Colossians 2:23 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Colossians 2:23

Comments

Paul is not really conceding anything when he says they have a show of wisdom. They may appear to be wise to fleshly minds, to earthly minds. The person who has never found Christ will say, ‘Surely I will need to do something to please God.’ So, it seems wise to such a person to have these elaborate systems of rites and ceremonies. They ‘have a shew of wisdom.’ Then he uses an interesting term in our King James Version – ‘in will worship’. What is will worship? people ask. It is what-you-want worship. These days you see will worship in the contemporary worship movement. Why do people want soft rock and beat music, and all the instruments and clamour and dancing, and so on? It is what-I-want worship. ‘Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom [they have an appeal] in will worship’, that is, kind of voluntary worship. It is just the worship somebody would make up for himself, self-created worship, worship which I have chosen and made and volunteered to do. Give me a God who will let me sin as I like and never condemn me for anything. That is the God I am going to worship. That is will worship – worship which I have invented for myself. It might to the fleshly mind seem the right thing to do, but it is not of God; it is altogether an earthly business.These things – the mysticism, angel worship, ritualism – are ‘not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.’ The modern translations will often translate this, ‘not of any value.’ They are of no value with regard to the indulgence of the flesh, which Paul takes for granted needs to be dealt with.

Application

Far from suppressing the flesh, all those things only enhance my fleshly desires. Oh, but it makes me feel good, it makes me feel so wonderful. I feel at peace. I feel I’ve really enjoyed myself with the music and the swaying. I feel I have really been in touch with God. What did you learn? I don’t know what I learned but I feel it made a difference to me. They are not in any honour except to the satisfaction of my body and feelings, that is what the apostle says in that sentence.

Before we are saved, the carnal mind thinks, ‘Oh, this sounds good. Oh, I would like to be able to speak with angels. I would like to be able to do these things. Crazy things come out of the charismatic camp. You know lots of books have been written by people claiming to have died, gone to heaven and come back again and they tell you what it is like, and people buy these things in their thousands. They think, ‘Oh, I’d like to do that, or if I can’t do it, I’d like to read the account of somebody who has done it.’ They believe in ludicrous things. How do intelligent people come to want and belief in such things? Little by little. Lose your hold on Christ and the word, and soon your credulity increases and you believe ever more foolish things.

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Colossians 2:23 Commentary and Bible Study