Having declared the supremacy of Jesus in the opening chapter of the book of Colossians, Paul turned to the false beliefs that were endangering the Colossian church. There were three aspects to these beliefs.

First, Paul said: “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” (Colossians 2:16 NIV). It is not entirely clear what this was all about. However, it seems that some teachers had established a whole set of rules—dietary restrictions, and special days that must be observed in the church calendar. These might have been the old Jewish religious rules since Paul said they were “a shadow of the things that were to come”—and what was to come was the reality of Jesus Christ.  In Colossians 2:23, where Paul summarized the three false teachings, he called this “self-imposed worship.” That is, human beings were taking it upon themselves to establish religious laws and requirements that God had not decreed. Even more serious, they seemed to be saying that it was observing these rules that led to salvation, as if Jesus’ death on the cross was not enough.

Second, Paul said: “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you” (2:18). The Greek word used here for “angels” is aggelos, which means “messengers.” It might refer here to the Old Testament prophets such as Moses. Or it might refer to some well-known New Testament preachers. However, it is more likely that it refers to heavenly beings, the ones we modern people think of as angels. This is why these false teachers went “into great detail about what they have seen.” Such people still exist today. They go on and on about some famous preacher they have heard or about the time they encountered an angelic being. But this is one of those cases where the good becomes an enemy of the best. These people have become so excited about these encounters that “They have lost connection with the head” (2:19). Why be so excited about meeting a famous preacher when, as Christians, we have direct access to the Son of God? When Peter brought the gospel to Cornelius and Cornelius fell to the floor in front of him, Peter wisely said, “Stand up. I am only a man myself” (Acts 10:26). Similarly, the false teachers might have thought it was an act of humility to bow before angels, but the reality is that God is the only one we should bow to. Paul said elsewhere, “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:3). The writer of Hebrews added, “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14). Angels are sent by God to serve people, not to be worshipped.

Third, Paul warned the Colossians about “the elemental spiritual forces of this world” (2:20). Again, it is not clear what this false teaching was all about. In Greek philosophy, the elements were air, earth, fire, and water, which were believed to make up everything in the universe. (Some philosophers added a fifth element called aether, which was the mysterious substance that made up the heavens.) Each element was tied to spirits and also astronomy, which could be used to manipulate the elements and gain desired outcomes. Paul also said that this false teaching was connected to asceticism: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” (2:21) and the “harsh treatment of the body” (2:23). Paul said that these things were just things, which would eventually disappear and so were not worth focusing on. He also said that the rules for asceticism had “an appearance of wisdom” but “lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (2:23). Rules alone don’t give us the power to withstand temptation and refrain from sin.

What all three of these aspects of the false teaching have in common is a focus on rules, human-devised rules, and they deal largely with the physical and the external—food, drink, sex, the body, rituals, buildings, sacred objects, special clothes, hair, etc. There is always a danger that religion will descend into a focus on rules and rituals. Jesus criticized the Pharisees and teachers of the law for focusing on detailed rules and neglecting “the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). The medieval church fell into a similar approach. Roman Catholic scholars mixed Greek philosophy with Christian doctrine (which is the basis for their doctrine of transubstantiation, that the bread and wine in communion transform into the real body and blood of Jesus even though they continue to look and taste like bread and wine, for instance). They established a whole series of rules and rituals—asceticism, celibacy of priests, Lent, not eating meat on Fridays, the mass, the hierarchy of bishops and popes. They followed “tradition” (2:8), rather than the truth of the gospel preserved in the Bible. Even evangelical churches can get caught up in a hierarchy of rules—women having long hair, men having short hair, men having to wear suits on Sunday, and so on. Islam also is focused on following a rigid set of rules and regulations.

Paul’s criticism of all of these things is that they focus on material things, external things, things that were created, and neglect the Creator and the underlying spiritual realities. This is what Paul was getting at when he said that the Colossian Christians had been “circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands” (2:11)—what mattered was not the ritual of physical circumcision but the change that God had brought about in their hearts and minds. He advised the Colossians to “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (3:3). If they did this, they would get rid of “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry…anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language,” as well as lying (3:2-10). In their place, the Colossian Christians should immerse themselves in “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience,” as well as forgiveness, love, unity, peace, and thankfulness (3:12-15). As Paul said elsewhere, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). The Christian life is not about rules and external things. The Christian life is based on God transforming our hearts and minds and spirits through faith in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. If our inner life is transformed, we will have the power to assess and to order the physical things in accordance with God’s will. Without that transformation, the rules do not matter because we will not have the ability to follow them.