Col 2:16 Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, 17 Which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.
[Part 1 of 2] In this message we need to consider how Christ is the body of all the shadows. The Greek words rendered "in eating and in drinking" [in v. 16] may also be translated "in food and in drink." Food and drink signify satisfaction and strengthening. The feasts denote the annual Jewish festivals, which signify joy and enjoyment, and the new moons signify a new beginning with light in darkness. Furthermore, the Sabbaths signify completion and rest. Feasts are yearly, new moons monthly, Sabbaths weekly, and eating and drinking daily. All these items of the ceremonial law are a shadow of the spiritual things in Christ, which are the things to come. The body in verse 17, like a man's physical body, is the substance. The rituals in the law are a shadow of the real things in the gospel, like the shadow of a man's body. Christ is the reality of the gospel. All the good things in the gospel belong to Him. The book of Colossians unveils such an all-inclusive Christ as the focus of God's economy. was a Christian for years before I gained a proper understanding of 2:16 and 17. Paul's concept is that the various aspects of the ceremonial law are a shadow of things to come, of the spiritual things in Christ, just as a shadow is a figure of a person's body. The festivals, the new moons, the Sabbaths, and the regulations concerning eating and drinking all were shadows. The body, the solid sub-stance, of the shadows is Christ. (Continued tomorrow) (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 197-198. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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