Col 2:16-23 | Family | STEP | Judge you ; pronounce you good or bad, according to your treatment of the ceremonial law. A holy-day--sabbath-days ; in the original, a festival--sabbaths. The days referred to are those required to be observed in the ceremonial law--days associated by God with meats, drinks, and new moons. The passage does not refer to the Sabbath of the moral law, associated with the commands forbidding theft, murder, and adultery. This weekly Sabbath was never against men or contrary to them, but was always for them, and promotive of their highest good. The observance of it caused them to ride upon the high places of the earth, and to possess the heritage of God's people. .

Colossians 2:16-23

Judge you; pronounce you good or bad, according to your treatment of the ceremonial law.

A holy-day--sabbath-days; in the original, a festival--sabbaths. The days referred to are those required to be observed in the ceremonial law--days associated by God with meats, drinks, and new moons. The passage does not refer to the Sabbath of the moral law, associated with the commands forbidding theft, murder, and adultery. This weekly Sabbath was never against men or contrary to them, but was always for them, and promotive of their highest good. The observance of it caused them to ride upon the high places of the earth, and to possess the heritage of God's people. Isa 58:13,14; Jer 17:21-27. A shadow; of the Redeemer who was to come; pointing to him as the only and all-sufficient Saviour.

The body is of Christ; he is the substance to which, as shadows, all the Jewish rites referred. Circumcision and all the Mosaic rites and ceremonies were designed to show men their need of inward purification, and the necessity of believing on Christ in order to obtain it. In him we have all that we need. There is no occasion, then, that we look for salvation to Jewish, or other kindred ceremonies, to saints, to the Virgin Mary, or to any one except Christ. Of your reward; that which Christ bestows on those who cleave to him, and seek salvation through him.

In a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels; the apostle apparently speaks of that false humility which they had who pretended that God was too great to be approached except through created beings, such as angels. Thus their false teachers sought to draw them away from Christ, as if they needed ceremonies and mediators not prescribed in the gospel; whereas neither saints nor angels nor the Virgin Mary can help us as mediators; and Christ, if we trust in him, will do for us all that we need.

Vainly puffed up; whatever appearances of humility or piety any may have who teach that you need other mediators besides Christ, or other observances besides those which he has appointed, they are ignorant or selfish, worldly and wicked, deceivers or deceived. If honest in what they say, they are blind leaders of the blind. Mt 15:14. Persons who occupy themselves in matters beyond the limits of the human mind, are wanting in humility as well as in wisdom and goodness. They are generally vain and light-minded, superficial and proud. Head; Christ.

The body; the church, which is composed of all who truly believe in him.

The increase of God; the increase which God bestows, consisting in faith, love, joy, peace, and other graces of the Spirit. Ga 5:22,23. If ye be dead with Christ; compare, for this idea of dying with Christ, Ro 6:3-11, and the notes on that passage. By dying with Christ, the Colossians had renounced sin and worldly confidence in the rudiments of the world; that is, the Mosaic ceremonies; see note to verse Col 2:8. Why then, as though living in the world, and not dead to it with Christ, would they be subject to ordinances; have the vain worldly ordinances which they professed to have renounced imposed upon them? Why seek justification by Jewish ordinances, which forbid certain meats or drinks, and make vain distinctions of days. Verse Col 2:16. Touch not--handle not; samples of these worldly ordinances pertaining to the Jewish distinction of meats. Which all are to perish with the using; a parenthetical remark thrown in by the apostle to show that these meats can bring no real defilement to the soul; for they all perish with the using, and pass away without touching the true inner man. Compare the exactly similar argument of our Saviour, Mr 7:14-23; which is the best commentary on the present passage.

After the commandments--of men; to be connected immediately with the words, "why--are ye subject to ordinances?" verse Col 2:20. A show of wisdom; an empty show without the reality. He then names three things in which this vain show is made.

Will-worship; of man's invention, not required of God.

Humility; a vain show of it. See note to verse Col 2:18.

Neglecting of the body; unsparing treatment of it by austerities of man's invention.

Not in any honor; meaning, according to some, while they refuse to bestow any honor on the body, but vilify it by their false severity towards it. But we may better understand the words as referring to all the preceding part of the verse, and describing the things named which have a show of wisdom as having in them no true honor towards God, but being, on the contrary, utterly worthless.

To the satisfying of the flesh; referring to all the preceding things, as having for their end not true holiness, but only the satisfying of the fleshly mind. Every thing which draws men away from Christ as the only foundation of human hope, or leads them to seek salvation in any way except through faith in him, tends to rob them of blessings which, by continued active faith and obedience, they would obtain.