He Demanded the Power and Authorities
Colossians 2:15
Col 2:15–17. By fulfilling the demands of the Law, Christ disarmed the demonic powers and authorities (cf. 1:16; 2:10), triumphing over them (cf. 2 Cor. 2:14). As a result believers are delivered from these evil powers which inspire legalistic rules about foods and festivals. No one should judge you by what you eat or drink because Christians are free from the Law’s legalistic requirements (such as those in Lev. 11; 17; Deut. 14). God does not condemn those who eat everything (Rom. 14:1–4). In fact, God says that all foods may be eaten since they were “created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth” (1 Tim. 4:3). The teaching that forbids this, Paul wrote, is “taught by demons” (1 Tim. 4:1) whom Christ has disarmed (Col. 2:15). This liberation of believers pertains also to festivals such as a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath Day (cf. Gal. 4:10). Those who would bring Christians under the bondage of the Law make artificial distinctions between the “ceremonial” and “moral” law, and so they say the Sabbath has not passed away. That this is false can be seen from the following: (1) The Sabbath command is the only one of the Ten Commandments not repeated in the New Testament. (2) The early believers, following Christ’s resurrection and appearance on Sunday (Mark 16:1; John 20:1), met on Sundays (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). (3) The Bible nowhere distinguishes between the so-called “moral” and “ceremonial” laws (this distinction was not made before the 13th century A.D.) (4) This Colossian passage explicitly condemns those who command Sabbath obedience. (5) As Paul put it, the Old Testament Law (including the Sabbath) was only a shadow of the things that were to come. The reality or “substance” (sōma, lit., “body”), however, is to be found in Christ (cf. Heb. 8:5; 10:1). What the Old Testament foreshadowed, Christ fulfilled (cf. Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:3–4). A “shadow” (skia) is only an image cast by an object which represents its form. Once one finds Christ, he no longer needs to follow the old shadow.
Geisler, Norman L. “Colossians.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 678. Print.
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