The Body is Christ's

16Let no man therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, 17which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s." Colossians 2:16-17 NHEB

Before we go further in this marvelous passage of freedom, let's look at the last verse printed here. "...which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's." The rules governing the Old Testament people regarding their food and their drink, what day they kept or not, were what the Spirit calls here, "shadows." We all know what a shadow is. It is the mere reflection of the real. It changes when the real moves. It will lengthen, or shorten, or disappear all together when the reality of it moves.

Then we are told "...but the body is Christ's." This means the body of Christ in all her aspects; the corporate body of Christ, as well as the individual that belongs to Christ. My body is His and our body is His. So what we eat or drink has no spiritual value in light of the truth of Him. He is the reality of our lives. The passage continues,

"18Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God’s growth. 20If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, 21“Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch” 22(all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men? 23Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh."

There are so many "religious" practices to tell us how to get close or closer to the Lord and how to be more spiritual in our lives. These verses tell us they are but shadows. How can one get closer to the Lord? If it is true (and it is) that Christ lives in me, then how, in heaven's name can I get any closer? He has erased every definition of distance by choosing to live in us. How can what we eat, drink, observe, engage in make us closer.

You see, He has literally done all the work. This passage tells us all those "how-to's" in Him are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. They are intended to help us walk in a holy way. In reality grace, the very love and favor of our Lord, teaches us to live holy lives. Our efforts to make our flesh be or do, really only solidify that action in our minds. I refer you to Titus 2: 11-12, and then this one in Galatians 5:16, "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

Do our actions matter?  Oh yes very much so! But the governing of those actions is to be accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the gift of Christ in us the hope (or expectation) of glory, not from our own efforts to make us do the work of God. Re-read the entire passage, see the reality that He wants to empower and enable. It is His intimate work in us. He uses the Word, His Spirit, Presence, Worship, Fellowship and a hunger in us for more of Him released in and through us. But it is not our work. It is His very personal work in us with us. So we see the point of all is Him. The body is Christ's.