Are You Being Defrauded?

MARTIN CAREY

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him” (Colossians 2:8-10).

Do you sometimes worry that you aren’t fully protected from the power of Satan and his evil angels? When sudden trouble comes, when we feel discouraged by hardship, when people say and do terrible things to us, we might think that the dark powers have greater power in our lives than God’s power. We know that Jesus promised we would find trouble in the world, and to take courage, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). And yet, when trouble really frightens us and wreaks havoc, we are tempted to doubt God’s power to do good for us. When evil seems stronger, we are tempted to look for superior wisdom and stronger spiritual techniques to defeat the powers of evil. Here there is real danger. 

Doubting God’s power over our lives is an ancient spiritual battle, as we can see in Paul’s letter to the Colossian Christians. They were being victimized by false teachers who were subtly undermining their faith in Christ by introducing an attractive philosophy and lifestyle. Their teachings would supposedly give these vulnerable Christians greater power over evil and bad fate. Paul warns them that the false teaching would only enslave them and weaken their faith. Colossians has a very timely message for Christians today, and especially for those of us with an Adventist background. The Colossian heresy has many striking similarities to what we were taught in Adventism. We have been forewarned, so let’s look closer.

Firstly, Paul tells them to make sure that they are not “taken captive through philosophy and empty deception.” The Greek expression used here, philosophias, means the love of wisdom and knowledge (NASB Lexicon). Paul warns them, and us, to make sure we are not carried away as plunder by the enemy who uses clever philosophy that is only an empty deception. 

…the false teachers were presenting ideas that were based on man-made traditions and the “elemental spirits” of the world.

Secondly, the false teachers were presenting ideas that were based on man-made traditions and the “elemental spirits” of the world. These elemental spirits, or elemental principles, are not just philosophical abstract ideas about the physical elements of the universe. These were the “stoicheia,” the ruling spirits that represent the four basic elements, earth, wind, fire, and water, powers that supposedly ruled one’s fate. The Colossians were afraid of these elemental powers that could either bring disaster on their lives, such as earthquakes and sickness, or bring blessings and prosperity. The false teachers were telling them they needed to focus their spiritual efforts on protecting themselves against the terrible powers of the stoicheia (Bob DeWaay, Colossian Heresy Part 1, citing Clinton Arnold, The Colossian Syncretism—The Interface between Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae, 1996). 

The false teachers played upon the Colossians’ fears and inadequacies. “You are sick because of the stoicheia! They have power over your life, so you need stronger spiritual powers to combat those evil powers,” the false teachers could have said. The Colossians’ faith in Jesus was portrayed as nice, but not enough. They were simplistic and naïve, the teachers said, because obviously, the they still had trouble in their lives. The Colossian heresy was, as Clinton Arnold points out, a syncretism of various elements, including Jewish laws and pagan magical practices from Greek and local folk religions. 

Arnold found that the names of Jewish angels were written on pagan amulets, used to ward off evil or bring good fortune (DeWaay, ibid). There was such a great interest in angels because angels were summoned to protect them from the evil stoicheia. Trusting in Jesus wasn’t enough, they said; He was far away. You needed the help of angels that were close by to help with specific problems. But why turn to angels when Christ is sufficient, Paul asks them? Christ is so much greater than angels:

“In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him.”

But the Colossians weren’t satisfied with the gospel’s promise. They wanted to improve their lives by battling evil directly and climbing higher on the spiritual ladder. The practices of the false teachers included regulations about certain food and drink to avoid, keeping Sabbath days, and strict ascetic practices with many rules regulating their behavior. Paul’s message must have startled the Colossians who thought they were following a higher spiritual path. Instead of warding off the evil powers of the stoicheia, Paul warned them they were inviting them into their lives. Their strict religious practices were actually the deceptive spiritual teachings of demons. Interestingly, as Paul showed the Galatians, following the pagan elemental spirit teachings, and keeping the Mosaic laws of diet and holy days, was a return to idol worship:

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years” (Galatians 4:8-10)!

Like the Galatians, the Colossians were about to place themselves back under the same powers they had escaped (Galatians 4:1-4). They had been trusting in Jesus and His finished work alone. Now they were been seduced by “doctrines of demons” with the ascetic dietary restrictions (1Timothy 4:1-5). How could they return to those elemental spirits with their weak and worthless teachings? Paul asks them,

“If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings” (Colossians 2:20-22)?

Like the Colossians, we also have tried to ward off the power of Satan and his angels by regulating our diets, and by trying to practice the thousands of Ellen White “counsels” and regulations. We had also hoped to reach a higher spiritual plane, live more in tune with the Spirit, and have  mental powers capable of fighting off Satan’s temptations. Adventists think a great deal about angels, both good and evil, and ascribe a great deal of power and significance to their powers. The White Estate has a collection of EGW quotes, The Truth About Angels, that goes into great detail about how central to salvation the angels are. She portrays angels as the intermediaries, or dangerous obstacles, between us and Christ. 

The common theme of all these false teachers is to elevate human spiritual achievements and to diminish the sufficiency of Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

The false teachers of Colossae also claimed great authority because of their visions and messages from their encounters with angels. This was very convincing for the young church members there. We find the same methods of deception have been used by many modern-day prophets, such as Joseph Smith and Ellen White. They also began their cults with visions and encounters with angels. The common theme of all these false teachers is to elevate human spiritual achievements and to diminish the sufficiency of Jesus and His finished work on the cross. They played on our guilt and inadequacies, our fears of sickness and death, and our desire to elevate ourselves over others.   

Staying focused on the gospel, what Jesus has done by his life, death, and resurrection, gives us all the life and power we need. Jesus is enough, as weak and childlike as that may sound to us. When fighting evil powers is the center of our spiritual life, we not only set aside the gospel by which we are saved, but we can be following the teachings of the dark side. The demons love all the negative attention they are given, for it means we are not staying focused on Christ, what He has done, and is doing now for us.

The good news is, we can be released from Satanic power forever:

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14).

There is nothing more essential to our future than being delivered from the wrath of God, which is far greater and more fearsome to any scary thing that Satan or his demons can do. When we trust in Jesus and His finished work on earth, all our debt to God is canceled, and the Satanic realm has no more claim on us (Col. 2:13-14). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) Satan was openly defeated and humiliated at the cross of Christ. He can tempt and harass, but his power is broken. All his desperate activities on earth can only bring on Christ’s inevitable victory.

So, when someone tells you that your faith in Jesus’ blood and sacrifice is not sufficient, claims to have special revelations directly from God, and tries to sell a set of regulations to you to reach the higher life, remember that in Christ alone our hope is found. He will never deceive us.

“Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head” (Colossians 2:18,19a). †

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Martin Carey

Martin Carey is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who lives in Southern California. Raised Adventist and a product of Adventist schools, he often struggled with agnosticism. He and his wife came to life in 2006. He is married to Sharon and they have two sons, Nick and Matthew. They live with joyful but messy lives with Beethoven's music and several rescued animals.

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