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,

COLOSSIANS 2:20KJV
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Colossians 2:20 (KJV)

What does Colossians 2:20 mean?

Colossians 2:20 says that if believers have died with Christ and left behind the basic principles of the world, they should not act as if they are still controlled by worldly rules and regulations. The verse questions why, if they have this new life, they would submit themselves again to man-made requirements.

Paul is writing to the Christians in Colossae, reminding them that their spiritual identity is now tied to Christ, not to the old ways of the world. The context is about resisting pressure to follow religious rules that are not truly part of following Jesus, especially those based on human tradition rather than Christ’s teaching.

The Greek behind Colossians 2:20

  • "Dead" (ἀποθνῄσκω, apothnēskō): This word means to die or to be separated from something. Here, it points to a spiritual death to the old way of life and its systems.
  • "Rudiments" (στοιχεῖον, stoicheion): This term often refers to basic elements or fundamental principles. In this verse, it suggests the simple, worldly rules or systems that people once followed.
  • "Ordinances" (δογματίζω, dogmatizō): The Greek word here means to submit to decrees or regulations. Paul is highlighting that believers are not meant to be bound by these external rules anymore.

Why Colossians 2:20 matters

  • Colossians 2:20 helps clear up the misunderstanding that Christianity is just about following a new set of rules; instead, it is about a changed relationship with God through Christ.
  • The verse emphasizes that believers’ connection to Christ frees them from being controlled by human traditions or religious regulations that do not come from Jesus.
  • This verse connects to the wider argument in Colossians 2, where Paul warns against letting anyone judge or control believers by things like food laws, festivals, or other outward practices.

Where else these words appear

“rudiments” Greek G4747 · used in 7 verses

  • Galatians 4:3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
  • Colossians 2:8 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.
  • 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

“dead” Greek G599 · used in 99 verses

  • Matthew 8:32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
  • John 11:14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
  • Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

“with” Greek G4862 · used in 121 verses

  • Matthew 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
  • Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
  • Acts 27:2 And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

“living” Greek G2198 · used in 127 verses

  • Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
  • Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
  • 1 Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.