“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world. And not according to Christ. For in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Col. 2:8-10)
False Teaching Deceives Us And Denies Jesus (Col. 2:8)
Concerning Col. 2:8-9, Dr. David Jeremiah writes these words,
“Paul rebuffs the four deceptions that undermine Christianity in all ages—philosophy, deceit, the tradition of men, the basic principles of this world-with a definitive and positive statement regarding Christ’s identity. Believers have all they need in Jesus.”
Even though we are now “in Christ,” Satan is still active in this sin-cursed world. He is still, as I Peter 5:8, tells us, trying to get us not to live for Jesus. We must be as Peter says, be a vigilant people.
Warren Wiersbe writes in “Be Complete”,
“Satan is deceptive. He wants to lead believers astray, and to do this, he uses deceptive words. The Greek term used here describes the persuave arguments of a lawyer. Satan is a liar (John 8:44), and by his lies he leads believers into the wrong path.
It is important that we exercise spiritual discernment, and that we continue to grow in our knowledge of spiritual truth.”
In the book, “Exalting Jesus in Colossians,” the authors write the following about this passage,
“The fundamental flaw of all false doctrine is the disortation and denial of the fundamental truth of the gospel, the person and work of Jesus.”
Warren Wiersbe further writes,
“This philosophy of the false teachers is ‘hollow and deceptive” (Col. 2:8 NIV) for several reasons. To begin with, it is the tradition of men and not the truth of God’s Word. The word ‘tradition’ means ‘that which is handed down’; and there is a true Christian tradition (1 Cor. 15:3ff; 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:2). The important thing about any tradition is its origin: Did it comes from God or from man?’
Faithful Teaching Edifies Us and Exalts Christ (Col. 2:9-10)
In verses 9-10, Paul now contrasts this false teaching with faithful teaching from the Word of God.
We must always remember that the Bible is the Word of God. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16, “ALL Scripture is inspired of God.” Paul further tells that the Word of God is all we need to live the Christian life to the fullest and if we obey its teaching we can combat the evil ways of the devil. Paul in Eph. 1:3 tells us that “we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
So, we must obey the teaching of the Word of God. In doing so, we will be able to withstand the false teaching that is going around. We must know what and who we believe in and why!
Since we are Christians, we experience true fulfillment in our lives. We have been made complete in Jesus. We must continue to walk with the Lord and follow the teachings in the Word of God. As Paul said in 2 Tim. 3:16, it is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and in training for righteousness, that the man of God me be complete. Equipped for every good work.”
As we live day by day for Jesus, we must affirm His sufficiency in both our theological belief and our everyday behavior, while denouncing every principle or practice that attempts to undermine His fullness. Remember, “Greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)