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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Colossians 2:4–12. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
The apostle cautions the Colossians against deceivers (Col 2:4): And this I say lest any man beguile you with enticing words; and Col 2:8, Lest any man spoil you. He insists so much upon the perfection of Christ and the gospel revelation, to preserve them from the ensnaring insinuations of those who would corrupt their principles. Note, 1. The way in which Satan spoils souls is by beguiling them. He deceives them, and by this means slays them. He is the old serpent who beguiled Eve through his subtlety, Co2 11:3. He could not ruin us if he did not cheat us; and he could not cheat us but by our own fault and folly. 2. Satan's agents, who aim to spoil them, beguile them with enticing words. See the danger of enticing words; how many are ruined by the flattery of those who lie in wait to deceive, and by the false disguises and fair appearances of evil principles and wicked practices. By good words, and fair speeches, they deceive the hearts of the simple, Rom 16:18. "You ought to stand upon your guard against enticing words, and be aware and afraid of those who would entice you to any evil; for that which they aim at is to spoil you." If sinners entice thee, consent thou not, Pro 1:10. Observe,
I.A sovereign antidote against seducers (Col 2:6, Col 2:7):
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him, rooted and built up, etc. Here note,
1.All Christians have, in profession at least, received Jesus Christ the Lord, received him as Christ, the great prophet of the church, anointed by God to reveal his will; as Jesus the great high priest, and Saviour from sin and wrath, by the expiatory sacrifice of himself; and as Lord, or sovereign and king, whom we are to obey and be subject to. - Received him, consented to him, taken him for ours in every relation and every capacity, and for all the purposes and uses of them.
2.The great concern of those who have received Christ is to walk in him - to make their practices conformable to their principles and their conversation agreeable to their engagements. As we have received Christ, or consented to be his, so we must walk with him in our daily course and keep up our communion with him.
3.The more closely we walk with Christ the more we are rooted and established in the faith. A good conversation is the best establishment of a good faith. If we walk in him, we shall be rooted in him; and the more firmly we are rooted in him the more closely we shall walk in him: Rooted and built up. Observe, We cannot be built up in Christ, unless we be first rooted in him. We must be united to him by a lively faith, and heartily consent to his covenant, and then we shall grow up in him in all things. - As you have been taught - "according to the rule of the Christian doctrine, in which you have been instructed." Observe, A good education has a good influence upon our establishment. We must be established in the faith, as we have been taught, abounding therein. Observe, Being established in the faith, we must abound therein, and improve in it more and more; and this with thanksgiving. The way to have the benefit and comfort of God's grace is to be much in giving thanks for it. We must join thanksgiving to all our improvements, and be sensible of the mercy of all our privileges and attainments. Observe,
II.The fair warning given us of our danger:
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ, Col 2:8. There is a philosophy which is a noble exercise of our reasonable faculties, and highly serviceable to religion, such a study of the works of God as leads us to the knowledge of God and confirms our faith in him. But there is a philosophy which is vain and deceitful, which is prejudicial to religion, and sets up the wisdom of man in competition with the wisdom of God, and while it pleases men's fancies ruins their faith; as nice and curious speculations about things above us, or of no use and concern to us; or a care of words and terms of art, which have only an empty and often a cheating appearance of knowledge. After the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world: this plainly reflects upon the Jewish pedagogy or economy, as well as the Pagan learning. The Jews governed themselves by the traditions of their elders and the rudiments or elements of the world, the rites and observances which were only preparatory and introductory to the gospel state; the Gentiles mixed their maxims of philosophy with their Christian principles; and both alienated their minds from Christ. Those who pin their faith on other men's sleeves, and walk in the way of the world, have turned away from following after Christ. The deceivers were especially the Jewish teachers, who endeavoured to keep up the law of Moses in conjunction with the gospel of Christ, but really in competition with it and contradiction to it. Now here the apostle shows,
1.That we have in Christ the substance of all the shadows of the ceremonial law; for example,
(1.)Had they then the Shechinah, or special presence of God, called the glory, from the visible token of it? So have we now in Jesus Christ (Col 2:9): For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Under the law, the presence of God dwelt between the cherubim, in a cloud which covered the mercy-seat; but now it dwells in the person of our Redeemer, who partakes of our nature, and is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, and has more clearly declared the Father to us. It dwells in him bodily; not as the body is opposed to the spirit, but as the body is opposed to the shadow. The fulness of the Godhead dwells in the Christ really, and not figuratively; for he is both God and man.
(2.)Had they circumcision, which was the seal of the covenant? In Christ we are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands (Col 2:11), by the work of regeneration in us, which is the spiritual or Christian circumcision. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, Rom 2:29. This is owing to Christ, and belongs to the Christian dispensation. It is made without hands; not by the power of any creature, but by the power of the blessed Spirit of God. We are born of the Spirit, Joh 3:5. And it is the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit, Tit 3:5. It consists in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, in renouncing sin and reforming our lives, not in mere external rites. It is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God, Pe1 3:21. And it is not enough to put away some one particular sin, but we must put off the whole body of sin. The old man must be crucified, and the body of sin destroyed, Rom 6:6. Christ was circumcised, and, by virtue of our union to him, we partake of that effectual grace which puts off the body of the sins of the flesh. Again, The Jews thought themselves complete in the ceremonial law; but we are complete in Christ, Col 2:10. That was imperfect and defective; if the first covenant had been faultless, there would no place have been sought for the second (Heb 8:7), and the law was but a shadow of good things, and could never, by those sacrifices, make the comers thereunto perfect, Heb 10:1. But all the defects of it are made up in the gospel of Christ, by the complete sacrifice for sin and revelation of the will of God. Which is the head of all principality and power. As the Old Testament priesthood had its perfection in Christ, so likewise had the kingdom of David, which was the eminent principality and power under the Old Testament, and which the Jews valued themselves so much upon. And he is the Lord and head of all the powers in heaven and earth, of angels and men. Angels, and authorities, and powers are subject to him, Pe1 3:22.
2.We have communion with Christ in his whole undertaking (Col 2:12): Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you have risen with him. We are both buried and rise with him, and both are signified by our baptism; not that there is anything in the sign or ceremony of baptism which represents this burying and rising, any more than the crucifixion of Christ is represented by any visible resemblance in the Lord's supper: and he is speaking of the circumcision made without hands; and says it is through the faith of the operation of God. But the thing signified by our baptism is that we are buried with Christ, as baptism is the seal of the covenant and an obligation to our dying to sin; and that we are raised with Christ, as it is a seal and obligation to our living to righteousness, or newness of life. God in baptism engages to be to us a God, and we become engaged to be his people, and by his grace to die to sin and to live to righteousness, or put off the old man and put on the new.
Historical interpretation
Two Centuries of Reception
3 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
The apostle indeed teaches, in his Epistle to the Colossians, that we were once dead, alienated, and enemies to the Lord in our minds, whilst we were living in wicked works; that we were then buried with Christ in baptism, and also raised again with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. "And you, (adds he), when ye were dead in sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.
" But some think as if God were under a necessity of bestowing even on the unworthy, what He has engaged (to give); and they turn His liberality into slavery. But if it is of necessity that God grants us the symbol of death, then He does so unwilling.
But it is not burial only: for behold what he says, "Wherein ye were also raised with Him, through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." He hath well said, "of faith," for it is all of faith. Ye believed that God is able to raise, and so ye were raised. Then note also His worthiness of belief, "Who raised Him," he saith, "from the dead."
He now shows the Resurrection. "And you who sometime were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, you, I say, did He quicken together with Him." For ye lay under judgment of death. But even though ye died, it was a profitable death. Observe how again he shows what they deserved in the words he subjoins.
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Summary
Colossians 2:12 profoundly articulates the spiritual reality of a believer's union with Christ, portraying Christian baptism not merely as an outward ritual but as a powerful symbol and spiritual participation in Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. This verse underscores that through faith in God's mighty work, believers are spiritually identified with Christ's finished work, dying to their old life of sin and being raised to a new, vibrant existence in Him.
Context
Literary Context
Colossians 2:12 is situated within Paul's robust defense of the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ against various syncretistic false teachings plaguing the Colossian church. Paul has just declared that believers are "complete in Him" (Colossians 2:10), having received a spiritual circumcision "without hands" (Colossians 2:11)—a clear contrast to the physical rituals advocated by the false teachers. Verse 12 then elaborates on this spiritual completeness and new identity, using the imagery of baptism to illustrate the believer's decisive break from the old life and their co-resurrection with Christ. This serves as a foundational theological statement, reinforcing that salvation and spiritual vitality are found solely in Christ's work, not in human traditions or ascetic practices, which Paul explicitly warns against in the verses that follow (Colossians 2:16-23).
Historical & Cultural Context
The church in Colossae was facing a complex heresy, often termed the "Colossian heresy," which blended elements of Jewish legalism (observance of festivals, dietary laws, circumcision), Gnostic tendencies (emphasis on secret knowledge, asceticism, devaluation of the physical world), and angel worship. This false teaching diminished Christ's unique role and introduced human-made rules and rituals as necessary for spiritual advancement. Paul's letter, particularly Colossians 2, directly confronts these errors by exalting Christ as the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:10) and by emphasizing the spiritual reality of salvation through faith, which transcends any external observances. The imagery of baptism, a common practice among early Christians, is repurposed by Paul to highlight the spiritual transformation that occurs through union with Christ, rather than the act itself being salvific or a means to earn favor.
Key Themes
The verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes in Colossians and Pauline theology. First, it emphasizes the Union with Christ, portraying believers as inextricably linked to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. This union is not merely symbolic but a profound spiritual reality that defines the believer's new identity and standing before God. Second, the verse highlights the Sovereignty and Power of God in salvation, explicitly stating that believers are raised "through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." This underscores that spiritual transformation is entirely a divine work, initiated and sustained by God's omnipotent power, not human effort. Third, it reinforces the Sufficiency of Christ, demonstrating that all that is needed for salvation, completeness, and new life is found in Christ alone, countering any notion that additional rituals or human philosophies are required, a theme central to Paul's argument throughout Colossians.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This compound verb, combining "with" (σύν) and "to bury" (θάπτω), signifies a complete identification with Christ's burial. It denotes a decisive and irreversible separation from the old life, a spiritual death to sin and the dominion of the flesh, mirroring Christ's physical burial as the end of His earthly existence.
Similar to "buried with," this word combines "with" (σύν) and "to raise" (ἐγείρω). It signifies a co-resurrection, indicating that just as believers have identified with Christ in His death, they also participate in His resurrection life. This is not merely a future hope but a present spiritual reality, a new life animated by the power that raised Christ from the dead.
Derived from a root meaning "active" or "effective," this term refers to God's inherent, active, and powerful working or divine energy. It emphasizes that the spiritual transformation—the burial of the old self and the resurrection to new life—is not a human achievement or a result of the ritual itself, but a supernatural work performed by God Himself, demonstrating His dynamic and effectual power.
Verse Breakdown
"Buried with him in baptism,"
This clause establishes the foundational imagery. "Buried with him" signifies a spiritual identification with Christ's death and burial, representing a decisive break from the old life of sin and the world's systems. "In baptism" indicates that the outward act of baptism serves as a visible symbol and public declaration of this inward, spiritual reality of identification with Christ's death. It is the spiritual reality that baptism signifies, rather than the water itself, that is paramount.
"wherein also ye are risen with [him]"
This continues the parallelism, asserting that just as believers are identified with Christ in His burial, they are also identified with Him in His resurrection. This signifies a spiritual resurrection to a new life, empowered by God, free from the dominion of sin and the law. The "wherein" points back to the spiritual union symbolized by baptism, rather than the physical act itself.
"through the faith of the operation of God,"
This crucial phrase clarifies the means by which this spiritual transformation occurs. It is not through the ritual of baptism itself, but "through the faith" (trust and reliance) that God's "operation" (His powerful, effective working) brings about this spiritual death and resurrection. This emphasizes that salvation and new life are a gift received by faith, not earned by works or rituals.
"who hath raised him from the dead."
This final phrase anchors the believer's spiritual resurrection firmly in the historical, literal resurrection of Jesus Christ. The same divine power that raised Christ from the grave is the power at work in the believer, bringing about their spiritual new birth and ongoing life. This highlights God's omnipotence and the certainty of the believer's new life in Christ.
Literary Devices
Colossians 2:12 is rich in literary devices that enhance its theological impact. Metaphor and Symbolism are central, with baptism serving as a powerful metaphor for the believer's spiritual death, burial, and resurrection with Christ. The physical act of immersion in water symbolizes the "burial" of the old self, while emerging from the water symbolizes "rising" to new life. This imagery creates a vivid picture of radical transformation. Parallelism is evident in the structure "buried with him... risen with him," emphasizing the complete identification with both aspects of Christ's saving work. Furthermore, there is a clear Causal Linkage established, where the spiritual reality of being "buried" and "risen" is attributed directly to "the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead," underscoring divine agency as the ultimate cause of salvation.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Colossians 2:12 encapsulates a fundamental aspect of Pauline theology: the believer's profound union with Christ. This union is not merely an intellectual assent but a spiritual reality that transforms one's identity and standing before God. Through Christ's death, believers are freed from the power of sin and the condemnation of the law, and through His resurrection, they are given a new, empowered life. This verse beautifully illustrates the concept of justification, where believers are declared righteous in Christ, and the beginning of sanctification, where they are progressively conformed to His image. It highlights that salvation is entirely a work of God's grace, received through faith, and that the power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power at work within every believer, enabling them to live a life pleasing to God.
Reflection and Application
Colossians 2:12 calls believers to live in the profound reality of their new identity in Christ. Understanding that we have been "buried with him" means recognizing that our old self, enslaved to sin and the world's systems, has definitively died. This truth liberates us from the need to conform to external pressures, human traditions, or legalistic demands for spiritual validation. Conversely, being "risen with him" means we are now empowered to live a new life, animated by the same divine power that resurrected Jesus. This should inspire immense confidence, gratitude, and a radical reorientation of our desires and actions. We are no longer defined by our past failures or the world's standards, but by Christ's victory and the indwelling Spirit. This truth empowers us to walk in holiness, pursue righteousness, and live for God's glory, knowing that our spiritual vitality flows directly from our union with the risen Christ. It encourages us to shed anything that belongs to the old life and embrace fully the freedom and purpose found in our new life in Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Is Colossians 2:12 teaching that water baptism is necessary for salvation?
Colossians 2:12 does not teach that water baptism is a prerequisite for salvation. Rather, it uses the imagery of baptism as a powerful symbol of a spiritual reality that has already occurred through faith. Paul emphasizes that believers are "buried with him in baptism," but immediately clarifies that this transformation happens "through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." The focus is on the spiritual identification with Christ's death and resurrection, which is a work of God received by faith, not on the physical act of baptism itself as the means of salvation. Baptism serves as an outward sign and public declaration of an inward spiritual reality. Other passages, such as Ephesians 2:8-9, clearly state that salvation is "by grace through faith" and "not of works."
What does "the faith of the operation of God" mean?
This phrase highlights the divine origin and power behind a believer's spiritual transformation. "The faith" refers to the trust and reliance placed upon God. "The operation of God" (Greek: enérgeia tou theou) refers to God's dynamic, effective, and supernatural working. It means that the spiritual death to sin and resurrection to new life are not achieved by human effort or ritual, but by God's mighty power, the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It underscores that salvation is entirely a work of divine grace, initiated and completed by God's sovereign power, and received by a trusting faith in Him.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Colossians 2:12 finds its ultimate fulfillment and meaning in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the one with whom believers are "buried" and "risen." His historical death and burial are the means by which our old sinful nature is put to death, and His literal resurrection from the dead is the source and guarantee of our new life. The "operation of God" that raises believers spiritually is precisely the same divine power that demonstrated victory over sin and death in Christ's own resurrection (Ephesians 1:19-20). Therefore, our spiritual transformation is not an independent act but a direct participation in Christ's finished work on the cross and His triumph over the grave. He is the "firstfruits" of those who are raised (1 Corinthians 15:20), and because He lives, we also live (John 14:19). Our completeness, our freedom from the law, and our new identity are all found solely in Him, making Him the glorious center of our salvation and our new existence (Colossians 3:1-4).