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Colossians, part 9, Elemental Principles vs Christ

Colossians 2:8 says,

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles [stoicheia] of the world, rather than according to Christ.

There were many philosophies in the ancient world, and Paul had studied all of the main Greek philosophers, as evidenced in his epistles. Most Christians, however, are unfamiliar with those philosophies. When Paul refuted those philosophical ideas, he did not give credit to them in his epistles, not wanting to give them any credence. Hence, most Christians see only the truth of Scripture, while missing the contrast with Greek philosophy. Acts 17:18 is the only place where we read of a direct philosophical disagreement between Paul and the Epicureans (and Stoics).

In those days, Platonism was the prevailing philosophy of the upper classes, while Epicureanism was the philosophy of the common people. Because Christianity was preached mostly to the lower classes, this meant that Epicureanism was its main rival.

Epicurean Philosophy

Epicurus himself was born in 341 B.C. on the island of Samos and died in 270 B.C. in Athens. His life overlaps with Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism. The philosophy of Epicurus was based on what he called “elemental principles,” which Paul mentions directly in Colossians 2:8. Epicurus formulated the first “atomic theory,” a materialistic theory that all reality was rooted in the smallest particles of matter that could no longer be subdivided into smaller particles.

To Epicurus and to much of the world, the stoicheia (“elementary principles”) were Earth, Water, Air, Fire (the classical Greek elements). The term “element” was not a scientific term but a philosophical one, referring to particles rather than to elements on the Scientific Table of Elements. Today we speak of learning the “A, B, C’s” in our “elementary schools.” But in Paul’s time, they spoke of the “L, M, N’s” or elements as the basic building blocks of knowledge.

In other words, all that exists is made up of atoms (Greek: atomos). Though he did not dare to deny the existence of “the gods,” he claimed that the universe formed by random atomic motion, not divine design. There is no divine judgment and no accountability for one’s actions over and beyond what earthly courts may impose. “The gods,” if they existed, did not intervene in human life. (This foreshadowed the more modern philosophy that “God is dead,” meaning that God plays no role in human affairs.)

“The gods exist, but they are not concerned with our affairs.” (Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus, preserved in Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of the Philosophers, Book 10.123–124).

Therefore, Epicurus concluded that the highest good was the pursuit of pleasure, defined as freedom from fear, pain, and anxiety—especially the fear of gods and the fear of death. They believed that death ended one’s existence as such, because they did not believe in resurrection. For this reason, they objected to Paul’s teaching, according to Acts 17:18,

¹⁸ And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him [Paul]. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

There is no doubt, then, that Paul was very familiar with Epicureanism and that he was well qualified to debate with them, the Stoics, and the Platonists as well. My own interest in this is in the fact that I was a philosophy major at the University of Minnesota many years ago. At the time, I did not fully appreciate learning those vain philosophies, but years later these studies helped me to understand what Paul was refuting.

Freedom by Faith in Christ Alone

Paul preached that freedom comes through Jesus Christ, while bondage to material things comes by accepting Epicurean philosophy. So Paul wrote in Galatians 4:1-3,

¹ Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, ² but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. ³ So also WE, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things [stoicheia] of the world.

It appears that Paul himself, while he was young, being schooled in Greek philosophies, had been an Epicurean. “We,” he says, “were held in bondage under the stoicheia of the world.” From a biblical perspective, those who are bound by the material world have no hope of an afterlife and can look forward only to a return to dust with a cessation of consciousness. Their pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain stood in contrast to Paul’s experience of persecution and imprisonment, knowing that he was laying up “hidden” treasure in heaven.

The traditions of men are carnal beliefs arising out of the death nature that was imposed upon all men on account of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12). This includes both Greek Philosophies and many Jewish traditions (Matthew 15:3). Most prevalent, perhaps, is the idea that one’s genealogy from Adam or Abraham—instead of faith in Christ—makes someone a “chosen” heir of the promises of God. That is a subset of materialism and carnal beliefs. Paul refutes this in Romans 11:1-7, where he points out that only a tiny “remnant” of biological Israelites were actually “chosen,” while the vast majority of them were “hardened” (NASB) or “blinded” (KJV). They were “chosen” (Romans 11:7) on account of their faith, not the atoms of their physical biology.

Because of Adam’s sin, the earth itself came under the curse of the law (Genesis 3:17), and that curse then applied to all who were made of material things (atoms). All men were sold into bondage on account of Adam’s sin, as long as they remain attached to the ground. But Christ came to pay the debt of the world and to release all men from its bondage. Hence, freedom comes only by faith in Christ—by being begotten by the Spirit, and then transferring one’s identity from the old man of flesh to the new man of the Spirit.

So Paul says in Colossians 2:9, 10,

⁹ For in Him, all the fullness [pleroma] of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.

The fullness of God dwells in Christ, and the larger body of Christ, being in Him, “have been made complete.” Whereas Epicurus taught that men resign themselves to a life of bondage and do what they can to derive some pleasure out of life and avoid pain, Paul taught the path to actual freedom. Epicurean philosophy taught hopelessness. Life was short and meaningless. But Paul taught that death was not the end but would end in resurrection. Romans 8:23 says that believers have hope, “waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

The Hope of Creation

Romans 8:19-21 says,

¹⁹ For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Creation itself is destined to “be set free from its slavery.” But this will not happen until the revealing (or manifestation, unveiling) of the sons of God. The sons of God are the first fruits of creation. This is what gives creation hope. While Epicurus was resigned to a life of futility and bondage to the elements under the divine curse, Christ paid the price to redeem the entire creation, beginning with “the sons of God.”

Hence, not only do believers receive the fullness of Christ by faith, but ultimately, “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14). In other words, the same pleroma of glory that fills believers today will fill the entire earth as a whole, so that creation will fulfill the purpose for which it was created. While we do not minimize the seriousness of the present conflict, we know how history ends. It ends in God’s total victory, and the result is that God will be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28).