Colossians 2:8-15

8: See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9: For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10: and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
11: and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12: having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13: 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,
14: 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.
15: When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

*** 

Paul beautifully and powerfully spoke of what Jesus had done for us in this section of Scripture. First, he told the Colossians to guard against anyone trying to deceive them through philosophical arguments, traditions, or principles of worldly thought. Instead, they were to remain true to the teachings of Christ. Any philosophy or teaching that does not have a foundation of truth is an unsafe foundation which leads to a disastrous fall.

Paul then spoke of Christ and the demonstration of His power over all sources of false teaching and deception. He began by saying that in Him the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. That alone could be pondered for quite a while, but there’s more. He is the head over all rule and authority. There is no greater authority than the Lord. There is no other foundation of truth. No other philosophical, religious, or other teaching has more power than the Lord. Yet He has opened Himself up to us, and we are complete in Him.

We experience the new circumcision in Him—a spiritual work of the heart, not of the flesh. We are buried with Him in baptism and raised up with Him by the same One who raised Jesus from the dead. Even while dead in sin, He made us alive with Him, forgiving us of all transgressions. Not only did He forgive our sins, He cancelled the certificate of debt that was against us—the Law which proved our guilt. The Law proved our inability to keep it and attain righteousness through our own works. It died when Christ died. Sin and Satan have no more legal authority or rights against us. The work Jesus did was powerfully effective and complete.

Finally, Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities. He triumphed over the ranks of fallen evil spirits, making a public display of them. He triumphed over them--“As a conqueror, returning from a victory, displays in a triumphal procession the kings and princes whom he has taken, and the spoils of victory.”1 Jesus has completed His work, having paid the price for our debt of sin, and triumphing over our accuser once and for all!





1 Barnes notes on the Bible, taken from BibleHub.com May 25, 2021


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