Is Christ Enough for You?

In the letter he wrote to the Colossians, Paul had to deal with a false teaching that scholars often refer to as “the heresy of Colossae.” This designation is due to the unique character of the teaching and the fact that it seems to have flourished only in that region. It was a combination of Jewish elements with ascetic and mystical practices—all connected by an incipient Gnosticism. Its supporters had managed to infiltrate the Christian churches in Colossae and probably churches of other cities located in the Lycus River Valley as well. We have no evidence that this sect settled in other places.

It seems that the appeal of this dangerous sect to the Christians was the promise made of fullness, perfection, and satisfaction in God by a certain knowledge (gnōsis) that had not been previously revealed by the ministry of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. This gnōsis involved Jewish practices such as circumcision, their dietary laws and their religious calendar, together with ascetic practices and mystical worship based on contact with the angels. We can deduce that the Christians at Colossae had begun to listen to the proponents of these ideas. Paul writes this letter in order to prevent them from fully adopting these teachings. Read More