The central and underlying thought of the book of Colossians is that, according to God’s ordination, Christ should replace all the elements and factors of our natural human life with Himself. These elements and factors may be summed up in one word—culture. Our human living is constituted of the various aspects of our culture, which is composed of a number of factors and elements. We have seen that the book of Colossians deals with these factors, elements, components, constituents, of our human living. This book reveals the extensive Christ who is the replacement for all these elements in our human living.
In 2:8 Paul says, “Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ.” Philosophy is a primary factor in culture. Furthermore, culture cannot exist without tradition. The terms culture and tradition are almost synonymous. The elements of the world spoken of in 2:8 are the elementary principles, the elementary teachings. Philosophy, tradition, and the elements of the world are all components of culture. All these things are versus Christ. This verse indicates that Christ has come to replace philosophy, tradition, and the elements of the world. Hence, this verse presents a vivid contrast between Christ and philosophy, tradition, and the elements of the world. If a person does not have Christ, he will surely have these three cultural elements. But once we receive Christ, these things should be replaced by Christ.
In 2:16 and 17 Paul goes on to say, “Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” In verse 16 Paul mentions four items as illustrations: eating and drinking, feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths. These items represent everything in our human living. In particular, the items mentioned are all related to Judaism, with its regulations about eating and drinking, about the observing of days and new moons, and about the Sabbaths. Hence, verse 16 speaks of various observances which were components of Jewish life. But as Paul says in the following verse, all these things “are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ.” Therefore, in these verses we have another contrast, the contrast between the shadows and Christ.
In verses 20 and 21 Paul continues, “If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why as living in the world do you subject yourself to ordinances: do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.” In Romans Paul says that in Christ we are dead to sin, whereas here in Colossians he says that we have died with Christ from the elements of the world, that is, from the factors of our natural human life. Here Paul is telling us that we have died with Christ from our culture. Then he goes on to ask, since this is the case, why we still subject ourselves to ordinances about handling, tasting, and touching. In these verses we have yet another contrast—the contrast between the Christ with whom we have died and the ordinances, which are components of our culture.
In 3:10 Paul speaks of the new man and then in verse 11, referring to the new man, he says, “Where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but Christ is all and in all.” Here we have the contrast once again between culture and Christ. Paul’s use of the terms barbarian and Scythian indicates that this verse is dealing with the different cultural distinctions. Christ is versus all such distinctions.