From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Since the earliest days of the church, Satan has often attacked the Christian individually, and the church as a body, in three specific ways. In Colossians two, Paul defends the preeminence of Christ against Satan's onslaughts.

In Colossians chapter one, the Apostle Paul declares the tremendous fact of the preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ over all things. In chapter two, Paul focuses our attention on three particular threats which Satan has always used to attempt to lead the Church away from the preeminence of Christ. Satan used these things in Colosse, and he uses them today.

Satan hates the preeminence of Christ. Satan, or Lucifer, the great angel created by God, was banished from Heaven because he sought to exalt himself above Christ. Satan desired to have the preeminence in Heaven. Throughout the centuries of history since he fell, Satan has desired to have the preeminence on Earth. And so, Satan seeks to undermine and destroy the life and testimony of the Christian as an individual, and the life and testimony of the Church as a body. Satan does this by seeking to undermine the preeminence of Christ. And so, Paul defends the preeminence of Christ in chapter two by invalidating these three devices of Satan.

Worldly Philosophy

First, in Colossians 2:1-10, Paul defends the preeminence of Christ against the evil of worldly philosophy. Pagan philosophy was a threat to the Church in the time of the Colossians, and pagan philosophy is just as much of a threat to the Church today. What do we find in much of the church today? We find man's word, man's wisdom, man's methods, and man's idols, being promoted in place of Christ's Word, Christ's wisdom, and Christ's ordained methods. In so doing, man puts himself in the rightful place of Jesus Christ. Truly, in these ways sinful man exalts himself above Christ. Because Jesus Christ is and must be preeminent in His true Church, there is no place, no room, for worldly philosophy in His true Church.

Legalism

Secondly, in Colossians 2:11-17, Paul defends the preeminence of Christ against the evil of legalism. In the time of the Colossians, there were those who wanted to drag the church back under the burdens of the Law. Many people in the church want to do that today.

Those who would do this want to effectively deny that Christ has put the requirements of the Law to death. Paul declares that Christ has nailed the requirements of the Law to the Cross, because He has fulfilled those requirements on our behalf, and He has atoned for our repeated and continual violations of His Law. Just as there is no room for worldly philosophy in Christ's true Church, there is no place for legalism in Christ's true church.

Man-Made Doctrines

Thirdly, in Colossians 2:18-23, Paul defends the preeminence of Christ against the evil of man-made doctrines. Once again, this is a manifestation of the problem of sinful man exalting himself above the perfect Christ. Satan incites man to establish his own counterfeit authority in place of Christ's rightful authority and headship over the Church. Satan incites man to establish himself as a counterfeit mediator in place of the one true Mediator between God and man. And, Satan incites sinful man to establish counterfeit worship in place of the true worship of Christ in spirit and in truth, and in the beauty of holiness.

Just as there is no place for worldly philosophy in Christ's true Church, just as there is no place for legalism, likewise there is no place for man-made doctrines in Christ's true Church. The preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ is absolute. It is all-encompassing.

No Dark Corners

There is no dark corner of Christ's universe, no dark corner of the human heart, and no dark corner of Christ's true Church, in which any man or angel has the right to assert preeminence. All things must be yielded up to the preeminence of Christ. All must be exposed to and judged by the light of the One who is the Truth:

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. (John 3:18-21)

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