Col. 3:18 - 4:1 - Guidelines for Family Living

This verse begins a new section of thought, dealing with more personal relations. This is a more specific application of the previous verses.

Guidelines for family living - Wives

Vs. 18 - Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

- Paul expands on verses 3:18-4:1 in Eph. 5:22-6:9.
See: - 22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. 28 So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who qloves his own wife loves himself; 29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. Chap. 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Let's look at verse 18:
- 'wives...' - be obedient. Look to Christ's obedience (Phil. 2:5-9) Except; “Submit” is not exactly “obedience”, only. God has designed the human family for its benefit.

- 'as is fitting' - It's the right thing to do, because of their faith. These ideas are not popular in culturally. Wives submitting is an anathema. They want to 'be their own person'. This is not wrong, or sinful, by itself. The danger is that it leads to an attitude of total self-dependence, even against the Lord. Also, there is an 'umbrella', a penumbra of protection for the wives when they acknowledge the assigned leadership of the husband.
This is NOT superiority of man over woman. This is God's design for the family. On the other side of this, men are instructed to love their wives just as Christ loved the church. O.K. Who has the heavier burden - obedience or loving to the point of dying for them if need be?

Guidelines for family living - Husbands

Vs. 19 - Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.

- Husbands are not to be harsh with their wives. Why this admonition? If I love my wife, why would I be harsh or bitter towards her? I think part of the answer is that men and women are different. (DUH!) In general, it seems men are more linear in thinking, women are more relational. Men are sort of "See problem. Fix problem." (You could add, "If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway".) Men are often not subtle.
Note how often a man will ask his wife a question that only requires a 'Yes' or 'No' answer. Also, see how often he receives a multi-paragraph answer, that may not clearly answer the question. Women face the same type of difficulties - often they are put off by men's direct approach. They want to 'talk about it', they want to know how we feel. ("I'll tell you how I feel. I feel I want to fix it. Just get out of my way.") (By the Way: Wrong answer!)
Those differences, designed by God, when blended together in a family make both the husband and the wife better. When we fight against that blending, we get frustrated, which leads to anger and bitterness. She makes me a better man. She softens my blunt hammer/nail approach. She helps me to see a better way. I can help her in other ways. It is not that it is my job to remake her, and vice versa. God uses my wife to scrub off my rough edges.

Guidelines for family living - Children & Fathers

Vs. 20 - Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

- We see here the further development of God's umbrella of protection the family is to provide. This is also a "type" of our relationship to God. Not only does obedience to earthly parents please God, but obedience to our Father in heaven pleases Him. As in all things, these concepts can be pushed too far. This happens especially when we focus on the process, or the outcomes, instead of on Christ. He knows what is best for our families.

Vs. 21 - Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become disheartened. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

- 'Provoke' - What do we do that would drive them to provocation? What do we do that causes them to give up? (We cause them to become Disheartened.) Perhaps it is inconsistency. If they do not understand what is expected, if the decisions made are seemingly contradictory, their tasks are nearly impossible.

I had a boss at a consulting engineering firm. He seemed to second guess my decisions. He would make a comment about a design decision. So the next time I came to a similar situation, I did it the way he indicated. And, he wouldn't like it, making a comment, which caused me to change. So the next time I did it the way he had indicated. He wouldn't like it! I finally asked what was going on. It came out that he felt the changes he indicated were suggestions, basically aesthetic changes to the design presentation - he didn't expect me to change exactly. But I was frustrated and discouraged.

Likewise, when we are not clear and consistent, our children struggle. They love us, and want to please us (mostly) - inconsistency causes fear, anger, frustration, discouragement.

- 'exasperate' - by either being too harsh and unyielding, or by non-discipline. Discipline is not punishment (per se) but a long range planning and guidance program to bring the children to a level of self-discipline. You as the parent will not always be there to guide their decisions. When this is accomplished the child will not depart. (See Prov. 19:18, 22:6.) Do not expect instantaneous perfection.

Guidelines for family living - Slaves & Masters

Vs. 22-24 - Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

- if we work so as to please Christ, men will surely be pleased. (See 1 Sam. 16:7b; Prov. 16:2, 7; Rom. 12:11).

- Note: Paul does not tell slaves to be free, but to be in Christ. Paul does not tell us to seek man's approval. God's standards are much higher than man's. If we strive to please Jesus in our work habits, our work production there will be no problem with our relationships to our bosses.
- Note: 'fearing the Lord' and 'It is The Lord Christ whom you serve'. People - aim higher! One of my favorite quotes from Vince Lombardi as he introduced himself to the Green Bay Packers, "Gentlemen, we are going to pursue perfection. We may not achieve perfection, but along the way we will find excellence." We will attain perfection when Christ comes again, or when we see Him face to face. But we are to pursue the perfection by the power of the Holy Spirit, and we will find excellence.”

Vs. 25 - For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

- See 1 Pet. 1:17; Gal. 6:7, 8; Rom. 2:11. Interesting juxtaposition! Consequences, no matter who you are, will come to you because of your deeds. The 'For' at the beginning of the sentence refers back to something, but what? I think it refers to the previous three verses - 'external service', 'merely pleasing men', 'working for men, rather than Christ" - seeking to please men, rather than seeking to serve Christ. That is the 'doing wrong'!

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Chapter 4 verse 1 is a continuation of the practical application of the theory presented in the first half of chapter 3. The relational, person-to-person, part ends in verse 4:1.

Vs. 1 - Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

- See Lev. 25:43; Eph. 6:9. Jews were allowed to own slaves, as long as they were not Jewish, but foreigners. Jews were never to own another Jew. One has to wonder, how does owning another person square with 'justice and fairness'? I do not have an answer. It is not satisfying to go with 'slaves-to-sin' changed to 'slaves-to-Christ'. Jesus said we are no longer enemies, or slaves, but members of the family. We now have a different relationship with Jesus and the Father. Further study is required.

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Col. 3:12-17 - Put on love, Put on Christ

Put on love, Put on Christ
Vs. 12 - Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

- 'And so' or 'Therefore' - this is part of an If-Then statement. The IF part is verses 9-11, the four reasons for the new way of living. The THEN part of the Statement starts with the word "Chosen" (see discussion below).
- "as the elect..." This is a parenthetical phrase - the verse would read just as well without it. 'Elect' and 'chosen' are used interchangeably. These words almost always are used to describe a person special to God, and are not often used in the verb sense. You are "chosen" because of who you are - a child of God. You are not chosen as in picking teams for a dodgeball team. Christ said that He called his apostles first, then they responded.
- "Chosen" - usually a title of position. We are "chosen" because we are in Christ. I don't think we are in Christ because we were chosen, plucked specially out of the masses, leaving the others. Sovereign God, omnipotent and omniscient, could pick and choose whom he pleases - there is no doubt about that.
But there are several promises and commands:

1. All who possess Christ are saved - Rom. 10:9,10; Matt. 10:32; John1:12;
2. Anyone who so desires may come - Matt. 5:6, 10:32, 18:18-20;
3. Go, witness, make all men His disciples - Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8.

- If only certain ones are saved, no others have even a hope because they would be explicitly excluded. Even if they desired salvation, they could not attain it. On the other side, there could be those picked who have no desire to be saved. To base salvation totally on God's sovereignty takes away from God's grace. I think that does not fit with Eph. 2:8,9.

Two other points to consider -
(1) God sees time and events from the end of all things, as well as at the beginning and the present, e.g., He chastises us now because He can see the end result of our present actions. God 'foreknows', knows beforehand, who will come to Him for salvation (eternal, omniscient). But knowing and arbitrarily choosing are not the same. God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11). God must, He has to know (the eternal and omniscient Lord) who the chosen ones are. If God picks the people for salvation, why 2 Pet. 3:9, or Matt. 11:28?
(2) God planned before time began (eternal) that we would be saved in this manner: by believing on The Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior; 1 Pet. 1:20; Rom. 8:28,29; 2 Tim. 1:9; Acts 2:23; Eph. 1:4.

- 'Clothe yourselves' - or 'put on' - this is a list of things that come from above, heaven. See also Gal. 5:22, 23.

1. heart of mercy - Also reads as compassion
2. kindness - “moral goodness, integrity”
3. humility - See: James 4:6, 10. (“A deep sense of one’s moral littleness”)
4. gentleness - “mildness of disposition, meekness”
5. patience - “endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance; forbearance, long-suffering, slowness in avenging wrong

Vs. 13 - bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.

- 'bearing...' See Gal. 6:2,"Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." Rom. 15:1 -"Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves."
- 'forgiving each other' see Eph. 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you; Matt. 6:14 - For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; Mark 11:25 - "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions."

Vs. 14 - And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond (of unity).

- for the 'put on love' see Eph. 5:14, 4:16b; Rom. 14:15; John 15:12, 17, 13:34,35; 2 Pet. 1:5-7.
- 'unity' see John 17:23.
- Above and beyond all the things Paul lists as necessary for Christian living - is love. Love is the motivation, purpose, of Christ's sacrifice. Love is the basis for the unity of the body of Christ, the church. If we Christians loved one another with the love of Christ, forgave as He did, etc., there indeed would be no bickering, back-biting, arguing, splitting of churches. Most of the church splits and 'doctrinal stances' are rather unimportant squabbles over matters that really have nothing to do with Christ or his saving grace. I feel that God will chide us when we meet Him for arguing over these things.

Vs. 15 - Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.

- There are references to the peace, but not descriptions. See John 14:27, 16:33; Phil. 4:7; Isa. 26:3. Just what is the 'peace of Christ'? It first must be based on absolute faith in God and Christ. Note the calm nature and peaceful attitude of Christ as He faced the cross. How could anyone face that, knowing the pain and the load? Only when He knew the final outcome - Christ could see beyond the cross to the coming glory. That is peace. God gives us that peace when we put our whole trust in Him. The peace can flood our hearts despite the circumstances. Let this peace and the love of Christ control your actions.

- "to which...were called" - truly amazing. This stopped me and made me wonder. We have been called to peace as one body - Christian unity. Ponder on that - we are called for the purpose of peace. More than that, we are called to be peaceful within the body of believers! In other words, the peace of Christ is to control our actions towards others. On these principles, I would like to see someone start a church squabble or fight! It ain't gonna happen.

- 'be thankful' - See: 1 Thess. 5:18

Vs. 16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.

- For the 'word of Christ' see Rom. 10:17; John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor. 15:3,4 - the gospel of Christ, including all the wonderful blessings.
- 'dwell in you richly' - to inhabit copiously. The gospel can not (should not) only be in us, but be fruitful and multiply, richly growing and overflowing.
- 'teaching' - Paul often writes of teaching with wisdom, admonishing with wisdom. (Eph. 5:19; Col. 1:28)

I believe the sequence goes like this: (1) facts, (2) knowledge, (3) wisdom - arranged in ascending order.
First: facts - the basic information, data - who, what, where - in this case about Christ (the Word).
Second: knowledge - understanding the facts - the how and the why of the facts. Seeing the meanings of Christ's actions and teachings.
Thirdly: wisdom - application of the knowledge to daily living to attain right living. There is a fourth word used a lot in Proverbs and other wisdom books - 'insight' or 'understanding'- which seems to have the connotation of application of wisdom, perhaps a synonym for wisdom.

Look at Proverbs 4:5-8 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding; do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will guard you. Wisdom is supreme - so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding! Esteem her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
- Note the emphasis: Whatever else you get, get understanding. Wisdom will help you navigate through life, understanding will help you know why the wisdom is applicable and it works.

- 'singing with thankfulness' - this would read better 'sing to God, with thankfulness in your heart.' When you meditate on the reasons for us to be thankful, the singing will come almost naturally.

Vs. 17 - And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

- This verse is a summary thought for the preceding sixteen verses.
'do it all...' see also 1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 3:23 - any overt action, speaking as well as actions, is to be done for the glory of God. The old sayings apply: "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," or "... as if Christ was physically beside you, looking on".
Because Christ is beside you. He is looking on, and everything should be with His approval. If Christ is the basis for all our behavior, then there is no problem with right actions - they will be there. The reason I say "If" is that I don't always think before I act, don't always think of Jesus before I speak. When I live in the power of the Holy Spirit, listening to Him, then Christ is the basis.

Col. 3:5-11 - Dead to Immorality

Become Dead to Immorality

Vs. 5 - Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

- The 'therefore' is based on the following facts:

1. We are raised up with Christ;
2. Our life is hidden in Christ;
3. We will be revealed and be like Him;
4. We are to keep focused on the things above where Christ is.

'consider' - This is the concept of mapping your life based on these things. Acting as though you are indeed perfect in Christ, not struggling between the old and new natures. When you take a trip, especially if you are going a place you've never been, you usually buy a map.
We recently went on a long road trip across the United States. We called AAA, who gladly supplied maps and information booklets on the states we were visiting ("gladly" means we pay a lot for the AAA services.) We also use our GPS, which is a map and directions in one amazing electronic App. These tools tell us which road to take, where to turn. Let your life be completely 'mapped out' by Christ. Let the Holy Spirit be your spiritual 'GPS'.
Don't let yourself fall prey to, or take part in any of the following activities. Think of yourself as Christ's so much that thoughts of taking part in any such thing is impossible. In essence, in actuality, you are dead to these activities because you are Christ's. His claim on you is that big! Literally: This part of the the verse means, “Put them to death...” This is not passive. You act in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here is a quick look at the list of sins listed in verse 5:

1. 'immorality' - fornication, adultery, incest, etc., especially sexual sins.
2. 'impurity' - uncleanness, physically and morally.
3. 'passion' - uncontrolled affections, lusts, anger, wrath.
4. 'evil desire' - longing desire, concupiscence, to lust after.
5. 'greed' - this is covetousness,
6. "'idolatry' - that means focusing the total mind, in effect to worship of, on a non-living, nor life-giving object. Not focusing on God.

Vs. 6 - For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,

- See verse 5 for for the "because of these things.

- "the "wrath of God" - See Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6; John 3:36. Judgement of the world, because of sin, is to come. When the time is right all of these will be done away with. These are all part of man's nature. Actually, they are symptoms of the sin nature. These sins exist. The possibility of these actions always exist because we are sinners. They are a result of the sinful nature; these sins occur because of the nature, not the other way around. An old saying, "We sin because we are sinners; we are not sinners because we sin." God does not grade on a curve. Saying, "I'm not as bad as ..." Gains you absolutely nothing. Despite the popular view of God that He is so good and loving He would not condemn anyone is wrong. If we reject Christ, we condemn ourselves - God's wrath remains on us (John 3:36). That is the penalty, the judgement against sin, and only Christ's death and resurrection can save.

Vs. 7 - and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.

- See Eph. 2:2. Before Christ came into our lives, these things were a part of our lives. You may say, “No! I never...” Unfortunately these are all part of the nature with which you were born. And, it should be acknowledged that if you have committed one, you are guilty of breaking them all. See: James 2:10, 11.

Vs. 8 - But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.

- More things to avoid in our Christian Life. Those listed in verse 5 were more personal - internal abuses, battles of the mind and flesh. The list in verses 8 and 9 have to do with person-to-person relationships.

1. "anger" - From Ungers Bible Dictionary the word anger means 'displeasure or indignation from the feeling of injury done or intended...anger is not sinful per se, anger is sinful when it rises without reflection; when the injury is only apparent; when disproportional to the offense; when it attacks the innocent; when it becomes revengeful'. This word is the “revenge end” of the wrath that may arise if not controlled by Jesus in your life.
2. "wrath" - 'turmoil, boiling emotion - which may subside or turn into revenge'
3. "malice" - 'a vicious disposition that attributes evil motive to the actions of others, and picks the worst motive for any action.' From the Greek word for 'badness'.
4. "slander" - to defame, or accuse falsely
5. "abusive speech" - filthy communication, morally impure. This is not being mean to people by calling them names, or saying bad things about them. Literally this is blasphemy (in the Greek) - speaking evil of God, or deny the good God does, or assigning God's attributes to a creature. There is more here on this than I am capable of expounding on.
6. "do not lie" - opposite of telling the truth (from verse 9)

Vs. 9 - Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,

- "Do not lie" - see the discussion in verse 8 above.

- "Laid aside the old self" - the second half of verse 9, along with verses 10 and 11 are a repetition of the reasons that new action is necessary. We cannot live like we used to before we accepted Christ.

Similar to verse 3:1-4, there are four reasons - two solutions and two promises:

1. put off the old self, verse 9;
2. put on a new self, verse 10;
3. the new self is renewed to be like the one who did it all, verse 10;
4. we are renewed to the point that there are no differences because we are in Christ, verse 11.

This is to be an active choice. There is nothing passive about our life in Christ. Faith does not just happen to us, we must be involved. God will bless us with faith, but we still must act upon it. Also, when we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives, there is more to do. Not more to do with respect to salvation, but more to do to with living out our Christian lives.

Vs. 10 - and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—

- Because the old nature is not dead and gone until we are resurrected in Christ, we must always make the decision to put it aside and choose the new nature given to us by Christ and powered by the Holy Spirit. Christ said we must be born again (John 3:3-7). We are saved by mercy, through renewing and regeneration (Titus 3:5,6).

Vs. 11 - a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

- An interesting list of believers -
'Greek and Jew' - most probably means Gentiles and descendants of Jacob.
- 'Greek' does not necessarily mean Grecian descent, and was used interchangeably with Gentiles.
'Circumcised and uncircumcised' - A repeat of the Gentile and Jew delineation.
- 'Barbarian' - This is a Roman subject who does not speak Greek. (It does not have the connotation we now use for 'barbarian'.)
- 'Scythian' - A person who resides probably in the areas northeast of Rome, probably in modern-day Russia, and may or may not be under Roman rule (there were believers there, too!) Very little was known about that region at that time. But “Scythian” had the connotation of truly uncouth. We tend to do the same with “redneck”, or people from the Appalachian area.
'Slave and freeman' - Obvious... Just like there are two types of people, Jews or Gentiles, there are only slaves or free.
Paul has included the whole gamut of Christians - either here or there, everywhere, known or unknown. We have no reason to feel superior to others, even to feel superior to non-believers. We are Christ's, therefore there is no race, creed, nor color - just heirs of God, brothers of Christ.

Col. 2:20-23 - All other matters are a mere bagatelle

If with Christ, then All Other Matters are Secondary

Vs. 20 - If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,

“If you have died” - This is not a question of doubting their faith in Christ. It would make sense for this to read, “Since you have died...” Or, “If you have died with Christ, and you have...”

“Elementary principles of the world” - The world’s philosophers and deep thinkers believe they the answers. If you just follow their formulae then your life will run smoothly. All (or almost all) of these plans do not consider Jesus Christ in their schemes. I am not using ‘schemes’ in a nefarious sense, but the sense of world viewpoint or paradigm.
I am a fan of science fiction novels. Most of the authors are not believers in Jesus Christ. Most are anti-Christian, or at least anti-religion - viewing the effects of religion as extremely negative and oppressive. One of the series, starting with “The Golden Compass” (Pullman) is extremely antagonistic to God. At one point it is said that if God was eliminated we all would be free and joyful. (BTW: God is shown as a wisened shriveled little man in a coffin being disposed of in the third novel in the series.)
And yet, the view of the future universe for so many authors is bleak. For example, see the movie “Blade Runner”, for a view of the utopia the world without Jesus. This is not extremely different from other visions of the future.

“As if you were living in the world” - Paul wants us to see that we are living in Christ’s presence. I fully realize that my body is living in a fallen world. The difference my allegiance is now to Christ, not to this fallen world. We, as believers, are not of this world - what a paradox. See: Jn. 12:46; Acts 17:24; 2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 3:1,2. We are friends of God, not of this world - 1 John 2:16; James 4:4.

"Why... do you submit" - The essence is - you are in Christ. You don't have to go through all that stuff. So, why are you doing it?  This is the FIFth Warning - BOLO - "Do not submit to 'rules'."

Vs. 21 - "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"

“Do not...”- These are petty rules, sometimes dealing with ceremonial uncleanness. By “petty” I am comparing these rules which people will try to earn their way into the presence of God Almighty, to faith in Jesus. These rules will only drag you down. Whether trying to apply Jewish rules and procedures, or pagan religion practices, none of these make sense. None of these extra rules have any efficacious effect on your salvation. We are saved in Christ alone.

Vs. 22 - (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

“Things destined to perish” - All of the above are man-made commandments. Since the things of this world are not permanent, they cannot have any permanent hold on the Christian life.

- "in accordance with..." Refers to the rules of verse 21. Jesus also highlighted this very problem. See: Mark 7:8.

Vs. 23 - These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

- Look at the cults, especially Mormon or Jehovah's Witnesses. Consider how logical they sound. Most cults have very strict legal rules that must be followed. They sound good. They make sense. Paul says here that anything man makes up, sounds logical, but does not change the inner man - only Christ does that.

"self-made religion" - Other than Judaism and Christianity all other religions in the world have been created by man’s imagination and creativity. Whether the ancient polytheistic religions with gods and goddesses, or eastern polytheistic religions, or modern cults based on Christianity share some of the same basic system - each person must DO SOMETHING to gain approval.

"self-abasement" - Some religions require a ritual of self-flagellation.

"severe treatment of the body” - Religions which require self-deprivation, disfigurement, and other grotesque bodily mutilation. Look at the cults, or religions such as Mormons, Seventh Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witness, etc. Most have very strict legal rules that that must be followed. They sound good. They make sense. Pauls says here that anything man makes up, or sounds logical, but does not change the inner man - only Christ does that.

This was the Sixth Warning - BOLO - "Self-made Religion".

Chapters 1 & 2 present a rather complete view of our dependence upon Christ. The result when we turn from Him is man-made rules and regulations. Christ is the head of the church, and All things. Cling to Him, and Him alone. Clearly the first part of this letter is to disciple believers, to keep the reader's heart and minds on Christ.

End of Chapter 2

Col. 3:1-4 - Keep Your Mind on Christ

Chapter 3 - Begins a section on general Christian living, instructions for coping with others. This is applied theory from ch. 1 & 2, or practical living. Believers do not just stumble into discipleship, they must be led and trained up in it. Verses 1-4 caps the section on ‘Christ as head over all’ ... If we try to live according to the systems Paul warns against in chapter 2, and these are of “no value”, what then do we do?
In verses 1-4 he offers up two (2) solutions and two (2) amazing promises!

Keep Your Mind on Christ

Vs. 1 - Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

“Therefore” - Based on the supremacy of Jesus Christ; based on the premise that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ; based on the premise that philosophy will not save you, nor will religious practices, nor will denying yourself (self-abasement and asceticism) save you, the following is Paul’s answer to the Colossian church on how to deal with these obstacles being thrown up in front of them.

- "If you have been" - is not a question of whether you are actually raised with Christ. It is "since you are..." Paul lists a few guidelines for Christian living. But first he lays the groundwork, the foundation - our position in Christ. He is the reason we can live the way we do. Without the new life supplied by Christ, there is no reason for new action.

"raised up with Christ" - See Col. 2:12,13; Eph. 2:5,6; Rom. 6:8, 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3,4, 42-44; 2 Cor. 5:1, 15; John 3:15, 36, 6:44, 11:25,26; 1 John 5:11ff. If we are Christ's (and we are) then we are already in heaven. (How's that for a mind bender?!) Our new life is with Christ, who is in heaven seated at the right hand of God the Father. While still in our physical bodies we have two natures living in us. The following verses are a reminder to focus on Christ's nature.

“Keep seeking things above” - This is the First solution. Don’t focus on earthly things, rules, procedures, rituals. See: Mark 16:19.

Vs. 2 - Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

“Set your mind on things above“ - This is the Second solution - See James 3:15, 17; 1 John 2:16,17. All good things come from God. James 1:17 The sense of this verse is: Be intent upon the things of God; savor, think on, meditate on; be intensely interested in these things.

Vs. 3 - For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

- “You have died...” As believers we share in Christ’s death. We also share in His new Life. This is not just a theological concept. Jesus Christ died a physical and spiritual death on the cross. When we accept Him as Lord and Savior we also die. Now, I did not drop dead June 20, 1972 when I understood and committed my life to Christ. I’m still breathing and kicking around. The "old man", the "worldly nature" is condemned to death because of sin. God has given us a new nature in Christ (Gal. 2:20). The same thing is seen in Phil. 1:21 - our life is in Christ. My physical body will die one day. It will not be resurrected. I will be given a new body that is not damaged and broken by sin. My spirit will be re-born. The new body, spirit and my soul will now be perfect, spotless, without blemish. The new life Christ provides, because of His resurrection will stand before God the Father. I will not fear because I am new and spotless child of God. All I can say to that is, “Praise God. Praise Jesus, and thank You Jesus.”

“Life is hidden with Christ in God” - See: 1 Cor. 15:51-57. This is the First Promise. The "hidden" is nothing like ‘secreted away’ from prying or finding, but hidden as in totally protected within the power and glory of God Almighty and the matchless person of Jesus Christ.
Hidden has at least a three-fold meaning:

1. Common Spiritual life with the Father and Son - 1 Cor. 6:17, 2 Pet. 1:4;
2. The world cannot understand the full import of the believer’s new life in Christ - Rom. 8:19, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 John 3:2;
3. Believers are eternally secure, protected from all enemies, with access to all God’s blessings - John 10:28, Rom. 8:31-39, Heb. 7:25, 1 Pet. 1:4. See note 1

Vs. 4 - When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

“will be revealed with Him in glory” - This is the Second Promise - When Christ returns in glory to establish His eternal kingdom - new earth and new Jerusalem - we will be there! See Gal. 2:20, John 11:25

For Christ is our life. Christ will be revealed again when He returns - see 1 Cor. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:13; 1 John 3:2, and 1 Thess. 4:16.

We will be with Him - see: John 11:23,24; 1 Cor. 15:39-44, 51-58.

There are at least three reasons people do not grow in discipleship: (1) They don’t know what to do. (2) They don’t know how to do it. (3) They don’t want to do it. The first two are leadership problems. The latter is personal pride and stubbornness, willful disobedience.

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Note 1: (quoted from John MaCarthur’s Colossian Bible Study)

Col. 2:8-15 - Christ is Triumphant

Christ triumphant, all comes through Him

Warning: Don’t be Deceived by Philosophy

Vs. 8 - See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

"See to it" - The Second Warning in this chapter. Another BOLO (Be On Look Out) from Paul. Here is repeated one of the main recurring themes of the letter to the Colossians... Do not being led away from Christ by non-believers, or those who seem to be friends, who are trying to deceive.

"no one takes you captive" - literally to be taken away as booty (as the spoils of war). I think in this modern age of war 'spoils of war' is not part of the vernacular - at least for the U.S. Army, Navy, etc.
I have noticed in reading history, or historical novels, that when ships were captured, the captain and crew received money or rewards based on the value of the cargo, etc., in the captured vessel. This was also a means of getting new crew members for a ship. (This practice was part of the reason we fought the war of 1812 with Britain. They did not respect our ships and were raiding them and taking men off to populate the British ships.) This was especially true for pirates, but also seemed to apply to countries' shipping. So - don't let anyone seize you in this spiritual battle, and take you away from the truth.

"philosophy" - literally sophistry: a clever and deceptive manner or debating or arguing. This particular word is not used elsewhere in the NT. See also - Col. 2:23 (appearance of wisdom in self-made religion); 1 Tim. 6:20 (knowledge). The idea is not to be led away from Christ by the thoughts and wisdom of man - see 1 Cor. 1:17-30, Mk. 7:8.

"empty deception" - deceitfulness, delusion, trickery in speech and action. Paul then further defined philosophy as from man and the world, not Christ. Faith in God, and Jesus Christ is not philosophy (love of 'wisdom' - study of wisdom). Faith is more than study of a paradigm, more than a study of a way of life, or understanding life. It is a relationship with the God of the universe.

Vs. 9 - For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

- See Col. 1:19; Phil. 2:6,7. Here are the options: Man's philosophy or Christ Jesus. Jesus is the antidote for living by philosophy. Jesus became wholly man, but at the same time was wholly God - inexplicable. Just believe it. Verses 9-12 are an amplification of verse 2:8b; rather, an amplification of the last word - "Christ".

Vs. 10 - and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

- Paul begins a list in verse 9 of the reasons we should not be led away from Christ. They are:

1. He is God, wholly - v. 9
2. We have been made complete - v. 10
3. He is the head of everything - vs. 10
4. Our old life has been removed by His death - vs. 11
5. Our new life was bestowed by His resurrection - vs. 12
6. He has cancelled our debt to God - vs. 13.
7. The vanquished foe - Satan - will be publicly paraded in his defeat - vs. 15.

"made complete" - We have been made perfect, with nothing left to do by us. He did it all.

"He is head" - See Col. 1:16,17; John 1:1-3; See also,the last chapters of Revelation. God, in and through Jesus, the head of all things, will make this known when the time comes. See also Heb. 1:2,3.

Vs. 11 - and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

“circumcision made without hands”- Obviously not talking about a standard run-of-the-mill circumcision (is that possible?). The bodily circumcision as seen in the O.T. was a God-given seal indicating membership of the covenant people. It is analogous to water baptism in that it was not the circumcision that turned a man into a Jew, but was the outward physical show that the believer had committed to the cause.
Even the Old Testament insisted on the attitude of the heart as the key - See Jer. 4:4 - Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the LORD ...; Jer. 9:25-26 - ... I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh. Deut. 10:16.
For a better explanation see the Tyndale commentary on Colossians. The removal of the flesh didn't cleanse - it was a symbolic cleansing of human nature. Paul is talking here about Christ's work. Our nature is changed, not symbolically, but actually removal of the body of flesh - Paul talks about this quite often, see: Rom. 6:6, 7:24; Gal. 5:24, 2:20, 6:14; Col. 3:5; 1 Cor. 15:50, 53, 54; John 3:5,6.

Vs. 12 - having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

- Seeing as how I do not believe baptism itself is regenerative, nor essential for salvation, this verse has been one for thinking. The question has been raised: Do we fit the scriptures to our faith, or do we fit our faith to the scriptures? The issues of baptismal regeneration and once-saved-always-saved are the type of concepts that can easily fall into this category of heavily discussed doctrines. By this I mean there are supporting scriptures for each side of these issues, and they have been debated by greater minds than mine. That being said, it is also important that seemingly contradictory scriptures should be reconciled. God does not change His mind. God does not confuse us. He does not plant scripture just to give us mental gymnastic word games. It may be that we do not see clearly, and must come to a point that we trust God. Where we end up on these doctrinal issues may be on opposite sides. Partly it is due to the biases which we bring to our spiritual journey.

"raised up with Him through faith in the working of God. " Faith in God is the key. I'm sure the question is raised - are we not raised because of baptism? Not unless it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I believe Paul uses a parallelism here with the circumcision mentioned in verse 11. Note: the 'circumcision' was done by Christ; the raising up done by God. The circumcision done by man did not actually "save" the person, it was a symbolic shedding of the human nature (see Rom. 2:25-29). It indicated inclusion into the Jewish spiritual family. And there is the parallelism. Baptism does not actually save, but is a symbolic shedding of the old nature and accepting the new one from God. Baptism, like circumcision, indicates inclusion into the the family of God. It is the attitude of the heart that saves - faith in God.

Vs. 13 - When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

- Paul is writing to Gentiles. Not only were they lost (unsaved) because they did not obey the 'Law' (uncircumcision), but because of their sins. Dead twice over, or so to speak. And despite the Gentiles being in desperate straights, God was able to overcome and give them eternal life. Notice Paul changes the address (person) - "you were lost... you were made alive... God has forgiven us". The change in personal pronoun from you to us indicates Paul included himself in the cadre of those needing to be saved! They were lost twice over, but saved once is more than enough. God has done it for all, having forgiven all. Not just some sins, but all. Praise God. I was dead, but now I live - in Christ. (See also: Gal. 2:20, 21).

Vs. 14 - having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

- The 'certificate of debt' - our transgressions recorded and held to testify against us. And these are never in our favor - thereby hostile. (See: John 3:36) Some may think this verse refers to Christ's abolishment of the Law. It may. But the Gentiles were not exactly subject to the Law, not being descendants of Jacob. (See the Good News for Modern Man (GNMM), or Revised Standard Version translations for relevant wording). See also: Eph. 2:15, Heb. 7:18. Also each of us must face Him (God, the Father) either in our sins or in Christ. If in our sins, see Ps. 130:3,4; Rev. 20:11-15. If in Christ, we have life. Christ did not so much abolish the law as supersede it, make it unnecessary.
The certificate of debt was ended at the cross, that ending was ratified at the resurrection. (See Heb. 9:14, 22; 1 Pet. 2:24; Isa. 53:4; 1 Cor. 15:3). Christ was nailed to the cross, with our sins.

Vs. 15 - When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

- Satan defeated! See Heb. 2:24; 1 John 3:8; 1 Cor. 15:23, 24. See also the GNMM version. Not only did Christ (God) defeat Satan and his plans, but He made a public spectacle of Satan's failure. It would have been enough for Jesus to have died for our sins. The resurrection was proof that sin was defeated. And Christ appearing to confirm the resurrection, is a public display making it difficult if not impossible for Satan and others to deny Christ's triumph. This is similar to our public declaration of our faith in Christ.
In ancient battles, the victors led the captives through the streets of the city as a display of the vanquished foe. That is the picture here. Jesus in this greatest of spiritual battle, displaying the defeated foe. This was the last of the list of reasons we should not stray from the truth.

Col. 2:16-19 - Hold fast to Christ

Hold fast to Christ, nothing less, nothing more

Vs. 16 - Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—

- "Therefore" - Therefore, what? Because of the facts Paul has given above in verses 8-14, we have a list of reasons to cling to Christ and Him alone. We are admonished - do not be led astray . This is Paul’s Third Warning - BOLO - Don’t be Judged.
Here is a list of the reasons Paul can say, "Therefore". (See: Col. 2:8-15)

1. Jesus is all the fullness of God - v. 9
2. You have been made complete in Him - v. 10
3. You no longer are slave of your flesh, or body - v. 11
4. Jesus has all authority and power - v. 10
5. You have been given new life - death and resurrection - v. 12
6. You were dead because of your sin - now you are alive - v. 13
7. He has cancelled out the certificate of death - your death sentence - v. 14
8. He has disarmed rulers and authorities - especially Satan - they no longer have any power over you. - v. 15, 16

Since Christ should be pre-eminent in our lives - don't worry about the others making demands of you. Read Romans 14.

Paul lists the things with which people may try to weigh you down, saddle you with unneeded burdens:

1. "Food" - Mark 17:19; Rom. 14:17; Heb. 9:8-12
2. "Drink" - same as above
3. "Festival" - Lev. 23:2; Rom. 14:5
4. "New Moon" - 1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 31:3; Neh. 10:33
5. "Sabbath" - Mark 2:27-28; Deut. 5:14

These were all things that Jews felt necessary to be right with God. Not only Jews but there were pagan holidays, secular religions - whatever. If we are right with Christ, then these are useless. If not, then these have the potential to harm us, spiritually. These activities seem harmless, and often give us a framework upon which we can order our lives. These ‘harmless’ activities may give us a cocoon or a safe place where we feel comfortable. But this reliance can cause us to drift away from Jesus. We believe in a Person, not a system.

Vs. 17 - things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

“mere shadow - These things are not real, or important. Because Christ only is important. The Jewish law served as a pointer to Christ - "types" is the official jargon. These items - food, festivals, etc., are called "shadows" because Christ is the real answer. (See Eph. 1:23).
The poet T.S. Eliot wrote a series of four poems about his conversion to Christianity ("The Four Quartets") One of the poems is about walking through a rose garden of an abandoned house (perhaps it was winter). As he looks at the rose bushes, he can see glimpses in his mind of how beautiful it used to be, but now lies in ruins. That is the picture of us here on earth with respect to heaven. With all the beauty we see around us, we know in our souls this is a dead and dying world, and there is something far more magnificent waiting for us.
We look around us, and the song "Is That All There Is?" (Peggy Lee) comes to mind. If this is all that we have going for us we might as well give up. But, thank God there is more, vastly more, immeasurably more than we can possibly imagine. Jesu Has prepared it for us.

Vs. 18 - Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,

This is the Fourth Warning - BOLO - Do not be fooled, defrauded. (See the comment on verse 2:4.)

See the Tyndale commentary on Colossians. See also Good News For Modern Man version: “Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions...”.

Of your prize... - What is the "prize"? Joy of freedom in Christ.

“Inflated without cause - Who are the ones who maintain man-made religion? People who have pride in their humility, therefore, false humility. Those who worship angels. Those who have 'visions' and dwell on them. These people try to keep us from experiencing joy in Christ by forcing us to comply with rules. They are trying to substitute the pleasure of clinging to ritual for the joy of knowing Jesus. Do not confuse form for substance!

Vs. 19 - and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

“not holding fast to the head“ - The real key to their problem. "There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way that leads to death." Prov. 14:12 By convincing themselves they are on the correct path, they have lost sight of the savior Jesus Christ. God provides the growth for the body, the church. What are the joints and ligaments of the body? God supplies them also, the body is held together by them and nourished through them. I believe these are the pastors, teachers leaders, and messages from the apostles. The fellowship of the believers may also be part of the joints and ligaments.