Plato. The Republic. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. 10 December 2006
<(http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/repub11.txt)>.
Plotinus. Enneads. Translated by Stephen MacKenna and B. S. Page. 10 December 2006
<(http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/jod/texts/plotinus)>.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House,
1994.
Strabo. Geography. Translated by Horace Leonard Jones. Excerpted from Vol. IV of the
Loeb Classical Library edition, 1927. 8 October 2008
<(http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/8F*.html)>.