Spiritual Intimidation: Asceticism

(20) If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, (21) “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (22) (which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? (23) These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (2:20-23)

As we come to the end of Chapter 2, Paul strikes out against the final error attacking the Colossian church, asceticism. It was and is still defined as, “... a religious philosophy which teaches that depriving the body of its normal desires is a means of achieving greater holiness and approval from God.” [1] Unfortunately, it will become a problem that has plagued the Church to this day. Even today, far too many Christians believe that some form of asceticism demonstrates spirituality and produces Godliness. But Paul clearly understood the problem asceticism creates for the church and how to overcome its influences. One commentator wrote this,

… the Apostle seems to gather up all his strength to strike two straight, crashing, final blows, which pulverise and annihilate the theoretical positions and practical precepts of the heretical teachers. First, he puts in the form of an unanswerable demand for the reason for their teachings, their radical inconsistency with the Christian’s death with Christ, which is the very secret of his life. Then, by a contemptuous concession of their apparent value to people who will not look an inch below the surface, he makes more emphatic their final condemnation as worthless — less than nothing and vanity — for the suppression of "the flesh" — the only aim of all moral and religious discipline. [2]

And he is exactly right. The ascetic life seems to be more about the pride in the accomplishment of the ascetic than the religious enlightenment they hope to gain. But returning to the passage, we know that the Colossian church had made a clear commitment to Christ because of how Paul begins verse 20, and how he addressed them in Chapters 1 and 2. But somehow they were allowing themselves to be misled, believing they needed to practice a form of strict and rigorous self-denial as a means to achieve a personal and spiritual discipline. But that was not the Gospel that had been preached to them. So, in these verses, Paul reminds the Colossians that this type of behavior does not produce the godliness that God has called them to participate in. The flesh does not produce righteousness, but the Holy Spirit working through us does.

So, let’s start with an understanding of what an ascetic is.

An ascetic is one who attempts to gain righteousness through a life of rigorous self-denial. Those who advocate poverty as a means to spirituality have intimidated the church for centuries. Asceticism might make a person appear spiritual, but it serves only to gratify the flesh. It is a vain attempt to appear more holy than others. In essence, its practitioners worship themselves. [3]

Asceticism

‘If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,’ (Col 2:20) –

“If you have died with Christ” (Col 2:20a)

Albert Barnes stated, “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 world.” [4]
It is this union with Christ that marks a true believer. Christians understand that we have no life unless we are part of Christ. The fact that we have died with Christ means that we are in union with Him.
Paraphrasing John Gill, Christians are dead with Christ by virtue of our union with Him. By being dead, we are no longer under the control of beliefs and teachings in our past. Gill then goes on to relate how Paul used this concept in similar ways in other places, like ‘died in Him’ and ‘died with Him’ (Col 2:20; 2 Tim 2:11), ‘crucified with Him’ (Rom 6:6; Gal 2:20), ‘buried with Christ’ (Col 2:12). Part of what Paul is attempting to get across to the Colossians is that their death in Christ allows them to partake in its benefits, namely in redemption, pardon and forgiveness for sin, justification (when God declares a sinner to be righteous based on their faith in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross), and reconciliation (the work of God by which He restores a sinner’s relationship with God). [5]
Paul is attempting to appeal to what the Colossians had already been taught when he started off by saying, “If you have died with Christ.” If they had, in fact, died with Christ, if they were truly believers, if they truly understood the Gospel that had already been taught to them, they would not have been so easily deceived to believe that there was something more than what they already had. That is the sense of what Paul is attempting to communicate to them.
The Expositor’s commentary says this, “The plain English of it all is, that when a man becomes a Christian by putting his trust in Christ who died, as the ground of his acceptance and salvation, such a change takes place upon his whole nature and relationship to externals as is fairly comparable to a death.” [6]
Also, consider the words of Jeremiah Knight and the examples on John 12:24 and Rom 6:6,

Jesus makes this principle unavoidable when He speaks of the grain of wheat in John 12:24. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Death comes before fruitfulness. Loss comes before abundance. There is no shortcut around this truth. Anything that refuses to die remains alone, unproductive, and self-contained.

This is why Scripture speaks so often about dying with Christ. Romans 6:6 explains that our old self was crucified with Him so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. The gospel does not reform the old man. It executes him. The believer does not become alive by protecting the old identity but by losing it entirely. The life that emerges is not built on self-preservation but on union with Christ. ... God removes what competes with Him.

The Wealth That Comes Through Loss — Jeremiah Knight

‘to the elementary principles of the world’ (Col 2:20b)

Definition: ‘elementary principles’ – The Greek word, stoicheion { stoy-khi'-on }, means any first thing, from which the others belonging to some series or composite whole take their rise, an element, first principal, e.g. the primary and fundamental principles of any art, science, or discipline. Louw and Nida define it as “the supernatural powers or forces regarded as having control over the events of this world.” [7]
Paul begins by reminding the Colossians that their death in Christ has already separated them from any requirements outside of Christ, that nothing controls them, they have no master but Jesus.
Norman Geisler pointed out that if we have actually died with Christ to the ‘elementary principles of the world,’ then we are no longer obligated to obey a master we no longer serve. Only those that are ‘alive to sin’ have that obligation. “Spirituality is living by the power of the Spirit in union with Christ by whom the believer has died to sin. ‘For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless” (Rom. 6:6).’ ” [8]
Max Anders commented, “Again, Paul mentions the basic principles of the world and human commands and teachings (Col. 2:8). He is telling the Colossian believers to move on to maturity and to get past the elementary stages of spiritual life. He has told them that they are free, so why would they submit to rules?” [9] Another commentator added, “Union with Christ in death was sufficient (cf. 2:11–12); adding ascetic rules (2:18) was useless.” [10]

There are plenty of false religions in the world that have these same types of rites and ceremonies, including those that call themselves ‘christian,’ but salvation is not found in rites and ceremonies. As Paul says in so many places in Scripture, salvation is only found in Christ, and Christ alone. (John 14:6; Acts 14:2; Rom 10:9)
As Christians, if we had obligations in the past, they no longer apply to us. We have been set free from whatever those requirements were.

If we are dead in or with Christ, then we are also dead to this world, dead to the supernatural forces that attempt to control the people and the events of this world.

‘why, as if you were living in the world,’ (Col 2:20c)

Paul's meaning is clear: if we are dead to the world, we should not be living in the old world of selfishness and sin, as A.T. Roberson says. It should not have any influence over us. That old world is in opposition with the new spiritual world we live in now. We have been freed from that old world.
Paul is asking a simple question - why are you allowing the rules and regulations of these elementary principles masquerading as religious rites, to influence your life, your decisions and actions? If you are dead to them, they hold no power over you. You are free from their obligations.

‘do you submit yourself to decrees,’ (Col 2:20d)

Definition: ‘do you submit yourself to decrees’ – The Greek word, dogmatizō { dog-mat-id'-zo }, the word in Greek gets expressed as a phrase in “English and means ‘to submit to, ceremonially rule:—be subject to ordinances.’ Louw and Nida define it as ‘to conform to rules and regulations — to obey rules.’ [11]

Putting all of verse 20 together, there is a clear implication that the Colossians had already entertained the teachings of false teachers and to some degree had accepted their teachings as having some power over them. So, in some respects, some of the believers had been unfaithful to the original teachings they had received from whomever had originally laid the foundation for the church in Colossae (most likely Epaphras). Regardless of its beginnings, Paul seems to be determined to bring them back to the Gospel they had originally received, [12]

One commentator believes Paul is referring back to Col 2:14, where Paul proclaimed that their salvation had canceled ‘out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against’ them. So, their ‘submitting to these decrees’ is a further attempt to pay for a debt that has already been canceled out. When God forgives sin, He throws it ‘as far as the east is from the west’ (Ps 103:12; also: Heb 8:12; Isa 43:25).

The implication is that if this is the best that the new religious belief can bring, it is a very poor way of life for those who have Christ. [13]

“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (Col 2:21)

This type of ordinance draws a distinct resemblance to the Jewish Essenes. It might have been possible that a sect existed around Colossae and that some of the Colossian believers began to imitate their rules and regulations, since the ordinance seems to mimic their practices. “The rapid succession of the words here, without any connecting particle, is supposed to denote the eagerness of the persons who imposed this injunction, and their earnestness in warning others from contaminating themselves with the prohibited things.” [14] An example of their practice was to eat nothing that tasted good. Their food was dry and coarse bread and only drank water. They would eat nothing until sunset and if anyone touched them, they would clean themselves as if they had been defiled.

John MacArthur makes this observation,

As already noted, the false teachers taught a form of philosophical dualism. They practiced asceticism in an attempt to free the spirit from the prison of the body.

The view that the body was evil eventually found its way into the Church. According to the church Father Athanasius, Anthony, the founder of Christian monasticism, never changed his vest or washed his feet (Life of Anthony, para. 47). He was outdone, however, by Simeon Stylites (c. 390-459), who spent the last thirty-six years of his life atop a fifty-foot pillar. Simeon mistakenly thought the path to spirituality lay in exposing his body to the elements and withdrawing from the world. Their feats have been emulated by monks throughout church history. Even Martin Luther, before discovering the truth of justification by faith, nearly wrecked his health through asceticism.

God may call some to a life of self-denial. Many missionaries, for example, have by necessity led ascetic lives. They did not do so, however, as an attempt to gain spirituality. [15]

(which all refer to things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? (Col 2:22)

(which all refer to things destined to perish with use) (Col 2:22a)

There is some disagreement as to the exact meaning of the beginning of verse 22. One way to view it is in relation to the asceticism referenced in verse 21. Asceticism focuses its adherents upon the things that perish and thus don’t matter. This unfortunately is common for the Christian as we are always being enticed with things that have no eternal value and far too many believers give into these enticements before realizing the errors they are.

Calvin breaks this verse down into two sections. The first part refers back to verse 21, and as Calvin says, the worship of God and the holiness of Christians do not consist in food or drink, or clothing because these things are temporary and perish with use.

This also seems to focus the attention outward and upon one’s self when our focus is supposed to be upon Christ and His kingdom, which is not attained by abstaining from food.

‘in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?’ (Col 2:22b)

This seems to reference the decrees that the Jews set up and followed were those that were handed down by ‘tradition,’ the same kind of ‘tradition’ that Jesus castigated the Pharisees for Matthew 15 and Mark 7, as well as what Paul warned the Colossians about in chapter 2 verse 8. These ‘traditions’ come from human authority so they should never bind the conscience of mankind to anything. Jesus has freed us so returning to these decrees is like a dog returning to its vomit (Prov 26:11; 2 Pet 2:22). That means there is no spiritual value in keeping the commandments of men.

(23) These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

‘the appearance of wisdom’ (Col 2:23a)

Definition: ‘appearance’ – The Greek word, logos { log'-os } is used here and in this context gives the meaning by saying that it, ‘is sometimes used of mere talk,’ [16] and Louw and Nida define it as: “that which is thought to be true but is not necessarily so—‘appearance, to seem to be.’ ” [17]

Paul is saying these false teachers have a show, a pretense of a deep association with divine things. These people appear to be spiritual and have deep insights into life’s mysteries, but it's just an appearance, a facade with the goal of making people desire to have the wisdom they pretend to have.

Adam Clarke wrote that the appearance of wisdom, “form a worship which God has not commanded, and enjoin macerations [to cause to waste away by excessive fasting] of the body, accompanied with a humiliation of spirit, that are neither profitable to the soul, nor of any advantage to the body; so that the whole of their religion is nothing worth [meaning nothing of worth].”
To relate it to today, Warren Wiesbe wrote, “I am amazed at the way educated people in America flock to see and hear gurus and other Eastern spiritual leaders whose teachings cannot change the human heart. This ‘self-imposed worship’ is not the true worship of God, which must be ‘in spirit and in truth’ (John 4:24). Their humility is false, and their harsh disciplines accomplish nothing for the inner man.” [18]

‘in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body,’ (Col 2:23b)

Definition: ‘self-made religion’ – The Greek word, ethelothrēskia { eth-el-oth-race-ki'-ah } means voluntary (arbitrary and unwarranted) piety or worship. Also, worship which one prescribes and devises for himself, contrary to the contents and nature of faith which ought to be directed to Christ. Louw and Nida define it as “a set of religious beliefs and practices resulting from one’s own desires and initiative—‘self-imposed religion, religion thought up by oneself.’ ” [19]
Definition: ‘self-abasement’ – The Greek word, tapeinophrosynē { tap-i-nof-ros-oo'-nay } means ‘the having a humble opinion of oneself; a deep sense of one's (moral) littleness; modesty, humility, lowliness of mind.’ However, in this context, the humility is characterized by a pretentious or showy display, designed to impress the viewer, it’s a false humility.

These three seem to have the intent to prove to the onlooker the spirituality of the person performing the rite. The first gives the appearance of going beyond what one would expect a ‘god’ to desire of us. In addition, some of their excesses probably were not strictly required but were done anyway to prove their devotion. Going beyond also had the effect of producing a variant of their religion, thus in a sense creating one tied to themselves in the eyes of others.
The second is marked by intentionally but generally short term painful ceremonies and rituals which, again, are supposed to demonstrate their devotion. These rites generally fall into a couple of categories: some sort of abstinence or penance.
The third is generally longer abuse of their bodies, like prolonged starvation and poverty or severe treatment of the body. One Hindu monk held his arm in the arm for over 40 years. The arm lost all of this muscle and mobility and became fused in that position. One has to wonder how that honors any god or shows a form of worship anyone would want to emulate.
And for someone that might be looking to appease a ‘god’ of their sins, this type of behavior might seem to be required and needful to practice in an attempt to gain favor. Such is the natural thinking of man, which we see in so many religions around the world. Both Hinduism and Buddhism have practitioners who regularly abuse themselves to show how much devotion they have to their ‘god.’ Doing the bare minimum only shows a superficial observance, which is why you always see excesses in this type of devotional behavior.
The point being that all of this is focused on pride within the human heart of man. But true devotion is focused in three ways: 1) God made both the body and the soul, and He provides for all of our needs (Php 4:19; Mat 6:31-32) because we are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made.’ (Ps 139:14). 2) That provision is for us to live a long life serving our God (Eph 2:10; Mat 5:16; Col 1:10). And 3) God created us to speak in the lives of others and for that purpose He has placed us where He wants us. Just like riches does not prove our worth to God, neither does our poverty. It is one thing to have God call us to give up all to serve His purposes, it is another for us to go ahead of God and do it on our own without Him. He is the potter, we are His clay.
So, Paul is trying to make clear to the Colossians that if one looks closely at these people and their practices, one will see their worship is what they have chosen, a worship of themselves and their own will. They are not surrendered to God and thus cannot be worshipping Him.

‘but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.’ (Col 2:23c)

The only thing the above practices accomplish is to satisfy the desires of the flesh which include to be noticed and praised. The flesh desires pride, self-righteousness, and the love of distinction. The worldly person loves their sin and will do just about anything to hold onto it. They would sooner invent a new religion than to give up their will and follow Christ. But He is the only one that can overcome mankind’s love and lust for self as well as his desire to rule himself right into hell.

When we put verse 23 together, we see the reason for the failure of asceticism – impotence. It “... might make a person appear spiritual because of its emphasis on humility and poverty, but it serves only to gratify the flesh. It is a vain attempt to appear more holy than others. Jesus warned His disciples against it: ‘Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.’ (Mat 6:16-18).” [20]
Paul makes clear that mankind’s only hope is Jesus.

If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as] Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them], Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines. [Isa. 29:13.] Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.] (Col 2:20-23 AMP)

Footnotes

Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), p. 309, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), p. 269, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), p. 146, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Norman L. Geisler, “Colossians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), p. 679, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Max Anders, Galatians-Colossians, vol. 8, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), pp. 309–310, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2014), p. 575, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), p. 467, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
R. C. Lucas, Fullness & Freedom: The Message of Colossians & Philemon, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980), p. 127, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
R. C. Lucas, Fullness & Freedom: The Message of Colossians & Philemon, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980), p. 126, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Colossians 2:21 ESV - Bible Study, Meaning, Images, Commentaries, Devotionals, and more…, utilizing Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible.
W. E. Vine, Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, (Hendrickson Publishers: Peabody MA).
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), p. 350, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), p. 132, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), p. 532, p/o Logos Bible Software, © 2025.

All Scriptures quotes are from the New American Standard Bible, 1995 Revision, unless otherwise noted. Verse links from Blue Letter Bible, https://www.blueletterbible.org/

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Spiritual Intimidation: Asceticism - Col 2:20-23

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