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Christ Brings Real Life

You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.

Don't let anyone fool you by using senseless arguments. These arguments may sound wise, but they are only human teachings. They come from the powers of this world[a] and not from Christ.

God lives fully in Christ. 10 And you are fully grown because you belong to Christ, who is over every power and authority. 11 Christ has also taken away your selfish desires, just as circumcision removes flesh from the body.

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Footnotes

  1. 2.8 powers of this world: Spirits and unseen forces were thought to control human lives and were believed to be connected with the movements of the stars.

Spiritual Fullness in Christ

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,(A) continue to live your lives in him, rooted(B) and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,(C) and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,(D) which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world(E) rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness(F) of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head(G) over every power and authority.(H) 11 In him you were also circumcised(I) with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[b](J) was put off when you were circumcised by[c] Christ,

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Footnotes

  1. Colossians 2:8 Or the basic principles; also in verse 20
  2. Colossians 2:11 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 13.
  3. Colossians 2:11 Or put off in the circumcision of