Thy Strong Word — Colossians 2: Christ is Sufficient Over All Human Tradition

The Apostle Paul delves deeply into the richness of Christ’s work and the fullness of the believer’s life in Him. This chapter stands as a powerful reminder to Christians of the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ over all human traditions and philosophies. Paul warns against being led astray by deceptive teachings and emphasizes the importance of being rooted and built up in God who dwells bodily in Jesus.

The Rev. Samuel Powell, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Jefferson City, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Colossians 2.

Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians contain a wealth of theology and practical guidance for living out the Christian faith. Ephesians unpacks God’s overarching plan of salvation and our identity in Christ, calling us to unity and holiness in the Church. Philippians overflows with joy, encouraging us to imitate Christ’s humility and develop spiritual maturity. Colossians stresses Christ’s preeminence and sufficiency, warning against false teaching and exhorting us to set our minds on things above. Together these essential epistles provide incredible insights into doctrines like grace, reconciliation, and redemption while also equipping us to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel in our relationships, speech, work, and ministry. Get ready to deepen your faith as we explore the powerful messages in Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians!

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Colossians 2

2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ²that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. ⁵For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Alive in Christ

⁶Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits^[a] of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. ¹¹In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵He disarmed the rulers and authorities^[b] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.^[c]

Let No One Disqualify You

¹⁶Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. ¹⁸Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions,^[d] puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, ¹⁹and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

²⁰If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— ²¹“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” ²²(referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? ²³These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Footnotes

Colossians 2:8 Or elementary principles; also verse 20
Colossians 2:15 Probably demonic rulers and authorities
Colossians 2:15 Or in it (that is, the cross)
Colossians 2:18 Or about the things he has seen

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.