Below is an abbreviated version of a message that will be preached on Sunday evening October 8, 2006. Some things have been changed and questions asked for thought provoking discussion. Feel free to answer any question or comment in general.
The Sufficiency of Christ, Part Two
Colossians 2:13-15
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” NASB
As we look at this passage let us remember that Paul is writing Colossians because of a threat that to the sufficiency of Christ.
Two important phrases listed in Verse 13. We were dead! God made us alive in Christ. From a spiritual standpoint without Christ we have no life. Without Christ we are spiritually bankrupt. I like the term spiritually bankrupt. Imagine a huge bank has been built. It is the most beautiful building in town. Everything looks great. You go to see about opening an account and to your surprise you find out that the bank has no money. They are essentially bankrupt. You have driven by this bank numerous times and thought now they know how to do business. Only to go in and find out they have nothing. We can have everything going for us, money, health, fit all those things and yet inside still be spiritually bankrupt. Still have nothing from a spiritual standpoint. This is a good reminder to remember that we have life in Christ. God made us alive in Him. Spiritually we have been raised from the dead and given a new life.
If we have spiritual life in Christ that is a big blow to those that were trying to say that Christ alone is not sufficient. But praise God Christ alone is sufficient. Two things that we notice from this text about the life that God gives us. 1. It is a shared life with Christ. Do you notice that the text says that we were made alive together with Him? The great thing about God is that when we come to Christ He sees in us what is true in Jesus. Jesus died and was brought back to life. As believers we died and were given new life. 2. This new life has nothing to do with the past. Do you see the awesome teaching? We were dead, but now we are alive. Our life in the past is exactly that. In the past! Sometimes people allow their past to keep coming back to haunt them, to control them, to depress them. Past sins and failures should have no bearing on our present and future relationship with Christ. He doesn’t remember them; therefore we should put them behind us. Dwelling on past sins and mistakes that have been washed in the blood of Christ has only one purpose: to hinder our walk with Christ. It is a tool of the world, flesh and the devil to keep us from growing in Christ. In Christ we have a new life. The old life is gone. All things have become new.
Question: What does that mean for your personal life that in Christ you have a shared life with Him and that this new life has nothing to do with the past? For further study look up Galatians 2:20 & 2 Corinthians 5:17
This life in Christ is radical, it is awesome, it is great, and as we go through this text we also see that this life brings with it freedom.
We could spend a lot time celebrating the truth of Verse 13 and 14. You notice that first it mentions that we have been forgiven of our sins. Part of being made alive means that we have been forgiven. Our sins are no longer a barrier to fellowship with God. With that forgiveness we have been given freedom. We needed freedom because of our bondage to sin and the law. As Galatians 3:13 says “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE.” Do you notice the terminology in which we were forgiven and set free? He took away the certificate of debt, which had decrees against us and was hostile against us. What this means is that the law has a rightful claim over us. In order for the law not to be a barrier we have to be obedient in every aspect of the law. Since we are not the law is against us, we have violated God’s holy law and therefore cannot be in fellowship with Him. But all that is taken care of in Christ. Or as the text says it was taken out of the way.
The text says here that our sins were nailed to the cross. They were not just taken out of the way, but they were nailed to the cross. Here is the great picture for us. An ancient way of canceling a debt was to strike a nail though the writing. Wow! What a great picture for us! Christ took the law, our offences that were keeping us from fellowship with God and drove a nail through it signifying that our sin debt was canceled. It was forever nailed to the cross. The pictures in the Bible of what Christ has done with our sins are absolutely fantastic. He plunged them to the bottom of the sea. He removed them as far as the east is from the west. He nailed them to His cross. As I said this forgiveness brings freedom from the law; freedom from the bondage of the law.
Question: What does freedom in Christ really mean?
So we have been given life and we have been set free. What else? Jesus also gives us victory.
What we have seen so far is that Jesus has dealt with sin and the law on the cross. Sin is forgiven and we are free. That is great and our sufficiency in Christ is complete as now we will see that Jesus also dealt with Satan at Calvary as well. This passage shows us three great victories on the cross for Jesus over the devil. 1. He Disarmed! You notice the Bible says that Jesus disarmed the rulers and the authorities. This would be the rulers and authorities from a spiritual perspective. The Bible mentions Satan as the ruler of this world and Jesus mentioned before the crucifixion that the prince of this world will be cast out. The idea of disarming carried with it the idea of stripping off. At the cross Jesus stripped Satan and his army from any weapons and power that they had. That is a great victory for God’s people. Satan has been defeated, disarmed and has no power to control our lives, unless of course we give him that power.
2. He Exposed! The enemy has been exposed for the person that he really is. He has been exposed for his deceitfulness and vileness. Along this lines of exposing we can also see that by exposing him for who he really is Jesus has brought open shame and ridicule to the devil. This will tie in with our next point, but I picture Jesus not only disarming and exposing the devil, but dragging him through the streets so to speak in a victory parade to show everyone that he has been defeated. 3. He Triumphed! In the Roman Empire when a general won a great victory in another country he would return with prisoners, spoil and sometimes if the leader was still alive he would bring him back. If this victory was a complete victory, the general killed at least 5,000 people and won new territory for the emperor then he was entitled to a parade. This victorious parade was known as the Roman Triumph. You notice that Paul mentions that God triumphed over them through Christ. Look at this other passage in 2 Corinthians 2:14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”
Question: What are some responses as believers that we can have because of what Jesus did at the cross?