Scripture Reading: Col. 2:20-23
In His economy God gives us one Person and one way. The one Person is the preeminent, all-inclusive Christ, and the one way is the cross. As the all-inclusive One, Christ is everything to us. He is God, man, and the reality of every positive thing in the universe. God has given us this marvelous Person to be our salvation. The one Person, Christ, is the center of the universe; and the one way, the cross, is the center of God’s government. God governs everything by the cross and deals with everything by the cross. Therefore, just as Christ is the focal point of the universe, so the cross is the center of God’s government.
In this book Paul points out to the Colossians that nothing should become a substitute for Christ. Christ should not be replaced by ordinances, observances, mysticism, or philosophy. Christ is everything and must not be replaced by anything. In the previous message we covered the matter of Christ versus mysticism. In Colossians mysticism includes Gnosticism and asceticism. Christ is versus all manner of isms. He is versus every kind of replacement and substitute.
We have pointed out that all the positive things in the universe are shadows of Christ. For example, our houses are a shadow of Christ as the real dwelling place. Since Christ is the substance of all the shadows, we should not allow the shadows to be a substitute for the One who is the body, the reality. How foolish to take shadows in place of the reality! The book of Colossians makes it clear that the all-inclusive Christ is everything to us. God’s intention is not to give us thousands of items; it is simply to give us one Person, the all-inclusive Christ.
Midway through chapter two, Paul begins to show us that the cross is God’s unique way. God’s way is not asceticism. It is not to humble ourselves, to abase ourselves, or to treat ourselves severely. The one way is the way of the cross. By the cross God has dealt with all the negative things in the universe. Furthermore, God is still governing everything through the cross. Therefore, we have one Person and one way; that is, we have Christ and the cross.
In this message we shall go on to see that the experience of Christ’s death is versus asceticism. In the Christian life there is no place for asceticism, no place for treating the body severely in the attempt to restrict the indulgence of the flesh. Asceticism is not God’s way. On the contrary, it is a human invention, a product of man’s fallen mind. Hindus and Buddhists may practice asceticism, but Christians should not.
Asceticism is part of the “elements of the world” spoken of in 2:20. These elements are the elementary principles of outward, material things, the childish teachings of externalism. These elements denote the rudimentary teachings of both Jews and Gentiles, teachings that consist of asceticism and of ritualistic observances in meats, drink, and washings. It is an elementary principle of asceticism to mistreat the body or to treat ourselves severely in an effort to suppress the flesh. God’s way, the way of the cross, is altogether different.
According to the economy of God’s salvation, the cross is God’s central way in the universe. However, most Christians see little of the cross in relation to the spiritual world. For the most part, Christians appreciate the physical aspect of the cross, the aspect that can be observed with human eyes. But in verses 14 and 15 there is a window through which we can see into the spiritual side of the cross of Christ. When Christ was on the cross, He was not only suffering; He was working to accomplish redemption by bearing our sins and by doing the Father’s will. God was also working, wiping out the handwriting in ordinances by nailing it to the cross. As we have pointed out, the evil angelic rulers and authorities were busy also, having come to interfere with what God and Christ were doing. But God stripped them off, triumphed over them in the cross, and put them to an open shame. Of course, on the physical side, the Roman soldiers and the Jewish religionists were also very active. Because all this activity was brought to a focus on the cross, the cross became God’s eternal, central, and unique way.
I wish to emphasize the fact that God’s way is not asceticism. No Christian should practice asceticism. As believers in Christ, we are not a joyless people. On the contrary, we are a joyful people, those who constantly rejoice in the Lord. Why then should we inflict pain on our bodies or mistreat ourselves? How foolish! Our way, the unique way, is the cross. Therefore, the experience of the cross is versus asceticism.
In 2:20 Paul points out that we have died with Christ from the elements of the world. These elements include Jewish observances, heathen ordinances, and philosophy. They also include mysticism and asceticism. The elements of the world are the elementary principles of worldly society, the rudimentary principles invented by mankind and practiced in society. With Christ we have died to these elements of the world. When Christ was crucified, we were crucified also. In His crucifixion we were released from the elementary principles of the world.
Since we have died with Christ from the elements of the world, Paul asks us why as living in the world we subject ourselves to ordinances. In a rebuking tone, Paul asked the believers in Colosse why they continued to subject themselves to ordinances, referring to the very elementary principles from which they had died in Christ. The world in this verse refers not to the physical earth, but to human society, to mankind. Therefore, Paul was asking the believers why they still subjected themselves to ordinances as if they were still living in human society.
In verse 21 Paul lists some of these ordinances: “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.” These are rules and regulations in material things. These rules refer respectively to things that move, to things that are edible, and to things that are tangible. Handling, tasting, and touching include virtually every kind of action. Because these regulations are related to the practice of asceticism, to submit to ordinances concerning handling, tasting, and touching is to practice asceticism.
Many years ago I met a brother who had been an orthodox Jew before becoming a Christian. In our fellowship together, he related many stories about various Jewish practices. He told me that some orthodox Jews place their shoes in a certain direction when they retire for the night, a practice supposedly based on a verse in the Old Testament. They believe that if they do not place their shoes in the proper direction, they will lose God’s blessing. What superstition! I am amazed that the Jews, an intelligent people who value education, could be so superstitious. Those who do not have Christ and the cross are often superstitious and also given to the practice of asceticism.
As those who have the one Person and the one way, we do not need regulations about where to place our shoes. When we go to bed at night, however, we should pass through the cross. This means that no matter what we have done during the day or what has happened to us, the cross takes care of everything. Suppose in the afternoon you are made unhappy in some way by your wife or husband. At bedtime you need to apply the cross to your feeling of unhappiness. If you do this, the feeling of unhappiness will disappear. This indicates that our way is the cross, not asceticism or any severe treatment of the self. Realizing that we have already died in Christ, we should go to bed at night with a consciousness of the cross. If we practice going to bed through the cross, lying down with the realization that we have died in Christ, the next morning we shall wake up in resurrection as a new person. We not only have Christ, the unique Person who is versus all things; we also have the cross, the unique way, which is versus all other ways.
Because we have Christ and the cross, there is no place for self-imposed humility. There is no need for us to train ourselves to be humble. I have observed, both in the Orient and in the West, that the most proud people are those who have learned to practice a form of humility. We need not learn such practices. Rather, we should simply take the unique way of the cross.
Driving down the street can be a reminder of the way of the cross. As we drive, we come to many intersections. Have you realized that every intersection is a cross? Some of these crosses may be large and others may be small, but they are all crosses. Only by passing through many crosses can we get to our destination. Speaking of spiritual experience, we also must pass through many crosses before we can reach the New Jerusalem. Just as we cannot travel very far geographically without crossing an intersection, so we cannot progress spiritually without passing through the cross. Only when we arrive at the New Jerusalem shall we cease to pass through the cross, for by that time all the negative things will have been eliminated. Until we come to the New Jerusalem, we need to pass through the cross day by day in our walk with the Lord.
I can testify that it is a healthy spiritual practice to pass through the cross every night when we go to bed. By applying the cross at the end of each day, I rest very well during the night. At bedtime we need to apply the cross to every problem and to every negative, natural, or sinful thing. We may pray, “Lord, I want all these things to pass through the cross. I do not want to go to sleep with any natural, sinful, negative, or worldly element that has not been dealt with. When I go to bed, Lord, I want to be a person who has been crossed out.” We need to be those who pass through one cross after another. I encourage you to daily pass through the intersection of the cross.
Because we have Christ as the unique Person and the cross as the unique way, we do not need asceticism. Furthermore, we do not even need to make up our minds with respect to certain things. Such a practice does not work. What we need to do is simply lie down through the cross at night, have a restful sleep, and then rise up in the morning in resurrection. Praise the Lord that the experience of Christ’s death is versus asceticism!
Let us now look at 2:20-23 in more detail. Verses 20 through 22 are actually one sentence, three verses that make up Paul’s question. According to verse 20, Paul asks the Colossians why they subject themselves to ordinances. In Greek the word translated “ordinances” is actually a verb. This indicates that Paul was asking why the Colossians were “ordinancing” themselves. Then in verse 21 Paul lists three ordinances about handling, tasting, and touching. In verse 22 he goes on to say that these are things “which are all for corruption in the using.” The Greek words for corruption and using may be rendered destruction and consumption respectively. Here Paul is saying that all material things are destined to decompose and to be destroyed through corruption when they are used (1 Cor. 6:13; Matt. 15:17).
Whenever we use a thing, that thing is eventually destroyed or corrupted through use. For example, whatever we eat is destroyed in the eating, whether it is clean or unclean according to the Levitical dietary regulations. Since whatever we eat is destroyed in the using, there is no need for us to be subject to regulations about eating. In Acts 10 Peter was still concerned about what was clean and what was unclean. But the voice from heaven told Peter that what God had cleansed he should not regard as common. In Colossians 2 Paul is encouraging the saints not to care about the regulations of asceticism regarding things which are all for corruption in the using. Whatever we use will eventually be destroyed and become nothing. In particular, when food is consumed, it is destroyed. Thus, there was no need for the saints to regulate their eating by ordinances.
Paul could write such a word because he had seen a clear vision of the all-inclusive Christ as the one Person and of the cross as the one way in God’s administration. Therefore, he did not care for regulations about handling, tasting, or touching. He would not be occupied with ordinances. He knew that all material things perish with the using and eventually come to nothing. Paul realized that the believers in Colosse needed to see a great vision of the all-inclusive Christ and of the cross as God’s way in His administration. We also need a clear view of Christ and the cross.
Apart from God’s one way, we should have no ordinances and no particular ways or practices. The way God has ordained, uplifted, and honored is the cross of Christ. The cross is our only way. Do you know what can solve the problem of quarreling between husband and wife? It can be solved only by the cross. In the same principle, only the cross can enable the leading ones in a locality to be one and in perfect harmony. We all need to pass through the cross. If we do not experience the cross, we cannot have the proper church life. All the saints must learn to daily pass through the cross. By passing through all manner of crosses, large and small, we shall have oneness and harmony in the church life.
In the church life it is possible to have oneness without harmony. In order to have a sweet harmonious oneness, we all must daily pass through the cross. Do not argue that you are right and that others are wrong. The more you dispute in this way, the less you pass through the cross. To repeat, the way to our destination is through the intersection of the cross. Do not avoid any cross. On the contrary, pass through all the crosses you encounter in the Christian life, in the family life, and in the church life. In married life and in the church life in particular, you need to pass through the cross daily, even hourly. In Ephesians 4 Paul exhorts us not to allow the sun to go down on our anger. This means that we should let go of our anger by passing through the cross. If we have a daily life of passing through the cross, there will be harmony both in the family life and in the church life. Praise the Lord for Christ and the cross! God has given us one Person — the all-inclusive Christ and one way — the cross.
