Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 2:22

"(all which things are to perish with the using), after the precepts and doctrines of men?" — Colossians 2:22 (ASV)

(22a) Parenthetically, Paul adds that all such things are “destined to perish with use.” Dietary restrictions have to do with things made to be used; and with their use they perish, for food ceases to be food once it is eaten. The underlying thought, then, is that the restrictive regulations of the Colossian heresy deal with matters that are temporary and unimportant. Christ, in fact, has made all food clean (Mark 7:19).

(22b) Such regulative prohibitions as “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” are “based on human commands and teachings.” The rules of the ascetic are, both in origin and in medium of communication, strictly human.