Colossians 2:16-23

Colossians Chapter 2:16-23

 

A1 Scripture

B1 Therefore do not let anyone judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or of a new moon or of Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no one rule against you, desiring to do so in false humility and in worship of the angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, in vain being puffed up by his carnal mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, supported and joined together by joints and ligaments, grows with the growth of God. If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you submit to regulations— "Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch," which things are all for corruption with the using, according to the commands and teaching of men? These things indeed have a reputation of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and severity on the body, but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh. (Colossians 2:16-23, EMTV)

B2 So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or the New Moon Festival or the Sabbath. All such things are only a shadow of things in the future; the reality is Christ. Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and the worship of angels. For no reason at all, such people are all puffed up by their human way of thinking and have stopped holding on to Christ, who is the head of the body. Under Christ's control the whole body is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God wants it to grow. You have died with Christ and are set free from the ruling spirits of the universe. Why, then, do you live as though you belonged to this world? Why do you obey such rules as "Don't handle this," "Don't taste that," "Don't touch the other"? All these refer to things which become useless once they are used; they are only human rules and teachings. Of course such rules appear to be based on wisdom in their forced worship of angels, and false humility, and severe treatment of the body; but they have no real value in controlling physical passions. (Colossians 2:16-23, GNB92)

 

A2 Outline Standing against false judgment

B1 Do not let anyone judge you for

C1 What you eat

C2 What you drink

C3 What you celebrate (religious holidays)

C4 Not worshiping angels

C5 Not having visions

C6 Those who do judge you for these things are arrogant and are not holding to Christ.

B2 Do

C1 Know the Christ is the Head (the boss, the King) of the church

C2 Know that a true Christian has died with Christ from worldly views/beliefs

C3 Know that some rules are not required by Christ. "Do not handle, taste, or touch."

C4 Know that we do not follow the teaching/rules of humans.

D1 These appear to be wise and based on logic and wisdom.

D2 Examples

E1 A religion with made up rules.

E2 False humility

E3 False asceticism

D3 These have no effect on fleshly/worldly desires.

C5 Know that we do follow the teaching/rules of Jesus Christ.

 

A3 Notes

B1 Judge

C1 Is it right or wrong?

D1 God's rules are right. Murder is wrong.

D2 Any other rule might be wrong.

E1 Speed limits are not mentioned in the Scriptures, so speeding is breaking a government law. It is not a wrong law in God's eyes.

E2 Having a social security number. No Scripture or principle would say this is wrong.

C2 When to judge.

D1 A decision is necessary.

D2 Someone asks a question if something or someone is right or wrong.

C3 How to judge correctly

D1 Know the difference between Old Testament and New Testament

E1 Old Testament laws (all 613) are for a nation.

E2 New Testament laws (approximately 1,000) are for a people (the church)

D2 Right attitude

D3 Don't be a hypocrite.

"Judge not, lest you be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you measure, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the plank in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, 'Permit me to remove the speck from your eye'; and look, there is a plank in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5, EMTV)

D4 Ask good counsel by going to church first, secular law last.

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you incompetent to judge even the smallest matters? Do you not know that we will judge angels? Let alone ordinary matters! If then you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint those who are disdained within the church to judge? I say this to your shame. So is there not among you a wise man, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brother and another? But brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers! Actually then, it is already a defeat for you that you have lawsuits against one another. Why not rather accept wrong? Why not rather accept being defrauded? (1 Corinthians 6:1-7, EMTV)

D5 Judge truthfully. We are to consider all the facts and testimonies, sort out truth from error in these, and base all decisions on truth.

D6 No bias or favoritism ever!

B2 These regulations relating to food, drink, religious holidays/festivals, and worship activities mentioned here refer to Jewish ones, and these are not necessary for the Christian. All these things are shadows, pictures not the real principle itself (Colossians 2:16).

B3 False humility.

C1 This is the idea of a humility before angels rather than true humility before God.

C2 This is also the idea of an outward humility in lifestyle, food, actions, etc. A false humility based on self-denial.

B4 Things he has not seen

C1 Things which they think they have seen.

C2 They believe that they have seen real visions from God, but these visions are not from God.

C3 The Greek word for intruding has the idea of entering into something, in this case false visions and other spiritual experiences.

C4 It might also refer to entering the "mysteries" of spiritual worship. Those who have gained this secret knowledge think themselves for spiritual than those who follow the Bible alone. This is the idea of early Gnosticism.

B5 Worshiping angels.

C1 Religious observance of angels.

C2 Maybe because they thought God to be too high, too far removed, and too great to be concerned with humans, so they worship intermediaries--angels.

C3 Maybe like Roman Catholics pray to the saints and Mary to intercede for them, to help them, to pray for them.

C4 Maybe like charismatics who are in rapture with angels. They believe angels bring them messages and insights from God. Thus they don't worship them but hold them in such greatness and respect.

C5 Some feel this refers to people imitating how the angels worship God. They do not worship angels. They have obtained these methods, evidently, from visions and messages of angels (so called angels, that is).

B6 Puffed up

C1 Because of their experiences, visions, "superior" knowledge, they are proud. They believe they are the elite of God. They pity those who don't have this same level of the "deeper" spiritual life as they do.

C2 Pride of any sort is condemned.

D1 Being proud of God is not condemned.

D2 Being proud of myself, my superiority in spiritual matters is condemned.

D3 "Love is patient, love is kind; love does not envy; love does not boast, is not puffed up." (1 Corinthians 13:4)

D4 "To honor the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil ways and false words." (Proverbs 8:13)

D5 "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself." (1 Timothy 6:3-5)

B7 Notice that it is the carnal mind that does this. The carnal mind is the mind that is natural, the self-thinking that we are all prone to.

B8 Holding fast. This is remaining dedicated to the doctrine that Jesus taught the Apostles and the Apostles to the people.

B9 The body refers to the whole church. The church is the sum of all true believers throughout all the times since the church began in the Book of Acts.

B10 Joined together, etc. refers to all the parts of the body. The parts of the body here refer to the different gifts of each Christian. "but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:15-16)

B11 Growth of God is the growth that happens from God's strength and blessing. It involves the Bible is believing it, reading it, studying it, and living it. It also involves prayer--prayer for thanksgiving, praying for others, then praying for ourselves.

B12 Died with Christ refers to His bearing of our sins, dying, burial, then resurrection. It is a spiritual picture of the spiritual work done in us by God.

B13 Basic principles of the world

C1 Some consider these to be angels.

C2 Some consider these to be the basics of Jewish worship.

C3 Some consider these too similar to what is spoken of in "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world." (Galatians 4:3).

C4 Some consider these to be the world's religious ideas.

C5 Some consider these to be related to astrology and the supposed effects it causes.

C6 The verse teaches that we have been delivered from the basic principles of the world, so I take it to be false religious ideas and practices. Now we do not long have artificial lists of right and wrong but only God's rules in the New Testament.

B14 The list of do's and don'ts

C1 The rules

D1 Do not handle

D2 Do not taste

D3 Do not touch

C2 The reasons

D1 The wisdom of men instead of the wisdom of God

D2 When people just look at these they think, wow these are so insightful, so truth. What they forget is to see what the Bible says. They only take the list because of the leader's charisma, heavy handedness, superficial logic, and manipulation.

E1 Self-imposed religion

F1 A self-made religion

F2 Instead of the religion given by revelation--the Scriptures

F3 A religion that makes a person feel most comfortable

E2 False humility

F1 Not real humility

F2 We have all seen religious characters who walk around in such a "holy" way--slow and somber, flat affect, hands in prayer. They are so serious and holy on the outside, but what is in their heart?

F3 Do things to their body as walk on coals, sleep on the floor, eat only bread and water, etc. to give appearance of being holy.

E3 Severity on the body

F1 Abstaining from things that God has not placed limits on.

F2 Some groups have religious rules regarding fasting or what type of food you are allowed to eat.

F3 "Do not be carried away by various and strange doctrines. For it is good for the heart to be established by grace, not by foods, by which those having walked were not profited." (Hebrews 13:9, EMTV)