16 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. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Colossians is a letter that was written by Paul (and Timothy) to the people of Colossae.
The main themes in this book:
Jesus is supreme and sufficient, over all things and all people. Paul reminds us to fix our eyes on Jesus and to remember who we are because of Christ.
Paul discusses Jewish traditions, making a point that the main focus is not these festivals…
Colossians 2:6-23
Paul says it’s important to stay connected to Christ who is the head of the body. He explains that in Christ, the entire body is united and grows in a healthy way. Without being connected to Christ, the body isn’t complete. To be disconnected to Christ is to leave the body without direction, purpose or guidance. Paul is reminding believers that Christ should be the center of their lives and that spiritual growth and maturity come by keeping their focus on Him. As long as believers stay connected to Christ, they remain grounded in truth and are not easily led astray by false teachings.
2. What ideas are repeated in this passage? V20-23
3. What does paul mean when he says we have “died with Christ”? v20
If we’re a Christian, we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection. When Jesus died on the cross, he took the punishment for the sins of all who would believe in him. This means that when we put our faith in Jesus, our old self, with all its sin and rebellion, was crucified with Christ. In other words, our old way of life died when Jesus died. But because we are now united with him in his resurrection, we have been raised to new life with him
4. What things of the world take your eyes away from Christ? How can you keep your eyes on Christ and what he’s done for you?
What stops you from focusing on who Jesus is and what he’s done for you?
Try reminding yourself of what Jesus has done for you throughout the day today.
Paul explains that these were practices intended to point to the coming of Christ. In other words, the Old Testament practices were just a preview of what was to come when Jesus fulfilled the law through his life, death, and resurrection. These practices were meant to show people their need for a saviour and to reveal the character and plan of God. Through faith in Christ, believers now have access to the reality which these shadowy practices foreshadowed.
2. What does ‘lost connection with the head’ (Christ) mean v19? How does staying connected to Christ support spiritual growth?
Paul uses the metaphor of a body to describe the relationship between believers and their connection to Christ. He warns against false teachers and says that the believers who follow these false teachings have “lost connection with the head”, he means they have separated themselves from the control, guidance, and direction that comes from Christ. To be connected to Christ means to be united with Him in faith and to follow His teachings as the source of truth. Staying connected to Christ supports spiritual growth because He is the foundation on which the believer’s life is built. By keeping your focus on Christ and following His example, believers can grow in their faith and become mature and fruitful. Christ is the one who gives direction and purpose to the believer’s life, and without Him, there is no real spiritual growth.
3. What ideas are repeated in the passage?
4. How do the elemental spiritual forces of this world become exciting and contagious? V20 How can they be empty and dangerous?
Paul warns against being enslaved by the elemental spiritual forces of this world and the danger of following them instead of Christ. These forces offer temporary satisfaction and lead you away from the truth and the true source of spiritual satisfaction – Jesus. Paul encourages the Colossians to focus on Christ and to keep their eyes fixed on him as the only true way to experience abundance and fullness of life in this world and the next. Christ is not just a temporary fix or an exciting trend, he is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only source of true and lasting spiritual satisfaction.
5. What does it mean to you that your completeness is in Christ alone?
6. What elements of the world take your eyes away from Christ? How can you keep your eyes on Christ and what he’s done for you?
