1-3 Paul's Interest in the Colossians (cont'd)
- I struggle for you and for those in Laodicea whom I've never met. Uh, Oh. I've re-discovered the Greek Lexicon at searchgodsword.org. The Greek word for struggle here is agone, which looks a lot like "agony" to me and originally refers to "the assembly of the Greeks at their national games, 1. hence the contest for a prize at their games; 2. generally, any struggle or contest; 3. a battle."
- May their hearts be encouraged and united in love, to understand and know the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are in Christ.
- May no one deceive you with plausible arguments. Other translations use persuasive and beguiling where the NRSV uses plausible. Strong's Greek lexicon defines it as: "1. speech adapted to persuade, discourse in which probable arguments are adduced; 2. in a bad sense, persuasiveness of speech, specious discourse leading others into error." This translation intrigues me because the word persuasive indicates to me that the deceiver does so because he or she has a persuasive personality, so if I'm a good judge of character maybe I won't be deceived, whereas the use of plausible is an indication that an argument can seem reasonable to a reasonable person. This means we have to be even more conscientious about knowing God's will for ourselves, or in Paul's words, "to know Christ himself" (v. 2).
- Though I am not with you, I rejoice over your morale and firm faith.
- Continue to live for Christ – rooted, built up, and established – with thanksgiving.
- Don't be persuaded by human philosophy.
- Christ embodies deity and is greater than all other rulers and authority.
- In baptism you received a spiritual circumcision, discarding your former selves and receiving new life, erasing the record of all your legal trespasses, nailing that record to the cross.
- Therefore, don't let anyone condemn you in matters of food, drink or festivals, trying to force you to abase yourselves or worship angels or to rely on visions.
- You must hold fast to Christ – the head of the body. That's where you'll receive nourishment, strength and growth that comes from God.
- Since in Christ you have died to the elemental spirits (Greek: the elements from which all things have come, the material causes of the universe), don't live as if you still belonged to the world.
- The physical regimen others would have you follow ("do not handle, taste, or touch") are simply human commands that give the appearance of piety but have no value in preventing self indulgence. Our outward manifestations of piety – our regular church attendance, dressing "properly" for worship, knowing the right words to say at the right time because we know what's expected of us, knowing the words to avoid – while good habits, don't transform us into the likeness of Christ, which is a spiritual struggle. In fact, they may be forms of self-indulgence. Our striving to appear spiritual to others may be more for ourselves than it is for God.
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