Colossians 2:14

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”

Part of the Torah Eternal study — examining every passage cited to argue the Law has been abolished.

The Common Reading

The “handwriting of ordinances” is the Torah itself — God’s Law written down and binding on Israel. Christ nailed it to the cross, canceling its authority. Since the Law is abolished, the food laws, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths mentioned in v.16 are also done away. Christians should not let anyone judge them for ignoring these.

What the Passage Actually Says

The Handwriting: A Debt Certificate

G5498 cheirographon — handwriting, a written document, specifically a certificate of debt or bond. This word appears only here in the New Testament. In the Greco-Roman world, a cheirographon was a handwritten IOU — a legal document acknowledging what was owed. In ancient practice, when a debt was paid, the certificate was publicly displayed or nailed up as proof of cancellation.

Paul is using a legal metaphor his audience would recognize: Christ took the debt record — the evidence of our transgressions — and nailed it to the cross, declaring the debt paid.

What was this debt? Sin. And sin is defined by Torah: “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 Jn 3:4). The cheirographon is the record of our violations — not the law that was violated. Destroying a criminal’s record of offenses is not the same as repealing the law he broke.

Dogmasin Again

G1378 dogma appears here as it does in Eph 2:15 — “handwriting of ordinances” (τοῖς δόγμασιν). As examined in the Ephesians 2:15 study, dogma in the New Testament refers to human or authoritative decrees (Lk 2:1; Acts 16:4; 17:7), not to Torah (nomos). The debt certificate was written “in decrees” — the formal legal charges. Christ canceled the charges, not the law behind them.

“Against Us” — The Debt, Not the Law

Paul says the handwriting was “against us” and “contrary to us.” Torah is not described this way anywhere in Scripture. To the contrary:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.” — Ps 19:7

“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” — Rom 7:12

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” — 1 Jn 5:3

“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” — Deut 10:12–13

What was “against us” was the record of sin — the guilt accumulated through transgression. The law that defines sin is good; the record of sin condemned us.

The Context: Human Philosophy, Not Torah

Paul identifies the threat in Colossae explicitly — and it is not Torah-keepers:

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” — Col 2:8

G5385 philosophia — philosophy (appears only here in the NT). G3862 paradosis — tradition. G4747 stoicheion — rudiments, elemental principles. The enemies are man-made philosophical systems, worldly principles, and human traditions — the same categories Jesus opposed when He rebuked the Pharisees for “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mat 15:9).

The program of these false teachers becomes clear at the end of the chapter:

“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, Touch not; taste not; handle not — which all are to perish with the using — after the commandments and doctrines of men?” — Col 2:20–22

“Touch not; taste not; handle not” — these are restrictions, not permissions. The false teachers in Colossae were adding ascetic prohibitions beyond what God commanded. They were also promoting angel worship (v.18) and self-imposed humility rituals (v.18, 23). Paul’s verdict: these “have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh” (v.23).

The opponent is ascetic, Gnostic-influenced philosophy — not Torah.

Verse 16: Defending Torah-Keepers

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” — Col 2:16

The Colossians 2:16 study examines this verse in detail. The direction of the judgment matters: the ascetic false teachers were judging the Colossian believers for not being restrictive enough — for eating, drinking, and celebrating God’s appointed times rather than adopting harsh bodily denial. Paul defends the believers’ liberty to keep these observances without being judged by human philosophical critics.

Verse 17: The Shadow Is Protective

“Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” — Col 2:17

The $shadow study examines the scriptural meaning of shadow in detail. A shadow requires a body standing between you and a burning source. The appointed times are the shadow that Christ’s body casts — covenant protection you position yourself into. The $shadow is strongest when the body is nearest, not weakest.

G3195 mellō — about to be, future. The appointed times are “a shadow of things to come” — pointing forward to realities not yet fulfilled in their entirety. You do not discard a shadow while the body it represents is still approaching.

Paul himself continued to observe these appointed times after the cross: he kept Passover (Acts 20:6), hurried to be in Jerusalem for Pentecost (Acts 20:16), observed the Day of Atonement (Acts 27:9, “the fast”), and kept a feast (Acts 18:21). If he had just taught the Colossians that these were nailed to the cross, his own behavior is inexplicable.

Harmony

1. G5498 cheirographon is a debt certificate — the record of sin (transgressions against Torah), not the law that defines sin.
2. G1378 dogma means human decrees — the legal charges, not God’s commandments. Same word, same meaning as Eph 2:15.
3. Torah is never described as “against us” — it is holy, just, good, and for our good (Rom 7:12; Deut 10:12–13; 1 Jn 5:3).
4. The context targets human philosophy and ascetic traditions (Col 2:8, 20–23), not God’s instructions.
5. Verse 16 defends the observance of appointed times against ascetic critics; v.17 validates them as a protective $shadow of things still to come.
6. Paul personally kept these appointed times after writing this letter (Acts 18:21; 20:6, 16; 27:9).

Greek Reference