Paul continues in verse 20: “If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances?” If you have died, and death is a fact, you should no longer be as those living in the world. The fundamental position of a Christian is death.
Why were we baptized if we were not dead? Does a person die first or is he buried first? A man must be dead before he can be buried. If a man is buried and then dies, a living person has been buried. We must first die before we can be buried. We were baptized; baptism was our burial. We were buried because we had been crucified with Christ. Our crucifixion with Christ is a fact, and our burial followed as our own voluntary act. The Lord has included us in His death. When we see our death and know that we are dead, we ask others to bury us. We must first realize that we are dead before we can ask others to bury us, that is, to baptize us. Since we are dead and buried, how can we still live according to the elements of the world?
Paul told us that those who practice asceticism are still living according to the elements of the world. He said, “Why, as living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances: Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch?” Please bear in mind that this is the philosophy of ascetics. There are many things which they cannot taste, handle, or touch. Many people are fearful of their inward lust. This is why they dare not handle, touch, or taste many things. Colossae was a place where asceticism flourished. The Colossians observed many different kinds of ordinances. Because they feared that their lust would be aroused, they prohibited anything that might arouse it. There were all kinds of strict ordinances, some having to do with what one could not handle or touch, and others having to do with what one could not taste or hear. This was done in the hope that these ordinances would separate lust from material things. The prevailing philosophy of the time was that lust would be held in check if it was separated from material things. If there was nothing for lust to feel and touch, the Colossians thought that it would shrivel away.
But Paul said, “Why, as living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances: Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch?” Those who observed these ordinances did not believe in the fact that they had been crucified with Christ. What prohibition is needed if one believes that he is already dead? He only needs a prohibition on handling, tasting, and touching if he is not dead. The need for asceticism is for those who are still alive. Those who are already dead have no need of asceticism.
Please remember that we have crucified the flesh and its passions and lusts with Christ on the cross (Gal. 5:24). If we try to put ourselves into bondage again by such thoughts of material abandonment and denial of lusts, we are not standing on Christian ground; we are not standing on the ground of death. No one can be a Christian without passing through death. We cannot be Christians without dying with Christ. If we do not include ourselves on the cross, we are not Christians. We must never be deceived in this matter.
Although many of us preach the doctrine of the cross, we still do not know what crucifixion with Christ means. I heard the doctrine of crucifixion with Christ as early as the latter part of 1919. At that time I did not understand anything about it. Later in 1923, I began to speak about crucifixion with Christ. At that time I saw that our crucifixion with Him was a fact, not a teaching. Crucifixion is a fact to us. Today many people are still seeking to be crucified. But we have to see that crucifixion is our starting point; it is not our finishing point. Making crucifixion the goal of one’s pursuit is the practice of the mystics; it is not a Christian teaching. Crucifixion is our starting point. We are Christians because we have died with Christ. Please bear in mind that no one can pursue crucifixion. Doing so is foolishness; it only proves that we have not seen any light. If we have seen the light and touched the truth of crucifixion, we will praise God for it rather than pursue it. This is like the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus; when we see it, we will praise Him for it, instead of pursuing it.
Here Paul shows us that a Christian is a person who has died with Christ. He is freed from the philosophy of the world and its ordinances of prohibition. As an illustration, suppose we bury a man who was a thief. We can stand beside him and proclaim that he will no longer steal; he has been freed from stealing because he is dead. He has also been freed from the commandment that forbids stealing. Suppose one is a talkative person. If he has died with Christ, he has been freed from his talkativeness. If he is not dead, nothing will avail, even the practice of asceticism. If Christ has already crucified us, it is too late for asceticism to do anything. God crucified us with Christ on the cross. We are freed from the philosophy of the world and thus are freed from all the ascetic works of this world.