https://odb.org/2026/09/30/not-ritual-but-christ
Colossians 2:6–15 (NIV): 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
In Santa Fe, New Mexico, thousands gather each year to burn Zozobra—a fifty-foot towering effigy stuffed with their worries, bills, and regrets. They shout, “Burn him!” as they hope the flames will devour their anxieties and troubles and reset their lives. The apostle Paul wrote, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). He reminded his readers that they shouldn’t trade Jesus for empty substitutes, and he explains why: Christ is the visible “image of the invisible God” (1:15), is supreme over creation (1:16), fully God in human flesh (2:9), and victorious over “every power and authority” (v. 10). Because of His death and resurrection, we’re “rooted and built up in him” (v. 7), and fully alive and forgiven by Him (v. 13). Human rituals and cultural ceremonies can mesmerize a crowd, but only Jesus can cancel sin’s debt and break its grip forever. (Marvin Williams, Our Daily Bread 30th September 2026)
Paul wrote, “[God] has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith . . . and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel” (1:22-23). The apostle is combatting false teaching here—probably Gnosticism. Among its claims were that Christ didn’t have a physical body. This isn’t a biblical teaching, as it denies the crucifixion and resurrection. Paul warned, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy” (2:8). As he said, “You were dead in your sins” but now “God made you alive with Christ” (v. 13). When we accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for our sin, we become free from sin’s burden. (Insight, Our Daily Bread, 30th September 2026)
Besides Ephesians 6:12 (our fight is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies), Colossians 2:8 and 2:15 are the other verses (there are others as well) that Paul speaks about the spiritual world that co-exists with us in the natural realm. In Colossians 2:8, Paul uses the phrase “elemental spiritual forces of the world”, powerful forces that may continue to torment us even after we have come to faith whilst they continue to hold in captivity the rest of the world who have yet believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
As believers, being aware of the spiritual realm helps us recognise that there are parallel forces that may bind others when we witness and reach out with the Gospel. So before we reach out to any specific person, we should spend time praying against these elemental spiritual forces binding the person. We will find that such intercessory prayer helps us in our evangelism efforts although ultimately it is the Holy Spirit who will make the real conviction.
But, more importantly, we must not indulge or engage in or with any of such elemental spiritual forces of the world. That’s dangerous territory and has the potential of deceptively and inevitably drawing us away from our faith. This is particularly so as one day we may accept, for example, like in the West, propositions by the LBGTQ+ community that homosexuality is permitted in the bible or is a norm in society. The influences of these elemental forces is subtle and over time, we may be influenced and our faith compromised. Or dabbling with occultic practices out of curiosity or for some ulterior motive like getting rich (for example, fengshui practices to bring in wealth).
The message this morning is to pray against such elemental spiritual forces exerting themselves in our midst and to stay clear of them in our actions and the things we do. Do not engage or dabble in any form of occultic practices. We put our complete trust and faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit and Yahweh our Father God, the one and only true Almigthy God of the universe who sent His only begotten Son to the world so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have life everlasting. Always remember the First Commandment – you shall have no other gods before Me!
