“Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.”
These regulations — do not handle, do not taste, do not touch — indeed have 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 — the Colossian philosophy's fatal contradiction is exposed in a single sentence: the very disciplines that claim to control the body have no power over the appetites they purport to restrain. The Greek word ethelothrēskia (self-made religion or will-worship) is used only here in the NT and carries the sense of a devotion invented by human will rather than ordered by divine revelation. The phrase severity to the body (apheidiā tou sōmatos) evokes harsh ascetic practices — fasting, dietary restrictions, sleep deprivation — that confer the appearance of spiritual advancement while leaving the underlying desires untouched. Paul's point is the futility of external regulation as a means of genuine moral transformation: only union with Christ's death and resurrection, developed in chapters 2 and 3, addresses sin at its root. The verse closes the polemical section of the letter and transitions to the positive ethics of chapter 3, grounded not in prohibition but in having died and risen with Christ.
Church Fathers on Colossians 2:23
“Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.” “Show,” he says; not power, not truth. So that even though they have a show of wisdom, let us turn away from them. For he may seem to be a religious person, and modest, and to have a contempt for the body. “Not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.” For God has given it honor, but they use it not with…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!