Colossians 2:18
“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →No one should disqualify them by insisting on false humility and the worship of angels, dwelling on visions and puffed up by a fleshly mind.
What Does Colossians 2:18 Mean?
Paul names another face of the false teaching. Let no man beguile you of your reward -- do not let anyone defraud you, acting as a self-appointed judge who declares you unfit unless you adopt their practices.
The practices are telling: a voluntary humility that is really a show, worshipping of angels rather than Christ, and a fixation on supposed visions, intruding into those things which he hath not seen. Paul exposes the pride beneath the false modesty -- such a person is vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, inflated by the very ego he pretends to deny. The remedy is to keep eyes on Christ, not on spiritual experiences paraded as superior. For the Colossians, the warning is sharp: teaching that exalts angels and private visions while sidelining the Lord is pride masquerading as devotion. True humility holds to Christ alone.