Do not let anyone who delights in false humilityThis phrase warns against individuals who exhibit a form of humility that is not genuine. In the context of the early church, some individuals practiced asceticism, believing that self-denial and extreme humility would bring them closer to God. However, this false humility was often a facade for spiritual pride. The Bible frequently warns against outward displays of piety that do not reflect the heart (
Matthew 6:1-18). True humility is a fruit of the Spirit (
Galatians 5:22-23) and is characterized by a sincere dependence on God.
and the worship of angels
The worship of angels was a heretical practice that infiltrated the Colossian church. This practice may have been influenced by local pagan religions or a misunderstanding of Jewish traditions, where angels were sometimes revered as messengers of God. However, Scripture is clear that worship is due to God alone (Revelation 19:10, 22:8-9). The elevation of angels to a status of worship detracts from the supremacy of Christ, who is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10).
disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen
The term "disqualify" suggests being judged unworthy or losing a reward. In the context of the Colossian church, some individuals claimed special visions or mystical experiences as a basis for spiritual authority. These claims were speculative and not grounded in the truth of the Gospel. The Bible cautions against relying on personal revelations that contradict Scripture (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). True spiritual insight comes from the Holy Spirit and aligns with God's Word (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).
Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind
This phrase describes the arrogance and pride of those who rely on their own understanding rather than the wisdom of God. The term "puffed up" indicates an inflated sense of self-importance, which is condemned throughout Scripture (Proverbs 16:18,1 Corinthians 8:1). An "unspiritual mind" refers to a mindset that is not led by the Holy Spirit.Romans 8:5-8 contrasts the mind governed by the flesh with the mind governed by the Spirit, emphasizing the importance of spiritual discernment and humility before God.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Paul the ApostleThe author of the letter to the Colossians, addressing the church in Colossae with guidance and warnings against false teachings.
2.
ColossaeAn ancient city in Phrygia, Asia Minor, where the church was facing challenges from false teachings and philosophies.
3.
False TeachersIndividuals promoting ascetic practices, false humility, and the worship of angels, leading believers away from the truth of the Gospel.
Teaching Points
Guard Against False HumilityTrue humility is rooted in Christ, not in self-imposed practices or asceticism. Evaluate your motivations and ensure they align with the Gospel.
Reject Angel WorshipWorship is due to God alone. Understand the biblical role of angels and avoid elevating them to a place of worship.
Discern Spiritual ExperiencesBe cautious of those who claim special visions or revelations that contradict Scripture. Test all things against the Word of God.
Stay Grounded in ChristFocus on the sufficiency of Christ and His work on the cross. Do not be swayed by teachings that add to or take away from the Gospel.
Cultivate a Spiritual MindDevelop a mind that is rooted in the Spirit, not in unspiritual or fleshly thinking. Seek wisdom and understanding through prayer and study of the Scriptures.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Colossians 2:18?
2.How can we avoid being "disqualified" by false humility and angel worship?
3.What does Colossians 2:18 teach about the dangers of false spiritual practices?
4.How does Colossians 2:18 connect with warnings against idolatry in Exodus 20:3-4?
5.In what ways can we ensure our spiritual practices align with biblical teachings?
6.How can we discern genuine humility from false humility in our faith journey?
7.What does Colossians 2:18 mean by "delighting in false humility and the worship of angels"?
8.How does Colossians 2:18 warn against being disqualified by others' spiritual experiences?
9.What historical context influenced Paul's message in Colossians 2:18?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Colossians 2?
11.What defines false humility?
12.What defines false humility?
13.What is the Colossian Heresy?
14.What is the Colossian Heresy?What Does Colossians 2:18 Mean
Do not let anyonePaul starts with a gentle but firm guardrail: “Don’t hand over your spiritual steering wheel.”
• The wording assumes believers have authority, in Christ, to refuse misleading voices (Galatians 5:1;1 Corinthians 16:13).
• We are accountable before God for what we entertain (Proverbs 4:23).
• No matter how persuasive the teacher, Christ alone is Head (Colossians 1:18).
who delights in false humility and the worship of angelsThe troublemakers wore a mask of modesty while promoting forbidden devotion.
• “False humility” looks meek but actually centers on self (Matthew 6:1–2).
• Angel-worship shifts awe from the Creator to creatures; even angels reject it (Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9).
• Behind the façade is deception “taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1), echoing Satan’s old strategy of redirecting worship (Isaiah 14:13-14).
disqualify youThe danger is loss of reward, not loss of salvation—like an athlete bumped from the podium (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2John 8).
• The term pictures an umpire ruling against a contestant; Paul urges believers not to accept that illegitimate verdict.
• Christ already “qualified” us (Colossians 1:12); no human can overrule His grace (Romans 8:33).
with speculation about what he has seenThe false teacher traded in unverifiable visions.
• Scripture warns against “visions of their own minds” (Jeremiah 23:16) and “myths and endless genealogies” (1 Timothy 1:3-4).
• Genuine revelation anchors in the historic gospel, not private experiences (2 Peter 1:16-19).
• When someone’s authority rests on mystical tales rather than the written Word, alarm bells should ring (Acts 17:11).
Such a person is puffed upSpiritual showmanship breeds pride.
• Knowledge that exalts self “puffs up” (1 Corinthians 8:1); love that serves builds up.
• Pride precedes downfall (Proverbs 16:18); God “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
• Ironically, the supposed “humility” is only a balloon of ego.
without basis by his unspiritual mindThe root problem is a mind unchanged by the Spirit.
• “The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
• An “unspiritual” mindset seeks wisdom apart from Christ, leading to division (Jude 19) and death (Romans 8:6).
• Every idea must be tested against Scripture, breathed out by the Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
summaryColossians 2:18 warns believers not to surrender their freedom in Christ to charismatic figures who parade faux humility, angelic fascination, and visionary claims. Such teachers lack Spirit-wrought understanding, are inflated with pride, and threaten to rob Christians of joy and reward. Stand firm, measure every message by the Word, and keep worship centered on the all-sufficient, preeminent Christ.
(18)
Beguile you of your reward.--The original is a word used, almost technically, for an unfair judgment in the stadium, robbing the victor of his prize. The prize here (as in
1Corinthians 9:24;
Philippians 3:14) is the heavenly reward of the Christian course. In St. Paul's exhortation there seems to be a reference back to
Colossians 2:16. There he says, "Let no man arrogate judgment over you;" here, "Let no man use that arrogated judgment so as to cheat you of your prize. There is one Judge, who has right and who is righteous; look to Him alone."
In a voluntary humility and worship.--This rendering seems virtually correct, though other renderings are proposed. The original is,willing in humility and worship,and the phrase "willing in" is often used in the LXX. for "delighting in." Other translations are here possible, though not without some harshness. But the true sense is shown beyond all doubt to be that given in our version, by the words used below to describe the same process, "will-worship and humility."
In this passage alone in the New Testament "humility "is spoken of with something of the condemnation accorded to it in heathen morality. The reason of this is obvious and instructive. Humility is a grace, of which the very essence is unconsciousness, and which, being itself negative, cannot live, except by resting on some more positive quality, such as faith or love. Whenever it is consciously cultivated and "delighted in, "it loses all its grace; it becomes either unreal, "the pride that apes humility," or it turns to abject slavishness and meanness. Of such depravations Church history is unhappily full.
Worshipping of angels.--This is closely connected with the "voluntary humility" above. The link of connection is supplied by the notice in the ancient interpreters, of the early growth of that unhappy idea, which has always lain at the root of saint-worship and angel-worship in the Church--"that we must be brought near by angels and not by Christ, for that were too high a thing for us" (Chrysostom). With this passage it is obvious to connect the emphasis laid (in Hebrews 1, 2) on the absolute superiority of our Lord to all angels, who are but "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who are heirs of salvation;" and the prohibition of angel-worship inRevelation 22:9, "See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant . . . worship God." . . .
Verse 18. -
Let no one defraud you of your prize (
Colossians 1:5, 23;
Colossians 3:15;
Philippians 3:14;
Galatians 5:7;
1 Corinthians 9:24-27;
2 Timothy 4:7, 8;
James 1:12;
1 Peter 5:4;
Revelation 2:10;
Revelation 3:11). These eight words represent but three in the Greek. (On
καταβραβεύω, see Meyer's elaborate note.)
Βραβούω is used again in
Colossians 3:15 (see note), meaning primarily" to act as
βραβεύς," arbiter of the prize in the public games;
βραβεῖον,
the prize, is also figuratively used in
Philippians 3:14, and literally in
1 Corinthians 9:24, and is synonymous with the "crown" of other passages.
Κατὰ gives the verb a hostile sense; and the present tense, as in vers. 4, 8, 16, 20, implies a continued attempt.
Let no one be acting the umpire against you, is the literal sense. The errorist condemns the Colossian Christian for his neglect of Jewish observances (ver. 16), and warns him that in his present state he will
miss the heavenly prize, "the hope" he had supposed to be "in store for him in heaven" (ver. 5: comp. notes on Colossians 1:5 and Colossians 3:15; also
Ephesians 1:13, 14).
Delighting in lowliness of mind and worship of the angels (ver. 23;
Revelation 19:10;
Revelation 22:8, 9;
Judges 13:17, 18). By these means the false teacher impressed his disciples. His angel worship commended itself as the mark of a devout and humble mind, reverent towards the unseen powers above us, and made purely
Christian worship seem insufficient. "Delighting in" is the rendering of
θέλωνἐν given by Bengel, Hofmann, Lightfoot, Klopper, and is preferable to that of Meyer and Ellicott, who, with several Greek interpreters, supply the sense of the previous verb "desiring (to do so) in lowliness etc.; and to that followed in the Revisers' margin,which puts a sort of adverbial sense on
θέλων - "of his mere will, by humility," etc. This latter rendering underlies the paraphrastic" voluntary humility" of the A.V., and agrees with the common interpretation of
ἐθελοθρησκεία in ver. 23 (see note).
Θέλων ἐν is, no doubt, a marked Hebraism, and St. Paul's language is "singularly free from Hebraisms" (compare, however, the use of
εἰδέναιto know, in
1 Thessalonians 5:12; the similar
εὐδοκέω ἐν is well established,
1 Corinthians 10:5;
2 Corinthians 12:10;
2 Thessalonians 2:12). This very idiom is frequently used in the LXX, and occurs in the 'Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs,' a Christian writing, of the second century. The apostle may surely be allowed occasionally to have used a Hebraistic phrase, especially when so convenient and expressive as this. Westcott and Hort, with scrupulous purism, mark the reading on this account as doubtful.
Ταπεινοφροσύνη ("lowliness of mind"), a word, perhaps, compounded by St. Paul himself (see Trench's 'Synonyms'), is almost confined to the Epistles of this group (comp. ver. 23;
Colossians 3:12;
Ephesians 4:2;
Philippians 2:3; also
Acts 20:19;
1 Peter 5:5). This quality is ascribed
ironically to the false teacher (compare the "puffed up" of the next clause, and for similar irony see
1 Corinthians 8:1, 2;
Galatians 4:17).
Θρησκεία is "outward worship" or "devotion:" comp. note on ver. 23; elsewhere in New Testament only in
Acts 26:5 and
James 1:26, 27 (see Trench's 'Synonyms'). "Worship of the angels" is that
paid to the angels; not "offered by them," as Luther and Hofmann interpret, supposing that the errorists pretended to imitate the worship of heaven.
Investigating (or,
dwelling on)
the things which he hath seen'! vainly - being puffed up by 'the reason' of his flesh (
2 Corinthians 12:l, 7;
1 Corinthians 8:1;
1 Timothy 6:3-5;
2 Peter 2:18;
Jude 1:16). For
ἐμβατεύων, we adopt the sense which it bears in 2 Macc. 2:30; in Philo, 'On the Planting of Noah,' § 19. and in patristic and later Greek generally, viz. "to search into," "examine," "discuss" (see Suicer's 'Thesaurus'). The rendering "proceeding" or "dwelling on," though near the radical sense of the word ("to step on" or "in"), wants lexical support. The same may be said of the rendering "intruding into," which suits the Received reading, "which he hath
not seen." The "not" of the relative clause is wanting in nearly all our eldest and best witnesses, and is cancelled by the Revisers, with Tregelles, Tischendorf, Lightfoot, Westcott and Hort, etc. Its appearance in two different forms (
οὐχ and
μὴ) in the documents that present it, makes it still more certain that it is a copyist's insertion. The common reading gives, after all, an unsatisfactory sense; it is not likely the apostle would blame the errorist simply for entering into things beyond his sight (comp.
2 Corinthians 4:18;
2 Corinthians 5:7). Meyer, after Steiger and Huther, gives the best explanation of "which he hath seen," supposing the writer to allude ironically to
pretended visions of angels or of the spiritual world, by which the false teacher sought to impose on the Colossians. This view is suggested by Tertullian in the passage cited under ver. 16. Such visions would be suitable for the purpose of the errorist, and congenial to the Phrygian temperament, with its tendency to mysticism and ecstasy (see Theodoret, quoted under ver. 15, who also says that
angel worship was specially forbidden by the Council of Laodicea, A.n. 364). If the false teacher were accustomed to say with an imposing air, "I have seen, ah! I have seen!" in referring to his revelations, the apostle's allusion would be obvious and telling. The language of
2 Corinthians 12:1 (R.V.) suggests a similar reliance on supernatural visions on the part of the apostle's earlier opponents. This pretentious visionary is, however, a "philosopher" and a "reasoner" first of all (vers. 4, 8). Accordingly he
investigates what he has seen; inquires into the import of his visions, rationally develops their principles, and deduces their consequences. So far, the apostle continues in the ironical vein in which the first words of the verse are written, setting forth the pretensions of his opponent in his own terms, his irony "restraining itself till, after the word
ἐμβατεύων, the indignation of truth breaks forth from it" (Steiger) in the caustic and decisive "vainly."
Αἰκῆ qualifies the foregoing participle (so Origen, apparently, in Cramer's 'Catena,' vol. 4. p. 69; Steiger, De Wette, Hofmann, Conybeare) more suitably than the following. Thus it signifies "idly," "to no purpose," as everywhere else in St. Paul (
Romans 13:4;
1 Corinthians 15:2;
Galatians 3:4;
Galatians 4:11); not "without cause," as joined to
φυσιούμενος ("puffed up"), whose 'force it could only weaken. "Vainly" stigmatizes the futility, "puffed up" the conceit, and "by the reason of his flesh" the low and sensuous origin of these vaunted revelations and of the high-flown theosophy which they were used to support. (For the sarcastic force of "puffed up," comp.
1 Corinthians 4:6, 19;
1 Corinthians 5:2;
1 Corinthians 8:1;
1 Corinthians 13:4). The "reason" (
νοῦς) is, in Greek philosophy, the philosophical faculty, the power of supersensible intuition; and in Plato and Philo, the organ of the higher, mystical knowledge of Divine things (see Philo, 'Who is Heir of Divine Things?' §§ 13, 20, and
passim). The Colossian "philosopher" (ver. 8) would, we may imagine, speak of himself as "borne aloft" in his visions "by heavenly reason," "lifted high in angelical communion," or the like. Hence the apostle's sarcasm, "Exalted are they? say rather,
inflated: lifted high by Divine reason? nay, but
swollen high by the reason of their flesh." Some such allusion to the language of the errorists best accounts for the paradoxical
νοῦς τῆς σαρκός (see Lightfoot); contrast with
Romans 7:25, and compare the disparaging reference to
διανοία,
Colossians 1:21 (note). Difficult as this passage is, we hesitate to follow Lightfoot, and Westcott and Herr, who have given their weighty sanction to the perilous remedy of
conjectural emendations; the latter editors for the second Line in this verse, and again in ver. 23. The line of interpretation here adopted is advocated in the
Expositor, first series, vol. 11. pp. 385-398.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
[Do not let anyone]μηδεὶς(mēdeis)Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3367:No one, none, nothing.who delightsθέλων(thelōn)Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2309:To will, wish, desire, be willing, intend, design.inἐν(en)Preposition
Strong's 1722:In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.[false] humilityταπεινοφροσύνῃ(tapeinophrosynē)Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5012:Humility, lowliness of mind, modesty. From a compound of tapeinos and the base of phren; humiliation of mind, i.e. Modesty.andκαὶ(kai)Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.[the] worshipθρησκείᾳ(thrēskeia)Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2356:From a derivative of threskos; ceremonial observance.of angelsἀγγέλων(angelōn)Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 32:From aggello; a messenger; especially an 'angel'; by implication, a pastor.disqualifyκαταβραβευέτω(katabrabeuetō)Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2603:From kata and brabeuo; to award the price against, i.e. to defraud.youὑμᾶς(hymas)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.with speculation aboutἐμβατεύων(embateuōn)Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1687:From en and a presumed derivative of the base of basis; equivalent to embaino; to intrude on.whatἃ(ha)Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3739:Who, which, what, that.he has seen.ἑόρακεν(heoraken)Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3708:Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.[Such a man] is puffed upφυσιούμενος(physioumenos)Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5448:From phusis in the primary sense of blowing; to inflate, i.e. make proud.without basisεἰκῇ(eikē)Adverb
Strong's 1500:Without a cause, purpose; purposelessly, in vain, for nothing. Probably from eiko; idly, i.e. Without reason.byὑπὸ(hypo)Preposition
Strong's 5259:A primary preposition; under, i.e. of place, or with verbs; of place (underneath) or where (below) or time (when).hisαὐτοῦ(autou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.unspiritualσαρκὸς(sarkos)Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4561:Flesh, body, human nature, materiality; kindred.mind,νοὸς(noos)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 3563:Probably from the base of ginosko; the intellect, i.e. Mind; by implication, meaning.
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NT Letters: Colossians 2:18 Let no one rob you of your (Coloss. Col Co) 
