6. (18-19) Paul rebukes the strange mysticism of the Colossian heresy.
Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
a. Taking delight in false humility and worship of angels: These aspects of false humility and the worship of angels were parts of the false teaching troubling the Colossian Christians. That is why Paul touches back on these themes throughout the letter of Colossians. The antidote for both of these false teachings is simply more of Jesus, exalting Him above angels, and realizing that because of His finished work there is nothing to take pride in.
i. “That is to say, the heretics probably insisted that their worship of angels rather than the supreme God was an expression of humility on their part.” (Vaughn)
ii. “Their humility found an expression in angel worship. It is therefore that lowliness which causes a man to think himself unworthy to come into fellowship with God, and therefore prompts to worship of the angels.” (Peake)
b. False humility and the worship of angels do not make anyone more spiritual. Instead, holding fast to the Head (Jesus) makes us truly spiritual.
c. Intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head: This describes the spiritual arrogance of these false teachers and those who believed what they taught. There are few things more dangerous among Christians than spiritual pride and arrogance.
i. Intruding into those things which he has not seen: “That is a mistranslation. The correct translation should be ‘making a parade of things which he has seen.’ The Gnostic prided himself upon the special visions of secret things which were not open to the eyes of ordinary men and women.” (Barclay)
ii. Vainly puffed up: “Vainly characterizes the emptiness of such pretension; puffed up, the swelling intellectual pride of those who make it. The humility is thus characterized as affected, and the teachers as charlatans.” (Vincent)
d. From whom all the body: When these strange, mystical movements arise in the church, they don’t appeal to the whole body, but only to a few “elite” Christians. This is not the cause under the Head, Jesus – He wants all the body to grow together.
e. Grows with the increase which is from God: This is God’s plan for church growth. We remain faithful and connected to Jesus (our Head), and God gives the increase.
7. (20-23) Paul rebukes the essence of legalism.
Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
a. Do not… do not… do not: This is a perfect description of legalistic religion, defined more by what we don’t do than by what we do. Christianity is a moral religion; it does have clear moral boundaries. But at its foundation, Christianity is a religion of positive action.
b. You died with Christ from the basic principles of the world: Remembering this is the key to living above legalism. Our identification with Jesus in both His death and resurrection (as mentioned before in Colossians 2:12) becomes the foundation for our Christian life, instead of our law-keeping.
i. Which perish with the using: “They are things which come to an end in the very act of being used. Handling them, eating them, or the like involves their destruction. Food, once eaten, ceases to be food. These are not the things that matter most; these are not the ultimate realities.” (Bruce)
c. According to the commandments and doctrines of men: One aspect of legalism is that the doctrines of men are promoted as the laws of God.
d. These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom… but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh: We might regard this as the greatest indictment against legalism in the Bible. At the bottom line, legalism’s rules have no value in restraining the indulgence of the flesh.
i. All such legalistic rules may have an appearance of wisdom, but they have no real value. Legalism doesn’t restrain the flesh; it feeds the flesh in a subtle, powerful way. “In fact, the most rigorous asceticism can coexist with insufferable spiritual pride, one of the subtlest and most intractable of the ‘works of the flesh.’” (Bruce)
ii. Self-imposed religion is man reaching to God, trying to justify himself by keeping a list of rules. Christianity is God reaching down to man in love through Christ.