Colossians 2:18

"which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s."

Key Reflection

This verse suggests that the ceremonial laws and practices at the time were mere shadows or symbols pointing towards the truth found in Christ. The actual substance, or reality, of what these rituals foreshadowed is found in Christ himself.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 18. Let no man beguile you of your reward. Marg., judge against you. The word here used katabrabeuw occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It is a word which was employed with reference to the distribution of prizes at the Grecian games, and means, to give the prize against any one, to deprive of the palm. Hence it means to deprive of a due reward; and the sense here is, that they were to be on their guard lest the "reward"--the crown of victory to which they looked forward--should be wrested from them by the arts of others. That would be done if they should be persuaded to turn back, or to falter in the race.

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