Colossians 2:6-15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, 7 rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.(A) 8 See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world[a] and not according to Christ.(B)
Sovereign Role of Christ. 9 (C)For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity[b] bodily, 10 and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power. 11 (D)In him[c] you were also circumcised with a circumcision not administered by hand, by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ. 12 You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.(E) 13 (F)And even when you were dead [in] transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; 14 [d]obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross;(G) 15 despoiling the principalities and the powers, he made a public spectacle of them,(H) leading them away in triumph by it.[e]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2:8 Elemental powers of the world: see note on Gal 4:3.
- 2:9 Fullness of the deity: the divine nature, not just attributes; see note on Col 1:19.
- 2:11 A description of baptism (Col 2:12) in symbolic terms of the Old Testament rite for entry into the community. The false teachers may have demanded physical circumcision of the Colossians.
- 2:14 The elaborate metaphor here about how God canceled the legal claims against us through Christ’s cross depicts not Christ being nailed to the cross by men but the bond…with its legal claims being nailed to the cross by God.
- 2:15 The picture derives from the public spectacle and triumph of a Roman emperor’s victory parade, where captives marched in subjection. The principalities and the powers are here conquered, not reconciled (cf. Col 1:16, 20). An alternate rendering for by it (the cross) is “by him” (Christ).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.