Colossians 2.4-Paul Communicated the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Protect the Colossians From Being Deceived by Plausible Persuasive Arguments
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday September 27, 2015
Colossians: Colossians 2:4-Paul Communicated the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Protect the Colossians From Being Deceived by Plausible Persuasive Arguments
Lesson # 41
Colossians 2:4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. (NASB95)
“I say this” is pointing back to the noun musterion, “of mystery” which appears at the end of Colossians 2:2 which Paul identifies in this same verse as being the Christ and thus it speaks of Paul communicating this mystery of the Christ, i.e. the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“So that no one will delude you” presents the purpose for which Paul communicated in writing in this epistle to the Colossians the mystery of the Christ indwelling the individual members of the Christian community.
“So that no one will delude you” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction hina (ἵνα), “so that” (2) adjective mēdeis (μηδείς), “no one” (3) personal pronoun su (σύ), “you” (4) verb paralogizomai (παραλογίζομαι), “will delude.”
The emphatic negative adjective mēdeis emphatically negates any idea of these false teachers deceiving the faithful Christians in Colossae.
The paralogizomai means “to deceive” since it pertains to deceiving someone by arguments or persuasive arguments or false reasons and denotes imposing a false idea or belief that causes a negative result in the person’s life.
The present tense of the verb is a gnomic present, which is expressing the idea of absolutely no one “at any time” deceiving these faithful Christians in Colossae with persuasive arguments.
The middle voice of this verb paralogizomai is an indirect middle which refers to the false teachers acting in their own interests in deceiving the faithful Christians in Colossae with persuasive arguments.
The second person plural form of the personal pronoun su refers to the faithful believers in Colossae and means “all of you” referring to them as a corporate unit.
It is also used in a distributive sense meaning “any one of you” emphasizing that there were no exceptions.
“With persuasive argument” is composed of the following: (1) preposition en (ἐν), “in” (2) noun pithanologia (πιθανολογία), “persuasive argument.”
The dative feminine singular form of the noun pithanologia means “plausible-persuasive arguments” since it pertains to a plausible argument which is persuasive but not necessarily true or entirely untrue.
This word is the object of the preposition en, which means “with” or “by means of” since it functions as a marker of means indicating that these false teachers could deceive the Colossians “by means of” plausible persuasive argument.
Colossians 2:4 I communicate this (mystery) in order that absolutely no one would at any time deceive any one of you with plausible persuasive argument. (My translation)
Colossians 2:4 marks a transition from a discussion regarding Paul’s service on behalf of the Colossian Christian community and the proper response of this community with regards to the false teachers and the false doctrine they were communicating.
When Paul says that he communicates “this,” he is referring to the mystery he mentions in Colossians 2:2 who he identifies as being the Christ.
By describing Jesus Christ as the mystery originating from God, he does not mean that Jesus Christ was not known to Old Testament saints since His person and work were prophesied about by the Old Testament prophets of Israel.
Rather, the term “mystery” describes Jesus Christ in relation to those who do not exercise faith in Him as Savior in order to be declared justified by the Father.
Jesus Christ is a mystery to those are not initiated which is accomplished by being declared justified by the Father through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
So this word is an attack at the Essence branch of Judaism which possessed an incipient form of Gnosticism.
Jesus Christ is also “the mystery originating from God” in the sense that Jesus Christ is the content of the gospel who fully disclosed God’s plan of salvation through His death and resurrection, through His earthly life, His First Advent.
It speaks of the fact that He fully revealed what godly living is all about or in other words, He fully disclosed how a human being should live in order to honor God.
The apostle Paul is being very solemn in Colossians 2:4 in order to emphasize with the Colossians the need for them to continue remaining faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and specifically his apostolic teaching concerning Jesus Christ.
He wants them to adhere to his teaching in Colossians 1:15-20 which speaks of the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ in relation to the Colossian church.
These verses speak of Jesus Christ being the creator and sovereign ruler of creation and that He is the incarnate Son of God and that He is the sovereign ruler of the church which is His body.
In Colossians 1:27, Paul says that he worked hard in communicating to the Christian community the mystery which is Christ indwelling the individual members of the Christian community.
Then, in Colossians 2:2 Paul says that Jesus Christ is the mystery originating from God.
He teaches in Colossians 2:3 that all the treasures related to that which is truly wisdom and related to that which is truly knowledge are hidden in the person of Jesus Christ.
Now, here in Colossians 2:4, the apostle emphasizes with the Colossian church that he communicated in this epistle to the Colossians this mystery which is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The purpose for Paul communicating this teaching concerning Jesus Christ to the Colossians was to protect them from the false teachers who originated from the Essene branch of the Judaizers.
He states in emphatic terms that he wanted absolutely no one among these false teachers deceiving the Colossians with plausible persuasive argument.
Paul communicated the mystery of Christ indwelling them in order to protect them from these false teachers imposing any false ideas or beliefs upon them that would cause them to go into apostasy.
The means by which these false teachers would deceive the Colossians would be plausible persuasive arguments.
These false teachers from the Essence branch of the Judaizers were following the tactics of Satan and his kingdom.
Deception by means of plausible persuasive argument is the means by which Satan and his kingdom operate in relation to the human race, both the non-Christian and Christian communities.
The principle stratagem of the devil in relation to the human race is lies and deception (Gen. 3; cf. John 8:44; 1 John 5:19).
Colossians 2:4 is the first verse in this epistle which explicitly addresses the situation of the false teachers in Colossae.
After exhorting and encouraging the Colossians to remain faithful to the gospel in Colossians 2:5-7, Paul in Colossians 2:8-23 addresses his particular concern for false teachers that have sprung up among them.
The nature of the false teaching in Colossae was Jewish and in fact, it appears that Paul was dealing with the Essene branch of Judaism with a tinge of an incipient form of Gnosticism that was found in Essene Judaism.
The Essenes lived on the shores of the Dead Sea and were very well-known in the first century for their ascetic practices, one of which was abstaining from marriage.
Asceticism is the idea that abstinence from physical things like food or sex is essential for spiritual purity.
This Essene Judaism which had confronted the Colossian church in Paul’s day also had a Gnostic tendency.
In fact, it appears that it contained an incipient form of Gnosticism.
Paul’s statement in Colossians 2:18-19 would indicate that these false teachers were not only from the Essene branch of Judaism but also Christians and specifically Christian pastor-teachers.
Notice in these verses that Paul exhorts the Colossians to let no one defraud them of their prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels, taking their stand on visions they have seen, inflated without cause by their fleshly mind.
He asserts that these individuals are “not holding fast to the head” from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.
“The head” of course is a reference to Jesus Christ.
Only a Christian can hold fast to the head, Jesus Christ.
A non-Christian can never do so because they are not united with Jesus Christ and indwelt by Him since this can only take place when a sinner exercises faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and is declared justified by the Father as a result.
So this person described as deceiving others with false doctrine is not holding fast to Jesus Christ meaning they are not remaining in fellowship with Him through faith in the gospel.
Therefore, Colossians 2:18-19 describes a Christian pastor-teacher who deceives other Christians with the false doctrine originating from Judaism.
They do not hold fast to Jesus Christ in the sense that they are not remaining in fellowship with Him because they are following the false teaching originating from Judaism and are no longer faithful to the gospel.