Died with Christ: Why Human Regulations Cannot Transform

If the Colossians died with Christ to the elements of the world, Paul asks why they should live as though still subject to decrees such as “Touch not; taste not; handle not.” These rules concern perishable things and rest on human commands and teachings. They may have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they lack real power against fleshly indulgence.

Where this fits in the story: the wording about human commands and teachings strongly recalls Isaiah 29:13, a text Jesus also uses when confronting religious tradition that displaces God’s command. Colossians therefore places the local problem inside a much older biblical warning about impressive religion that does not reach the heart.