In 2:8, 18, and 20, Paul mentions a number of matters: philosophy, tradition, elements of the world, humility, angel worship, and ordinances. Actually, all these items can be summed up in one word—culture. Philosophy is one of the highest products of man’s culture. Tradition also is related to culture. In fact, tradition comes from culture, and culture is embodied in tradition. If there is no culture, there is no tradition; and if there is no tradition, there can be no culture. Furthermore, the elements of the world, which are rudimentary principles of basic teachings, are also aspects of culture. Humility is a virtue found among the most cultured of people. The more refined and cultured a person is, the more humble he is. But the more uncultured and barbarous a person is, the less humble he is. Thus, humility is intimately related to cultural refinement. Furthermore, the worship of angels is found among people of high culture. Those with a rather low culture may worship beasts, but those who are more highly cultured may worship angels. The worship of angels is actually a refined form of idolatry, a practice still to be found in today’s Catholicism. Some people may even justify the worship of angels by arguing that it is better than the worship of animals. Finally, man’s ordinances are related to his culture. Ordinances are rules related to our way of living. For example, table manners are ordinances. The more cultured people are, the more ordinances they have. The more cultured a person is, the more he will say, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.”
Although the word culture is not found in Colossians, actually this book was written to deal with culture, a real enemy to our experience and enjoyment of Christ. All people appreciate their culture and value it. For this reason, it is a hindrance to the experience of Christ.
In the section of Colossians dealing with the practical experience of Christ, Paul lists many things that frustrate this experience. The items mentioned in Colossians are very different from those listed in 1 Corinthians, where Paul deals with division, jealousy, fornication, and lawsuits. In Galatians Paul deals with the law as a frustration to the experience of Christ. But in Colossians he comes to the deeply hidden and subtle matter of culture. Christians condemn fornication and divisiveness and for the most part realize that the law is over. But who repudiates culture as a hindrance to the enjoyment of Christ? Even among us there are very few who condemn culture for this reason.
The church in Colosse had been invaded by a mixture of Jewish and Greek culture. Elements of Gnosticism and asceticism had made inroads into the church life. Both Gnosticism and asceticism are products of highly-developed cultures. Those who practice asceticism, the severe treatment of the body, are usually refined, cultured people.
We need to keep in mind that the book of Colossians was written not to deal with sin or the law, but to deal with culture. The Christ revealed in Colossians cannot be experienced unless the cultural hindrances have been exposed and dealt with. We may hold on to our culture and experience the Christ revealed in other New Testament books. But the experience of the all-inclusive Christ unfolded in Colossians requires that we repudiate the frustration presented by our culture.
In Colossians Paul first presents the objective revelation and then the subjective ministry. Coming to the practical experience of Christ in chapter two, he points out that the most subtle hindrance to the enjoyment of Christ is our culture. Concerning the objective revelation of Christ, the book of Colossians gives us the highest revelation. In the same principle, concerning the practical experience of Christ, this book points out the most subtle frustration. May we all be impressed with the fact that if we would have the practical experience of the all-inclusive Christ, we must deal with our culture.
Some of those who see the importance of laying aside culture may claim that they have already done so. The American saints may claim to have dropped their American culture, and the Chinese believers may claim to have dropped their Chinese culture. Nevertheless, they may not have dropped their self-made culture, the culture they themselves have developed. Actually, by dropping our culture we may simply devise another culture—a culture-dropping culture. In such a case, we replace our culture, not with Christ, but with a non-culture culture. The crucial point is not that we drop our culture—it is that we live Christ. The issue is not culture versus no culture; it is culture versus Christ. We need to care for Christ and live by Him. Therefore, the important thing is not that we attempt to drop our culture negatively; it is that we live Christ positively.
Children must be raised according to certain cultural standards. Otherwise, they will be wild and unruly. It is a serious mistake for Christian parents to tell their children that they do not need culture, but only need to enjoy Christ. Children need culture until they are old enough to experience Christ and live by Him. Anyone who has not received Christ must have culture in order to live properly. Today’s society needs culture. The more cultured people are, the less they need to be controlled by the police or by the law court. I wish to make it emphatically clear that I am not saying that we should merely drop our culture. Instead of trying to lay aside culture, we should concentrate on gaining Christ. The more we have of Christ, the less we shall need to live by culture.
Actually, everything we have apart from Christ is some form of culture. For example, to eat with a knife and fork is a matter of culture, and to eat with chopsticks is also a matter of culture. We all have our own kind of self-made and self-imposed culture. This means that we all have our particular way to live. You live according to your way, and I live according to mine. To live according to our way is to live according to our culture. As we have pointed out, this is the greatest frustration to the enjoyment of Christ and its ultimate enemy. Therefore, let us care more and more for the experience of Christ and for living Christ in a practical way day by day.