Colossians 2:20

Colossians 2:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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 International Version (NIV)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:
• English Standard Version (ESV)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—
• New King James Version (NKJV)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—

Context of Colossians 2:20

18Some people may tell you that you must always serve other people like a slave. They may tell you that you must worship angels. Do not let those people speak bad things against you. They like to talk a lot about the special things that God has shown them. They think that they are very clever. But their ideas only come from human minds. 19False teachers like that do not receive their message from Christ. As God's people, we are like a body and Christ is like our head. He is the one who causes the whole body to be strong. He helps us to work well together, like the different parts of a body. Then we can all grow properly, because it is God who is helping us to grow. Remember that your old nature has died with Christ. So the powerful spirits that rule this world no longer have any authority over you. You do not need to serve them, because you do not belong to this world now. You do not need to obey their rules. 21They teach, ‘Do not touch things like that!’ Or, ‘Do not eat that kind of food!’ Or, ‘Keep away from that thing!’ 22Rules like that are only about things that spoil when you use them. They are rules that come from human ideas.

Colossians 2:20 word by word

Εἰ ἀπεθάνετε σὺν Χριστῷ ἀπὸ τῶν στοιχείων τοῦ κόσμου, τί ὡς ζῶντες ἐν κόσμῳ δογματίζεσθε;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• ye be deadἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
• withσύνsun · withG4862
• Christὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the rudimentsστοιχεῖονstoicheion · principleG4747
• of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• whyτίςtis · which?G5101
• as thoughὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• livingζάωzaō · to liveG2198
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• are ye subject to ordinancesδογματίζωdogmatizō · to decreeG1379

Cross-references for Colossians 2:20

• Colossians 3:3Remember that your old nature has died. God is keeping your new life safe with Christ.
• Romans 6:2No! Certainly we should not do that! Sin does not rule our lives any longer. That old life is dead! So it is not right that we should continue to do wrong things.
• Romans 7:4My friends, it is like that for you too. When Christ's body died on the cross, it is as if you also died with him. Because of that, you are no longer under the authority the law. Now you are free to belong to someone else. You belong to Christ, whom God raised up after his death. As a result, we can live in a good way that will please God.
• Galatians 2:19But God's Law showed me that I could never obey all its rules. So I became like a dead person, free from the authority of those rules. That means that I can now live to please God.
• Galatians 6:14But I do not want to say any great things about myself. The only thing that makes me great is our Lord Jesus Christ's death on the cross. Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, it is like I have also died. The things that belong to this world have become dead to me, and I have become dead to them.
• 1 Peter 4:1Christ had trouble and pain while he lived in his human body. So you should prepare yourselves to have trouble and pain too. Think about it in the same way that Christ did. If someone has trouble and pain in his body, he stops doing wrong things.
• Colossians 2:8Be careful that you do not believe any false teachers. The ideas that they teach may seem clever. But they really want to deceive you. They are ideas that have come from the human minds of our ancestors. Or ideas that come from spirits that belong to this world. They are not the true message about Christ.
• Ephesians 2:15When his body died on the cross, Christ took away the power of the Jewish laws and rules. In that way, he made the two groups join together as one new group of people. As a result, he caused them to have peace.
• John 15:19If you belonged to this world, this world's people would love you. They would love you because you would belong with them. But I chose you so that you would be separate from this world's people. You do not belong with them, so they hate you.
• John 17:14I have given your message to them. The world's people have hated them because they do not belong to the world. They do not belong to the world, in the same way that I do not belong to the world.
• 2 Corinthians 10:3It is true that we live in this world as humans. But we do not use our human ideas to fight against what is wrong.
• James 4:4You are turning away from God, like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. You choose to be friends with people who are against God. So you yourselves become enemies of God. You should know that!
• 1 John 5:19We know that we belong to God. We know that Satan rules all the people who belong to this world.
• Colossians 2:14We are guilty of many wrong things that are against God's laws. But Christ died on the cross on our behalf. He paid the debt of our sins. It is like he has destroyed the list of all the debts that we should pay to God.
• Galatians 4:3In the same way, we were children like that in God's family. We were slaves to the bad spirits that rule this world.
• Hebrews 13:9Some people teach all kinds of strange new things. Do not let them lead you away from God's true message. It is good that God is very kind to us. That is what makes us strong inside ourselves. Rules about what foods we should eat do not make us strong like that. Those rules have never helped the people who tried to obey them.

Commentaries on Colossians 2:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20If ye be dead with Christ - See the notes on Romans 6:3, Romans 6:5; (note). From the rudiments of the world - Ye have renounced all hope of salvation from the observance of Jewish rites and ceremonies, which were only rudiments, first elements, or the alphabet, out of which the whole science of Christianity was composed. We have often seen that the world and this world signify the Jewish dispensation, or the rites, ceremonies, and services performed…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Wherefore - In view of all that has been said. If it be true that you are really dead to the world, why do you act as if you still lived under the principles of the world? If ye be dead with Christ - If you are dead to the world in virtue of his death. The apostle here, as elsewhere, speaks of a very close union with Christ. We died with him; that is, such was the efficacy of his death, and such is our union with him, that we became dead also to the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 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 worship angels, disclaim Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man. It is an insult to Christ, who is the Head of the church, to use any intercessors…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20you have died with Christ: When Christ died on the cross, he defeated the spiritual powers (2:15). By sharing in his death, he frees us from the evil spiritual powers of the world (see 2:8).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Wherefore--The oldest manuscripts omit "Wherefore." if ye be dead--Greek, "if ye died (so as to be freed) from," &c. (compare Ro 6:2; 7:2, 3; Ga 2:19). rudiments of the world--(Col 2:8). Carnal, outward, worldly, legal ordinances. as though living--as though you were not dead to the world like your crucified Lord, into whose death ye were buried (Ga 6:14; 1Pe 4:1, 2). are ye subject to ordinances--By do ye submit to be made subject to ordinances?…Read the comment

Topics related to Colossians 2:20

• Asceticism
• Commandments
• Death
• Doctrines
• Law
• Ordinance
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Complete
• Conflict
• Elements
• Subject
• Treasure
• Trespass
• Apostolic Age
• Astrology

Commentaries on Colossians 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings