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New Testament in a Year

Read the New Testament from start to finish, from Matthew to Revelation.

Duration: 365 days

Colossians 2

Chapter 2

Closely United in Love.^[a] ¹I 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. ²I 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, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

⁴I am telling you all this so that no one may deceive you with deceptive arguments. ⁵Even 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] ⁶Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him. ⁷Be rooted and built up in him, and remain established in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving. ⁸Make 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. ⁹For it is in him that the entire fullness of deity dwells in bodily form,^[e] ¹⁰and you share this fullness in him who is the head of every ruler and power. ¹¹In 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.

¹²When 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. ¹³And 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, ¹⁴erasing the record against us^[f] with its decrees that are hostile to us. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵Disarming the rulers and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, parading them in his triumphal procession.

¹⁶The 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] ¹⁷These are only a shadow of what is to come. The reality is Christ.

¹⁸Do 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. ¹⁹They 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.

²⁰Since 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!” ²²All this refers to things that perish as they are used. They are simply human commands and teachings. ²³Rules 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).

New Catholic Bible (NCB)