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“Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no one defraud you by judging you unworthy of your prize”—Col. 2:16-18a:
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As with a man’s physical body, the body in 2:17 is the substance, and like the shadow of a man’s body, the rituals in the law are the shadow of Christ, who is the substance and reality of the gospel; Colossians unveils such an all-inclusive Christ as the focus of God’s economy—1:17a, 18a; 3:11.
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Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, Christ is the reality of every positive thing, implying the universal extensiveness of the all-inclusive Christ:
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Daily, Christ is our food and drink for our satisfaction and strengthening—1 Cor. 10:3-4.
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Weekly, Christ is our Sabbath for our completion and rest in Him—Matt. 11:28-29.
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Monthly, Christ is our new moon as a new beginning with light in darkness—John 1:5; 8:12.
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Yearly, Christ is our feast for our joy and enjoyment—1 Cor. 5:8.
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The all-inclusive, extensive Christ, who is full of attractiveness and rich in magnetism, is the essence of the Bible—Luke 24:44; John 5:39-40; Matt. 1:1; cf. Rev. 22:21.
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According to the context, “the prize” in Colossians 2:18 is the enjoyment of Christ as the body of the shadows; to be defrauded of our prize is to be defrauded of the subjective enjoyment of Christ—cf. Gen. 15:1; Phil. 3:8.
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Our need is for the subjective Christ to become our enjoyment to complete the divine revelation within us; if we are short in the experience and enjoyment of Christ, we are also short concerning God’s revelation—Col. 1:25-28.
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Whatever we do day by day should remind us of Christ as the reality of that thing; if we follow the practice of taking Christ as the reality of all the material things in our daily life, our daily walk will be revolutionized and transformed, and we will be full of Christ—2 Cor. 4:16; Phil. 1:19-21a.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 2:16-17 Let no one therefore judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.[Colossians 2:16-17 indicates] that the reality of all that we need is Christ. We need food, drink, and the feasts. A new moon indicates a new start, and the Sabbath is for rest. However, all these are simply a shadow; they are not the real things. Christ Himself is the reality of all these things.
When a person stands in the light, he casts a shadow, but the shadow is not the real person. The real person is the body of that shadow. All things in the entire universe are only a shadow; Christ Himself is the reality. The clothes that we wear are not the real clothes; they are shadows. Christ is our real clothing. If we do not have Christ to clothe us, we are still naked before God. The light we see is not the real light.... Even if we have the best light, without Christ we are still in darkness. The sun is not the real sun; it is a type. The reality of the sun is Christ, the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2). Even the house in which we dwell is not our real dwelling place. Our real dwelling place is Christ. Everything we need is a shadow; the reality of all things is Christ. To be sure, Christ is not the reality of the negative things in the universe, such as sin, the world, self, Satan, and the evil spirits. Rather, all the positive things in the universe are shadows of Christ. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 2—Romans through Philemon,” pp. 331-332)
Today’s Reading
Colossians shows us that God has made Christ to be everything. He is God Himself; and He is man. He is the Creator, and He is a creature. He accomplished redemption, and He is the Firstborn from the dead. He is the Head of the church, and He is even the Body. Christ is everything! In order to see this, we need Colossians. If we remove this book from the Bible, no one could understand Christ in such a profound way.... If some would try to discover all the items mentioned in the Scriptures about Christ, they may not be able to finish the list in their lifetime. If we do not have Christ, we have nothing. Although we do have the shadows, they are vanity, because it is easy for shadows to depart. Even if we had a palace, in only one night it could burn up in a fire or be brought down by an earthquake. Everything soon fades away because it is all a shadow. Only Christ is the reality. Only He exists forever without change.I can say from my heart that I love nothing else. Only Him do I love. All night and all day I love Him. Nothing is so dear to me as He is. During the past half century from my teenage years to the present time, I have noticed all the changes in international and national affairs, in families, and in society. Everything is a shadow that passes away quickly. From this I have learned that nothing on earth is lovable or trustworthy. Only One is so dear to me, and He is so real to me. In nothing or no one else can I put my trust; I can trust only Him. He is the reality, and He is our portion.
I hope that we all would learn to realize Him and love Him. Simply love Him, and do not seek anything else. Everything else is merely a shadow. Of course, while we are still on this earth, we need many things. However, we must use these things in the way of realizing Christ as our reality. The only portion that God gives to us is this wonderful Christ. We must learn to know Him, to live Him, to take Him, to experience Him, and to realize Him. (CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 2—Romans through Philemon,” pp. 332-333)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1964, vol. 2, “A General Sketch of the New Testament in the Light of Christ and the Church, Part 2—Romans through Philemon,” ch. 19