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Colossians 2:16b – The Risk of Rules

… by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 

young man sitting in church, wearing a hat, drinking coffee and sporting tattoos.

Summary: In this passage, Paul gives us a rule about rules. 

Let’s review the entire verse before we start our meditation: 

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.” 

Paul begins with “Therefore…” referring to his prior statement that God made us “alive in Christ” (Col 2:13) and has canceled our “legal indebtedness” (Col 2:14) by means of the cross, “do not let anyone judge you by legalistic requirements.“

This is not a mysterious statement or a confusing metaphor. Paul is speaking as plainly as humanly possible here. There is no chance that anyone would or could misunderstand his point. 

Except we do. 

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Colossians 2:16a – Only Jesus

Therefore do not let anyone judge you …

Summary: Paul continues to explain what it means to be a believer in Jesus. Human rules count for nothing. All that matters is faith in our Savior.

As I sat down to write this meditation, I was debating with myself about whether or not I should tackle the whole verse. The more I stared at it, the more the first seven words cried out for special attention. So … before you judge me, know that I at least thought about including the whole verses before I chopped it up.

When Paul says, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you …” I tend to think to myself, “Yeah, right.” How does Paul expect us to stop people from judging us? On top of this is a larger question: How is the church supposed to function if people are not to judge?

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Colossians 2:15b – Forced to Choose

… he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Summary: The world and our Lord will always have different priorities. God’s way is the way to Light and Life. The world’s way leads to death.

When it comes to finding contenders for “The Most Counter-Intuitive Statement Ever,” this passage might take the cake.

The whole idea of the cross, as far as the Romans were concerned, was to humiliate and torture a person so badly that no one would ever “cross” the Roman authorities again. Think of the cross as a giant billboard reading, “THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!”

Getting nailed to a cross was not considered a sign of triumph.

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Colossians 2:15a – Standing With Jesus

And having disarmed the powers and authorities …

Summary: Understanding Paul’s reference to “powers and authorities” requires that we understand the difference between the spirit and the flesh. 

I find this particular passage very intriguing. In the context of the larger passage, Paul has just stated that Jesus took our “legal indebtedness” and nailed it to the cross. Then he turns around and says that, by doing that, he has “disarmed the powers and authorities…”

Who is he talking about?

He didn’t disarm the Romans. The Pharisees and Sadducees were still in power when Jesus died. Who did Jesus “disarm”?

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Colossians 2:14b – Fixing a Boo-Boo

… which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 

Cross with small notes (representing sins) nailed to it.

Summary: The concept of having our sins nailed to the cross is hard to understand. Looked at through the lens of the Old Testament, it begins to make more sense. 

Paul is working very hard to explain Jesus to us. He begins with Jesus is the “fullness of the Deity … in bodily form” (v 9). Theologians have a lot of fancy words to describe what this means, but they know less than Paul did because Paul had actually met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). 

Notice Paul’s careful wording: “For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives …” Jesus describes it this way: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). We are not supposed to understand how this works. Instead, we are expected to believe Jesus and Paul and take them at their word. 

So, God himself becomes man in the form of Jesus. What then? 

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Colossians 2:14a – Legally Dead

…  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness …

Court order reading "Eternity in Hell" and stamped "Canceled"

Summary: Understanding what it means to have our “legal indebtedness” canceled requires an understanding of the law.

We know from previous passages that Paul often mixes metaphors with reality. We also know it can be hard to tell the difference. This passage presents us with the same question: Is Paul speaking literally or metaphorically?

The concept of “legal indebtedness” depends on the existence of law. Without laws, nothing is illegal.

God’s law is like that. God doesn’t need a legislature to confirm his laws or a police force to enforce them. All God has to do is speak, and his words become law.

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Colossians 2:13b – Dripping Sin

He forgave us all our sins …

sponge dripping water

Summary: Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God forgives us all our sins. But how much is “all?” The answer to that question is worth thinking about. 

How many sins is “all”?

When Paul writes that God “forgave us all our sins,” what comes to mind?

The Greek word Paul used for “sin” in today’s passage is “paráptōma.” Its meaning can include both unintentional errors and willful transgressions. So, are we back to counting errors and omissions, right?

Not so fast …

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Colossians 2:13a – The Greatest Gift

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. 

Summary: Paul, himself, provides the summary for this meditation. In fact, this passage summarizes the entire Bible! 

In this passage, Paul captures the heart of the entire Bible.

•   Genesis chapters 1–3 describe how we became “dead” in our sins.
•   Genesis 4 through the end of the Old Testament (Malachi 4) describe the uncircumcised life of the flesh.
•   The New Testament is all about God making us alive with Christ.
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Colossians 2:12b – The Workings of God

… in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Summary: Understanding Paul’s language requires understanding the reality of the spiritual realm. 

If being “buried with him in baptism” is a metaphor for spiritual things, how much more is the rest of Paul’s sentence?

Actually, Paul’s sentence is more of a “mixed metaphor.”

The last part, where he writes “the working of God, who raised him [Jesus] from the dead,” is literal and true. God did raise Jesus from the dead. This same Jesus whom God raised to life two thousand years ago is alive today.

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