In 2:20 Paul points out that we have died with Christ from the elements of the world. These elements include Jewish observances, heathen ordinances, and philosophy. They also include mysticism and asceticism. The elements of the world are the elementary principles of worldly society, the rudimentary principles invented by mankind and practiced in society. With Christ we have died to these elements of the world. When Christ was crucified, we were crucified also. In His crucifixion we were released from the elementary principles of the world.
Since we have died with Christ from the elements of the world, Paul asks us why as living in the world we subject ourselves to ordinances. In a rebuking tone, Paul asked the believers in Colosse why they continued to subject themselves to ordinances, referring to the very elementary principles from which they had died in Christ. The world in this verse refers not to the physical earth, but to human society, to mankind. Therefore, Paul was asking the believers why they still subjected themselves to ordinances as if they were still living in human society.
In verse 21 Paul lists some of these ordinances: “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.” These are rules and regulations in material things. These rules refer respectively to things that move, to things that are edible, and to things that are tangible. Handling, tasting, and touching include virtually every kind of action. Because these regulations are related to the practice of asceticism, to submit to ordinances concerning handling, tasting, and touching is to practice asceticism.
Many years ago I met a brother who had been an orthodox Jew before becoming a Christian. In our fellowship together, he related many stories about various Jewish practices. He told me that some orthodox Jews place their shoes in a certain direction when they retire for the night, a practice supposedly based on a verse in the Old Testament. They believe that if they do not place their shoes in the proper direction, they will lose God’s blessing. What superstition! I am amazed that the Jews, an intelligent people who value education, could be so superstitious. Those who do not have Christ and the cross are often superstitious and also given to the practice of asceticism.
As those who have the one Person and the one way, we do not need regulations about where to place our shoes. When we go to bed at night, however, we should pass through the cross. This means that no matter what we have done during the day or what has happened to us, the cross takes care of everything. Suppose in the afternoon you are made unhappy in some way by your wife or husband. At bedtime you need to apply the cross to your feeling of unhappiness. If you do this, the feeling of unhappiness will disappear. This indicates that our way is the cross, not asceticism or any severe treatment of the self. Realizing that we have already died in Christ, we should go to bed at night with a consciousness of the cross. If we practice going to bed through the cross, lying down with the realization that we have died in Christ, the next morning we shall wake up in resurrection as a new person. We not only have Christ, the unique Person who is versus all things; we also have the cross, the unique way, which is versus all other ways.
Because we have Christ and the cross, there is no place for self-imposed humility. There is no need for us to train ourselves to be humble. I have observed, both in the Orient and in the West, that the most proud people are those who have learned to practice a form of humility. We need not learn such practices. Rather, we should simply take the unique way of the cross.
Driving down the street can be a reminder of the way of the cross. As we drive, we come to many intersections. Have you realized that every intersection is a cross? Some of these crosses may be large and others may be small, but they are all crosses. Only by passing through many crosses can we get to our destination. Speaking of spiritual experience, we also must pass through many crosses before we can reach the New Jerusalem. Just as we cannot travel very far geographically without crossing an intersection, so we cannot progress spiritually without passing through the cross. Only when we arrive at the New Jerusalem shall we cease to pass through the cross, for by that time all the negative things will have been eliminated. Until we come to the New Jerusalem, we need to pass through the cross day by day in our walk with the Lord.
I can testify that it is a healthy spiritual practice to pass through the cross every night when we go to bed. By applying the cross at the end of each day, I rest very well during the night. At bedtime we need to apply the cross to every problem and to every negative, natural, or sinful thing. We may pray, “Lord, I want all these things to pass through the cross. I do not want to go to sleep with any natural, sinful, negative, or worldly element that has not been dealt with. When I go to bed, Lord, I want to be a person who has been crossed out.” We need to be those who pass through one cross after another. I encourage you to daily pass through the intersection of the cross.
Because we have Christ as the unique Person and the cross as the unique way, we do not need asceticism. Furthermore, we do not even need to make up our minds with respect to certain things. Such a practice does not work. What we need to do is simply lie down through the cross at night, have a restful sleep, and then rise up in the morning in resurrection. Praise the Lord that the experience of Christ’s death is versus asceticism!