വ്യാഖ്യാനം നിലവിൽ ഇംഗ്ലീഷിൽ മാത്രമേ ലഭ്യമാകൂ. മലയാള പരിഭാഷ പുരോഗമിക്കുകയാണ്.
Colossians 2 — Ye Are Complete in Him
Paul warns the Colossians not to be deceived by enticing words, philosophy, or vain deceit. In Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and they are complete in Him. They have been buried and raised with Christ in baptism, forgiven all trespasses, the law's ordinances nailed to the cross. He warns against legalism, mysticism, and asceticism — all of which neglect the Head.
“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
— Colossians 2:10
- v.1-7 Rooted and built up in Christ
- v.8-15 Complete in Christ; the law nailed to the cross
- v.16-23 Warnings against legalism, mysticism, asceticism
Spoil you — Greek sylagogeo, to carry off as plunder, to take captive. False teaching kidnaps the soul. The believer must beware of being taken captive by human philosophy that is not after Christ.
Not all philosophy is condemned — only that which is vain deceit, after the tradition of men. The test is after Christ or not. Any system of thought that displaces or supplements Christ is the danger.
The clearest statement of Christ's full deity in Scripture. All the fulness of the Godhead — the complete divine essence — dwells in Christ bodily, in His incarnate person. Not partially, not symbolically, but fully and actually.
The implication for the believer follows immediately in verse 10 — being joined to the One in whom all fullness dwells, the believer lacks nothing. The fullness is not scattered among angels or hidden in mystical experiences; it is all in Christ, and the believer is in Christ.
Ye are complete in him. The believer is filled full in Christ — lacking nothing necessary for salvation, sanctification, or standing before God. There is no spiritual deficiency that requires supplementing Christ with anything else.
This is the answer to every form of Christ-plus religion. Christ plus the law, Christ plus mystical experience, Christ plus ascetic rigor, Christ plus secret knowledge — all are rejected. In Christ alone the believer is complete.
The handwriting of ordinances that was against us. The legal record of debt — the law's demands that condemned us. Christ blotted it out and nailed it to his cross. The certificate of debt was cancelled by His death.
A vivid image. The list of charges against us was nailed to the cross along with Christ. The debt is paid, the record erased, the accusation removed. The believer stands with no legal charge remaining against him.
He made a shew of them openly — a Roman triumph image. The conquering general led his defeated enemies in public procession. Christ, by the cross, publicly defeated the spiritual powers of darkness and led them captive.
What looked like Christ's defeat (the cross) was actually His triumph over the powers of evil. The very instrument of apparent shame became the trophy of His victory. The cross is the conqueror's parade, not the captive's gallows.
Freedom from ceremonial legalism. The dietary laws, festivals, and sabbaths of the old covenant were a shadow of things to come (verse 17) — and the substance is Christ. Now that the substance has come, the shadows are no longer binding.
The believer is not to be judged or to judge others on these ceremonial matters. The Colossian legalists wanted to impose old-covenant observances; Paul declares them fulfilled in Christ and no longer obligatory.
A shadow... but the body is of Christ. The old covenant ceremonies were shadows cast backward by the coming reality. A shadow has a real shape but no substance; it points to the body that casts it.
Once you have the body (Christ), you do not cling to the shadow. To insist on the old ceremonies now is like preferring a photograph to the person it pictures, now that the person has arrived. Christ is the substance every shadow anticipated.
Resist every form of "Christ-plus" religion. Whenever someone tells you that Christ is not enough — that you need a special experience, a secret knowledge, a rigorous discipline, or strict rule-keeping to be truly spiritual — remember Colossians 2:10. Ye are complete in him. Whatever they want to add, you already have in full in Christ. Do not let anyone plunder your completeness by selling you a supplement.
The whole chapter exalts the sufficiency of Christ against every rival. In Him are all the treasures of wisdom (v.3); in Him dwells all the fullness of deity bodily (v.9); in Him the believer is complete (v.10); by His cross the debt was cancelled (v.14) and the powers defeated (v.15). The shadows of the old covenant find their substance in Him (v.17). Colossians 2 is the great charter of Christian liberty from every religious supplement — because Christ is enough.
All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. The Colossian false teachers promised secret knowledge (proto-Gnosticism). Paul says all true wisdom is found in Christ alone.
The believer does not need esoteric teaching, secret experiences, or higher knowledge beyond Christ. Everything worth knowing is in Him. The search for wisdom ends and begins at the same place — Christ Himself.