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"Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ: for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are
made full, Who is the Head of all principality and power" (2: 8-10 R.V.).
We have already touched upon the false teaching that was creeping into the Colossian
church. While it is difficult to get a clear picture of it in detail, it was apparently a
blending of Jewish legalism and pagan philosophy with its stress on the complete
antithesis between spirit and matter which was considered to be evil. Consequently a
holy God was divorced from His creation and no direct contact was possible between
them. Any contact could only be achieved through intermediaries who were looked on as
spiritual lords or rulers of the seven planetary spheres in which Sun, Moon, Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn moved. Each was believed to be governed by one of
these lords (an archon) and no direct approach to God was possible except through these
angelic mediators. If this was accepted as truth, then one could understand the concern to
please or placate these spirit beings.
The whole of this deceptive lie was an attack upon the Biblical doctrine of creation
and redemption wrought through the sole agency of the Lord Jesus. He alone was the
antidote to such falsity. The new teaching stressed a higher wisdom, but all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge are found solely in Him. He alone was Creator; He alone
summed up the Godhead bodily. He alone was the one Mediator between God and men
and was also the conqueror of principalities and powers that were the believers' enemies.
Therefore to leave him was to slip back into darkness and bondage from which they had
been redeemed, no matter how plausible the new ideas were put across with their stress
on a sanctity and humility which, seen in their true colours, were completely false.
The whole history of man since Eden has been interwoven with deception. Satan is
above all the arch-deceiver. As such he deceived Eve and has been deceiving mankind
ever since. There is no protection from this apart from the revelation of Truth, the Word
of God, and the living Word Whom it reveals, Who is the Truth (John 14: 6). In Him
alone there is safety. So long as we hold fast to God's Word of truth and rightly divide it,
refusing to go one step beyond what is revealed we are safe. To do otherwise is to follow
darkness rather than light, to sow the seeds of error and finally to reap the harvest of
shame, bondage and Divine disapproval. This is Satan's one aim, to lead believers away
from the freedom in Christ and to bring them back under his control and slavery. "Let no
man deceive you" said the Apostle, and the call is just as vital and necessary today as
ever it was. Satan may alter his tactics but the end is always the same although it is
covered up by attractive presentation, `plausible speech' and the striking and capable
personality of the so-called `ministers of righteousness' that Satan often uses.
We should note from this context in Colossians that his attack is three-fold, described
as `false reasoning', `enticing' and `spoiling' and in carrying this out he uses three means
(1) a vain and deceitful philosophy, (2) human tradition and (3) rudiments or elements
of the world.