Colossians 2:19. Καί] annexing to εἰκῆ φυσιούμενος κ.τ.λ. a further, and that a negative, modal form of the ἃ ἑώρακεν ἐμβατεύων. This ἐμβατεύειν into what is seen takes place, namely, in such a way, that one is puffed up by fleshly reason, and does not hold the Head, etc. So much is it at variance with the nature and success, as respects unity, of the church![128]

οὐ κρατῶν κ.τ.λ.] not holding fast (but letting it go, comp. Song of Solomon 3:4 : ἐκράτησα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀφῆκα αὐτόν) the Head, inasmuch, namely, as they seek angelic mediation. Bengel aptly observes: “Qui non unice Christum tenet, plane non tenet.”

ἐξ οὗ κ.τ.λ.] represents the whole objectionableness of this οὐ κρατῶν τ. κεφ., and the absolute necessity of the opposite. This οὗ is not to be referred to the verbal idea (Bengel’s suggestion: “ex quo sc. tenendo caput”), but applies objectively (comp. Ephesians 4:15 f.) to that which was designated by τὴν κεφαλ. In this view it may be masculine, according to the construction κατὰ σύνεσιν (Kühner, II. 1, p. 49), as it is usually taken, but it may also—and this is preferable, because here the personality is not, as in Ephesians 4:15 f., specially marked—be neuter, so that it takes up the Head, not personally (though, it is Christ), but in accordance with the neuter idea: from which. See Matthiae, p. 988; Kühner, II. 1, p. 55. Comp. Maetzner, ad Antiph. p. 201. The τ. κεφαλ. might also be taken attributively: not holding fast as the Head Him, from whom, etc. (Ewald), which would be, however, less simple and less forcibly descriptive. ἐξ denotes the causal issuing forth of the subsequently expressed relation, comp. Ephesians 4:16.

τᾶν τὸ σῶμα] consequently no member is excepted, so that no member can expect from any other quarter what is destined for, and conveyed to, the whole body from the head. The conception of the church as the body of Christ, the Head, is not in our Epistle and the Ephesian letter different from that of the other Epistles (in opposition to Holtzmann, p. 239 ff.). Comp. on 1 Corinthians 12:12 f., 1 Corinthians 6:15; Romans 12:4 f.; also Romans 11:3. Any pressing contrary to the author’s design of the thought of a σῶμα, which strictly taken is a trunk, is in this particular case excluded by the graphic delineation of the constantly living and active connection of the members with the Head. Every comparison, indeed, when pressed, becomes halting.

διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν κ. συνδεσμῶν ἐπιχορ. κ. συμβιβ.] The participial relation to the following verb is this: from the Head the whole body is furnished and bound together and grows in this way, so that ἐξ οὗ therefore is to be referred neither to the participles only, nor to the verb only, but to both; and διὰ τ. ἁφ. κ. συνδεσμ. specifies by what means the ἐπιχορ. κ. συμβιβ., proceeding from the Head, is brought about, viz. through the (bodily) nerve-impulses (not joints, as it is usually explained; see on Ephesians 4:16), which are conveyed from the Head to the body, and through the bands, which, proceeding from the Head, place the whole in organic connection. Observe that ἐπιχορ. refers to διὰ τ. ἁφῶν, and συμβιβ. to κ. συνδεσμ. Theophylact (comp. Theodoret) has aptly illustrated the former by the action of the nerves which is diffused from the head through the entire body, so that ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐστι πᾶσα αἴσθησις κ. πᾶσα κίνησις. As, therefore, the body receives its efficiency from the head through the contact of impulses effected by means of the network of nerves, so would the church, separated from Christ—from whom the feelings and impulses in a spiritual sense, the motions and activities of the higher ζωή, are conveyed to it—be without the supply in question. Comp. the idea of the figure of the vine. Further: as, starting from the head, the whole body, by means of the bands which bind member to member, is bound together into one organic whole; so also is the entire church, starting from Christ, by means of the bands of Christian communion (κοινωνία), which give to the union of individuals the coherence of articulate unity. Faith is the inner ground of the ἁφαί, not the latter themselves (in opposition to Bengel); so also is love the inner ground of the συνδεσμοί of the mystical body, not these latter themselves (in opposition to Tertullian, Zanchius, Estius, Bengel, and others); and the operative principle on the part of Christ the Head is the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 12:3 f., 7, et al.). Theodoret erroneously (comp. Ewald) explains the συνδεσμοί as the ἀπόστολοι κ. προφῆται κ. διδάσκαλοι, and Böhmer takes the ἁφαί and συνδεσμ. as the believers. The latter, as also the teachers, are in fact the members, and share in experiencing what is here asserted of the entire body.

ἐπιχορηγούμ.] receiving supply, being furnished. Comp. on the passive expression, which is not un-Pauline (Holtzmann), but in harmony with the general passive usage (Kühner, II. 1, p. 109), Polyb. iv. 77. Colossians 2 : πολλαῖς ἀφορμαῖς ἐκ φύσεως κεχορηγημένος, iii. 75. 3, et al.; Diod. Sic. i. 73; Sir 44:6; 3Ma 6:40. The compound, not expressing “in addition besides” (Bleek), denotes that the χορηγία is coming to, is being conveyed towards. Comp. 2 Corinthians 9:10; Galatians 3:5; Dion. Hal. x. 54. But it is not said with what the body is provided, as χορηγεῖν (comp. also ἐπιχορ., Sir 25:22) is often used absolutely (see e.g. the passages from Polybius in Schweighäuser, Lex. p. 663), and admits of its more precise definition being supplied from the context, which, however, here points not to nourishment (Grotius, de Wette), but to that which is accomplished through the feelings (ἁφῶν), namely, the vital activity, of which the body would be destitute in the absence of the different impulses. Comp. Chrysostom: τὸ εἶναι καὶ το καλῶς εἶναι, Theophylact: πᾶσα αἴσθησις κ. πᾶσα κίνησις, and in the application: λαμβάνει τὸ ζῇν κ. αὔξειν πνευματικῶς.

τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ] denoted by the article as the divine growth absolutely; τοῦ Θεοῦ is the genitive auctoris: which God confers (1 Corinthians 3:6-7), with which ἐξ οὗ is not at variance (as Bähr thinks), since God is ranked above Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3), and is the supreme operating principle in the church (1 Corinthians 12:6; Ephesians 4:6). At once weak, and suggested by nothing in the text, is the view: “incrementum, quod Deus probat” (Calvin, Bähr[129]). What is meant is the gradual growth of Christians collectively toward Christian perfection. The circumstance that αὔξει as an intransitive only occurs again in Ephesians 2:21, comp. Colossians 4:15, and αὔξησις only in Ephesians 4:16, cannot prove it to be an un-Pauline mode of expression (Holtzmann). Respecting the connection of the verb with the more precisely defined cognate noun, see Winer, p. 210 [E. T. 281]; Lobeck, Paralip. p. 507 f.; Kühner, II. 2, p. 262 f.

[128] The conduct of those men is the negation of this holy relation, a separation from the organism of the body of Christ as an unity. The compressed characterizing of this articulated organism is therefore as suitable here as in Ephesians 4:16, and by no means an opus supererogationis on the part of the author (Holtzmann).

[129] Comp. Chrysostom and Oecumenius, who explain τοῦ Θεοῦ by κατὰ Θεόν.

Colossians 2:19. Largely parallel to Ephesians 4:15-16. Paul proceeds to point out that so far from securing spiritual growth of a higher order, the false teaching, by loosening the hold on Christ, prevented any growth at all, since it obstructed or severed the very channel of spiritual life.—καὶ οὐ κρατῶν τὴν κεφαλήν: “and not holding fast the head”. For this sense of κρ. with the accusative cf. Song of Solomon 3:4, ἐκράτησα αὐτὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀφήκα αὐτόν. It is clear from this that the false teachers were Christians. They did not profess to have no hold upon Christ, but their hold was not firm. All the supplies of life and energy flow from the Head, so that loose connexion with it involves serious loss and not progress in the spiritual life. It is significant that here each member is recognised as having an immediate relation to the Head.—ἐξ οὗ: not neuter, referring to κεφ., for ἐξ ἧς would have been more natural, but “from whom”. It should be connected with both participles.—πᾶν τὸ σῶμα: “the whole body”. Alford takes it “the body in its every part,” but Ellicott denies that any distinction between τὸ πᾶν σῶνα. and πᾶν τὸ σῶνα can be safely drawn. It is the body as a whole that increases, and thus Paul condemns the tendencies to intellectual or spiritual exclusiveness, which cripple alike the body and the members who exhibit such tendencies. As this increase continues each member shares in the body’s progress.—διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων. Lightfoot gives a very full discussion of these terms and their use in medical writers. He translates “through the junctures and ligaments”. No doubt Paul’s language is popular, not technical. He is speaking of the means by which the various parts of the body are supplied and knit together. Meyer takes ἁφ. to mean sensations or nerve impulses, but we have no evidence for this meaning; nor is it suitable here, for there is no reason for referring ἁφ. to ἐπιχορ. and συνδ. to συνβιβ. No explanation is given of ἁφ. κ. συνδ. Some think of the Holy Spirit, others of brotherly love, others of ministers. But probably in Paul’s mind they did not correspond to anything definitely.—ἐπιχορηγούμενον καὶ συνβιβαζόμενον. “being supplied and united”. Often the supply is thought to be of nourishment, but perhaps we should interpret more generally of life. ἁφ. κ. συν. are thus the media through which life is communicated and the unity of the organism secured.—αὔξει τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ Θεοῦ: “increaseth with the increase of God”. Generally αὔξ. τ. Θ. is explained to mean the growth which God gives (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:6). Against this is the fact that Christ is referred to as the source of growth. We may better take it “a growth such as God requires” (Ol., Haupt).

19. holding] Holding fast (R.V.). The word is used Acts 3:11 of the healed cripple’s grasp of the Apostles who had healed him.—The erring teacher is said “not to hold” the Head, not only as a man but as a teacher.

the head] “Regarded as a title, so that a Person is at once suggested” (Lightfoot). Angel-worship, and all its ways, was ipso facto a slackening of the soul’s contact with Christ.

On this sacred word “Head” see Colossians 1:18 and notes; and cp. the close and full parallel, Ephesians 4:15-16.

from which] Better, out of Whom. The relative pronoun is masculine, while the Greek word for “head” is feminine.

“Out of”:—so in Ephesians 4:16. The thought conveyed is at once of vital connexion and derivation.

all the body] Verbatim as Ephesians 4:16.—The emphasis is on the “all.” No part, no member, must be for a moment out of direct life-contact with the Head.

by joints and bands] Better, through the (its) joints and ligatures. The phrase is closely akin to that of Ephesians 4:16, where “compacting” and “joints” are mentioned. Here as there (see our notes) the thought is of the direct coherence of every part of the Body with the Head. The other cognate thought, of the cohesion of the parts and limbs with each other, is not present, at least not prominent. The Christian has here to be warned that nothing must make him lose or loosen his own direct communion with Christ his Head.—The physical imagery must not be pressed. In our body, doubtless, the central forces of the organism affect the remoter structures through the nearer. But the mystical Body is such that, while it is a true organism as a whole, yet all the while individually “the Head of every man” (in Christ) “is Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:3; cp. ibid. 1 Corinthians 6:17). And this was what the Colossian errors tended to obscure.

having nourishment ministered] Better, simply, being supplied (R.V.).—The cognate noun to the (one) Greek word here, a present participle, appears Ephesians 4:16; “every joint of the supply.” The thing “supplied” is all the Virtue of the Head; grace in all its forms.

knit together] Another present participle, indicating a continuing and developing process. The Greek is identical with that rendered “compacted,” Ephesians 4:16.—The constant “supply” of the life and power of the Head tends to a constant closer and firmer internal cohesion of the body, in its spiritual development.

increaseth with the increase of God] Lit., groweth the growth of God.—The growth contemplated may mean in part the numerical growth, the attraction of new converts to the manifestly living and holy community. But the more immediate reference is to development from within; the individual’s and the community’s “growth in the grace and knowledge” (2 Peter 3:18) of the Head.

“The increase of God”:—His, because He is its Origin, and Secret, and as it were Atmosphere. The brief pregnant phrase conveys this truth with a peculiar grandeur and force.

Lightfoot suggests that we have here also an implied caution against the Jewish errors. “Thus the finite is truly united with the Infinite”; not through intermediate orders of being, but in Christ. In an interesting note he goes on to explain the perfect fitness of St Paul’s imagery of the Head and Body, in the light of modern physiological discoveries. “The volition communicated from the brain to the limbs, the sensations of the extremities telegraphed back to the brain, the absolute mutual sympathy between the head and the members, the instantaneous paralysis ensuing on the interruption of continuity, all these add to the completeness and life of the image.” He then gives instances of ancient scientific speculation on the seat and distribution of vital power in the human body; and concludes: “Bearing in mind all this diversity of opinion among ancient physiologists, we cannot fail to be struck in the text not only with the correctness of the image but also with the propriety of the terms; and we are forcibly reminded that among the Apostle’s most intimate companions at this time was one whom he calls ‘the beloved physician’ (Colossians 4:14).”—Such subsidiary assistance, if used by the Apostle, would leave untouched the authority of inspiration in the resulting language.

Colossians 2:19. Οὐ κρατῶν, not holding) He who does not hold Christ solely and above all others, does not hold Him at all.—τὴν κεφαλὴγ, the Head) Here faith has a foundation whereon it may be fixed. The opposite is, ἃ μὴ ἑώρακεν, ἐμβατεύων, he who flies beyond things placed in the middle (within reach), and tries to catch those that escape his grasp.—ἐξ οὗ, from which) [not from which Head, but from which hold] from holding the head; or else, from whom, viz. Christ, the Head.—διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν) by the joints (ties),[17] viz. of faith, Ephesians 4:16. It is to this word that ἐπιχορηγούμενον refers.—καὶ συνδέσμων) and bonds (bands) of ‘love’ and ‘peace,’ Ephesians 4:3. It is to this that συμβιβαζόμενον refers; comp. Colossians 2:2.—ἐπιχορηγούμενον) receiving ἐπιχορηγίαν, ministration to it (being ministered to); so 3Ma 6:38, πανθʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως χορηγούμενοι, supplied with all things by the king.

[17] Beng. here translates ἁφῶν, nexus; but see the somewhat different explanation in Gnom., Ephesians 4:16.—ED.

Verse 19. - And not holding fast the Head (vers. 6, 8; Colossians 1:15-20; Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:9-11; Romans 9:5; Romans 14:9; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 19:16). In the last verse the errorist was judged "out of his own mouth," and the intrinsic hollowness of his pretensions was exposed. Now" he appears before the judgment seat of Christ," charged with high treason against him, the Lord alike of the kingdoms of nature and of grace. So the apostle falls back once more (comp. ver. 10) on the foundation laid down in Colossians 1:15-20, on which his whole polemic rests. Both in creation and redemption, the philosophic Judaists assigned to the angels a role inconsistent with the sovereign mediatorship of Christ (see notes on vers. 10 and 15). From whom all the body, through its joinings and bands being supplied and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22, 23; Ephesians 4:15, 16; John 15:1-6; 1 Corinthians 3:6). Disloyalty to "the head" works destruction to "the body," which in this case "proceeds from" ("grows out of," ἐξ... αυ}ξει,) its Head, while it depends upon him. Gnosticism from the beginning tended to disintegrate the Church, by the caste feeling (Colossians 1:28, note; Colossians 3:11) and the sectarian spirit to which it gave birth (ver. 8; Acts 20:30). Its vague and subjective doctrines were ready to assume a different form with each new exponent, Here lies the connection between this and the Ephesian letter, the doctrine of the Church following upon and growing out of that of the person of Christ, each being threatened - the latter immediately, the former more remotely - by the rise of the new Judaeo-Christian mystic rationalism. Colossians asserts the "thou in me" of John 17:23; Ephesians the corresponding "I in them;" and both the consequent "they made perfect in one" (comp., especially, Ephesians 3:14-21 and Ephesians 4:7-16 with Colossians 1:15-20 and Colossians 2:9-15). (On "body," see note, Colossians 1:18.) Αφαὶ signifies, not "joints "as parts of the bony skeleton, but includes all points of contact and connection in the body; Latin nexus, junetura (see Lightfoot). Bengel and Meyer, following Chrysostom, interpret it as "senses," or "nerves;" but this does not commend itself either lexically or contextually. The συνδεσμοί (comp. Colossians 3:14) are the "ligaments," the stronger and more distinct connections that give the bodily framework unity and solidity. So, by the organic cooperation of the whole structure, the body of Christ is furnished with its supplies, enabled to receive and dispense to each member the needed sustenance; and "knit together" (ver. 2), drawn into a close and firm unity. "Supplied" (comp. 2 Corinthians 9:10; Galatians 3:5) indicates a sustenance both required and due. In Colossians 1:6 we read of the increase of the gospel, in Colossians 1:10 of the individual believer, and now of the Church as a body) Ephesians 2:21; Ephesians 4:16). "The increase of God" is that which God bestows (1 Corinthians 3:6), as it proceeds "from Christ" (ἐξ οῦ: ver. 10; Colossians 3:11; John 1:16), in whom is "the fulness of the Godhead" (ver. 9: comp. Ephesians 1:23 and Ephesians 3:17 - 19). In Ephesians 4:16 the same idea is expressed in almost the same terms. There, however, the growth appears as proper to the body, resulting from its very constitution; here, as a bestowment of God, dependent, therefore, upon Christ, and ceasing if the Church ceases to hold fast to him. Colossians 2:19Holding the head (κρατῶν τὴν κεφαλήν)

Holding by or fast, as commonly in the New Testament. Compare Sophocles: "If thou art to rule (ἄρξεις) this land, even as thou holdest it (κρατεῖς "Oedipus Tyrannus," 54). The head, Christ as contrasted with the angelic mediators.

From whom (ἐξ οὗ)

Fixing the personal reference of the head to Christ. Compare Ephesians 4:16.

By joints and bands (διὰ τῶν ἁφῶν καὶ συνδέσμων)

Joints (ἁφῶν) only here and Ephesians 4:16. The word means primarily touching, and is used in classical Greek of the touch upon harpstrings, or the grip of a wrestler. Not quite the same as joints in the sense of the parts in contact, but the relations between the adjacent parts. The actual connection is expressed by bands or ligaments.

Ministered (ἐπιχορηγουμένον)

See on add, 2 Peter 1:5. Rev., supplied.

Knit together

See on Colossians 2:2. "The discoveries of modern physiology have invested the apostle's language with far greater distinctness and force than it can have worn to his own contemporaries. Any exposition of the nervous system more especially reads like a commentary on the image of the relations between the body and the head. At every turn we meet with some fresh illustration which kindles it with a flood of light. The volition communicated from the brain to the limbs, the sensations of the extremities telegraphed back to the brain, the absolute mutual sympathy between the head and the members, the instantaneous paralysis ensuing, on the interruption of continuity, all these add to the completeness and life of the image" (Lightfoot).

Colossians 2:19 Interlinear
Colossians 2:19 Parallel Texts


Colossians 2:19 NIV
Colossians 2:19 NLT
Colossians 2:19 ESV
Colossians 2:19 NASB
Colossians 2:19 KJV

Colossians 2:19 Bible Apps
Colossians 2:19 Parallel
Colossians 2:19 Biblia Paralela
Colossians 2:19 Chinese Bible
Colossians 2:19 French Bible
Colossians 2:19 German Bible

Bible Hub