Fullness in Our Union

Context

Last week, we saw that Paul argued our union with Christ has liberated us to reject the many counterfeit saviors that the world offers. The Apostle provided a strong critique of the empty and deceitful philosophy, that attempts to lure us away from the all-sufficient Christ. We know that Christ is God and is therefore head over every ruler and authority. And because His followers participate in His death and resurrection, they now participate in the victory that is in Him alone. The voices who sought to convince the Colossians that Christ was not enough were loud and persuasive. They offered additional rules, spiritual experiences, and disciplines that promised greater maturity. While the specific issues we face may differ from those confronting the Colossians, the same temptation remains—to seek outside of Christ what God has already provided in Him.

Read

Colossians 2:16–23 ESV

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Introduction

As a young monk, Luther desperately wanted to know God and have peace with Him. No one could accuse him of spiritual laziness. He fasted, prayed, confessed his sins for hours at a time, deprived himself of comforts, and pursued every spiritual discipline available to him. Later he wrote that if anyone could have earned heaven through monastic devotion, he would have been that man.

Yet despite all his efforts, Luther found himself becoming more discouraged, not less. The harder he worked, the more aware he became of his own sin. The more he examined himself, the less assurance he possessed. He was seeking a deeper relationship with God through increasingly rigorous religious practices, but instead of finding peace, he found exhaustion.

Everything changed when Luther came to understand the gospel. He discovered that acceptance with God was not achieved through religious performance but received through faith in Christ. The righteousness God required was the very righteousness God provided in His Son. Luther later described this realization as entering through the gates of paradise.

Luther's story illustrates a temptation that has confronted believers throughout church history. When we desire greater maturity, it is easy to assume that the answer lies in doing more, trying harder, or discovering some deeper spiritual secret. We begin to look for something beyond Christ. Yet the very thing Luther learned—and the very thing Paul teaches in Colossians 2—is that spiritual fullness is not found by moving beyond Christ but by understanding more fully what we already possess in Him.

The believers in Colossae faced teachers who claimed that Christ was not enough. They promoted religious observances, mystical experiences, and severe self-denial as pathways to greater spirituality. Their message was subtle: Christ is good, but Christ is not sufficient.

That temptation remains with us today.

FCF

Though we are complete in Christ, we are prone to trust and pursue spiritual substitutes that promise fullness apart from Him.

In Colossians 2:16–23, Paul reminds believers that everything necessary for acceptance before God and growth in godliness is already found in Christ.

Main Idea

Because Christ is sufficient for our acceptance and growth, believers must resist every attempt to find spiritual maturity apart from Him.

Main Question

What truths about the sufficiency of Christ will help us resist these substitutes?

The supreme reality of Christ (16-17)

We might ask of this first point, why is it necessary to say supreme reality of Christ and not just reality? “Supreme” is important because Paul isn't saying these things were imaginary or meaningless. What we we see in verses 16 & 17 were God-given shadows that anticipated Christ. But now that Christ has come, the shadow must not be treated as as equal to or superior to the reality.

Notice the word therefore in verse 16. The immediate context is especially 2:13–15, which makes clear that:

God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave your trespasses.

He canceled the record of debt.

He disarmed the rulers and authorities.

He triumphed over them in Christ.

Therefore:

Colossians 2:16 ESV

… let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

How will recognizing the supreme reality of Christ help us resist the false promises of substitute means for spiritual growth?

Christ alone determines our standing before God (16)

Notice the first statement in verse 16: let no one pass judgement on you. This is a command. Remember, the believing Colossians have already been judged for their sin in Christ:

Colossians 1:14 ESV

[It is Christ] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The false teachers in Colossae were teaching that obedience to the OT law was crucial to the Colossians’ right standing before God.

The practices, regulations and holidays being held forth to the Colossians are named: questions of food and drink, festivals and a new moon sabbath. The practices associated with these regulations and events were connected to God being pleased with them.

The laws referenced in verse 16 were OT laws which had the function of cleansing the Israelites to become ready to enter God’s temple to worship Him. God is holy, and the people needed to be clean in order to be in His presence.

And what the Colossians needed to understand was that the ceremonial function of these Old Covenant regulations had been fulfilled in Christ. We know this because believing Jews and Gentiles are now able to become one in Christ, which is part of the mystery that Paul was given to proclaim.

Colossians 1:26–27 ESV

the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The false teachers were treating Old Testament regulations and observances as necessary markers of spiritual legitimacy and fullness. Paul rejects that claim because these things were always meant to be understood as shadows pointing forward to Christ.

Hebrews helps us understand the theological function of the Old Covenant regulations.

Hebrews 9:8–10 ESV

By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

What Paul is declaring to the Colossian church is that the OT law, along with all its regulations and practices, is not their judge.

We may know intellectually that we are saved by grace through faith, but we are often inclined to assess our standing before God based on performance. Perhaps this is due, in part because our performance is how we are usually evaluated. Midterms and finals, personal stats based on your performance on the field, promotions, annual reviews. This is the world in which we live. Our value as a student, an athlete or an employee is connected to our performance. But the gospel makes clear that our best performances fall way short of meriting God’s favorable assessment. Church, by grace we are saved through faith. As familiar as that wonderful truth is to many of us, it is one we often marginalize in the course of our daily living. We are not performers! We are children of the King, and it is on this basis we are favored by Him.

Christ is the supreme reality which means:

Christ alone is the substance to which the shadows point (17)

The idea here is that the OT laws and holidays that are referenced in verse 16 pointed forward to Christ. But our ability to recognize that they point forward to Christ depends on the fact that Christ has come. You may have heard of the events and practices seen in the OT described as shadows that point to Christ. Christ is casting that shadow. To say it more simply, Christ fulfilled these laws. He has fulfilled the law. He is the substance and the law is the shadow.

But how specifically do these clean and unclean laws and the Jewish holidays find their fulfillment in Christ? Consider what Jesus said in Mark 7:

Mark 7:18–19 ESV

… Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

Remember, Paul is addressing a false teaching concerning food and drink as we saw in verse 16. Food does not ultimately make a person spiritually clean or unclean → defilement comes from the heart → therefore external dietary regulations cannot provide the spiritual cleansing people ultimately need.

The ceremonial distinctions taught Israel that uncleanness prevents fellowship with God. These were the shadows. Christ, the true substance of the shadows, accomplished the cleansing that those regulations could symbolize but never ultimately provide.

Christ is our supreme reality.

Another truth about the sufficiency of Christ that will help us resist inclinations to pursue maturity apart from Him is:

The Essential Headship of Christ (18-19)

Paul now focuses his critique of the false teaching by warning the Colossian believers not to be misled by ascetic practices and cultic acts of worshipping angels.

Remember, we have suggested that the false teaching is best understood as syncretism. Syncretism is the product of combining beliefs and practices from various religions to form another religion. It’s clear that the false teachers were combining Judaism with local mystical cult practices, and somehow sought to marry that to faith in Christ.

How should recognizing the headship of Christ over His church impact our understanding of maturity?

If Christ is our head then:

Christ alone determines standards for spiritual maturity (18)

To be sure, verse 18 contains some significant interpretive challenges. But it appears that the false teachers were passing judgement on some of the Colossian believers, and considered them to be second class believers because they did not practice what they considered to be higher spiritual disciplines.

These disciplines consisted of bodily self-denial, the worship of angels and visionary experiences, and Paul is warning the church to not buy into the idea that these things are spiritually superior, but instead represented a surrender to false and deceptive doctrine.

The asceticism or self-denial that the false teachers were promoting was extreme. We get an indication of this from the emphasis throughout the passage on ascetic rejection of food and drink. Verse 21 captures what the false teachers were saying: do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.

We are familiar with the idea of preparing for worship. If this is our concern, we may prioritize getting a good night sleep on Saturday night and maybe spending some concentrated time in prayer, asking the Lord to prepare us for worship. The false teachers in Colossae taught an elaborate process of self-denial designed to qualify people for higher spiritual experiences.

Paul also mentions the worship of angels in verse 18, which was fairly common in the ancient world. One commentator noted that evidence that the worship of angels had become a persistent problem in the area of Colossae is seen in the fourth-century Synod of Laodicea, which specifically forbade praying to angels.

The concern here is not just that the Colossians not practice this extreme asceticism and not worship angels, but that they not be distracted from the worship of the one-true living God. But you see, this is what can happen as we yield ourselves to self-imposed and biblically unjustified standards of holiness. When we labor under burdens from which Christ has freed us, we are kept from doing the very thing we set out to do which is to honor Christ.

Paul has already made clear on what basis the Colossian Christians were qualified to worship the Lord:

Colossians 1:12 ESV

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Now, I want to quickly make clear that the word qualified in 1:12 come from a different word that the word disqualify in 2:18. But the truth we want to be sure to grasp here is that God and God alone establishes the terms for which people can approach Him in worship. No human work or achievement can clear the pathway to worship God freely and God alone preserves us in this sanctified state.

Have you ever arrived to this place or any church on Sunday morning feeling or believing you are unworthy to be in the presence of God? Perhaps on the drive from your home to the church parking lot, the failures from the previous week were playing over and over again in your head. Church, we do not come to worship Christ because we have achieved a worthy status. We worship because Christ is worthy, and He has bid sinners come.

Isaiah 55:1 ESV

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Even if the teaching of the false teachers was that people must venerate, that is to show a deep respect for angels in preparation to worship God, this is still false worship. The way to God has been opened by Christ, so we pray in His name in order to be heard by the Father:

Ephesians 2:18 ESV

For through him [Christ] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

The third feature of the Colossian mysticism involved going on in detail about visions. It was taught that these ecstatic experiences were the mark of the spiritual elite. If any believer had not had such experiences, they were considered second class.

We need to be careful about how much significance we assign to our experiences. We have heard the stories from people who have claimed to have had some kind of heavenly vision or even visited heaven in a time of distress. By contrast, Paul downplays his experience of being caught up into paradise:

2 Corinthians 12:3 ESV

And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—

And Paul’s further accounting of this experience is not sensational:

2 Corinthians 12:4 ESV

and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

True spirituality relies not on out of the ordinary experiences but on the clear teaching of God’s Word.

The three items that Paul speaks against in verse 18: asceticism, angel worship and visions probably formed a ritual designed to offer some kind of higher mystical experience. The false teachers taught if the Colossians failed to practice this ritual, their spirituality was in doubt.

It appears Paul may have had someone in mind who was perpetrating this teaching among the church. The last part of verse 18 says: puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind. The Apostle issues a sharp rebuke against him, and describes the whole approach of mystical ecstacy, not as spiritual, but as thoroughly worldly.

The phrase puffed up in verse 18 literally reads fleshly minded. We may not know the specific motivation of the false teacher(s), but we do know that their motives were centered on the glory of man rather than the glory of God.

If Christ is our head then:

Christ alone supplies true spiritual growth (19)

In verse 19, Paul makes a few things clear about spiritual growth

1. The false teachers promised growth

As we have suggested, in verse 18 Paul warns aginst the false teaching that said higher spirituality can be achieved by engaging in certain practices. The emphasis on asceticism, angel worship, and visions was not merely theoretical; it was offered as a means of attaining greater spiritual insight and maturity.

It was on this basis that they were "disqualifying" believers. They had established a new standard of spirituality. According to them, ordinary faith in Christ was insufficient. Has the possession of faith become insignificant to you? Having this casual posture towards our salvation can be subtle in some ways. Over time, we may become apathetic or spiritually sluggish. The false teachers dismissed the preciousness of faith.

1 Peter 1:7 ESV

so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold…

Anyone who had not embraced their practices were viewed as spiritually deficient.

This is often how false teaching operates. It offers believers something beyond the ordinary means by which God has promised to work. The message is rarely, "Abandon Christ." Instead, it is, "Christ is good, but if you really want to grow, you need something more."

Paul recognizes the danger immediately because anything that adds to Christ ultimately diminishes Christ.

We often measure maturity by activity, knowledge, influence, or experience. Paul measures it by connection to the Head. Ask yourself: Am I growing in dependence upon Christ? Am I clinging more closely to Him through His Word, prayer, worship, and fellowship? Spiritual maturity is not moving beyond Christ but growing deeper in Him. 

Paul also makes clear that:

2. Christ produces growth

Verse 19 shifts the focus from the false teachers to Christ:

"...from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God."

Paul's emphasis is unmistakable. Growth originates in Christ. Spiritual maturity is not manufactured through human effort, mystical experiences, or self-imposed regulations. It is produced by God through union with His Son.

This is consistent with everything he has already said in Colossians:

Believers are complete in Christ (2:10).

They have died and been raised with Christ (2:12).

Their sins have been forgiven in Christ (2:13).

The powers have been defeated through Christ (2:15).

If all spiritual blessings are found in Christ, then spiritual growth must also come from Christ.

Growth is not found by moving beyond Him but by remaining firmly attached to Him. What does it mean to remain firmly attached to Him? Much could be said to answer this question, but I like what the Christian Apologist, John Lennox says. He was posed the question by a colleague, why do you read (study) the Bible? His simple answer was to get to know God. Church, remaining attached to Christ can mean many things, but of chief importance is a growing and intimate relationship with Him. We pursue this primarily through our reading and meditating on the Scriptures.

Something else Paul makes clear about growth in verse 19

3. The church grows only as it holds fast to the Head

The central accusation against the false teachers is found in the opening words of verse 19:

"and not holding fast to the Head."

The problem was not merely that they practiced asceticism or pursued visions. The deeper issue was that these practices diverted attention away from Christ.

Paul uses the image of a body and its head. The head governs, directs, and supplies the body. Severed from the head, the body cannot function or grow.

Christ is not merely the starting point of the Christian life. He remains the ongoing source of life, strength, wisdom, and maturity. Every aspect of Christian growth depends upon continued dependence upon Him.

This means that maturity is not measured by extraordinary experiences, secret knowledge, or rigorous disciplines. Maturity is measured by an increasing dependence upon Christ and conformity to Him.

The church grows not by discovering something beyond Christ but by holding more firmly to Christ.

Still in verse 19, regarding spiritual growth

4. Any teaching that marginalizes dependence on Christ ultimately hinders growth rather than promotes it

This is the practical implication of Paul's argument.

The false teachers promised advancement, but because their teaching drew attention away from Christ, it could never produce what it promised.

A spirituality may appear impressive. It may seem disciplined or profound. It may even gain the admiration of others. But if it encourages believers to place their confidence in experiences, practices, traditions, leaders, or achievements rather than Christ, it is ultimately destructive.

Paul's language is striking. The teachers were "puffed up without reason by a fleshly mind" (v. 18). What appeared spiritual was actually fleshly. What appeared wise was actually foolish.

A mark of true Christian growth is the recognition that Christ is superior to all creation and the spiritual world as we recognized in chapter 1. But we know we are growing when we can identify Christ is supremely precious. More precious than anything else. More precious than life itself.

Trusting in something alongside Christ—even something religious—undermines the very growth it promises. As we mature, we cling more tightly to Christ. We treasure Christ with more affection. We love Christ more deeply.

Summary

So, the issue is not merely who leads the church, but who supplies the life by which the church grows. Paul insists there is only one answer: Christ, the Head.

Because Christ is sufficient for our acceptance and growth, believers must resist every attempt to find spiritual maturity apart from Him.

The final truth about the sufficiency of Christ that helps us resist these false promises of maturity

The liberating fullness of Christ (20-23)

From what does Christ’s fullness liberate us?

The fulness of Christ liberates us from man-made religion  (20)

Paul begins with a rhetorical question in verse 20, which, if turned into a statement would read something like this: because you died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, you do not need to submit to regulations as if you are still alive to the world.

There is no man-made system of do’s and dont’s that those in Christ are required to obey in order to honor God.

Paul is exhorting Colossians against giving into the absurdity the teachers were promoting and warning them against the evil nature of their teaching. They were in Christ. They were unified to Him in His death and resurrection, but what the false teachers were telling them to do was live as if they had no union with Christ.

The same danger exists today whenever Christians begin to believe that human traditions, personal disciplines, or religious expectations possess authority equal to God's Word. Christ has freed His people from every system that claims the power to determine their spiritual standing apart from Him.

Our liberty from the fullness of Christ is not experienced in the absence of a struggle against sin, but in the assurance that Christ is our Lord and there is no rival authority. All authorities, whether they recognize the lordship of Christ or not, are under the authority of Christ.

we are also liberated from

Christ frees us from the burden of human regulations. (21-22)

Paul now summarizes the regulations promoted by the false teachers:

"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch." (21)

These commands focused on external behavior and physical abstinence. The false teachers believed holiness could be achieved through increasingly rigorous acts of self-denial.

Paul responds by exposing the temporary and human origin of these rules:

"referring to things that all perish as they are used—according to human precepts and teachings." (v. 22)

The regulations centered on material things that were passing away. More importantly, they originated not in divine revelation but in human teaching.

This echoes Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees:

Mark 7:7 ESV

in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

The problem with man-made religion is that it continually adds burdens God never imposed. It creates standards of spirituality that God never required. It shifts the believer's focus from Christ's finished work to personal performance.

Paul reminds believers that Christ has freed them from carrying burdens that God never intended them to bear.

Perhaps there are some here today that need to drop some of these kinds of burdens.

the expectations of others or what they may think of you

reluctance in living free from the guilt of sins that have been confessed and forgiven

Maybe it’s treating certain spiritual disciplines as leverage for person gain rather than an expression of our love for God.

The list can go on, but don’t loose sight of the freedom that God intends for His people to possess in our union with Christ.

And finally, we are liberated from

Christ frees us from trusting powerless remedies for sin. (23)

Paul concludes with a devastating assessment of the false teachers' system:

"These have indeed an appearance of wisdom..."

Notice that Paul does not deny their appeal. The practices looked impressive. They appeared serious, disciplined, and devoted. They gave the impression of spiritual depth.

He identifies three characteristics:

Self-made religion

Asceticism

Severity to the body

From a human perspective, such practices seem wise. They communicate commitment and sacrifice. They often earn admiration from others.

Yet Paul's verdict is unmistakable:

"They are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh."

This is the heart of the issue.

The false teachers promised victory over sin. Paul says they could not deliver what they promised.

External regulations can restrain behavior for a time, but they cannot transform the heart. Rules may modify conduct, but they cannot produce love for God. Self-denial may impress others, but it cannot remove sinful desires. Human effort can manage symptoms while leaving the disease untouched.

Only Christ can address the deepest problem of the human heart.

This is why the gospel is fundamentally different from every man-made religion. Do you believe you must demonstrate to God that you are worthy of His love? This is not the message of the Gospel:

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

While we were still sinners. Not, after you got sin under control. Christ is merciful to sinners, He loves His people and this love is transforming us so completely that we delight to serve Him.

Rules can sometimes restrain behavior, but they cannot transform the heart. If our primary strategy for overcoming sin is simply creating more restrictions, we may find ourselves managing symptoms rather than addressing the disease. The power for lasting change comes through communion with Christ, dependence upon the Spirit, and growth in the gospel.

Paul's conclusion is therefore clear: because believers possess the liberating fullness of Christ, they must not place their confidence in religious systems that promise holiness but lack the power to produce it. True freedom and true growth are found in Christ alone.

Conclusion

Consider the progression of Paul's argument. The false teachers in Colossae offered the believers several pathways to what they claimed was greater spirituality. They pointed to religious observances, mystical experiences, and rigorous self-denial. Their message was simple: If you want to be truly mature, Christ is not enough.

Paul's response is equally simple and infinitely more powerful: Christ is enough.

When others sought to judge the Colossians by Old Testament regulations, Paul reminded them that Christ is the substance to which the shadows point. When others claimed special experiences and spiritual superiority, Paul reminded them that Christ is the Head from whom all growth comes. When others promoted man-made regulations and ascetic practices, Paul reminded them that such things are powerless to transform the heart.

The same choice confronts us today. We may not be tempted by angel worship or Jewish festivals, but we are constantly tempted to look somewhere other than Christ for acceptance, assurance, significance, victory over sin, or spiritual growth. We are tempted to trust our performance, our experiences, our knowledge, or our disciplines. Yet every substitute ultimately leaves us empty because none of them can do what only Christ can do.

The good news of the gospel is not that Christ gives us a starting point from which we must find our own way to maturity. The good news is that the Christ who saves us is also the Christ who sustains us. The Christ who justifies us is also the Christ who sanctifies us. The Christ who forgives us is also the Christ who grows us.

So Paul's call to us is not to search for something beyond Christ. It is to hold fast to Him.

If you are weary from trying to earn God's favor, hold fast to Christ. If you are discouraged by your slow growth, hold fast to Christ. If you are tempted to believe that some new method, experience, or practice will finally provide what you lack, hold fast to Christ.

For in Him you are complete. In Him you have acceptance. In Him you have life. And from Him comes every true growth that is from God.

These truths display His grace. As we turn our attention to the week ahead, may we rejoice in the marvelous grace of our loving Lord.