1I want you to know how hard I am working for you. I’m concerned for those who are in Laodicea. I’m also concerned for everyone who has not met me in person. 2My goal is that their hearts may be encouraged and strengthened. I want them to be joined together in love. Then their understanding will be rich and complete. They will know the mystery of God. That mystery is Christ. 3All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him. 4But I don’t want anyone to fool you with words that only sound good. 5So even though I am away from you in body, I am with you in spirit. And I am glad to see that you are controlling yourselves. I am happy that your faith in Christ is so strong.
Having All Things in Christ
6You received Christ Jesus as Lord. So keep on living your lives in him. 7Have your roots in him. Build yourselves up in him. Grow strong in what you believe, just as you were taught. Be more thankful than ever before.
8Make sure no one controls you. They will try to control you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic spiritual powers of this world. They don’t depend on Christ.
9God’s whole nature is living in Christ in human form. 10Because you belong to Christ, you have been made complete. He is the ruler over every power and authority. 11When you received Christ, your circumcision was not done by human hands. Instead, your circumcision was done by Christ. He put away the person you used to be. At that time, sin’s power ruled over you. 12When you were baptized, you were buried together with Christ. And you were raised to life together with him when you were baptized. You were raised to life by believing in God’s work. God himself raised Jesus from the dead.
13At one time you were dead in your sins. Your desires controlled by sin were not circumcised. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. 14He wiped out what the law said that we owed. The law stood against us. It judged us. But he has taken it away and nailed it to the cross. 15He took away the weapons of the powers and authorities. He made a public show of them. He won the battle over them by dying on the cross.
Freedom From Human Rules
16So don’t let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anyone judge you about holy days. I’m talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days. 17They are only a shadow of the things to come. But what is real is found in Christ. 18Some people enjoy pretending they aren’t proud. They worship angels. But don’t let people like that judge you. These people tell you every little thing about what they have seen. They are proud of their useless ideas. That’s because their minds are not guided by the Holy Spirit. 19They aren’t connected anymore to the head, who is Christ. But the whole body grows from the head. The muscles and tendons hold the body together. And God causes it to grow.
20Some people still follow the basic spiritual powers of the world. But you died with Christ as far as these powers are concerned. So why do you act as if you still belong to the world? Here are the rules you follow. 21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 22Rules like these are about things that will pass away soon. They are based on merely human rules and teachings. 23It is true that these rules seem wise. Because of them, people give themselves over to their own kind of worship. They pretend they are humble. They treat their bodies very badly. But rules like these don’t help. They don’t stop people from chasing after sinful pleasures.
1Хоћу да знате колико се борим за вас, за оне у Лаодикији и за све који ме нису лично срели. 2Желим, наиме, да им се срца охрабре и уједине у љубави, да би изобиловали у потпуном разумевању, у познању тајне Божије, Христа, 3у коме су скривена сва богатства мудрости и знања.
4Кажем вам ово да вас нико не би завео убедљивим говором. 5Јер, иако сам телом одсутан, духом сам са вама, па се радујем гледајући ваш ред и чврстину ваше вере у Христа.
Упозорење против лажних учења
6Будући да сте прихватили Христа Исуса као Господа, живите у њему, 7укорењени и назидани на њему и учвршћени у вери како сте поучени, обилно захваљујући. 8Пазите да вас ко не зароби филозофијом и испразном заблудом, која се темељи на људском предању и учењу о силама овога света, а не на Христу.
9Јер, у њему телесно пребива сва пунина божанства. 10А ви сте примили испуњење у њему, који је глава над сваким главарством и власти. 11У њему сте обрезани, али не људском руком, него обрезањем које је извршио Христос, а оно се састоји у уклањању грешне природе. 12Јер, када сте се крстили, тада сте са Христом били сахрањени, те сте с њим и васкрсли вером у делотворну силу Бога који га је васкрсао из мртвих.
13И ви сте некада били мртви због својих преступа и необрезања тела, али вас је он оживео са њим, тако што нам је опростио све преступе, 14поништивши обвезницу чији су нас прописи теретили као дужнике. Њу је он уклонио приковавши је на крст, 15којим је разоружао главарства и власти и јавно их изложио, водећи их у заробљеничкој поворци.
16Зато, не дајте никоме да вас осуђује због онога што једете или пијете, или због некаквог празника, младине или суботе. 17Све то је само сенка онога што долази, а стварност је Христос. 18Не дозволите да вас ико лишава награде, тиме што он сам ужива у понизности и служењу анђелима, и упушта се у виђења. Такав се без разлога прави важан и ослања на људску памет, 19не држећи се Христа – главе, из које све тело, повезано и потпомогнуто зглобовима и жилама, расте онако како му Бог даје да расте.
Супротставите се људским учењима!
20Ако сте се, умревши с Христом, ослободили сила овога света, зашто живите као да још увек припадате свету? Зашто се покоравате прописима: 21„Не дохвати“, „Не окуси“, „Не додируј“? 22Све то се односи на ствари које употребом пропадају. Ништа друго него људске заповести и учења! 23То има привид мудрости, а у ствари је самовољна побожност и лажна понизност, те беспоштедна строгост према телу, али нема никакву вредност; не може да обузда жудњу тела.
