What was Paul actually talking about?

This is a critical post because Colossians 2:16–17 is probably one of the strongest passages people use to argue that the Sabbath was abolished.

So we're not going to dodge it.

We're going to slow down and let Paul's entire argument speak.

And we already did the research on this, so we don't need to start from scratch.

The central text:

At first glance, it seems obvious:

Sabbaths = abolished.

But is that actually what Paul says?

That's the question.

First: Who Was Paul Writing To?

Colossians wasn't written to ethnic Jews living under the old covenant.

Paul is writing to a predominantly Gentile Christian community.

And that's important because we have to understand what problem Paul is actually addressing.

The Colossians were being pressured by religious teaching involving:

• food

• drink

• festivals

• new moons

• sabbaths

• ascetic practices

• human regulations

• and religious ideas that were competing with the sufficiency of Christ.

Paul's answer isn't:

His answer is:

That's the center of Colossians 2.

Don't Stop at Verse 16

Paul begins the chapter by warning them about being deceived.

Then he says:

Then:

And then Paul spends the rest of the chapter explaining what Christ has accomplished.

Christ is sufficient.

Christ is supreme.

Christ is the reality.

Christ is the head.

And religious regulations must never become substitutes for Him.

That context matters enormously when we arrive at verse 16.

What Does “Shadow” Mean?

Paul says these things are:

And then:

The obvious question is:

Does “shadow” automatically mean “abolished”?

Not necessarily.

A shadow tells you that something real is there.

The shadow isn't the substance—but its existence points toward the substance.

Paul's point is that Christ is the reality toward which the shadows pointed.

And that is completely consistent with the Gospel.

The question isn't simply:

The question is:

Notice Paul's List

Paul doesn't simply say:

He gives a very specific sequence:

Food

Drink

Festival

New Moon

Sabbaths

That's important because this same sequence appears repeatedly in the Old Testament in connection with Israel's sacrificial and ceremonial calendar.

For example, 1 Chronicles 23:31 speaks of offerings connected with:

And 2 Chronicles 2:4 similarly connects:

Sabbaths → New Moons → appointed feasts.

Again and again, these terms appear together in the context of Israel's appointed worship cycles.

So we can't simply assume that every occurrence of the plural “sabbaths” means the weekly seventh-day Sabbath.

Context has to determine the meaning.

And Here's Something We Must Not Miss

The Old Testament itself distinguishes between the weekly Sabbath and the ceremonial appointments.

Genesis establishes the seventh day before Sinai.

Exodus 20 commands it in the Ten Commandments.

But Israel also had annual appointed times involving special sabbath-like rests and sacrificial observances.

Those are not automatically interchangeable.

So when Paul says:

we need to ask:

Which Sabbaths?

And more importantly:

What was Paul actually warning the Colossians about?

The Context Gives Us Another Clue

Paul doesn't merely say:

He says:

That's a very different statement.

The issue is judgment over religious observance.

And Paul immediately continues:

Then he describes:

and regulations such as:

These aren't descriptions of the Ten Commandments.

They're descriptions of human religious regulations.

And Paul's conclusion is devastating:

Paul's concern is not that people are obeying God too much.

His concern is that human religion has been added to Christ.

And That Brings Us Back to the Authority Question

Remember what this entire series is about.

We aren't trying to win a Saturday-versus-Sunday argument.

We're asking:

Who has the authority to sanctify?

God sanctified the seventh day at Creation.

Human beings can create religious practices.

Human beings can create traditions.

Human beings can create regulations.

But can human authority sanctify what God has not sanctified—or unsanctify what God has sanctified?

That's the question underneath everything we've been studying.

And Colossians 2 doesn't give us an explicit statement saying:

Nor does it say:

Those are conclusions people bring to the text.

So we have to be careful.

Christ Is the Substance

This is where we absolutely agree with Paul.

Christ is the substance.

The Sabbath cannot save you.

A festival cannot save you.

A dietary regulation cannot save you.

A religious ceremony cannot save you.

Christ saves.

And that's precisely why this series has never been about making Sabbath-keeping the basis of salvation.

The Sabbath must point away from ourselves and toward God.

Toward the Creator.

Toward His completed work.

Toward His sanctifying power.

Toward the rest that can only be found in Christ.

So What Does Colossians 2 Actually Prove?

It proves something enormously important:

Christ is sufficient.

It warns Christians against allowing religious regulations and human judgments to displace Christ.

It identifies certain observances as shadows whose substance is Christ.

But it does not explicitly say:

And it certainly does not say:

Those are separate claims.

And they require separate evidence.

One More Question

If Paul intended to announce a change this enormous—

from:

“Remember the Sabbath day”

to:

“Forget the Sabbath; now keep Sunday”

—

where is that announcement?

Where does Paul say:

Where does Jesus say:

Where do the apostles announce:

We have searched.

We haven't found it.

And that absence matters.

Because when we're talking about sanctification, we're talking about something that Scripture consistently attributes to God.

And Now We Come to Hebrews

We've examined:

Creation.

Jesus.

The apostles.

Romans.

Galatians.

Colossians.

And now we come to perhaps the most intriguing statement of all:

The people receiving this letter were already familiar with the seventh-day Sabbath.

So why would the writer say:

“There remains”

a Sabbath rest?

What does Hebrews mean?

And who exactly are “the people of God”?

That's where we're going next.

POST 8

What About Hebrews 4?

If the Sabbath was finished, why does Hebrews say that a Sabbath rest remains?