“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:”
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ — 'Shadow' (skia) contrasts with 'substance' (sōma, body). Mosaic law was provisional anticipation; Christ is fulfillment. 'Substance belongs to Christ' (sōma tou Christou) shows Christ-reality supersedes legal types. The metaphor is eschatological: shadows are pre-dawn twilight; the sun (Christ) has risen.
Church Fathers on Colossians 2:16
Having first said darkly, “Take heed lest there shall be any one that makes spoil of you after the tradition of men” Colossians 2:8; and again, further back, “This, I say, that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech” Colossians 2:4; thus preoccupying their soul, and working in it anxious thoughts; next, having inserted those benefits, and increased this effect, he then brings in his reproof last, and says, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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