Colossians 2:16-23 – Holding Fast to Christ

      16Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 18Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
      20If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Interesting Words
shadow

(σκιά – Greek) – skia noun: shade, a shadow (darkness of error) – Matt 4:16; Heb 8:5, 10:1;

substance, body

(σῶμα – Greek) – sóma noun: the body, as a sound whole, substance, (from verb sózó, to save) – Matt 6:23; Luke 11:34-35, 36;

defrauding

(καταβραβεύω – Greek) – katabrabeuó verb: award the price against, to defraud (of salvation), umpire against, from negative of root to arbitrate – both the word and its positive root are used only once in NT, here and the positive root in Col 3:15;

supplied

(ἐπιχορηγέω – Greek) – epichorégeó verb: to furnish besides, i.e. fully supply, (figuratively) aid or contribute, minister aid, nourishment – 2Cor 9:10; Gal 3:5; 2Peter 1:5, 11;

held together

(συμβιβάζω – Greek) – sumbibazó verb: to drive together, to knit together, unite (in association or affection), (mentally) to infer, show, teach – Acts 9:22; 1Cor 2:16; Eph 4:16; Col 2:2;

growth

(αὐξάνω – Greek) – auxanó verb – prolonged form of a primary verb; to grow (“wax”), enlarge, increase – Matt 13:32; Luke 12:27; Acts 6:7, 19:20; 1Cor 3:6-7;

elementary principles

(στοιχεῖον – Greek) – stoicheion noun: element, principle, rudiment, basic fundamentals, something orderly in arrangement – Gal 4:3, 9; Heb 5:12; 2Peter 3:10, 11, 12;

self-made

(ἐθελοθρησκεία – Greek) – ethelothréskia noun: willful (arbitrary and unwarranted) piety, pretended, false, or counterfeit observance – used once in NT, here.

Cross References

▪︎ The Church is held together by joints and ligaments – Eph 4:3, 16; Col 3:14;
▪︎ Causing growth from God – Acts 6:7; Eph 4:15, 16;
▪︎ Prov 14:12
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Discussion Questions
Download questions to Word document (download). Enter your answers, then meet with some friends to discuss. You can also compare your answers to mine for a virtual discussion… answers

1. Describe the two competing systems that Paul is referencing in Col 2:16-17, 18.

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2. What is the real problem as you see it?

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3. How does Paul describe the solution? (see Col 2:19)

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4. What is the mechanism God uses to cause growth in His children?

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5. Describe Paul’s final evaluation in the last paragraph.

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