Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: New Living Translation You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, English Standard Version If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— Berean Standard Bible If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations: Berean Literal Bible If you⁺ died with Christ, away from the elements of the world, why, as if living in the world, are you⁺ subject to decrees: King James Bible 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, New King James Version Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— New American Standard Bible 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, NASB 1995 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, NASB 1977 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, Legacy Standard Bible 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: Amplified Bible If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were still living in the world, do you submit to rules and regulations, such as, Berean Annotated Bible If you⁺ have died with Christ (the Anointed One) to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you⁺ submit to its regulations: Christian Standard Bible If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: Holman Christian Standard Bible If you died with the Messiah to the elemental forces of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: “ American Standard Version If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to ordinances, Contemporary English Version You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don't have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, English Revised Version If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to ordinances, GOD'S WORD® Translation If you have died with Christ to the world's way of doing things, why do you let others tell you how to live? It's as though you were still under the world's influence. Good News Translation You have died with Christ and are set free from the ruling spirits of the universe. Why, then, do you live as though you belonged to this world? Why do you obey such rules as International Standard Version If you have died with the Messiah to the basic principles of the world, why are you submitting to its decrees as though you still lived in the world? NET Bible If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to them as though you lived in the world? New Heart English Bible If you died with Christ from the elementary principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, Webster's Bible Translation Wherefore, if ye are dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, Weymouth New Testament If you have died with Christ and have escaped from the world's rudimentary notions, why, as though your life still belonged to the world, do you submit to such precepts as Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleIf you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations: World English Bible If you died with Christ from the elemental spirits of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionIf, then, you died with the Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as living in the world, are you subject to ordinances— Berean Literal Bible If you⁺ died with Christ, away from the elements of the world, why, as if living in the world, are you⁺ subject to decrees: Young's Literal Translation If, then, ye did die with the Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? Smith's Literal Translation If therefore ye died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as living in the world, do ye dogmatize, Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleIf then you be dead with Christ from the elements of this world, why do you yet decree as though living in the world? Catholic Public Domain Version So then, if you have died with Christ to the influences of this world, why do you still make decisions as if you were living in the world? New American Bible If you died with Christ to the elemental powers of the world, why do you submit to regulations as if you were still living in the world? New Revised Standard Version If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleTherefore, if you have died with Christ and are apart from the principles of the world why then should you be doomed as though living in the world? Aramaic Bible in Plain English For if you have died with The Messiah to the principles of the world, why are you just as if you live in the world, NT Translations Anderson New TestamentIf, then, you have died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you submit to ordinances? Godbey New Testament If along with Christ you are dead from the elements of the world, why are you dogmatized as living in the world, Haweis New Testament If then ye have been dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye dogmatically taught, Mace New Testament If then you are dead with Christ, in respect of those shadows of the Jewish state; why do ye, as if you were still in that state, submit to those ordinances? Weymouth New Testament If you have died with Christ and have escaped from the world's rudimentary notions, why, as though your life still belonged to the world, do you submit to such precepts as Worrell New Testament If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as if living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to decrees, Worsley New Testament If therefore ye be dead with Christ from the elements of the world; why, as if living in the world, are ye subject to ceremonial ordinances, Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Alive in Christ…19He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow. 20If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations: 21“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”?… Cross References If you have died with Christ Romans 6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. 2 Timothy 2:11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. to the spiritual forces of the world, Galatians 4:3 So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world. Galatians 4:9 But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. why, as though you still belonged to the world, John 17:14-16 I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. / I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. / They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. / For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. / The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. do you submit to its regulations: Mark 7:7-8 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ / You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.” Matthew 15:9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’” 1 Timothy 4:3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. Romans 6:2-4 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? / Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? / We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. Galatians 2:19-20 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. / I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Romans 7:4-6 Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. / For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death. / But now, having died to what bound us, we have been released from the law, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. Ephesians 2:15 by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace Treasury of Scripture Why if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances, if. Colossians 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Romans 6:2-11 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? … Romans 7:4-6 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God… from. Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; rudiments. John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 17:14-16 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world… 2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: subject. Colossians 2:14,16 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; … Galatians 4:3,9-12 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: … Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. Jump to Previous Alive Authority Belonged Christ Dead Death Decrees Die Died Elemental Elementary Elements Escaped Free Life Notions Orders Ordinances Precepts Principles Regulations Rudimentary Rudiments Spirits Subject Submit Universe Wherefore World World's YourselvesJump to Next Alive Authority Belonged Christ Dead Death Decrees Die Died Elemental Elementary Elements Escaped Free Life Notions Orders Ordinances Precepts Principles Regulations Rudimentary Rudiments Spirits Subject Submit Universe Wherefore World World's YourselvesColossians 2 1. Paul still exhorts them to be constant in Christ;8. to beware of philosophy, and vain traditions; 18. worshipping of angels; 20. and legal ceremonies, which are ended in Christ. If you have died with Christ This phrase refers to the believer's spiritual union with Christ in His death. In Romans 6:3-4, Paul explains that through baptism, Christians are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. This death signifies a break from the power of sin and the old self. The concept of dying with Christ is central to understanding the believer's new identity and freedom from the law's condemnation. It emphasizes the transformative power of Christ's sacrifice, which allows believers to live a new life in Him. to the spiritual forces of the world why, as though you still belonged to the world do you submit to its regulations: Persons / Places / Events 1. Paul the ApostleThe author of the letter to the Colossians, Paul writes to address false teachings and to encourage the believers in their faith. 2. Colossae An ancient city in Phrygia, Asia Minor, where the church to whom Paul is writing is located. The city was known for its diverse cultural and religious influences. 3. Christ Central to the message of Colossians, Jesus Christ is presented as the one in whom believers have died to the world and its spiritual forces. 4. Spiritual Forces of the World Refers to the elemental spiritual principles or powers that are contrary to the teachings of Christ, often associated with legalistic and ascetic practices. 5. Regulations The specific rules and ordinances that the Colossians were being tempted to follow, which were not aligned with the freedom found in Christ. Teaching Points Understanding Our Identity in ChristAs believers, we have died with Christ, which means our identity is no longer tied to the world's systems and regulations. We are called to live in the freedom and newness of life that Christ provides. Rejecting Legalism Legalistic practices and human regulations can distract from the true gospel. We must be vigilant in discerning teachings that add to or distort the simplicity of faith in Christ. Living Out Our Freedom Our freedom in Christ should lead us to live lives that reflect His love and grace, not bound by the world's expectations or pressures. Spiritual Discernment We need to develop spiritual discernment to recognize and resist the spiritual forces and principles that are contrary to the teachings of Christ. Embracing Transformation The transformation that comes from dying with Christ should be evident in our daily lives, influencing our decisions, actions, and interactions with others. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1. What is the meaning of Colossians 2:20?2. How does Colossians 2:20 challenge worldly principles in your daily life? 3. What does "died with Christ" mean for your spiritual identity and actions? 4. How can you apply Colossians 2:20 to resist legalistic religious practices today? 5. In what ways does Colossians 2:20 connect with Romans 6:2-4 about sin? 6. How does understanding Colossians 2:20 impact your relationship with secular culture? 7. What does Colossians 2:20 mean by "died with Christ to the basic principles of the world"? 8. How does Colossians 2:20 challenge legalistic practices in Christianity? 9. Why does Colossians 2:20 emphasize freedom from worldly regulations? 10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Colossians 2? 11. What does it mean to be hidden with Christ? 12. What is the Colossian Heresy? 13. What defines elemental spirits? 14. What is the Colossian Heresy? What Does Colossians 2:20 Mean If you have died with Christ“ If you have died with Christ ” (Colossians 2:20) anchors everything in our union with Jesus’ literal death and resurrection. Believers are not merely improved versions of themselves; they have been crucified with Him and raised to new life (Romans 6:3-8; Galatians 2:20). • This death severs the believer from the old life of sin and self-effort (2 Corinthians 5:17). • It also signals complete acceptance before God apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Because this is already accomplished, the Christian’s starting point is freedom, not striving. to the spiritual forces of the world We have died “ to the spiritual forces of the world ,” the unseen powers that once held sway (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 6:12). • These “elemental spirits” traffic in fear and bondage, using legalistic religion to keep people enslaved (Hebrews 2:14-15). • Through Christ’s triumph at the cross, their authority over the believer is broken (Colossians 2:15). Thus, the Christian no longer owes allegiance to any power that contradicts the gospel. why, as though you still belonged to the world Paul’s question challenges inconsistency: if we no longer belong to the world system (John 17:14; Philippians 3:20), why live as if we do? • Identity determines behavior. When we forget who we are, we revert to old patterns. • Worldly thinking measures spirituality by outward performance (1 John 2:15-17), yet God looks at the heart renewed by grace (Titus 2:11-12). Living out of our heavenly citizenship guards us from slipping back into earth-bound value systems. do you submit to its regulations “ Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch ” (Colossians 2:21) sums up man-made rules promising holiness through restriction. • Such regulations “have an appearance of wisdom” but “lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (Colossians 2:23). • They divert trust from Christ to human effort, echoing the Galatian error of returning to law after beginning by the Spirit (Galatians 4:9-11; 5:1). • Instead, true growth comes by holding fast to the Head, Jesus, from whom the whole body is nourished (Colossians 2:19). The believer is called to Spirit-led obedience, not rule-based bondage. summary Colossians 2:20 reminds Christians that, having literally died with Christ, they are freed from the grip of worldly powers and man-made religion. Our new identity in Him makes legalistic regulations unnecessary and counterproductive. Standing in Christ’s completed work, we live by the Spirit, expressing genuine holiness that flows from our union with the risen Lord. (20-23) In this and the succeeding section, St. Paul, starting from the idea of union with the Head, draws out the practical consequences of partaking of the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. In virtue of the former participation, he exhorts them to be dead to the law of outward ordinances; in virtue of the latter, to have a life hid with Christ in God.(20) If ye be dead with Christ.--The whole idea of the death with Christ and resurrection with Him is summed up by St. Paul in Romans 6:3-9, in direct connection (as also here, see Colossians 2:12) with the entrance upon Christian life in baptism, "We are buried with Him by baptism unto death . . . we are dead with Christ . . . we are planted together in the likeness of His death . . . that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we also should walk in newness of life . . . planted together in the likeness of His resurrection . . . alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord." The death with Christ is a death unto "the life of the flesh." But this may be (as in Romans 6:1-2; Romans 6:6-7; Romans 6:11) "the life of sin"; or it may be the outward and visible life "of the world." The latter is the sense to be taken here. This outward life is under "ordinances" (see Colossians 2:1), under the "rudiments of the world" (see Colossians 2:8), or, generally, "under law." Of such a life St. Paul says (in Galatians 2:19), "I through the Law died to the Law, that I might live unto God." There (Galatians 4:9), as here, he brands as unspiritual the subjection to the "weak and beggarly elements" of mere ordinances. Of course it is clear that in their place such ordinances have their value, both as means to an end, and as symbols of an inner reality of self-devotion. The true teaching as to these is found in our Lord's declaration to the Pharisees as to spiritual things and outward ordinances, "These things (the spiritual things) ought ye to have done, and not to leave the others (the outward observances) undone" (Matthew 23:23). In later times St. Paul declared with Judicial calmness, "The Law is good if a man use it lawfully" (1Timothy 1:8). But to exalt these things to the first place was a fatal superstition, which, both in its earlier and later phases, he denounces unsparingly. . . . Verses 20-23. - The apostle's fourth and last warning is directed against ascetic rules of life. Verse 20. - If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world (vers. 8, 10-13; Colossians 3:3; Romans 6:1-11; Romans 7:1-6; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17). "Therefore" is struck out by the Revisers on the best authority. It would imply a logical dependence of this verse upon the last, which does not exist. This warning, like those of vers. 16, 18, looks back to the previous section, and especially to vers. 8, 10, 12. It is a new application of St. Paul's fundamental principle of the union of the Christian with Christ in his death and resurrection (see notes, vers. 11, 12). Accepting the death of Christ as supplying the means of his redemption (Colossians 1:14, 22), and the law of his future life (Philippians 3:10; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15; Galatians 2:20), the Christian breaks with and becomes dead (to and) from all other, former religious principles; which appear to him now but childish, tentative gropings after and preparations for what is given him in Christ (comp. Galatians 2:19; Galatians 3:24; Galatians 4:2, 3; Romans 7:6). On "rudiments," see note, ver. 8. There these "rudiments of the world" appear as general ("philosophical") principles of religion, intrinsically false and empty; here they are moral rules of life, mean and worthless substitutes for "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." (For the Pauline idiom, "died from (so as to be separate, or free from)," comp. Romans 7:2, 6; Acts 13:39.) Why, as (men) living in (the) world, are you made subject to decrees (Galatians 4:9; Galatians 5:1; Galatians 6:14; 2 Corinthians 5:17). To adopt the rules of the new teachers is to return to the worldly, pre-Christian type of religion which the Christian had once for all abandoned (Galatians 4:9). "World" bears the emphasis rather than "living" ("having one's principle of life:" comp. 1 Timothy 5:6; Luke 12:15). Standing without the article, it signifies "the world as such," in its natural character and attainments, without Christ (ver. 8; Ephesians 2:12; 1 Corinthians 1:21). Δογματίζεσθε (the verb only here in the New Testament) is passive rather than middle in voice (Winer, p. 326; see Meyer in loc.); literally, why are yon being dogmatized, overridden with decrees? Compare "spell" (ver. 8), "judge" (ver. 16), for the domineering spirit of the false teacher. The "dogmas" or "decrees" of ver. 14 (see note) are those of the Divine Law; these are of human imposition (vers. 8, 22), which their authors, however, seem to put upon a level with the former. In each case the decree is an external enforcement, not an inner principle of life.Parallel Commentaries ... Greek IfΕἰ (Ei) Conjunction Strong's 1487: If. A primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc. you have died ἀπεθάνετε (apethanete) Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Strong's 599: To be dying, be about to die, wither, decay. From apo and thnesko; to die off. with σὺν (syn) Preposition Strong's 4862: With. A primary preposition denoting union; with or together. Christ Χριστῷ (Christō) Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 5547: Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus. to ἀπὸ (apo) Preposition Strong's 575: From, away from. A primary particle; 'off, ' i.e. Away, in various senses. the τῶν (tōn) Article - Genitive Neuter Plural Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. spiritual forces στοιχείων (stoicheiōn) Noun - Genitive Neuter Plural Strong's 4747: Neuter of a presumed derivative of the base of stoicheo; something orderly in arrangement, i.e. a serial constituent, proposition. of the τοῦ (tou) Article - Genitive Masculine Singular Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. world, κόσμου (kosmou) Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular Strong's 2889: Probably from the base of komizo; orderly arrangement, i.e. Decoration; by implication, the world (morally). why, τί (ti) Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular Strong's 5101: Who, which, what, why. Probably emphatic of tis; an interrogative pronoun, who, which or what. as though ὡς (hōs) Adverb Strong's 5613: Probably adverb of comparative from hos; which how, i.e. In that manner. you still belonged ζῶντες (zōntes) Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Strong's 2198: To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live. to ἐν (en) Preposition Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. [the] world, κόσμῳ (kosmō) Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Strong's 2889: Probably from the base of komizo; orderly arrangement, i.e. Decoration; by implication, the world (morally). do you submit to [its] regulations: δογματίζεσθε (dogmatizesthe) Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural Strong's 1379: From dogma; to prescribe by statute, i.e. to submit to, ceremonially rule. Links Colossians 2:20 NIVColossians 2:20 NLT Colossians 2:20 ESV Colossians 2:20 NASB Colossians 2:20 KJV Colossians 2:20 BibleApps.com Colossians 2:20 Biblia Paralela Colossians 2:20 Chinese Bible Colossians 2:20 French Bible Colossians 2:20 Catholic Bible NT Letters: Colossians 2:20 If you died with Christ (Coloss. Col Co) |
    |