The full substance of truth in Jesus Christ

(Colossians 2:16-17)

The scripture today is an important one because it gives us a comparison of the works of the law versus the full substance of truth in Jesus Christ. In Him the fullness of the New Covenant is found. He is the way and the truth and the life.

There is so much more offered to us in Jesus Christ than ever existed in the Old Covenant of the law. And yet there are so many who seem stuck in the ways of the Old Covenant law not realising that it does not contain the full substance of truth that is in Jesus Christ.

The comparison that Paul gives us here is stark and revealing. SO let us consider his words and find the full substance of truth in Jesus Christ.

The shadow of the law

Before going too far, let us look at the words of these two verses.

16 Therefore let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17)

The first verse in this section refers to things that were done under the law. They were essentially works of the law. Things like the observance of festivals, sabbaths, religious holidays and laws about what you should or should not eat and drink.

There are many such laws in the Old Covenant that relate to rites and bodily functions, but they do not contain the full substance of truth that is found only in Jesus Christ.

These laws may be good for us to follow and to consider, and they are because there is great wisdom in the words of the laws given by God to man. But He gave us these laws so that we could have a better life in the flesh. They are not laws that will transform the spirit of people because they do not change us.

That is why we see in the second verse quoted above that these words of the law are only a shadow of the fullness of the truth. The full substance of truth is found only when we come to Jesus Christ, separated from the law and by the power of faith.

Chasing shadows

Stop a moment and think about what a shadow is.

When you stand outside in the sunlight, a shadow is cast. It looks like you, it has the same shape and outline as you, but it is not you. Your shadow has no substance and it is only two dimensional. It cannot be grasped with your hands and when the light fades away it disappears.

But you do not disappear. You have form and substance. Yours is a have a three dimensional shape that exists always. You have the ability to do things and to grow and mature, whereas your shadow is just a poor copy of who you are.

Keep those thoughts in mind as you think about this scripture because Paul has written that the things of the law are only a shadow of what was to come in Jesus Christ because the full substance of truth is in Jesus Christ.

Today, many in the church are still chasing shadows. They look to the law and continue to live as if their righteousness is based upon keeping the letter of the law.

Some Christians focus on things like what they eat and drink, keeping sabbaths, religious holidays and other things that are contained in the law. They are chasing shadows because they have not learned the full substance of truth that exists only when we come to Christ.

These people have not learned that the law blinds them to see the truth of Jesus Christ and the devastating impact this has.

Veiled by the law

The scripture tells us that those who seek to follow the path of the law are in the dark still. Their minds are veiled to the full substance of the truth because they seek the law rather than seeking Christ. Consider these words.

14 But their minds were hardened; for to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds; 16 but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed. (2 Corinthians 3:14-16)

This scripture tells us that whenever Moses is read, that is, whenever the law is read, it places a veil over the minds of those who read it.

Now it is not the reading of the law alone that veils the mind. It is when the law is accepted as the standard by which a person seeks righteousness and to be righteous. It is when a person seeks righteousness by following the works of the law.

This is how the veil comes down because the law clouds the minds of the reader/hearer and takes them away from the full substance of truth in Jesus Christ. The inheritance promised to man to receive eternal life in the kingdom of God was promised to those who have faith. It was not by works of the law but by faith in God and in Jesus Christ that we are to receive the promises of God.

But the law separates us from Christ and cuts us off from the promises of the Lord. Not that there is anything wrong with the law. But when we seek to live under the law rather than under the grace of God, we are cut off from Jesus Christ, as the scripture says.

4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. (Galatians 5:4-5)

Look at these words. You are severed or cut off from Christ if you are seeking to be righteous or justified by the law. You are no longer living under the grace of God but under the law. And I should add that the law is the power of sin as we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:56.

So what are we to do?

Seek the full substance of truth in Jesus Christ. Don’t seek to be justified by the law, but believe you have been set free from the law by the death of Jesus Christ and been born again as a new creation, living under the power of the grace of God through faith.

The full substance of truth comes by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law. The law is holy, just and good, but it will not make you free. It will not make you righteous and it will not transform you into the image of Christ.

The law was put in place by God to try to reel in sin in mankind. It was instituted to try to hold back sin in the flesh of man. But it cannot make you perfect because it deals only with matters of the flesh.

The anew Covenant on the other hand deals with the spirit of man. This is where perfection must be attained: in the spirit. The flesh is dead and will die because of sin. But the spirit can live forever by being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ through faith in what God the Father did for us in Jesus. When He died and rose again, He set us free from sin, set us free from the law and made a path to perfection when we receive the Holy Spirit and follow the words of Jesus.

And this is not available or possible by following the works of the law. That is why they are just a shadow of the good things available to us in Jesus Christ. And that is why we need to seek and find the full substance of truth in Jesus Christ.

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