Colossians 2:17
in Colossians 2These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
KJV
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
⋯
This verse in Colossians 2
Commentary
13 notes on this verseThose Sacraments of the first time, as Hugh says, were like a shadow of the truth, those of the middle time like a figure or image, and those of the last time, namely of grace, like the body, because they contain within themselves the truth …
This site's exposition
let no one judge you by what you eat or drink
on Colossians 2:16-17
The terms what you eat or drink and a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath cover the old covenant's table and calendar. They are a shadow of the things to come, and the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
This site's exposition
a shadow of the things to come
Chrysostom knew two ways of dividing this sentence. Some end it at the body that belongs to Christ, and others join the body of Christ to the next verse. Henry adds that keeping the shadow as binding treats Christ as still to come.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Which are a shadow of the things to come"; he means, of the New Covenant; "but the body" is "Christ's." Some persons here punctuate thus "but the body" is "of Christ," i.e. the truth is come in with Christ: others thus; "The Body of Christ let no man adjudge away from you," that is, thwart you of it. The term katabrabeuthenai, is employed when the victory is with one party, and the prize with another, when though a victor thou art thwarted. Thou standest above the devil and sin; why dost thou again subject thyself to sin?
The Medieval Church2 voices
For these are only a shadow of what is to come, that is, of Christ. And when the truth comes, the shadow should cease, but the substance belongs to Christ. When someone sees a shadow, he expects the body or substantial reality to follow. Now …
He calls the blessings of the New Testament "things to come," for they were "things to come" in relation to the Old Testament, which existed as long as its time lasted.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), intimating that they had no intrinsic worth in them and that they are now done away. But the body is of Christ: the body, of which they were shadows, has come; and to continue the ceremonial observances, which were only types and shadows of Christ and the gospel, carries an intimation that Christ has not yet come and the gospel state has not yet commenced.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Which are a shadow of things to come,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Which are a shadow of things to come - See the notes at Heb 8:5; Heb 10:1, note. They were only a dim outline of future things, not the reality. But the body is of Christ - The reality, the substance. All that they signified is of or in Christ. Between those things themselves which are in Christ, and those which only represented or prefigured them, there is as much difference as there is between a body and a shadow; a solid substance and a mere outline.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
things to come--the blessings of the Christian covenant, the substance of which Jewish ordinances were but the type. Compare "ages to come," that is, the Gospel dispensation (Eph 2:7). Heb 2:5, "the world to come." the body is of Christ--The real substance (of the blessings typified by the law) belongs to Christ (Heb 8:5;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
Which are a shadow - All these things were types, and must continue in force till the Christ, whom they represented, came; the apostle therefore says that the body - the substance or design of them was of Christ - pointed him out, and the excellent blessings which he has procured. The word σκια, shadow, is often used to express any thing imperfect or unsubstantial; while the term σωμα, body, was used in the opposite sense, and expressed any thing substantial, solid, and firm. The law was but the shadow or representation of good things to come; none should rest in it; all that it pointed out is to be sought and obtained in Christ.
Modern Voices1 voice
We may truly call these foreshadowings; so long as we remember that foreshadowings are shadows. And the metaphor of a shadow happens to hit very exactly the truth that is very vital here. For a shadow is a shape; a thing which reproduces shape but …
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἅ | ha | which | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | are | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| σκιὰ | skia | a shadow | G4639 → | |
| τῶν | ton | of the [things] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μελλόντων, | mellonton | coming, | G3195 → | |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| σῶμα | soma | body [is] | G4983 → | 142 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Χριστοῦ. | christou | of Christ. | G5547 → | 523 times |
ἅwhich
haG3739 →1405 times
ἐστινare
estinG1510 →2333 times
σκιὰa shadow
skiaG4639 →
τῶνof the [things]
tonG3588 →19766 times
μελλόντων,coming,
mellontonG3195 →
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
σῶμαbody [is]
somaG4983 →142 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
Χριστοῦ.of Christ.
christouG5547 →523 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Romans 6:14
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
- Romans 3:19–26
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Romans 5:20–21
The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
- John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 14:6
Through
Hebrews 8:5The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you…
it leads to
- Exodus 25:40
See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
- Hebrews 10:1
For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near…
- Exodus 26:30
So you are to set up the tabernacle according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.
- Exodus 25:40
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies27
On this verse
On this chapter
- The Watchers' Secrets
- Christ Our Wisdom: Proverbs 8 and the Wisdom of God
- Circumcision of the Heart
- The Deity of Christ
- Demonology
- The Hebrew Feasts
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About Colossians
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 6; GK Chesterton, The Everlasting Man, Chapter V: Man and Mythologies (1925); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 7; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Colossians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Colossians.