Colossians 2:22 says that the strict rules people invent about food, touching and similar matters are temporary. Those things wear out or get used up, so they cannot be the basis of a right relationship with God. The verse is part of Paul’s warning to the church at Colossae against replacing Christ with man-made religious regulations. Paul wrote the letter himself, and it was addressed to the Christian believers in Colossae, a city in what is now western Turkey.
(all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men?
Colossians 2:22 (WEB)
What Colossians 2:22 Means
The verse begins with a parenthetical remark: the things being discussed all “perish with use.” Food is eaten and digested, and objects are handled until they wear down or are consumed. Paul is pointing out that the regulations in question concern things meant for temporary use, not eternal matters. Their whole purpose is tied to the physical world that is passing away.
The second half of the verse names the source of these rules: “the precepts and doctrines of men.” Paul is not condemning all teaching or every guideline for living. He is describing rules that people made up and then treated as if they were required for spiritual standing with God. Those rules sound impressive, but they cannot change a person’s heart or bring them closer to God.
The verse does not promise that the body or ordinary daily life are unimportant. It also does not tell you to ignore wise counsel. What it does say is that a religion built on human-made restrictions misses what God has actually done in Christ, and it cannot supply what only Christ gives.
The Context of Colossians 2:22
Colossians was written to a church Paul had not personally founded, and he was concerned that some teachers were pressing believers toward a version of faith that added rituals, dietary limits, and special observances to the gospel. Paul answers by pointing back to Christ himself. In the verses just before our passage, he says that believers have “died with Christ from the elements of the world” (Colossians 2:20), so they no longer need to submit to the empty rules of the surrounding culture.
Read in that setting, verse 22 is a conclusion drawn from the verses that surround it. Verse 23 then describes these man-made practices as having an impressive look of wisdom, yet they offer no real help against the desires of the flesh. The verse makes sense only as part of Paul’s larger argument that Christ is sufficient and that Christians should not let others judge them by rules that do not matter in God’s sight.
Key Phrases in Colossians 2:22
Galatians 5:1
Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
(WEB)
Paul uses the same concern for freedom in Christ here, urging believers not to return to a yoke of slavery. Reading it beside Colossians 2:22 shows that the issue is not whether a rule is useful in itself, but whether it is being used to bind consciences that Christ has already set free.
Romans 14:17
For God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
(WEB)
This verse says the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It echoes the point of Colossians 2:22 by placing the heart of faith in God’s work and character rather than in external regulations about what is eaten or handled.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 2:22
Lord, you have given me Christ himself, and in him I have found everything I need. Free me from the habit of measuring my worth by rules that come from people and will one day pass away. Where I have trusted in my own lists and traditions more than in you, show me the difference and turn my heart back to your grace. Help me to live with wisdom and gratitude, resting in what you have finished. Amen.
