Colossians 2:14

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Colossians 2:13-15

The apostle here represents the privileges we Christians have above the Jews, which are very great. I. Christ's death is our life: And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, Col. 2:13. A state of sin is a state of spiritual death. Those who are in sin are dead in sin. As the death of the body consists in its separation from the soul, so the death of the soul consists in its separation from God and the divine favour. As the death... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Colossians 2:8-23

2:8-23 Beware lest there will be anyone who will carry you off as his spoil, by insisting on the necessity of a so-called philosophy, which is, in fact, an empty delusion, a philosophy which has been handed down by human tradition, and which is concerned with the elements of this world, and not with Christ; for in him there dwells the fullness of the divine nature; and you have found this fullness in him who is the head of every power and authority. In him you have been circumcised with a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Colossians 2:14

Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances ,.... Various are the senses interpreters give of these words; some think by the handwriting is meant the covenant God made with Adam, Genesis 2:17 , which being broken, obliged him and all his posterity to the penalty of death, but is cancelled and abolished by Christ; others, the agreement which the Israelites made with God at Mount Sinai, when they said, "all that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient", Exodus 24:7 ; which was as it... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Colossians 2:14

Blotting out the hand-writing of ordinances - By the hand-writing of ordinances the apostle most evidently means the ceremonial law: this was against them, for they were bound to fulfill it; and it was contrary to them, as condemning them for their neglect and transgression of it. This law God himself has blotted out. Blotting out the hand-writing is probably an allusion to Numbers 5:23 , where the curses written in the book, in the case of the woman suspected of adultery, are directed... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Colossians 2:14

Verse 14 14.Having blotted out the hand-writing which was against us. He now contends with the false apostles in close combat. For this was the main point in question, — whether the observance of ceremonies was necessary under the reign of Christ? Now Paul contends that ceremonies have been abolished, and to prove this he compares them to a hand-writing, by which God holds us as it were bound, that we may not be able to deny our guilt. He now says, that we have been freed from condemnation, in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 2:8-15

SECTION V. THE CHRISTIAN 'S COMPLETENESS IN CHRIST . The apostle has first defined his own doctrinal position in the theological deliverance of Colossians 1:15-20 , and has then skilfully brought himself into suitable personal relations with his readers by the statements and appeals of Col 1:23-2:7. And now, after a general indication in Colossians 2:4 of the direction in which he is about to strike, he unmasks the battery he has been all the while preparing, and delivers his ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 2:8-15

Christ our All. Having laid down the truth about the Trinity as the great want of the race, Paul proceeds to warn the Colossians against the so called philosophers. "There are certain men," it has been well observed, "who, because they possess somewhat more learning than others, think, when they become converts to the gospel, that they are great acquisitions to the cause; they officiously extend the shield of their learning over their more unlearned brethren, and try to prove where... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 2:8-15

Philosophy. I. FALSE PHILOSOPHY . "Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit." It was a real danger (as the expression bears) against which the apostle warns the Colossians. He refers indefinitely to the teachers (any one), but he strikingly describes what their work would be. The work of the Christian teachers on them in their heathen state, as described in Colossians 1:13 , Colossians 1:14 , had been a deliverance, a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 2:8-15

The complete man. The one thought around which we may let the many, varied, and some of them strange ideas of this paragraph gather, is the conception of the complete man. The words teach us— I. THAT THE COMPLETE MAN IS NOT LED AWAY BY ERROR IN THOUGHT OR BY EVIL IN LIFE . Any one who is so led is incomplete. And the apostle is here warning his readers to be on their guard, test, having once been emancipated from such captivity, they should be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 2:11-15

Purity, pardon, and victory through Christ. Errors in religion, when taught sincerely, are intended to secure spiritual blessings ( e.g. purity by austerities; peace of conscience and assurance of pardon by confession and priestly absolution). But the truth of our completeness in Christ strikes at the root of all such errors, for it assures us that all the blessings we can need may be gained direct from him. In Colossians 2:10 we learn that the headship of Christ is our guarantee that... read more

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