Let no man deprive you of the prize who takes delight in a mock humility and a form of worship of the angels, ‘taking his stand on’ the things he has seen, puffed up without proper cause by his fleshly frame of mind,

15. What could Christians at Colossae lose by accepting the arguments of false teachers?

¹⁵ For Christians at Colossae to yield to the persuasions of a promoter of false doctrine could result in their being deprived of the “prize” set before them. What was this prize? It was the glorious reward of immortal heavenly life.​—1 Cor. 9:24-27; Phil. 3:14; 2 Tim. 4:7, 8; Rev. 2:7.

16. According to Paul’s words at Colossians 2:18, what kind of appearance might a teacher of error make?

¹⁶ As the apostle Paul pointed out, a man who would deprive a Christian of the valuable prize of life might seem quite innocent of wrongdoing. The apostle described him as one “who takes delight in a mock humility.” (Col. 2:18) So, to all appearances, he was a man of great condescension. Yet this condescension, or humility, was only a false front.

17. (a) What did the apostle Paul mean when describing a false teacher as one who had ‘taken his stand on the things he has seen’? (b) How was such a false teacher “puffed up without proper cause by his fleshly frame of mind”?

¹⁷ What he was in actuality is evident from Paul’s referring to such a one as “‘taking his stand on’ the things he has seen, puffed up without proper cause by his fleshly frame of mind.” (Col. 2:18) What did the apostle mean by saying this about a teacher of falsehood? The expression “taking his stand on” was a phrase anciently used in connection with the initiation rites of pagan mysteries. Not satisfied with the complete and simple truth revealed through Jesus Christ, he took pride in the belief that he had attained wisdom and holiness superior to what his Christian brothers shared generally. By trying to supplement Christian truth with false, speculative reasoning, he actually deviated from the faith. In his estimation, the Son of God was not the sole depository of knowledge and wisdom. Such a person did not believe the inspired words: “Carefully concealed in him [Christ] are all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.” (Col. 2:3) He insisted that there were depositories of knowledge and wisdom other than God’s Son that could be looked to by the congregation for direction.