Colossians 2.20b-21-The Colossians Must Reject the Judaizers Teaching of the Mosaic Law Because They Have with Christ
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday March 6, 2016
Colossians: Colossians 2:20b-21-The Colossians Must Reject the Judaizers’ Teaching of the Law Because They Have Died with Christ
Lesson # 63
Colossians 2:20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (NASB95)
“Why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’” is a rhetorical question which constitutes the apodosis of a first class conditional statement which presents the assumption of truth for the sake of argument.
“As if you were living in the world” is composed of the following: (1) comparative particle hōs (ὡς), “as” (2) verb zaō (ζάω), “though you were living” (3) preposition en (ἐν), “in” (4) noun kosmos (κόσμος), “the world.”
The verb zaō means “to live, to conduct oneself life in a particular manner” which is specified by the context.
This verb is in the participle form and functions as a conditional participle which implies hypothetically and for the sake of argument the condition of Colossians living according to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system on which the fulfillment of submitting to the Mosaic Law depends.
As was the case earlier in Colossians 2:20, the noun kosmos means “cosmic system” but this time it is the object of the preposition en, which functions as a marker of a standard or a rule.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase in conjunction with the verb zaō denotes the Colossians hypothetically for the sake of argument “living their lives according to the standards of the cosmic system.”
“Do you submit yourself to decrees” is the verb dogmatizomai (δογματίζομαι), which means “to obey certain rules and regulations, to put under obligation by rules or ordinances, to submit to a certain body of commands.”
Here it speaks of the Colossians hypothetically for the sake of argument “obeying” the various commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law in the sense of putting themselves under obligation to do so.
The present tense of the verb is a gnomic present, which would indicate that Paul is asking the Colossians as to why any of them would “at any time” put themselves under obligation to commands such as “do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”
The passive voice of this verb is a causative/permissive passive, which expresses the idea of these Colossian believers allowing or permitting themselves to obey these prohibitions listed in Colossians 2:21.
Colossians 2:20 If, and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that each and every one of you have died with Christ disassociated from the elementary teachings promoted by the cosmic system. Of course, we agree that this is true. Then, why as though all of you are living according to the standards of the cosmic system would any of you at any time allow yourselves to obey its prohibitions: “For your own benefit, do not handle, for your own benefit, do not taste, for your own benefit, do not touch!” (My translation)
In Colossians 2:20-21, the apostle Paul attempts to persuade the Colossians to reject the teaching of the Judaizers with a first class conditional statement which contains a rhetorical question.
The first class condition indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument and the idea behind the first class condition is not “since” but rather, “if-and let us assume that it is true for the sake of argument that, then...”
Here the protasis is “if and let assume that it is true for the sake argument that each and every one of you Colossians have died with Christ disassociated from the elementary teachings promoted by the cosmic system.”
This is a responsive first class condition which would mean that the Colossians would agree with Paul’s premise since they were familiar with his teaching regarding their identification with Christ in His death since Epaphras communicated this teaching to them.
The apodosis is “then why, as though all of you were living according to the standards of the cosmic system would any of you allow yourselves to obey its prohibitions: “for your own benefit, do not handle, for your own benefit, do not taste, for your own benefit, do not touch?’”
The relationship between the protasis and the apodosis is evidence and inference.
The evidence is that the Colossians have died with Christ disassociated from elementary teachings promoted by the cosmic system, i.e. the Mosaic Law because they are identified with Him in His death through the baptism of the Spirit.
The inference is that the Colossians must reject the Judaizers’ misinterpretation, misuse and misapplication of the Mosaic Law.
Paul is not attempting to prove that his protasis is true rather he is saying with the first class condition that we agree that this doctrine is true that we have died with Christ as a result of being identified with Him in His spiritual and physical deaths.
Thus we as Christians must reject the teaching of the Judaizers who attempt to persuade Christians to live the Christian way of life according to the Mosaic Law.
The first class condition is thus serving to persuade the Colossians to respond to the conclusion found in the apodasis that they must reject the false teaching of the Judaizers based upon the premise.
Therefore, they would have to come to his conclusion if they submit to this line of argumentation.
In Colossians 2:20, in the apodosis, as we noted, Paul employs a rhetorical question which is presenting a comparison between the Colossians hypothetically for the sake of argument living according to the standards of the cosmic system of Satan and their submitting to the Mosaic Law.
In this rhetorical question, Paul hypothetically and for the sake of argument implies the condition of Colossians living according to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system on which the fulfillment of submitting to the Mosaic Law depends.
In other words, he is telling the Colossians that they would have to be living according to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system if they submitted to the commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law.
The Colossians would have to live according to the standards of the cosmic system in order for them to submit themselves to the commands and prohibitions of the Mosaic Law.
In Colossians 2:21, Paul presents three prohibitions which all refer to the Mosaic Law.
Specifically, they refer to the various prohibitions in the Mosaic Law which were designed to protect the Israelite from becoming ritually unclean.
The first prohibition denies any idea of a Jew coming into contact with something that is ritually unclean.
The second denies any idea of the Jew tasting or eating anything which would make them ritually unclean according to the Mosaic Law.
The third denies any idea of the Jew touching anything even though only temporarily which would make them ritually unclean according to the Mosaic Law.
All three of these prohibitions speak of basic purity rules which are found extensively in the Mosaic Law.
They are not all in reference to the dietary regulations of the Law.
There were commands and prohibitions in the Mosaic Law which governed what a Jew could eat or not eat (see Leviticus 11).
That which they could not eat was considered “unclean” and that which they could eat was “clean.”
So Paul is teaching in Colossians 2:20-21 that the Mosaic Law which was designed to govern the ritual purity of the citizens of the nation of Israel does not govern the life of the church since the church age believer, whether Jew or Gentile has died to the Law because of their identification with Christ in His death.
In fact, he teaches in Colossians 2:22-23 that the Judaizers’ teaching that the Mosaic Law must govern the life of the church is simply the teaching of men rather than God.
This is the case since these men were seeking to do what God did not want to do, namely He did not want the life of the church to be governed by the Mosaic Law but rather by the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ.
This was not God’s idea that the conduct of the church would be governed by the Mosaic Law since God through the death of Christ and the baptism of the Spirit caused the Christian to die with regards to the Law.
The Judaizers were in direct opposition to God by teaching the Law governs the conduct of the church.
God’s design was that the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ would govern the conduct of the church.
So in Colossians 2:20-21, Paul is protecting the faithful Christians in Colossae from legalism and asceticism.
The former refers to someone seeking to impose rules and regulations upon a Christian which are the result of misinterpretation and misapplication of the Bible.
The Judaizers were misinterpreting the Mosaic Law and misapplying it to both the Jewish and Gentile Christian.
The prohibition in Colossians 2:16 and the one in Colossians 2:8 seek to address this problem with the Judaizers in Colossae.
Satan and his kingdom were behind this legalism since Paul teaches in Colossians 2:8 and 20 that the teaching of the Judaizers was promoted by the cosmic system of Satan.
Asceticism is the idea that abstinence from physical things like food or sex is essential for spiritual purity.
The phrase “self-made religion” (Colossians 2:23) reflect the asceticism of the Essenes as does “self-abasement” and “severe treatment of the body” (2:23).