Summary:
Paul tells the believers not to let anyone judge them by outward religious matters such as food, drink, festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths. These things are described as only a shadow of what was to come, while the true substance belongs to Christ.
He also warns them not to let anyone disqualify them by promoting self-made humility, the worship of angels, or claims based on visions. Such a person becomes inflated by a fleshly mind and is not holding firmly to the Head.
Christ is the Head, and from Him the whole body is supplied and held together through its joints and ligaments. As the body remains connected to Him, it grows with the growth that comes from God. The passage contrasts human religious judgment and false spiritual claims with the true life and growth that come only from holding fast to Christ.
Teaching:
Our Lord Jesus is the head of the Church, and He is also our head. Therefore, we must focus only on Jesus and focus on the Word.
When we receive the words spoken by Jesus, who is the Head, and act according to those words, God causes us to grow—and that is how we grow. It is not that we grow by ourselves; we grow when God causes us to grow. Therefore, we should not be fixated on the festivals of the Law, or on matters of eating and drinking.
When each of us lives by receiving the Word that comes from Christ, and when each church faithfully proclaims and receives the words spoken by Christ and lives by faith, then we all become united as one. There is no other way.
When we are united in this way, God causes us to grow.
Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, June 15, 2026
Colossians 2:16-19