Colossians 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
Closely United in Love.[a] 1 I want you to realize how greatly I am struggling for you as well as for those in Laodicea[b] and all the others who have never seen me face to face. 2 I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love so that they may grow rich in their complete understanding as they come to the knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
4 I am telling you all this so that no one may deceive you with deceptive arguments. 5 Even if I am not physically present to you, I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your unity and the resolute firmness of your faith in Christ.
Instruction about Errors That Are Circulating
Walk in Christ.[c] 6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him. 7 Be rooted and built up in him, and remain established in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving. 8 Make sure that no one leads you astray with an empty and deceitful philosophy that depends on human tradition[d] and worldly principles, and not on Christ.
God Has Given You Life in Christ. 9 For it is in him that the entire fullness of deity dwells in bodily form,[e] 10 and you share this fullness in him who is the head of every ruler and power. 11 In him also you were circumcised, not with a physical circumcision but with a spiritual stripping away of the old nature with the circumcision of Christ.
12 When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. 13 And even when you were dead in your sins and your flesh was uncircumcised, God gave you new life along with him. He has forgiven us all our sins, 14 erasing the record against us[f] with its decrees that are hostile to us. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 Disarming the rulers and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, parading them in his triumphal procession.
16 The Reality Is Christ.[g] Therefore, do not allow anyone to pass judgment on you in regard to what you eat or drink, or about the observance of Festivals, New Moons, or Sabbaths.[h] 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come. The reality is Christ.
18 Do not allow yourself to be declared disqualified by those who revel in false humility and worship angels and visions, their vanity foolishly inflated by a human way of thinking. 19 They are not united with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, achieves the growth that comes from God.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental principles of this world, why are you living in the world as if you were subject to it? 21 “Do not handle!” “Do not taste!” “Do not touch!” 22 All this refers to things that perish as they are used. They are simply human commands and teachings. 23 Rules of this type indeed appear to be wise in promoting self-imposed piety, false humility, and harsh treatment of the body, but they are of no value in combating the flesh.
Footnotes
- Colossians 2:1 The Apostle draws his strength from faith, and believers draw their unity from that same faith: i.e., knowledge of the mystery of God, whose riches love will never cease uncovering. It is not a case of speculating about abstract ideas or empty words, but of recognizing the action of God in history and in the hearts of human beings—today as yesterday—so as to save them.
- Colossians 2:1 Laodicea: a town about 11 miles away from Colossae; the Letter was to be read there, too (Col 4:16).
- Colossians 2:6 Paul states that human laws, even the Law of Moses, could forbid sin but not overcome it; they drive human beings to sin and are like a sentence of death. We could imagine all sorts of hidden forces that might rule the world, but they can only add to the alienation of humans. Christ has liberated believers from this tyranny of observances and myths. In his Resurrection, he is the sole master through whom human beings are raised, and all the imaginable forces are subjected to him. For Christians, the conception of the world and life has changed; having been baptized, they share in the very life of God. This is a much more profound turnaround than the ancient circumcision. Why then do the Colossians insist on seeking salvation in material observances, human theories, and myths?
- Colossians 2:8 Human tradition: literally, “philosophy,” a word that occurs only here in the New Testament. In this context, it refers not to systematic thought but to religious speculations.
- Colossians 2:9 The entire fullness of deity dwells in bodily form: i.e., in the risen and glorified body of Christ.
- Colossians 2:14 Record against us: the reference is perhaps to the Mosaic Law. The latter pointed out the way of the commandments but did not give the power to observe; as a result, it became the source of indictment.
- Colossians 2:16 Certain Colossian Christians of Jewish extraction minutely observed the customs of the Jewish religion, others were partial to visions and revelations, and still others gave themselves over to ascetical practices. All of them acted as if their method was necessary for salvation. But wasn’t it Christ who saved them and who enabled his Church to live as a new seed in the world? To believe is to be set free and to dedicate oneself entirely to the Lord. What can human rites, exercises, usages, and theories do in this respect?
- Colossians 2:16 Observance of Festivals, New Moons, or Sabbaths: observances that were in vogue on a yearly, monthly, or weekly basis. These were usually reckoned according to heavenly bodies, sun, moon, and stars (see Col 2:8).
Colossians 2
Modern English Version
2 I would like you to know what a great struggle I am having for you, and for those at Laodicea, and for everyone who has not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be comforted, being knit together in love, and receive all the riches and assurance of full understanding, and knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 Now this I say lest anyone beguile you with enticing words. 5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing and seeing your orderliness and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
Fullness of Life in Christ
6 As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, and abounding with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest anyone captivate you through philosophy and vain deceit, in the tradition of men and the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ.
9 For in Him lives all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all authority and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised with Him through the faith of the power of God, who has raised Him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. 14 He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.
16 Therefore let no one judge you regarding food, or drink, or in respect of a holy day or new moon or sabbath days. 17 These are shadows of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone cheat you of your reward by delighting in false humility and the worship of angels, dwelling on those things which he has not seen, vainly arrogant due to his unspiritual mind, 19 and not supporting the head, from which the entire body, nourished and knit together by joints and sinews, grows as God gives the increase.
The New Life in Christ
20 Therefore, if you died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you subject yourself to legalistic rules? 21 “Do not touch! Do not taste! Do not handle!” 22 These all are to perish with use and are aligned with the commandments and doctrines of men. 23 These things have indeed a show of wisdom in self-imposed worship and humility and neglecting of the body, but are worthless against the indulgence of the flesh.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.