COLOSSAE AND GNOSTICISM

Paul had never been to Colssae, so why did he write a letter to the disciples there?  From his comments at the end of the letter, several people who were with him when he wrote it very likely knew the Colossians, as well as the disciples at Laodecia and Heirapolis.  Apparently, they must have told Paul something that caused him to write.

The Colossian Heresy

A doctrine had spread through the assembly that Paul saw as dangerous to the faith of the disciples.  For years, scholars thought it was Gnosticism, but it didn't have all the essential elements of Gnosticism, so they now call it the  Colossian Heresy.

To sum up the Colossian Heresy, it was the belief that one could grow closer to God by learning the secret knowledge of the spiritual world contained in the teachings of religious leaders other than Jesus.

In this heresy, they saw that between God and man there existed beings that emanated from God, and the role of these beings was to help us learn this secret knowledge.  Those beings included lesser gods, angels, and other spirits.  Some of these emanations took on human form, and these included prophets, gurus, and other mystics.

I think you can already see one red flag right there.  This heresy says that Jesus is not enough, that we can elevate ourselves by adding on to Jesus.

This approach further diminishes Jesus by saying that He was one of those emanations that took on human form, He never had a flesh and blood body, He only appeared to be born, grow up, die, and resurrect.

Also, this heresy spoke about the "fullness," that is, all the emanations and all the mysteries (hidden knowledge), and having the fullness leads to oneness with God.  Paul knew he needed to answer this right away.  He does so in the first two chapters.  Notice how often he uses the word or the concept of fullness, and he refers to the body and blood of Jesus.

How did this start, and how did it become Gnosticism?

Okay, here we have to go way back in the history of Colossae to see how geography contributed to the development of the heresy.

Colossae sits in the Meander River valley, along one of the major east-west trade routes between Asia and Europe.  At one time, it was a major stop on that route because of the cold springs located there.  By the birth of Christ, the trade route shifted to nearby Laodicea.  But Colossae did not shrink too much from the loss of traffic.  It became a resort city instead.  People went there for recreational and remedial reasons.

As people travel, they not only carry with them luggage, they carry their religions, beliefs, and ideas.  People from the Far East and Europe spending time at Colossae would discuss those beliefs and ideas with each other. Some would go away with blended beliefs.  I'm sure the locals joined in on those discussions and so they too combined beliefs.

The Colossians took the framework of the Greek mystery religions, and combined them with Eastern mystic beliefs to create the Colossian Heresy.

By the early Second Century, the heresy was refined into Gnosticism.

One of the major differences between Gnosticism and the Colossian Heresy is the addition of the Demiurge.  The Demiurge was an evil and lesser god who created the world, and was the god of the Old Testament.   Neither Jesus or Ultimate Supreme Transcendent God were the creator, for the Gnostics saw them as spirit and good, and therefore unable or unlikely to create evil matter.

Today we see Gnostic influences in the New Thought and New Age movements, and in Spiritualism and some Pentecostal and Charismatic cults.

I am not going to do a complete exposé of Gnostic doctrine and influences here, but I will recommend a deeper study of Colossians plus the Gospel and letters of John, and a closer examination of your beliefs.