“After the commandments and doctrines of men?”
The full verse · Colossians 2:22 · KJV
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Asked by
Paul: the apostle writing to the church at Colosse, finishing the question he began in Colossians 2:20
Asked to
Colossians: the saints and faithful believers at Colosse, being urged to keep rules such as "Touch not; taste not; handle not" (Colossians 2:21)
The Scene
Paul is completing the question he began in Colossians 2:20, having just quoted sample rules: "Touch not; taste not; handle not" (Colossians 2:21).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThese closing words name where the rules came from: from men, not from God. Paul wants the Colossians to ask why they would let human rules govern people who have died with Christ. Barnes says the words of Colossians 2:21 seem intended as "a specimen of the kind of ordinances which the apostle refers to," and that many such ordinances were "handed down by tradition. They depended on human authority only." Gill says Paul speaks the rules "in the person of the Jewish doctors," that is, voicing what those teachers demanded. The question exposes the rules' human source so that they lose their hold.
The Response
What Scripture recordsPaul answers in the next line. Such things "have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh" (Colossians 2:23). They look wise but do not help against the flesh. Then he turns the readers upward: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above" (Colossians 3:1).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe KJV prints Colossians 2:21-22a as a parenthesis: "(Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;)". The rules concerned food and drink and things that wear out as they are used. Barnes thinks it most probable that this clause is Paul's own comment, and if so, he says of these things, "They were all to perish with the use of them," and adds that "It could really then be of no great importance what was eaten, or what was drunk, provided it was not in itself injurious." Matthew Henry, in the first of two readings he offers, says such things "all are to perish with the using, having no intrinsic worth in themselves."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyPaul's phrase echoes the words of Jesus, who quoted Isaiah against those who were "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9; Isaiah 29:13). In both places the problem is the same: human rules put in the place of God's word, as if they could make people clean. Jesus taught that "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man" (Matthew 15:11).
Matthew Henry sums up the alternative: "the gospel teaches us to worship God in spirit and truth and not by ritual observances." God is not honored by rules about perishing things but by hearts set on Christ, in whom believers are "complete" (Colossians 2:10).
Look Closer
What two problems with the rules does Paul name in Colossians 2:22?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, show me where I have treated human rules as if they were Your commands; what do You want me to seek instead?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- How can you tell the difference between a command of God and a rule people have added to it?
- Share a rule you once thought made you closer to God. What did you learn about it?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Not every rule that sounds spiritual comes from God. When a practice is pressed on you as necessary for holiness, ask Paul's question: is this after the commandments and doctrines of men? Look for where Scripture actually speaks.
Rules about perishing things can look wise and humble, but they cannot change the heart (Colossians 2:23). Put your energy into seeking "those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1).
This does not mean all tradition is bad or that you should look down on believers with stricter habits. Paul's warning is against making human rules a standard for judging others or for standing with God (Colossians 2:16). Scripture's own application: Colossians 3:1-2
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