Colossians 2:18-19 18Let no one rob you of your prize by taking pleasure in humility and the worship of the angels, which such person has seen by looking into such details, without cause being puffed up by his mind of flesh,19and not holding firmly to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with the growth of God.
Paul says some strong things about the false teachers in Colossae or at least about false teachings that had the potential of circulating in the early churches and causing problems. These verses return to the humanism and focus on human thinking already mentioned in this chapter (see verse 16). Paul uses the form of a third person imperative to give this strong warning to the Colossians. Verse 18 is not easy to interpret because of the scarcity of historical background and what types of false teachings to which the Colossian church was being exposed. The descriptions of these verses imply some type of asceticism or religious piety bordering on boastful legalism. The words fit what quasi-Jewish sects may have been like.
The impression one gets is that there were some confused people both inside and outside of this church. The danger for the Colossians was the someone could steal their prize of heaven by deceiving them into believing false teachings. The best defense is to know the truth. The second best defense is to be aware of the heresy. Paul has provided the Colossians both of these. He clearly laid out the gospel and has also warned them of what to watch out for.
The problem people evidently too pleasure in humility. Humility (tapeinophronsynē) is usually a positive character quality but here has a negative connotation because it shown as something for people to see and be impressed with. The stress is all on what a person can do rather than on glory given to God. The attitude is something like, “Look how humble and modest I am. Aren’t you impressed with my spirituality?”
Another attribute to watch out for is the worship of angels. Paul has already shown that Jesus created all things, including angels (1:15-20). People are impressed with heavenly beings. It would not be a far jump to go from the polytheism of many of the pagan religions of the day and the Jewish idea of heavenly beings. In Gnosticism, such beings were reflections or emanations of the superior God. It would not be difficult for the average person to be confused with all of this and just follow the crowd and start worshipping heavenly beings. Basically, the problem is misplaced worship and adoration.
The problem with such religious interests, fascination, and speculation is that it puffs up the mind controlled by the flesh. It is all human-focused thinking. There is no genuine power of God in it. People like this make claims of visions and special religious experiences but they miss the most important matters of spirituality. It is all about “me.” It is easy to slip into this kind of thinking when interesting ideas float around or people offer their opinions about spiritual matters. It can also be hard to dispute someone’s claim to a vision or spiritual experience. Emotionalism can also be a danger.
Pauls answer is embedded in verse 19. The head in this verse is a veiled reference to Christ as the head of the church, his body. These people have lost their minds and in doing this they have lost connection to the true head and source of life itself. The body receives its nourishment from the head and is held together with joints and ligaments. These could refer to the things that strengthen the church such as the knowledge of the truth of the gospel to which Paul refers in 1:9-10; 2:2-3. Focusing upon God’s revelation of the mystery of salvation in Christ will be the one sure way the Colossians could grow with the growth of God. The repeat of the word grow at the end of this verse emphasizes the true source of spiritual maturity. In these two verses, Paul shifts the focus from human thinking to divine revelation. This is the key shift the Colossians needed to make.
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