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

18Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. 19He has not held fast to the head from whom the whole body, supported and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. 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? 21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” 22These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings.

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 3:3for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
• Romans 6:2Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
• Romans 7:4So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God.
• Galatians 2:19For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.
• Galatians 6:14But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
• 1 Peter 4:1So, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin,
• Colossians 2:8Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
• Ephesians 2:15when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace,
• John 15:19If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you.
• John 17:14I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
• 2 Corinthians 10:3For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards,
• James 4:4Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy.
• 1 John 5:19We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
• Colossians 2:14He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
• Galatians 4:3So also we, when we were minors, were enslaved under the basic forces of the world.
• Hebrews 13:9Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, which have never benefited those who participated in 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
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• Subject
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• Trespass
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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