Bible Verse: Colossians 2:20 – having died together with Christ

Originally posted on January 23, 2026 – by Andre Piet

If you died together with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you being dogmatized?

Christ’s death is the point of departure. It was not we who died, but He died. And because we are connected with Him, we died together with Christ. Paul is not describing an inner process, but an objective fact: He died — and thus we with Him.

To have died together with Christ also means: to have been withdrawn from the elements of the world. By this Paul is referring precisely to the first principles of the world that are religious in nature. They are not sinful excesses, but pious arrangements that teach people what is permitted and what is not. “Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch” sounds spiritual, but it is ABC-worldly. In Galatians 4 Paul places this under immaturity (Gal. 4:3,9): living under supervision and regulations.

Whoever has died together with Christ has been withdrawn from these first principles. Not because he has detached himself from them, but because he no longer belongs to them. Just as death places someone outside the reach of laws and obligations, so this dying signifies a change of position. The rules, schemes, and systems may still exist, but they no longer have authority. Not because they have been abolished, but because their jurisdiction has passed. Whoever has died stands outside their reach.

Delen: