+I. Involves strenuous labour and patient suffering.+
+II. Is dependent on Divine help.+
+III. Ascribes all its success to God.+
* * * * * * * *
+CHAPTER II.+
_CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES._
Ver. 1. +What great conflict.+--R.V. "how greatly I strive." It is a
repetition of the thought of the previous verse expressed in terms of
the arena. +For them at Laodicea.+--About a dozen miles distant from
Colossæ.
Ver. 2. +The mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ.+--The
R.V. has greatly simplified this perplexing phrase: "The mystery of
God, even Christ." Of the eleven various readings extant (given by
Lightfoot) that of our A.V. is to all appearance the latest and worst.
Ver. 3. +In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.+--When we have "laid our reasonings at His feet," He does
not stultify us. Neither pure reason nor practical reason is to "fust
in us unused," if they seek their answers in Him.
Ver. 4. +Should beguile you with enticing words.+--The word for
"beguile" is only again found in the New Testament at Jas. i. 22. It
means to lead into error by sophistical reasoning. Enticing words, or
persuasive speech, plausible but false.
Ver. 5. +The stedfastness of your faith in Christ.+--Some think
"stedfastness" (as well as "order" preceding) may have a military
significance. If so, it would mean the compact firmness of the
phalanx. Others say that meaning is not inherent, but derived from
its context, which here does not suggest it. The word is used in the
LXX. for firmament--a solid vault, as it was thought.
Ver. 7. +Rooted and built up.+--St. Paul passes over rapidly from one
conception to another of quite a different kind. We cannot call it
mixed metaphor. We commonly speak of a new town planted or a house
planted.
Ver. 8. +Beware lest any man spoil you.+--R.V. "maketh spoil of you."
The word for "spoil" means "to lead away as booty," as the Sabeans
swooped down on the oxen and asses of Job and carried them away as
their own property. +Through philosophy and vain deceit.+--We are
reminded of the saying, "It is the privilege of a philosopher to
depreciate philosophy." And then men say, "How well he's read to
reason against reading!" St. Paul speaks here of philosophy "falsely
so called." The love of wisdom can never be a dangerous thing to men
whose Master said, "Be wise as serpents"; only it must be the "wisdom
which cometh from above." St. Paul's _alias_ for what they call
philosophy is "empty fallacy," a hollow pretence; or what George
Herbert might name "nothing between two dishes." +After the tradition
of men.+--Something passed over from one to another, as the deep
secrets of the esoteric religions were whispered into the ears of the
perfect. That a matter has been believed always, everywhere, and by
all is no guarantee of its truth, as Galileo knew.
Ver. 9. +In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily.+--There is no minimising the significance of this statement.
It is either true or it is the wildest raving of blasphemy.
"Dwelleth"--has its settled abode. A change of prefix would give us
the word in Luke xxiv. 18. "Dost thou alone _sojourn_?" etc. Dualism
separates God from matter as far as possible; the Incarnation unites
Him for ever with it. "Great is the mystery." "Godhead." Though twice
before in our A.V. (Acts xvii. 29; Rom. i. 23), the word here differs
from both.
Ver. 10. +And ye are complete in Him.+--These minor powers of whom
you have heard are all subordinate to Him in whom directly you have
all you need. There is no need to go _viâ_ Philip and Andrew, Mary or
Michael, when "we would see Jesus."
Ver. 11. +In whom also ye are circumcised . . . by the circumcision
of Christ.+--What to the Jew was a bodily act, at best symbolical and
of no value otherwise, was to the Colossian disciple a spiritual
renovation, so complete as to render the old symbol of it inadequate.
Ver. 12. +Buried . . . risen.+--Referring to the definite acts when,
as Christian converts, they went beneath the baptismal waters and
emerged to live the faith thus publicly confessed. +Through the faith
of the operation of God.+--An obscure phrase. The R.V. is clear:
"Through faith _in_ the working of God."
Ver. 14. +Blotting out the handwriting.+--"Wiping out the old score,"
as we might say. All that bond which was valid against them Christ
had for ever rendered nugatory whilst they confided in His salvation.
+Against us, which was contrary to us.+--We have here the author of
those hot protests against work-righteousness. The threatening aspect
of the law is expressed in this reiteration. The law not only menaces
wrong-doers; it proceeds against them with punishment. +Nailing it to
His cross.+--The bond is discharged and may be filed. We are reminded
of St. Peter's equally bold expression: "Who His own self bare our
sins in His own body [_to,_ and] on the tree" (1 Pet. ii. 24).
Ver. 15. +Having spoiled principalities.+--R.V. "having put off from
Himself." The authorities are divided between the A.V. and the R.V.
The English reader must not conclude that he has again the word and
idea of ver. 8. The apostle says that Christ had flung off from
Himself the powers of wickedness. As these Colossians needed no
intercessions of good angels, so, on the other hand, they need fear
nothing from the maleficent powers of darkness, now vanquished.
Ver. 16. +Let no man therefore judge you.+--They could not well
prevent an adverse judgment being given on their disregard of what
the ritualists thought to be of supreme moment, but they could refuse
to argue about such trifles.
Ver. 17. +Shadow . . . body.+--The relationship is indicated here of
the old ceremonial worship to the worship of the Spirit. To confound
shadow and substance, or mistake the shadow for the substance, has
ever been the fatal error of ritualism.
Ver. 18. +Let no man beguile you of your reward.+--R.V. "let no man
rob you of your prize." There seems to be implied some such thoughts
as this: Do not allow these heretical teachers to lay down for you
the conditions on which the prize shall be yours; for when they
pronounce in your favour, "the Lord, the righteous Judge," pronounces
against you. +In a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels.+--In
acts of self-imposed abasement in the presence of invisible beings.
St. John tells us of the rebuke administered by the angel before whom
he prostrated himself: "See thou do it not: . . . worship God." But
there are men who would say, "Nay, my Lord," and continue their
forbidden worship. +Intruding into those things which he hath not
seen.+--The change in the R.V. is considerable: "dwelling in the
things which he hath seen." The apostle is apparently speaking
ironically of the boasted manifestations made to the Gnostic teachers.
Ver. 20. +Dead . . . from the rudiments of the world.+--Such as are
given in ver. 21. +Subject to ordinances.+--Why do you consent to
receive these "burdens grievous to be borne?"
Ver. 21. +Touch not; taste not; handle not.+--"These three
prohibitions apply probably (1) to marriage, (2) to the use of
certain foods, (3) to contact with material objects" (_Godet_). The
rigour of the prohibitions is greatest in the last of the three. Note
the change in R.V.: "handle not, nor _taste,_ nor TOUCH."
Ver. 23. +Neglecting of the body.+--A.V. margin, "punishing or not
sparing." R.V. text, "severity to the body." No doubt the apostle
felt that on this subject he would need to tread cautiously, for he
himself had beaten his body into subjection (1 Cor. ix. 27). +Not in
any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.+--The R.V. gives light on
this obscurity: "not of any value against the indulgence of the
flesh." This is the evidence which for ever disqualifies asceticism
in its many forms. We can understand how a Lenten fast or a
hair-shirt may make a man irritable. If they are of any value _in
themselves,_ monastic annals need revision and expurgation, and the
Christian finds himself far outdone by the dervish.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 1-4.
_Ministerial Anxiety._
The more clearly we apprehend truth in its many-sided aspects and in
its complex and vital relations, the more grievous and calamitous
does error appear. Error cannot come into collision with truth
without creating confusion of ideas and much mental distraction, and
as a consequence robbing the soul of the peace and solace it enjoyed.
The apostle saw the dangerous tendency of the doctrines advocated by
the false teachers against whom his epistle was directed, and he was
deeply concerned lest the pure and simple Gospel embraced by the new
converts should be contaminated. As one drop of ink pollutes the
whole vessel of water, as one stroke of the hammer diverts the rod
from a straight line and spoils it throughout its whole length, so
one single error obscures and warps the holiest truth.
+I. This anxiety was intense.+--"For I would that ye knew what great
conflict I have" (ver. 1). In the closing words of the preceding
chapter the apostle referred to his stern self-discipline in training
himself for his arduous and self-denying labours as an apostle; and
in this verse he expands the same thought and would have the converts
know the magnitude of the struggle which his anxiety for their
welfare cost him. This conflict refers not only to his external
labours on behalf of the Churches, in journeys, perils, privations,
persecutions, and imprisonments, but more especially to his fervent
wrestling with God in prayer, like Jacob of old; his importunity,
like the widow with the unjust judge; his inward soul struggles in
earnest intercession for their stability in the faith. The danger
must have been serious that produced in such a man so great an agony
of anxiety: great souls are not affected by trifles. People little
know what their pastors pass through: when they think them the most
at leisure, then are they the least so--the fervent conflict of
prayer is going on in secret. A knowledge of the minister's anxiety
is sometimes necessary to create a responsive sympathy, and to teach
the people the care and anxiety they should feel for their own
salvation.
+II. This anxiety was disinterested.+--"For you, and for them at
Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh"
(ver. 1). The solicitude of the apostle was not restricted to the
Colossians, as though they were more liable than others to defection
from the truth but embraced the converts in the neighbouring city of
Laodicea. In this populous and thriving city, celebrated at that time
for its immense commercial wealth and for the high intellectual
attainments of its philosophers, the heretic leaven had begun to
work; and the subsequent history of the Church there showed that it
spread only too surely and disastrously (Rev. iii. 14-18). The
apostle also extended his anxious regard to "as many as had not seen
his face in the flesh." The bulk of our troubles in this life we
endure on behalf of others. The Christian spirit, in its broad,
comprehensive charity, gives us a deep interest in all who have any
connection with Christ. Fervent prayer on behalf of others,
notwithstanding the sneers of some modern scientists, is efficacious,
irrespective of locality or of actual personal intercourse. Prayers
offered in private are often answered in a strange, unlooked-for
manner in public. God has a sovereign right to select the _mode_ in
which He answers the prayers of the faithful. An old Divine has said:
"If we would reap openly in the conversion of souls and their steady
walk, we must plough in secret with prayers and tears." Our anxiety
about the welfare of others is a strong evidence of our possessing
the genuine love of the truth. It was a trenchant aphorism of
Coleridge that, "He who begins by loving Christianity better than
truth, will proceed by loving his own sect or Church better than
Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all."
+III. This anxiety had special reference to the highest spiritual
attainments of believers.+--1. _The apostle was solicitous for the
confirmation of their faith._ "That their hearts might be comforted"
(ver. 2).--_i.e. encouraged, confirmed._ The apostle knew the subtle
power of error in disintegrating the heart's confidence, producing
trouble, dejection, doubt, and perplexity. Hence, he was anxious so
to present the truth as it is in Jesus, as to restore and cheer the
bewildered mind and settle it on the firm basis of an intelligent and
cordial faith. No man can reach the high attainments of the Christian
life whose heart is not at rest in God.
2. _The apostle was solicitous for their union in love._--"Being knit
together in love" (ver. 2). The heart can never enjoy solid comfort
till it is united in the love, as well as in the faith, of the truth.
Error divides as well as distresses; it snaps the bond of love,
splits the Christian Church into parties, rends what ought to be the
seamless robe of Christ. Where there is discord in the understanding
about fundamental truths, there cannot be concord in the will and
affections. The stability of believers depends upon their being knit
together in a mutual love, as the timbers of a building are joined
and compacted by a carpenter--such is the original signification of
the word--each part being fitted in with the rest, and all subserving
the firmness and safety of the whole. "He that dwelleth in love,
dwelleth in God, and God in him."
3. _The apostle was solicitous they should be enriched with the
unspeakable wealth of the Divine mystery._--(1) _The Divine mystery
is explained in the unique person and endowments of Christ._ "The
mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (vers. 2, 3). Christ embraced
in His own person the Divine and human natures. As God, He is equal
with the Father, and possesses in Himself all the essentials of
Deity; but as man He is dowered with moral treasures surpassing the
endowments of the highest angel. The mystery is not so much Christ,
as Christ containing in Himself "all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge." There is in Christ an all-sufficiency for every possible
want of man--copious and inexhaustive riches of eternal and saving
wisdom. These riches are hid in Christ as treasure in a
field--concealed from the gaze of mere passers-by, the careless,
indolent, and proud; but revealed to and enjoyed by the humble,
diligent, and persevering seeker. "He who is not content with Christ,
but goes out of Him to philosophy or tradition, forsakes the
treasures for the miserable beggary of human counterfeits." It is
still a mystery to the world how Christ can be the grand depositary
of all wisdom; and the mystery is dispelled only as the soul becomes
savingly acquainted with Him. (2) _The believer is privileged to gain
the full knowledge of the Divine mystery._--"To the acknowledgment of
the mystery" (ver. 2). The word implies that the knowledge of God and
of Christ is the perfection of knowledge. The ancient sage declared:
"If thou criest after knowledge, then shalt thou understand the fear
of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." And the apostle prayed
for the Ephesians that "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ might give
unto them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of
Him." This knowledge is to be not a simple perception of the truths
continued in the Divine mystery, but a full, firm, and distinct
knowledge as the result of careful sifting, and the actual experience
of their soul-transforming power. We know nothing to purpose until it
is strongly grasped by the heart as well as by the understanding.
(3) _A clear and profound understanding of the Divine mystery is the
true enrichment of the mind._--"Unto all riches of the full assurance
of understanding" (ver. 2). The vast store of moral riches here
indicated is opposed to the poverty of the mind, which has only a few
confused, unconnected truths about the Gospel laid up in its
treasury. By _the full assurance of understanding_ is meant an
unclouded perception and firm conviction of the truth revealed in the
Gospel. This is obtained only by diligent study and the inner
illumination of the Spirit; the understanding is cleared up, the
judgment settled, and the individual believer enabled to apprehend
each part of the Gospel in its essential relation to the grand whole,
and thus to grasp with a firm hold the salient features of the Divine
mystery. In this assured knowledge of the greatest truths the mind of
man finds it true enrichment; its abiding rest and felicity. "Wisdom
is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou canst desire
are not to be compared unto her" (Prov. viii. 11). Every other kind
of knowledge, however rare and extensive, is in itself poor and
unsatisfying.
+IV. This anxiety prompted the apostle faithfully to warn the
Church.+--"And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with
enticing words" (ver. 4). Error assumes the most seductive forms: it
charms with its eloquence, bewilders with its subtle reasoning,
misleads with its bold, assured statements of half-truths. The soul
is fascinated as by the gaze of a basilisk, and morally poisoned by
its breath. "Men are easily persuaded to believe that which flatters
their own vanity, and dilutes or modifies the Gospel, so as to
accommodate it to their own degenerate tastes." It is needful to
maintain a vigilant outlook and be on our guard against every phase
of false teaching. Some contend that words have little to do with
religion; that true religion is a sentiment in the soul independent
of words. The apostle thought differently when he exhorted to hold
fast "the form of sound words"; and in this verse he distinctly avers
that enticing words may beguile. He solemnly warns the Ephesians, who
were assailed with a similar class of errors: "Let no man deceive you
with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God
upon the children of disobedience" (Eph. v. 6). The most effectual
antidote to any heresy is the faithful, simple proclamation of the
doctrine of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. This is the clue that leads us out of all the mazes of
error.
+Lessons.+--1. _The true minister is anxious to promote the highest
good of the people._ 2. _All truth finds its explanation and all
error its refutation in Christ, the Source of eternal wisdom._
3. _False doctrine should be fearlessly and faithfully exposed._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 3.
_The Hidden Treasures of Wisdom in Christ._
Wisdom does not consist in the possession of varied and extensive
knowledge. The student may be deeply read in ancient and
long-forgotten lore, be versed in the entire circle of the arts,
sciences, and philosophies, be intelligibly familiar with the best
literature of the day, be a walking encyclopædia, a literary fountain
gushing in a perennial stream of information, and yet be far from
being a wise man. Wisdom is the practical application of knowledge,
the attainment of the highest moral results by the use of the best
and simplest means. The cry of the human intellect in all ages has
been, "Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of
understanding?" The greatest souls have toiled painfully in search of
the coveted treasure but failed to discover it. Their mightiest
endeavours have terminated in disappointment and despair. True wisdom
is a Divine revelation. The world by wisdom knew not God; and one of
the profoundest philosophers of any age, and who approached as near
the threshold of the grand discovery as the unaided human mind was
perhaps ever permitted to do, had to confess with a sigh, "If ever
man is destined to know the good and the true, it must be by a
revelation of the Deity." That wisdom which all need, and of which
all are in quest, is found only in Christ. This verse declares that
_Christ is the unfathomable depositary of the highest wisdom._
Observe:--
+I. That Christ is the inexhaustible Source of the truest
wisdom.+--"In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
The false teachers at Colossæ, like certain pretentious philosophers
of modern times, boasted of the vast range of their wisdom and
knowledge. They discussed questions, some of which, strange to say,
are reproduced and advocated to-day--questions on the nature of the
world, the eternity or non-eternity of matter, the chief good of man,
the orders and ranks of the angelic hierarchies and their relation to
the mediatorial work of Christ, the necessity of observing the
ceremonies and austerities of the law, and of the beauty and grandeur
of the theories of Plato and Pythagoras, the ruling philosophers of
the time. But all this is simply "the wisdom of this world and of the
princes of this world, which come to nought." It is only in Christ we
find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge to furnish and enrich
the mind and to guide into the way of salvation. He is "to us who are
saved the power of God and the wisdom of God." If, for the sake of
illustration, we classify the principal sources of human knowledge
into poetry, history, philosophy, and theology, we may assert that
only in Christ does each department find its fullest explication, and
from Him derive its significance and worth.
1. _Christ is the loftiest ideal and purest inspiration of the
poet._--Poetry occupies an important place in contributing to the sum
of human knowledge, and to the culture, development, and happiness of
man. It was the language of the world's infancy, as it is of the
infancy of man; the spontaneous outflow of the soul, on its first
acquaintance with the marvels of the present life, expresses itself
in strains of poetic music. It is true this great gift has been
abused, and often made the instrument of debasing instead of
elevating the mind. Hence Plato, in constructing his ideal republic,
would exclude the poets because of the evil tendency of some of their
productions, though he accords them all honour on account of their
learning and genius. The genuine poet pants after the noblest
expression of the beautiful and the good. Christ is the glorious
ideal and embodiment of the pure and beautiful; the poet drinks in
his most ravishing inspiration from Him and exhausts all the
resources of his genius in attempting to portray the exquisite
lineaments of His matchless character.
2. _Christ is the grandest hero of the historian._--History furnishes
us with the knowledge of man and his doings in all ages--in his
individual, social, and national aspects. It traces the development
of the race from the first solitary man to the peopling of the world
with the varied nationalities which now swarm upon its surface. But
the history of the world and man would be a dark, unsolvable enigma
if the name of Christ could be struck out. The story of redemption
unites Christ with the destiny of man in all ages--past, present, and
future; and "no history of the world, political or moral, can be
either just or accurate that does not find in Christ foretold to
come, or in Christ come and crucified, its centre and its key." The
world was created by Christ; it exists for Him; and, without
interfering with individual freedom, it may be said that He makes its
history: His name and influence are traceable everywhere and are
everywhere potent. The devout historian finds in Him the hero in whom
all excellencies combine, and whose exploits he loves to chronicle.
3. _Christ is prominent among the sublimest themes of the
philosopher._--A philosophy that does not recognise the Divine
plunges its votaries into labyrinthine darkness; its legitimate
office is to conduct to God. Coleridge has well said: "In wonder all
philosophy began; in wonder it ends; and admiration fills up the
interspace. But the first wonder is the offspring of ignorance; the
last is the parent of adoration." In every sphere where philosophy
penetrates it is confronted with ineffaceable evidences of the power
and presence of Christ. Among the splendid phenomena of the natural
creation--the forces that move, and the laws that control its vast
machinery--Christ is acknowledged as the creating and ruling spirit;
and only as the material world is regarded as the theatre of
redemption, and of moral conflict and discipline, does the
philosopher reach its highest meaning: in the realm of mind, the true
dignity, preciousness, and immortal endowments of the soul are
understood only as we apprehend that the life of the great Redeemer
was sacrificed to effect its ransom; and, in the sphere of morals, we
decipher the relation of man to man, and to society at large, learn
the duties and obligations we owe to each other and to God, discover
the standard of right actions, and are aided in explaining and
harmonising the inequalities that exist, when we gain an insight into
the moral relation of Christ to the whole race.
4. _Christ is the all-comprehensive subject of the theologian._--God
is inscrutable to the unchristianised reason. "Canst thou by
searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto
perfection? It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than
hell, what canst thou know?" Men have sought God in all ages with
tears, sacrifices, and sufferings indescribable; but in vain. Christ
is the only way to the Father; in Himself He reveals and illustrates
the Godhead. All our saving and renewing knowledge of God, and of our
manifold relations to Him, we owe entirely to Christ. "No man hath
seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, He hath declared Him." In the domain of theology "Christ
is all in all." But for Him the office of the theologian would be an
impossibility.
+II. That the treasures of Divine wisdom are discoverable by the
sincere and earnest seeker.+--They are _hid_; but not so hid as to be
beyond our reach. They are intended for discovery and appropriation.
Their brilliancy sparkles even in their hiding-place. They are like a
mine, whose riches, though faintly indicated on the surface, are
concealed in the depths of the earth. The more diligently the mine is
worked, the more precious and abundant the ore appears. So, in Christ
there are treasures of wisdom unseen by the superficial and careless
observer; but to the humble and believing student new and deeper
veins are perpetually opening up, until, still pursuing his search,
he is dazzled by the splendour and inexhaustible fulness of wealth,
surpassing all finite comprehension, and filling him with admiration
and awe.
+Lessons.+--1. _Man universally covets wisdom._ 2. _The highest
wisdom is treasured up in Christ for man._ 3. _If man finds it not,
it is his own fault._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._