Colossians 2:23

Which things have indeed a shadow of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and severity to the body, but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.

Some things are startlingly clear in this passage so often disputed. Note these conclusions:

Whatever human precepts and ordinances may exhibit as to their "wisdom," it is a delusion, for "they are not of any value."

Will-worship means the kind of actions engaged in because they please the worshiper, and not because they were commanded by the Lord.

Humility is a fine thing, if it is true humility; but a false humility pretending to be too God-fearing to approach God as God has directed, and then seeking to approach through some angel, or human mediator, or through some deceased saint, such so-called humility is actually spiritual arrogance.

THE WORSHIPING OF ANGELS

Of course this is condemned in the New Testament, not merely in this chapter, but throughout. Even the apostle John "fell down before the feet of an angel to worship him" (Revelation 19:10), but was forbidden to do so. Then, later, the apostle made a distinction between "falling down to worship the angel" and falling down in the presence of the angel to worship God, only to be ordered not to do either one! (Revelation 22:8,9). Thus is established the principle that a Christian may neither worship such a being as an angel, and certainly not any such thing as an image, and that it is also sinful to bow down before either on the pretext that we are not worshipping the angel (or the image) but are worshipping God!

The angel worship Paul was combating in this chapter was the Jewish apostasy from the worship of God supported by the same specious reasoning by which the medieval church sought to justify the adoration of images in Christian worship. Barry has an illuminating paragraph on this:

This (the worship of angels) is closely connected with the voluntary humility Paul mentioned. The link is supplied by the notice in the ancient interpreters, of the early growth of that unhappy idea, which has always lain at the root of saint-worship and angel worship in the church ... "That we must be brought near by angels, and not by Christ, for that were too high a thing for us" (Chrysostom).

Since the Law had been given through the ministration of angels, it was held that angels might be worshipped, probably with the same subtle distinction with which we are familiar in the ordinary pleas for the veneration of saints?[53]