Closiians 2:16-19 - Be connected to Christ

Paul here re-emphasized what he discussed in verses 9-15. Now he reversed the order. He dealt with their erroneous ascetic practices first and then their theological error.

In verses 16-17 he told them not to let anyone take them to task regarding food or drink or anything regarding festivals or a new moon or a Sabbath day. In being overly concerned with such things, they had substituted the substance or the real thing with the shadow. The heretics were advocating strict adherent to some of the Old Testament demands. Here Paul pointed out that when placed in the light of the Gospel, observations of dietary requirements and religious festivals and Sabbath were only shadows. The real substance is in Christ and all that He came to usher in.     

Paul started verse 18 by using the imagery of a competition: Christ is the umpire, eternal life is the reward, the winner’s crown or the laurel. Here the Colossians had entered the Christian race and were already running well but the heretics came in and try to trip and impede them and to prevent them from attaining the prize.

The apostle then continued by detailing where they were impeded. They delighted in self-abasement and worship of angels and were puffed up by false notions that originated from their carnal mind.  While humility is taught as a Christian virtue, it becomes erroneous when it is done to point to the self. When humility leads to self-consciousness, it becomes pride in disguise. What was truly erroneous was their worship of angels. This was a total perversion of the truth. They were also falsely inflated by their false humility. The heretics here prided themselves as having special vision which Paul discredited as thoughts of their carnal minds. They were thoughts that were not educated by the Spirit.   

In verse 19, Paul warned believers about not holding fast to the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. This would result in being disconnected from the source of what would be needed for their growth. If any true spiritual growth is to be experienced, it would come only as members of the body stay connected to Christ, the head. Then they would be able to function as the ligaments and sinews, the support system for each other through which the life of Christ could flow to the entire body. Christ is the one Who would hold the entire body together and supply all that would needed to attain the God enabled growth.  

The Lord Jesus Christ is still the source of all divine energy and spiritual life. Each of us must stay connected to Him in order to be strengthened in our spiritual life. As we consistently do that, we will be able to recognize our role and play our part so that total growth of the fellowship that He has brought us into, could be experienced.