Colossians 2:8-11, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”
Miriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word captive as being “held under the control of another but having the appearance of independence.” As I read Colossians 2:8-11, I see it as a prayer for my grandchildren, as they grow up, and when and if they go to a state university or college, to have their minds guarded by the truths found in God’s Word so they will not be held captive by false philosophies and teachings. We all know someone who has detoured away from the faith, influenced by some famous false cult or promoter of false philosophy and doctrine that is hollow and Biblically empty, and we wonder how they could do that? There used to be a popular band, back in the 1960s, called The Monkees that had a song about how no one believed in absolute right and wrong anymore, “only shades of gray.” Today that phrase brings to mind films and books by that name, in our society that believes in relativism. It is a theory that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them (Mirriam Webster’s Dictionary). God’s Word disagrees with that philosophy.
We all have to guard our mind against various popular perspectives and thinking that sneak into our culture that are Biblically in error. The philosophy that threatened the Colossian Christians was a mixture of Gnosticism, Greek philosophy, local mystery religions, and Jewish mysticism. We think our world we live in today is terrible. It was sinful and lacked all moral restraints. But it seemed highly intelligent. Paul warned Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:20, “O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, for by professing it, some have swerved from the faith.” Paul was telling Timothy, hyper intellectualism doesn’t work. It has no value.
When there are issues or matters of the heart and soul, only the Bible, God’s Word, has the answers. Paul was a philosopher and was highly educated. He condemned any teaching that credits man being the answer to his own problems instead of Christ. Paul states, “and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” We have been filled in Christ. Our souls are like elastic. This says to me there are no limits to the capacity His Spirit can fill into me. “We can always open to hold more and more of his fullness . . . The more we receive of his fullness, the more we can receive.” R. Kent Hughes. Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. The Fellowship Of The Gospel And the Supremacy of Christ. When we draw on Christ’s fullness, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:19, we are filled with the fullness of God. What more do we need?
I like how the Message states Colossians 2:8-11, “Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.”
Listen to Matthew West’s song Truth Be Told (Official Lyric Video).