Col 2:18 Let no one defraud you by judging you unworthy of your prize, in self-chosen lowliness and the worship of the angels, dwelling on the things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by his mind set on the flesh, (19) And not holding the Head [Christ]...
In Colossians...of all the negative things that [Paul] deals with, one stands out as especially serious--the worship of angels, which is a form of idolatry. To worship anything other than God, including such creatures as angels, is idolatry. Nevertheless, because they regarded themselves and others as being unworthy to contact God directly, certain heretical teachers in Colosse advocated angel worship. They taught that God is very high and that we are very low, that God is glorious and that man is corrupt. Therefore, according to their heretical teaching, we could not be worthy to contact God directly. According to them, we must have some kind of intermediary. These teachers said that the angels are the intermediaries between us and God. This was the concept behind the angel worship that had invaded the church in Colosse. Some thought it was a sign of humility to believe that they were not worthy to worship God directly. The heretical teachers encouraged the saints to show humility by following this way of worship. It seems as if these teachers were telling those in Colosse, "You shouldn't be so proud as to think that you can go directly to God. You must humble yourselves and recognize your need of angels to serve as intermediaries between you and God." Paul was fighting against such a concept when he said, "Let no one purposely defraud you of your prize, in humility and worship of the angels" (2:18). We should not be carried away by someone's humility or by a teaching regarding angel worship.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 63-64. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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