Commentary Text: Colossians 2:8-15 Context of the Book / Letter / Gospel

Commentary

Text: Colossians 2:8-15

Context of the book / letter / Gospel: Perlman explains the background of the book of Colossians:

The occasion for the writing of the Epistle to the Colossians was the introduction of erroneous teaching into the church. It seems that there had appeared in their midst a teacher who was propagating a doctrinal system that was a mixture of Jewish legalism and pagan philosophy. It was the pagan element in the system --after Paul’s time known as Gnosticism -- that committed the greatest danger to the faith of the church.

The Colossians, having heard of Paul’s imprisonment, sent Epaphras, their minister, to inform the apostle concerning their state (1:7. 8). From Epaphras Paul learned that false teachers were trying to supplement the Christian faith by a doctrine which was a mixture of Judaism and heathen philosophy. To combat this error he wrote the Epistle (http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=HZikVvS9Hh8%3d&tabid=314 &mid=1032).

Main Idea of The Text: The Apostle Paul presents the sufficiency of Christ as Biblical theology, weighed against the false philosophy and teaching of the Gnostics of that time period. At the center of his argument in our text, he focuses on the purpose of circumcision and the reason for baptism, which identifies a believer as a follower of Jesus Christ. Using circumcision as a picture, he verifies the importance of believer’s baptism by immersion not as a legalistic practice, but as a symbol of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, which must be pictured by all believers following their salvation.

Exegetical Outline of The Text (Wiersbe)

I. Watch Out for Spiritual Perils -- vv. 8-10. II. Draw On Your Spiritual Provisions -- vv. 11-15. A. Circumcised in Him -- v. 11. B. Alive in Him. -- vv. 12-13. C. Free from the Law in Him -- v. 14. D. Victorious in Him. -- v. 15.

1 Verse by verse commentary:

8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ. 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily[b] in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Paul is warning the Colossians regarding the danger of the Gnostic heresy of their day. He encouraged them to look for Christ, and not to the wisdom of the world, for answers to life’s important questions. They were not to follow after human philosophy, but follow Jesus, who was more important than any angelic creature on earth (Perlman).

Wiersbe notes as follows on vv. 8-10:

The philosophy of the false teachers is ‘hollow and deceptive’ (Col. 2:8 NIV) for several reasons. To begin with, it is the tradition of men and not the truth of God’s Word. The word tradition means ‘that which is handed down;’ and there is a true Christian tradition (1 Cor. 15:3ff, 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:2). The important thing about any teaching is its origin: Did it come from God or from man? The religious leaders in our Lord’s day had their traditions and were very zealous to obey them and protect them (Matt. 15:1-20). Even the apostle Paul, before he met the Lord, was ‘exceedingly zealous of the traditions’ (Gal. 1:14)...

The false teachers were ‘hollow and deceptive’ for another reason: they involved the ‘rudiments of the world.’ The Greek word translated ‘rudiments’ basically means ‘one of a row or series.’ It had several meanings attached to it… But in ancient Greece, this word also meant ‘the elemental spirits of the universe, the angels that influenced the heavenly bodies.’ It was one of the words in the vocabulary in the religious astrology of the day.

The gnostics believed that the angels and the heavenly bodies influenced people’s lives. Paul’s warnings to the Colossians about ‘new moon’ and other religious practices determined by the calendar (Col. 2:16) may be related to this gnostic teaching, though the Jewish people also watched the calendar (Gal. 4:10). One thing is certain: such teachings about demons and angels were not a part of true Christian doctrine. If anything, such teachings were satanic.

2 Why follow empty philosophy when we have all fullness in Christ? This is like turning away from the satisfying river to drink at the dirty cisterns of the world (Jer. 2:13). Of course, the false teachers in Colosse did not ask the believers to forsake Christ. They asked them to make Christ a part of the new system. But this would only remove Him from His rightful place of preeminence (125-26).

Benfield adds these thoughts on v.10:

Christ was not a created being who obtained greatness among men. He came as God robed in flesh, fully God and fully man, offering his body a sacrifice for sin, redeeming us from condemnation and placing us in the family of God. He is not merely a legend passed down through tradition and folklore. We need not look to or consider another. We have received absolute truth in Christ, the embodiment of God.

The word ‘complete’ (filled, CSB) literally means ‘full.’ We have been filled with the essence of Christ. We are saturated in His power. The need we had being separated from God has been completely saturated in Christ. We lack nothing in the Lord. We will never face anything in life or death that is beyond His ability to control or handle. We are secure in Him.

Quoting from the Analytical Bible Expositor, Benfield gives this insight:

The Gnostics insisted other things, particularly knowledge, had to be added to Christ for salvation to occur. Apostates today, like the Gnostics, are always adding things such as baptism, church membership, taking communion, etc. to faith in Christ as essential to salvation. But Christ is all one needs for salvation.

He completes his thought on v. 10:

We are filled with him. We do not possess the power our Lord possesses, but we have been appropriated a relationship with Him with the promise of His mighty presence and power in our lives! Our existence and eternal destiny is not limited to the wisdom, ability and resources of humanity. We are in Christ (http://www.pulpitpages.com/uploads/9/5/3/2/9532717/8._the_sufficiency_of_christ_-_c ol.28-15.pdf)!

11 You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.

Against the background of combatting Gnostic heresy, we arrive at the reason we are in this text this week. As we end our series called I Love the Church, we need to address one final topic: believer’s baptism. Thomas Schreiner and Shawn Wright use this text as a reason for believer’s baptism and a rebuttal of infant baptism:

The Pauline statement on baptism in Col. 2:12 travels in the same orbit as Romans 6. Colossians

is designed to fend off those espousing a philosophy that minimizes Christ. Paul emphasizes the

divine fullness of Christ and that believers enjoy Christ’s fullness and hence need nothing other

than Christ (Col. 2:8-10). What Paul says about baptism fits with the themes of pre-eminence and sufficiency of Christ that permeate Colossians. By virtue of their union with Christ, believers have

received the only circumcision that is necessary (Col. 2:11) --one made without hands, that is accomplished by God Himself. Literal circumcision, Paul implies, is made with hands

(cheiropoietas), implying that those who rely on physical circumcision are guilty of idolatry since false worship in the OT is regularly characterized as that made with human hands (see Lev. 26:1, 30; Isa. 2:18; 46:6; Dan. 5:4). The true circumcision involves ‘the removal of the body of the flesh’ (Col. 2:11). This may refer to the same reality described in Romans 6 as the crucifixion of the old Adam (Rom. 6:6). Perhaps, however, a reference to Christ’s death is slightly preferable since the words ‘the body of the flesh’ are repeated from Col. 1:22 where the reference is

certainly to Christ’s death. The death of Christ is then described as the ‘circumcision of Christ.’

4 At his death, so to speak, God cut off Christ’s bodily life, just as the foreskin is removed in circumcision. The only circumcision believers need, then, is the circumcision they receive by virtue of their incorporation into Christ’s death on the cross. Circumcision was never intended to be a permanent rite for all of redemptive history; it pointed to the death of Christ on behalf of His people. The demand for (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4) and promise of a circumcised heart (Deut. 30:6) have become a reality in the cross. Christ’s cross is the true circumcision for all believers…

The message of Col. 2:12 is rather similar in some respects to Romans 6. The benefits of Christ’s death belong to believers because they were buried together with Christ in baptism. But in Colossians Paul explicitly connects baptism with being raised with Christ as well. Some dispute this, maintaining that the words en ho in v. 12 refer to Christ rather than baptism. But baptism is the more likely antecedent since it occurs immediately prior to the words en ho. It seems, then, that Paul unpacks here what was implied in Romans 6. By virtue of Christ’s cross and resurrection, believers have been buried and raised with Christ. Baptism as the initiatory event in the lives of believers represents death to the old way of life and the birth of a new life.

Baptism, however, is not only an event in which the objective nature of Christ’s saving word is applied to his people. It is also conjoined with the subjective appropriation of such salvation.

Paul adds in v. 12 that the effectiveness of Christ’s work is accessed through faith. It is difficult to see, then, how infants can fit with what Paul says since they cannot exercise faith. Those who support infant baptism rightly see the objective work of God’s grace in Christ’s death and resurrection that is applied in baptism, but they delay the subjective appropriation of God’s gift by faith. Such a view truncates, as we have now seen in several texts, the fullness of the biblical witness.

Nor does the reference to circumcision constitute a parallel between infant baptism and infant circumcision, as is often claimed by paedobaptists. Paul does not establish a connection between

5 physical circumcision and baptism, but spiritual circumcision and baptism. Indeed, he disavows emphatically any salvific efficacy in physical circumcision. A common problem in Israel is that

people were physically circumcised but uncircumcised in heart (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4; 9:23-24). What is necessary to belong to the redeemed people of God is a spiritual circumcision of the

heart (Deut. 30:6), which is promised in the new covenant work of God (Jer. 31:31-34). Physical circumcision made one a member of Israel as God’s theocratic people, but it did not ensure that

one was regenerate. Hence, the need for the spiritual circumcision of the heart. The sign of the

new covenant--baptism--is remarkably different, for those who are baptized have already

undergone a spiritual change when they were buried and raised with Christ. The work of

conversion has already been accomplished in their hearts, and this new work is received by faith.

God’s gracious work is not applied to infants who have no conception of what is happening; it is

gladly received by those who trust in God for forgiveness of sins. Indeed, it is the forgiveness of

sins that Paul celebrates in Col. 2:13-14. Those who were dead in the ‘uncircumcision of their

flesh’ have now been made alive to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The

typological antecedent to baptism, then, is not physical circumcision but spiritual circumcision.

Those who are baptized have died to their old selves, are alive to God in Christ Jesus, and have

put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Baptism portrays what God has done for them in

Christ. They have died and been buried with Christ and have now risen to a new life in him.

Baptism functions as a pictorial representation of such, when believers are submerged under the

waters and then emerge again (78-9). Regarding the mode of baptism, Schreiner and Wright continue with these thoughts from our text and Romans 6:

Do Rom 6:3-4 and Col. 2:12 specify the mode of baptism? Most scholars agree that immersion

was practiced in the NT, and it is likely that both of these texts allude to the practice, even though

6 baptism is not the main point of either text. Colossians 2:12 appears to teach immersion through a picture, for believers are buried with Christ in baptism, and also in baptism they are raised with Christ. Further, the picture provided by baptism in Rom 6:3-5 suggests immersion. Death and burial are portrayed when the new believer is submerged under the water. The emersion from the water points to the new life that believers enjoy even now by virtue of Christ’s resurrection.

It may be objected that many were buried above the ground in caves during the NT era, and hence the notion of burial underground as pictured in baptism does not clearly portray death. The objection helps us to clarify the Pauline intention, but does not succeed in terms of its main point. In saying that baptism portrays death and resurrection, the point is not that death is always underground. Baptism pictures death because submersion under water kills. The waters represent God’s judgment on account of sin (see 1 Pet 3:20-21), and hence even Jesus himself, as Mark 10:38-39 explains, underwent a baptism in which he absorbed God’s wrath on the cross for the sake of his people. Submersion under the water in baptism--which is in Jesus’ name--indicates that the person baptized have experienced God’s judgment in Christ. That is, since they are incorporated in Christ, he has borne the judgment they deserved. Submersion under the water, then, does not specify that the dead are buried underground. The picture is not meant to be taken so literally, It does communicate, however, death and burial. Submersion is an apt picture because it demonstrates that death overwhelms and conquers its subjects. Pouring and sprinkling simply do not have the same effect. We all know that if we are held under the water long enough we will die. Similarly, newness of life is represented by emerging from the water. Believers now enjoy the resurrection life of Christ because they have been incorporated into Him (Rom 6:4). I conclude, that the imagery used in Col. 2:12 and Rom 6:3-5 points to immersion (‘going into’) and emersion (‘coming out of’) (81-3).

7 A proper rendering of the Greek word, baptizo, is necessary to help gain an understanding of the meaning of baptism. Concerning this, Kostenberger comments as follows:

Third, the mode of John and Jesus’ baptism was most likely that of immersion. This is

suggested by the root meaning of the word, bapto, ‘to dip’ (Josh 3:15 LXX. Ruth 2:14 (LXX), of which baptizo, ‘to baptize’ is an intensive or frequentative form. It is also indicated by the LXX usage of baptizo, with reference to immersion (see 1 Kings 5:14). Another piece of supporting evidence is the statement that Jesus ‘came up immediately

from the water’ subsequent to his baptism (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10) While there are differences of view as the way in which baptism by immersion ought to be stipulated in

church polity, evidence from the Gospels suggests that this was in fact the NT and early

church’s mode of baptism (Schreiner and Wright, 33-4). (Note: LXX refers to the Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of the Old Testament used in New Testament times).

Many evangelicals of the Reformed persuasion use this passage to teach infant baptism, however Schreiner and Wright give evidence why the text teaches the exact opposite. They comment as follows:

We have, then, compelling grounds to reject infant baptism. We have seen consistently

that those who are baptized have been regenerated by or received the Spirit (Tit 3:5; Col.. 12:13). It is difficult to see how the reception of the Spirit could be predicated of infants since the Spirit is received by faith (Gal. 3:2, 5) and infants do not exercise faith. Moreover, the Spirit leads believers to a transformed life, so that they bear the fruit of the

Spirit instead of the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:15-26; Rom. 8:1-17), and it is not easy to see how one can speak of infants being transformed by the Spirit. In Rom. 6:1-14 and

Col. 2:11-15 those who are baptized are said to be dead to sin and alive to God in Christ

8 Jesus. The old Adam has been crucified or circumcised in Christ’s death, and those who belong to Christ are no persons. Again, it is hard to grasp how infants might be dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, just as it is unclear how they could be regenerated and renewed by God’s Spirit.

Indeed Col. 2:12 clarifies that those who have died and been raised with Christ have experienced these saving realities by faith. It is tempting to focus on God’s grace in baptism, so that emphasis is only placed on the objective faith of God. We have seen, however, that the epistles do not separate God’s objective and subjective work. We should not separate what God has joined together. The grace of God is so powerful because it secures faith and trust in the hearts of human beings. Galatians 3:27 clarifies that those baptized into Christ are clothed with Christ, but those who are endowed with

Christ are those who have exercised faith (Gal. 3:26). Since the NT does not speak of infants exercising faith, they should not be considered as candidates for bapism… Those supporting paedobaptism often support their case by appealing to the parallel between baptism and circumcision in Col 2:12. The alleged parallel does not stand, however, because the connection is between baptism and spiritual circumcision, not physical circumcision. Hence, baptism is reserved, according to the argument of Colossians, for those with regenerate hearts. If Paul actually thought like our covenantal friends, he would have argued in Galatians that circumcision was no longer in force because baptism had replaced circumcision. Such an argument would have the merit of being compelling and clear. Instead, as we have seen, Paul argues in both Galatians and

Colossians that circumcision points to the cross of Christ and the new creation inaugurated by him. Baptism, then, is tied to the saving work of the Spirit which produces faith in the life of the believers (93-5).

14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.[c]

In his explanation of vv. 14-15, Wiersbe reminds his readers that Christ took care of the law and

He also has total victory over death. The Colossians were dealing with the sufficiency of Christ. They were being told that they needed to follow vain philosophy, when they only thing they needed was Jesus!

So often, false forms of Christianity and even misguided Christians who are sincere are entrapped by the idea that they need something other than Jesus to be sure of their salvation. Paul is telling us here that

Jesus is all we need. He has freed us from the bondage of sin, the law, and death ( 127-8).

Theological Application

Teaching Aim and Objectives

The Colossian Christians were dealing with false teachers who were telling them they needed more than just Jesus. Our text enables us to understand the sufficiency of Christ, but also the role baptism plays in picturing what Jesus has done for us. In order to apply the text to our lives, let’s consider the following objectives:

1. Believers have all they need in Jesus. 2. Believers are baptized to picture the reality that all they need is Jesus. 3. Believers are free from the law because of Jesus. 4. Believers can live a victorious Christian life because of Jesus.

● Believers have all they need in Jesus.

Read vv. 8-10. See also v. 16; Rom. 14:6.

Wiersbe comments on these verses:

10 The philosophy of the false teachers is ‘hollow and deceptive’ (Col. 2:8 NIV) for several reasons. To begin with, it is the tradition of men and not the truth of God’s Word. The word tradition means ‘that which is handed down;’ and there is a true Christian tradition (1 Cor. 15:3ff, 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:2). The important thing about any teaching is its origin: Did it come from God or from man? The religious leaders in our Lord’s day had their traditions and were very zealous to obey them and protect them (Matt. 15:1-20). Even the apostle Paul, before he met the Lord, was ‘exceedingly zealous of the traditions’ (Gal. 1:14)...

Why follow empty philosophy when we have all fullness in Christ? This is like turning away from the satisfying river to drink at the dirty cisterns of the world (Jer. 2:13). Of course, the false teachers in Colosse did not ask the believers to forsake Christ. They asked them to make Christ a part of the new system. But this would only remove Him from His rightful place of preeminence (125-26).

Think About It: Can you think of any particular tradition that we have placed higher than the Bible? The Pharisees added to God’s law all the time. Some people believe it is wrong to observe religious holidays (Christmas and Easter) because their origin is pagan while their purpose is not. The verse beyond our text speaks of this, v. 16:

Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.

11 In the context of vv. 8-10, Paul is saying that is ok to observe these things, if you know the meaning behind them. But they are not required in the New Covenant. Jesus fulfills the New Covenant. Therefore, He is all we need.

Read Romans 14:6. At the same time, we can observe the religious holidays of Christmas and Easter (or not). We have the liberty to choose to do so, based on our conscience. We should make sure that when we do, that we constantly point to Jesus as we celebrate them, for He is the reason for both seasons!

● Believers are baptized to picture the reality that all they need is Jesus.

Read vv. 11-13; see also Romans 2:25-29; 6:3-4.

The Colossians were battling a heresy that taught them that circumcision was necessary for their salvation. They were attempting to add to their salvation something was not necessary. Jesus was all they need. As Paul was explaining them that circumcision was a picture which pointed them to the “circumcision of the heart,” he used baptism as an illustration. He identified it as the mark of a true Christian. It does not save, but it demonstrates to a watching world what Christ has done in the life.

Proponents of infant baptism in evangelicalism (primarily conservative Presbyterians) argue that this text proves the need for infant baptism, but it actually proves the exact opposite--baptism is for believers only. Adoniram and Ann Judson, Baptist pioneer missionaries to Burma (now Myanmar) studied the Scriptures, and while they had been taught this in their Congregationalist church in New England, they realized that the Bible taught believer’s baptism by immersion. Ann Judson writes of the struggle in our soul as she realized the truth:

After having examined and re-examined the subject, in every way possible, and comparing the sentiments of both Baptists and Pedobaptists with the Scriptures, he was compelled, from a conviction of the truth, to embrace those of the former. I confined my attention almost entirely to the Scriptures, comparing the Old with the New Testament, and tried to find something to favor infant baptism, but was convinced it had no foundation there. I examined the covenant of circumcision, and could see no reason for concluding that baptism was to be administered to children, because circumcision was. Thus, my dear parents and sisters, we are both confirmed Baptists, not because we wished to be, but because the truth compelled us to be (Nettles and Moore, 44).

Schreiner and Wright conclude their findings regarding our text with the following statement concerning the teachings of infant baptism:

12 Believer’s Baptism is not essential for being an evangelical. We do not consider those who proclaim the gospel of justification by faith yet practice infant baptism to be heretics; we consider them brothers and sisters in the Lord. Still, it does not follow that the matter is unimportant. Those who allow infant baptism are allowing the unregenerate to be members of the church. But the church is the community of the Spirit, not the flesh. The church is properly composed of those who are members of the new covenant (Heb. 8:8-13), not those who belong to the old age under Moses. The people of God are not a nationalistic or political entity as Israel was but rather the the people of the Spirit. Baptism should not be given to those who have not received the Spirit, to those who have not died and risen with Christ, to those who have not trusted Jesus for their salvation, and to those who have not been justified by faith so that they do not walk in newness of life. All of these realities are predicated of the baptized in the NT, for baptism does not belong to the old covenant, but to the new. It is not applied with the hope that people will believe and receive the Spirit. It is applied because people have received the Spirit and believed (96).

Think About It: Have you responded in obedience to the command of believer’s baptism? Maybe you were “christened” as an infant in another Christian tradition, and have not followed the Biblical command of believer’s baptism by immersion. Do you need to be genuinely baptized? While it doesn’t change the fact you are a believer and will go to heaven when you die, it does speak of your obedience to the Word of God and your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ as His disciple. If you need to do this, talk to your life group leader or a staff member today about following the Lord’s command of believer’s baptism by immersion.

● Believers are free from the law because of Jesus. \ Read v. 14. See also Rom. 6:14; 7:6.

Paul gives clarification here. The law of Moses no longer applies to the life of the believer. Because of the cross, Christians are free from the law. The debt of sin is canceled, it is wiped clean. Because of this, circumcision has no significance. What matters now is the “circumcision of the heart” (Schreiner and Wright, 77). Have you confessed Christ as Lord and trusted in His finished work for salvation (Wiersbe, 127-8)?

Think About It: We must not allow legalistic practices to get in the way of a genuine relationship with Christ. We cannot think that there are a list of rules that we must follow in order to be right with God. We follow the Word, but God’s grace is all we need. We will mess up, but God’s grace is there to pick us back up, and push us forward on our journey to Christlikeness. Are you resting in that grace today as you face trials and temptations? Do you forget that you don’t have to be good enough to get God’s favor? He knows where we are, and He calls us to come to him, in repentance and faith, and allow Him to give us victory over sin.

● Believers can live a victorious Christian life because of Jesus.

Read v. 15. See also John 12:31.

Paul assures the Colossian church that because of Christ, they can live in victory over sin and the devil. Satan cannot control the life of a believer. Temptation will come because of our fleshly desires, but we can overcome it. Satan can be defeated. We do not have to live defeated because of our sin. We have a promise of victory, and look forward to a final victory over Satan (cf. Rev. 7:10) (Wiersbe, 128).

Think About It: Because of Jesus, we are free from the power of Satan. We can often feel so defeated in our walk with Christ, but the Apostle Paul gives us hope as believers that we do not have to live defeated. We have victory in Jesus! That is what the old hymn tells us, and it is so true! “Thanks be to God for the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (I Cor. 15:58). Are you living life in the reality of that victory? Do you need to lean on the Lord more as you face temptation. Rest in the promise that He has already won! The victory is ours because of Jesus!

Resources/Articles/Sources

Benfield, Chris. The Sufficiency of Christ. [online sermon]; available from http://www.pulpitpages.com/uploads/9/5/3/2/9532717/8._the_sufficiency_of_christ_-_col.28-15.pdf

Moore, Russell D., and Tom Nettles., ed. Why I am a Baptist. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2001.

Perlman, Myer. Through the Bible Book by Book; New Testament--Colossians. [online]; available from http://www.baptistbiblebelievers.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=HZikVvS9Hh8%3d&tabid=314&mid=1 032.

Schreiner, Thomas and Shawn D. Wright., ed. Believer’s Baptism. Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishing Group, 2006.

Wiersbe, Warren. The Bible Exposition Commentary: Ephesians through Revelation. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook Communications, 2008.