Colossians 2:22
(referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The Apostle isn't just saying these rules are bad because they're from people. He's highlighting that the very things they prohibit or mandate—food and drink—are destined to be consumed and disappear. This underscores the futility of building spiritual life around things that are inherently temporary and perishing.
Paul is concluding his argument against the false teachers who were imposing their own rules on the Colossian believers, especially regarding food and ascetic practices. He has just urged them to remember they are "dead with Christ" and therefore freed from such earthly regulations. This verse dismisses those man-made rules as ultimately perishable and based on human ideas, not divine command.
Ever wonder why some rules feel like they’re designed to fade away? The Apostle Paul points out something profound about certain religious practices.
Things Made to Fade
The verse asks us to consider practices that "all perish as they are used." Think about food – you can't 'use' it without it eventually being consumed and gone. Paul uses this everyday reality to critique certain religious rules.
Paul contrasts the fading rules with their source. Where do these regulations actually come from?
The Source Matters
The core of Paul's argument in this verse is that these restrictive rules are not from God, but from humans. This distinction is crucial.
Understand the original words
phthoran · Greek Noun
Refers to the temporal, transient nature of material things. Scripture contrasts these decaying physical elements with the eternal realities of the kingdom of God.
entalmata · Greek Noun
Refers to rules or traditions established by people rather than those ordained by God. In the New Testament, these are often contrasted with the authoritative commands of Christ and the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
The verse challenges practices that focus on temporary, physical regulations, highlighting that true spirituality transcends these fleeting earthly concerns, a stark contrast to the material and ascetic focus of the false teachings in Colossae.
c. 150 BC - 50 BC
Rise of Essene-like Ascetic Movements
Groups emerged that practiced strict asceticism, including dietary laws and rituals, emphasizing purity and separation from the world.
c. 40 BC - 50 AD
Influence of Hellenistic Philosophy and Jewish Sects
The cultural landscape of the Roman Empire blended Greek philosophy (Stoicism, Platonism) with Jewish traditions, leading to diverse interpretations of religious practice and the body.
c. 50 AD - 62 AD— this verse
Paul's Ministry and Letter Writing
The Apostle Paul actively evangelized and established churches throughout the Roman Empire, addressing theological challenges through his epistles.
c. 60 AD - 62 AD
Writing of Colossians
Paul writes the Epistle to the Colossians, likely while imprisoned, to counter a syncretistic heresy that blended elements of Judaism, Gnosticism, and local pagan beliefs.
This passage directly echoes Jesus' teaching that what goes into a person's mouth does not defile them, aligning with the idea in Colossians that food and similar restrictions are temporary and don't impact true spiritual purity.
Romans 14:17This verse explicitly states that the kingdom of God is not about food and drink but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, reinforcing the Colossians' point that outward regulations miss the true essence of spiritual life.
1 Corinthians 6:13This verse highlights that food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy both, underscoring the perishable nature of physical provisions mentioned in Colossians.
Isaiah 29:13Jesus and Paul both quote this prophecy about people honoring God with their lips but having hearts far from Him, showing that human traditions and teachings in worship are ultimately empty and ineffective.
henryColossians 2:18-23: "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,"
2:18-23 It looked like humility to apply to angels, as if men were conscious of their unworthiness to speak directly to God. But it is not warrantable; it is taking that honour which is due to Christ only, and giving it to a creature. There really was pride in this seeming humility. Those who wors…
calvinColossians 2:20-23: "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,"
- If ye are dead. He had previously said, that the ordinances were fastened to the cross of Christ. (Colossians 2:14.) He now employs another figure of speech -- that we are dead to them, as he teaches us elsewhere, that we are dead to the law, and the law, on the other hand, to us. (Galatians 2:19.) The term death means abrogation, [416]…
The Apostle isn't just saying these rules are bad because they're from people. He's highlighting that the very things they prohibit or mandate—food and drink—are destined to be consumed and disappear. This underscores the futility of building spiritual life around things that are inherently temporary and perishing.
Paul is concluding his argument against the false teachers who were imposing their own rules on the Colossian believers, especially regarding food and ascetic practices. He has just urged them to remember they are "dead with Christ" and therefore freed from such earthly regulations. This verse dismisses those man-made rules as ultimately perishable and based on human ideas, not divine command.
Paul is concluding his argument against the false teachers who were imposing their own rules on the Colossian believers, especially regarding food and ascetic practices. He has just urged them to remember they are "dead with Christ" and therefore freed from such earthly regulations. This verse dismisses those man-made rules as ultimately perishable and based on human ideas, not divine command.
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"(referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?" — The Apostle isn't just saying these rules are bad because they're from people. He's highlighting that the very things they prohibit or mandate—food and drink—are destined to be consumed and disappear…
