Albert Barnes Commentary Colossians 2:23

"Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and severity to the body; [but are] not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh." — Colossians 2:23 (ASV)

Which things. Which scrupulous observance of the numerous precepts commanding rites and ceremonies, the observance of days, and the distinctions between foods and drinks.

Have indeed a show of wisdom. They have a great appearance of piety and of regard for the will of God. They also have a show of “wisdom,” or of a deep acquaintance with divine things. Those who insist on them appear to be learned in what constitutes religion and to have a deep insight into its mysteries. No doubt, those who urged the obligation of these things laid claim to uncommon acquaintance with the nature of religion and urged the observance of these things on the ground of their tendency to promote piety, just as they always do who insist much on the observance of religious rites and ceremonies.

In will worship. Voluntary worship; that is, worship beyond what God strictly requires—supererogatory service. Probably many of these things they did not urge as being strictly required, but as greatly conducive to piety. The plea, no doubt, was that piety might be promoted by service rendered beyond what was absolutely enjoined, and that thus there would be demonstrated a spirit of uncommon piety—a readiness not only to obey all that God required, but even to go beyond this and to render him voluntary service.

There is much plausibility in this, and this has been the foundation of the appointment of the fasts and festivals of the church, of penances and self-inflicted tortures, of painful vigils and pilgrimages, of works of supererogation, and of the merits of the “saints.” A large part of the corruptions of religion have arisen from this plausible but deceitful argument.

God knew best what things it was most conducive to piety for his people to observe; and we are safest when we adhere most closely to what he has appointed and observe no more days and ordinances than he has directed. There is much apparent piety about these things, but there is much wickedness of heart at the bottom, and there is nothing that more tends to corrupt pure religion.

And humility. .

There is a great show of reverence for divine things in the manner in which they pursue their investigations, and in their humble and meek compliance with painful rites and ceremonies: in fastings, abstinence, and penances. Under all this, there often lurks the worst kind of pride, for “Pride may be pampered while the flesh grows lean.”

And neglecting of the body. Putting on sackcloth and ashes; subjecting it to painful fastings and penances; appearing in a form of squalid poverty, as if the body were not worth regarding, and as if the attention were so much engrossed by the nobler care of the soul as to be entirely regardless of the body. Yet, we may observe:

1. God made the body as well as the soul, and has shown his care for it by its being fearfully and wonderfully made, and by all the provision which he has made for its wants.
2. Religion pertains to the body as well as the soul and should teach a person properly to regard it. One is bound to take care of the body so as to have the most health and the longest life possible in the service of his Creator, and so as to be able to employ it in the best manner. There is no religion in ragged or squalid clothing, in a dirty face, in offensive personal habits, in filth and defilement, and in setting at defiance the decencies of life.
3. Much affected sanctity may exist where there is a most proud and corrupt heart. A long face, a demure countenance, a studied disregard of the decencies of dress and the courtesies of life, as if they were unworthy of notice, may be the exponent of the most hateful pride and of the basest purposes of the soul. One should always be on guard against someone who, under pretense of extraordinary sanctity, professes to despise the ordinary dress and customs of society.

Not in any honour. That is, there is no real honor in these things; there is nothing to ennoble and elevate the soul, nothing that is to be commended.

To the satisfying of the flesh. The only effect is to satisfy or please the flesh, that is, the carnal and corrupt nature, for so the word flesh is often used in the Scriptures.

The effect of these observances, on which so much stress is laid as if they would promote piety, is merely to gratify pride, self-righteousness, the love of distinction, and the other carnal propensities of our nature.

While there seems to be a great deal of humility and piety in them, there is really little else than pride, selfishness, and ambition.

REMARKS

1. We should feel a deep interest in the welfare of other Christians, even those whom we have never met (Colossians 2:1–2). All belong to the same family, have the same enemies to contend with, are engaged in the same warfare, and are traveling to the same heaven. By our prayers and sympathy, we may often do much good to those whom we will never see until we meet them in heaven.
2. We should be on our guard against the seductive arts of false teachers. They are often plausible; they can urge arguments which we may not be able to answer; they may have much more learning than we do; and they may put on the appearance of great humility and of real piety (Colossians 2:3–4).
3. It is, in general, a safe rule for a Christian to abide by the views which he had on the great subjects of religion when he became converted (Colossians 2:6). Then the heart was tender and soft—like wax—and received the impression which the Spirit made on it. There are some things in which the heart judges better than the head, and in which we are quite as likely to go right if we follow the former as we are the latter. In relation to the performance of many of the duties of life—the duties of kindness and charity—the heart is often a safer guide than the head. So, in many things pertaining more immediately to religion, a person is more likely to judge right if he follows the promptings of his feelings in the happiest moments of piety than if he waits for the more cool and cautious course of argument. The same thing may be true even of many of the doctrines of religion. When a poor sinner trembles on the verge of hell, he feels that none but an Almighty Saviour can deliver him, and he goes and commits himself to Jesus as God—and he is not in much danger of erring in that. He will be more likely to be drawn aside from the truth by the artful reasonings of the advocates of error than he will by his feelings at that moment.
4. Our views of the “mystery of God”—of the Divine nature, and especially of the rank and character of Christ—will determine all our views of theology (Colossians 2:2). This has been so in all ages; and, however it may be accounted for, the fact is undoubted that if at any time we can ascertain what are the prevalent views of Christ, we can easily see what is the prevailing character of the theology of that age. The influence of this will be felt on the views which are held of the native character of man, of regeneration, the Divine purposes, the nature of holiness, and the retributions beyond the grave. Hence, the reason why the apostle Paul insisted so much on this and urged so earnestly the importance of adhering to just views of the Saviour.
5. Christ has laid us under the highest obligations to love and serve him (Colossians 2:11–15). He has enabled us to put off our sins; he has raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life; he has removed the old ordinances that were against us and has made religion easy and pleasant; he has subdued our enemies and triumphed over them. He achieved a glorious victory over principalities and powers and has led our great enemy captive. He met the enemy of man when on earth and overcame his power of temptation, expelled him from the bodies of men, laid the foundation for a permanent victory over him on the cross, and triumphed over him when he rose and ascended to heaven. Satan is now a humbled foe. His power is broken and limited, and the Lord Jesus will yet completely triumph over him. He will return from heaven, raise all the dead, and reascend, in the face of the universe, to his native skies, with all his ransomed hosts—the spoils of victory. We should not, then, fear what Satan can do to us, nor should we fear that the great enemy of the church will ever be triumphant.

Stand up, my soul, shake off your fears,
And gird the gospel armor on;
March to the gates of endless joy,
Where your great Captain Savior has gone.
Hell and your sins resist your course;
But hell and sin are vanquished foes;
Your Jesus nailed them to the cross,
And sang the triumph when he rose.
Then let my soul march boldly on;
Press forward to the heavenly gate;
There peace and joy eternal reign,
And glittering robes for conquerors wait.
There I will wear a starry crown,
And triumph in Almighty grace;
While all the armies of the skies
Join in my glorious Leader’s praise.

6. No individual has a right to appoint ceremonies and ordinances in the church to be binding on the consciences of others, nor is this authority entrusted to any body of men (Colossians 2:16). What God has commanded is to be obeyed. What man commands beyond that is of no binding force on the conscience, and it is the solemn and sacred duty of all Christians to resist all such attempts to make ceremonial observances binding on the conscience. Christ has appointed a few ordinances of religion, and they are enough. They are simple, easily observed, and all adapted to promote piety. He appointed baptism and the Lord’s Supper; but he appointed no stated festivals or fasts, no days in commemoration of the saints, or of his own birth or death; he commanded no rites of religion but those which are most simple and which are easily observed. He well knew how those observances would be abused for the purposes of superstition and obscure the great doctrine of justification by faith. He knew how ready people would be to rely on them rather than on the merits of the great Sacrifice, and hence he appointed no ordinance where that danger could exist.
7. Pride is often united with apparent humility (Colossians 2:18). It is easy to assume the appearance of humility in outward deportment, but no such assumed appearance reaches the heart. That remains the same, whatever external appearance is assumed, until it is renewed by the grace of God.
8. A meek, modest, and candid demeanor is consistent with great boldness and daring in speculation (Colossians 2:18). The most daring speculators in religion—those who make the most reckless attacks on the truth—are often, in appearance, eminently candid, and even put on the aspect of angelic devotion. Yet they are bold “where angels fear to tread” and they declaim with confidence on subjects which must be forever beyond the grasp of the human mind.
9. We should not infer, because a person is modest and humble, and because he appears to be endowed with uncommon meekness and piety, that therefore he is a good man or a safe guide (Colossians 2:18). The teachers in Colossae, against whom Paul warned the Christians there, appear to have been men just of this stamp; and this is commonly assumed by those who would lead others into error. Satan is often transformed into an angel of light.
10. We should not attempt to penetrate into those things which lie beyond the grasp of the human mind (Colossians 2:18). We should not intrude into those things which are unseen. There is an outer limit to our investigations on all subjects, and we soon reach it. In life we are to act chiefly on facts, not on the reason why those facts exist. When we have ascertained or established a fact, our feet stand on a solid rock, and there we will stand securely. We act safely and wisely if we act in view of that fact; we do not act safely or wisely if we disregard that and act on theory or imagination.
11. Many real Christians are in danger of being beguiled of the reward which they might obtain (Colossians 2:18). They are allured by the world; they are drawn into error by the arts of philosophy; they obscure the luster of their piety by conformity to the world, and thus they lose the high recompense which they might have obtained in heaven. For the rewards of heaven will be strictly in proportion to the measure of our religion here—the zeal, faith, and love which we demonstrate in the cause of our Master.
12. Many persons are in danger of losing the reward altogether—for the reward of a life of piety is set before all (Colossians 2:18). Heaven is offered freely to all, and there is no one who might not obtain it. But, alas! How many there are who are drawn aside by the allurements of error and of sin, who are led to defer to a future time the great subject of preparation for death, who spend their lives in disregard of the commands of God and the invitations of mercy, until it is too late to seek salvation, and they sink down to final ruin. Every impenitent sinner is in imminent danger of losing his soul. The great deceiver is endeavoring to blind him and decoy him down to death, and a thousand snares on every side are spread for his feet, into which he is in constant danger of falling. In a world of allurements, where the work of death from the beginning has been carried on chiefly by deception, with what solicitude should a person guard himself lest he be beguiled of heaven and sink to a world where heaven will be offered no more!