Colossians 2:14, commentary and pictures

The handwriting of ordinances is the ceremonial law of sacrifices and ritual observances pointing to Christ, which stood against humanity until type met antitype in His death as the great sacrifice, when it lost its virtue and was taken out of the way and nailed to the cross. It does not mean the moral law of the Ten Commandments written in stone was blotted out, for that law was never against men but remains immutable and binding, and Christ died to meet its demands and uphold it rather than to abolish it. In particular the Sabbath commandment was not nailed to the cross or changed, but remains the seventh day as God gave it. To use the verse to prove the moral law abolished blends two distinct systems and perverts Scripture, a fatal error that would make the whole law of no effect and undermine the foundation of God's government. Its removal ended the Jewish dispensation so that its old customs and ceremonies must no longer control Christianity or how the gospel is preached.

What Was Nailed Away

The handwriting of ordinances is the ritual law of sacrifices and ordinances, made up of symbols and types pointing to Christ, to His sacrifice and His priesthood. It was against humanity and contrary to it, the ceremonial system of every ceremony and sacrifice that prefigured His death and had Him as its foundation. It was to be performed only until type met antitype and shadow reached substance in the death of Christ as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, the great antitypical Sacrifice, the Lamb without blemish. When that wholly perfect sacrifice was offered, all sacrificial offerings were to cease, lost virtue, were rendered valueless, and were taken out of the way and nailed to the cross. The temple sacrifices and services were typical and in force only until type reached antitype in Him.

Its removal ended the Jewish dispensation, and the old customs and ceremonies passed away. They must no longer mould Christianity or control how the gospel is preached. The Jews were slow to discern this end of what was abolished and insisted that Christianity must stay connected with Jewish laws and national peculiarities and ceremonies, and that Gentile converts must keep their restrictions and ceremonies. But the providence of God was opening the way beyond them. The yoke that Peter said Gentile converts should not be made to bear was this ceremonial law, not the Ten Commandments.

At the cross the partition between God and people was removed: the veil was torn, the way into God's presence was opened, and through Christ's blood the enmity was abolished. Both Jew and Gentile may come to God through faith in Christ and share in the living bread. Blotting out the temple sacrifices and services at the cross fulfills the law and does not destroy it, though the ceremonial law was thereby made null and void and abolished. Restoring those ended Jewish ceremonial observances as religious requirements after type met antitype replaces inward cleansing and heart religion with outward performances and confuses the mind, for when the type met the antitype at the cross those ceremonies lost their force and no longer applied to God's people.

Christ ending the ceremonial law by nailing it to the cross so it no longer served its former purpose is compared with the heavenly temple having no further use after Christ completes His ministry and redeems His people.

Moral Law Still Binding

The handwriting blotted out and nailed to the cross is not the moral law of the Ten Commandments engraved in stone with the finger of God, but the ritual law of sacrifices and ordinances made up of symbols and types pointing to Christ, His sacrifice and His priesthood. That ceremonial system of every ceremony and sacrifice that prefigured His death and had Him as its foundation lasted only until type met antitype in His death as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, when all sacrificial offerings were to cease. The Ten Commandments were never against men and could never be blotted out, but remain immutable as a perpetual covenant to be obeyed, and Christ's mission was to uphold them. The cross itself proves the law unchangeable, for Christ died to save the sinner by meeting the demands of the broken law, not to abolish it, and thereby confirms the unchanging authority of every precept, including the unchanged seventh-day Sabbath.

In particular the Sabbath commandment was not nailed to the cross and was not removed or changed. If the Sabbath had been abolished there, the other nine commandments would have been abolished as well, leaving people free to break them. The Sabbath remains the seventh day unchanged, as written on the stone tablets in the heavenly sanctuary and ark as God gave it to Moses.

The Sabbath remained sacred after Christ's death and was left in force by Him who made it. The disciples were to pray that their flight from Jerusalem would not fall on the Sabbath, even forty years after the crucifixion. The fourth commandment was not made null and void by the cross but holds its claim on the human family as long as the heavens and the earth remain, with the unchanged Sabbath forever having a claim upon men.

Changing the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first, including the pope's change, does not cancel the law. Replacing the Sabbath command that remains binding with a humanly instituted day leaves the law violated rather than canceled.

Using the verse to prove the moral law abolished or crucified with Christ and no longer valid blends two broad and clearly distinct systems and perverts Scripture. That claim is a fatal error and a lie of Satan to subvert and make void God's law, to destroy the force of the Ten Commandments and make the whole law of no effect. Satan began rebellion in heaven against God's law and continues that warfare by blinding minds to put the moral law in the place of the ceremonial law that was nailed to the cross because type met antitype and shadow reached substance. The law is the foundation of God's government in heaven and on earth, God's justice remains active, and the curse pronounced on transgressors will rebound on those who teach or practice lawlessness.

Promise and Christian Living

Colossians 2:14 belongs to a treasure house of encouragement for the believer, holding one of God's rich, full, abundant and assuring promises to be received. It reveals what Christ is to believers, calling them not to turn from Christ to humanity for help but to appreciate Jesus so that the salvation of God is seen. It also leads them to know what they may be to Him as His helping hand.

In its wider setting of Colossians 2:12-17 the passage holds up the true moral standard of the gospel and must not be perverted. It calls for knowing what kind of crop is sown, whether tares or wheat, because what is sown is reaped. It teaches that only in the deepest sense of ruin is sincere love for Christ learned and proper gratitude cherished to Him who gave His life. It warns of decided danger to any soul in pursuing a wrong course and harming the flock of God by precept or example. It shows that to live most closely to the example given in the life of Christ is to walk in greatest humility and humbleness of mind.