Jesus is Enough

“Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

My dear friends,

As we sit sipping our morning beverage and nibbling on toast smothered in guava jelly, lets dive deep into these profound words Paul wrote to the church in Colossae.

Let’s imagine sitting in a small house church in that first-century city. You’ve come to faith in Jesus, and the joy of it is still fresh. Yet new voices have begun to circulate. They sound spiritual, even impressive. They speak of higher knowledge, of special practices, of rules that will supposedly take you deeper. “Don’t touch that food. Don’t handle that. Discipline your body more severely. Humble yourself by these observances.” The pressure is subtle but real: maybe what you have in Christ isn’t quite enough. Maybe you need to add something more.

Into that tension Paul writes these words. He does not begin with a new list of better rules. He begins with a reminder of what has already happened to you.

“Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world…” This is not a metaphor Paul uses lightly. Earlier in the letter he has declared that God has given us fullness in Christ, and that in Him we were circumcised, buried with Him in baptism, and raised with Him through faith (Colossians 2:9–12). When Jesus died, those who belong to Him died with Him. The old dominion—the “elemental spiritual forces,” those basic principles and powers that once held sway over human life—no longer owns you. You have been transferred into the kingdom of the beloved Son.

Paul’s question is therefore both logical and pastoral: if that is true, why are you still living as though you belong to the old world? Why submit again to its rules? The “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” commands sound holy. They create the appearance of careful, serious discipleship. Yet Paul unmasks them. They concern things destined to perish with use—temporary, earthly realities. They rest on human commands and teachings, not on the word of Christ. And while they wear the mask of wisdom—self-imposed worship, a show of humility, harsh treatment of the body—they possess no real power to restrain the deeper desires of the heart. They can modify behavior for a season; they cannot transform the soul.

This is liberating truth spoken in love. Paul is not anti-discipline. He is against any system that treats external regulations as the path to spiritual maturity when Christ Himself is the fullness of God dwelling among us. The false teachers in Colossae offered a spirituality of addition: Christ plus rules, Christ plus special knowledge, Christ plus ascetic practices. Paul’s answer is subtraction: you already have everything in Him. Stop living as though the cross were incomplete.

Here is the warmth of the gospel for weary people. You do not have to keep proving your seriousness by the severity of your restrictions. You do not have to measure your growth by how many things you can refuse to touch. The regulations that once felt necessary may have given you a sense of control, or a way to quiet the accusing voice inside, but they cannot do what only Christ can do. He has already broken the power of the old order. Your life is now hidden with Him. Growth comes not primarily by tighter rules, but by staying connected to the One in whom all the fullness of God dwells.

This does not mean we become careless. It means we become free to pursue holiness from a place of security rather than anxiety. The Spirit produces self-control, love, and purity as fruit, not as a ladder we climb to earn favor. When we try to restrain the flesh mainly by external commands, we often find the desires simply go underground or reappear in subtler forms. But when we live in the reality of our death and resurrection with Christ, the old forces lose their claim. We learn to say no to ungodliness because we belong to Another, not because a list demands it.

Perhaps you have known the exhaustion of the “appearance of wisdom.” The quiet pride of harsh self-treatment. The false humility that draws attention to how little you allow yourself. Or the fear that if you relax the rules even a little, everything will unravel. Paul invites you to set that burden down. Not so you can indulge every desire, but so you can finally rest in the sufficiency of Jesus. He is enough. The work is finished. You have died with Him, and the life you now live is His life in you.

Personal Reflection Questions

• In what areas of my life do I still feel the pull of “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch” rules—whether from religious tradition, personal habit, or the expectations of others—and how do those rules make me feel about my standing with God?
• Where have I been tempted to trust human commands or self-imposed practices more than the finished work of Christ for my growth and acceptance?
• What would it look like, practically, for me to live this week as someone who has already died with Christ to the elemental forces of the world? Where might I need to lay down a regulation that has only an appearance of wisdom?
• How can I distinguish between healthy, Spirit-led discipline and the kind of harsh, rule-based restraint that Paul says lacks real power?
• In what ways has the fullness of Christ already proven sufficient for me, and where do I still struggle to believe it?

A Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for the clear and gracious reminder that we have died with Christ and no longer belong to the old ways of the world. We confess how easily we return to human rules and self-imposed efforts that promise wisdom but leave us empty. Teach us to rest in the fullness we already have in Jesus. Free us from the exhausting need to prove ourselves by what we refuse to touch or taste. Fill us instead with the life of Your Son, so that genuine holiness and freedom grow from our union with Him. Help us to walk in the liberty of those who have been raised with Christ, for Your glory and our joy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Remember dear ones, God gives us warnings because He loves you deeply. Until our next lesson, be blessed

Your fellow sheep