Colossians 2:22 means that rules about what you may touch, taste or handle are temporary, because they are built on human opinion and disappear once they are used up. Paul wrote this to the church in Colossae to show that strict regulations about everyday physical things do not bring a person closer to God. The statement is his own comment on a list of restrictions that some teachers were pressing on the believers, so the words belong to Paul as he responds to that pressure.
(all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men?
Colossians 2:22 (WEB)
What Colossians 2:22 Means
The phrase “all of which perish with use” points to the practical reality that physical things are consumed or worn out when people use them. Food is eaten, objects wear down and goods are spent. Paul is saying that the rules attached to these things belong to the same passing order, because they concern items that were never meant to carry spiritual weight in the first place.
The phrase “according to the precepts and doctrines of men” is the heart of the verse. The restrictions do not come from God’s revealed word but from human traditions dressed up as religious necessity. Paul is not condemning all discipline or care for the body. He is objecting to the idea that obeying man-made commands earns standing before God or grows true godliness.
What the verse does not promise is that every ordinary limit is wrong. It does not say that food, drink or bodily care are unimportant in themselves. It warns against treating human ordinances as the path to holiness, and it reminds readers that such rules are temporary while life in Christ is not.
The Context of Colossians 2:22
Colossians is a letter traditionally attributed to Paul, written to a congregation in Colossae, a city in the Lycus Valley of Asia Minor. Paul had not personally founded that church, and he wrote to strengthen believers who were being pulled toward teachings that placed Christ alongside other spiritual powers and rituals. The letter presses the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ throughout.
The verses just before this one, Colossians 2:19 to 2:21, speak of holding firmly to the Head, who is Christ, and of having died with him to the elements of the world. Verse 20 asks why believers would submit again to ordinances after that death. In that light, verse 22 explains that the rules in question were a human imitation of the freedom Christ had already given. Verse 23 then says these practices look wise but do not restrain the indulgence of the flesh.
Key Phrases in Colossians 2:22
Romans 14:17
For God’s Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
(WEB)
This verse says the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It shares Colossians 2:22’s concern that outward rules about consumption do not define life with God, and it points to inner realities that come from the Spirit.
Colossians 2:23
Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.
(WEB)
The verse that follows continues Paul’s argument by admitting that such self-imposed practices look impressive but fail to restrain the flesh. Reading it alongside verse 22 shows that the problem is not only that the rules are temporary but also that they do not produce the inner change they promise.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 2:22
Lord, you know how easily I begin to measure my faithfulness by rules I have made or inherited from others. Free me from the habit of treating human instructions as if they were the way to you. Remind me that you have already given me life in Christ, and help me hold firmly to him as the Head of my life. Let my choices flow from love for you and trust in your grace rather than fear of falling short of someone else’s standard. Amen.
