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Colossians 2:15a – Standing With Jesus

And having disarmed the powers and authorities …

Summary: Understanding Paul’s reference to “powers and authorities” requires that we understand the difference between the spirit and the flesh. 

I find this particular passage very intriguing. In the context of the larger passage, Paul has just stated that Jesus took our “legal indebtedness” and nailed it to the cross. Then he turns around and says that, by doing that, he has “disarmed the powers and authorities…”

Who is he talking about?

He didn’t disarm the Romans. The Pharisees and Sadducees were still in power when Jesus died. Who did Jesus “disarm”?

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Colossians 2:14b – Fixing a Boo-Boo

… which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 

Cross with small notes (representing sins) nailed to it.

Summary: The concept of having our sins nailed to the cross is hard to understand. Looked at through the lens of the Old Testament, it begins to make more sense. 

Paul is working very hard to explain Jesus to us. He begins with Jesus is the “fullness of the Deity … in bodily form” (v 9). Theologians have a lot of fancy words to describe what this means, but they know less than Paul did because Paul had actually met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). 

Notice Paul’s careful wording: “For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives …” Jesus describes it this way: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). We are not supposed to understand how this works. Instead, we are expected to believe Jesus and Paul and take them at their word. 

So, God himself becomes man in the form of Jesus. What then? 

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Colossians 2:14a – Legally Dead

…  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness …

Court order reading "Eternity in Hell" and stamped "Canceled"

Summary: Understanding what it means to have our “legal indebtedness” canceled requires an understanding of the law.

We know from previous passages that Paul often mixes metaphors with reality. We also know it can be hard to tell the difference. This passage presents us with the same question: Is Paul speaking literally or metaphorically?

The concept of “legal indebtedness” depends on the existence of law. Without laws, nothing is illegal.

God’s law is like that. God doesn’t need a legislature to confirm his laws or a police force to enforce them. All God has to do is speak, and his words become law.

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Colossians 2:13b – Dripping Sin

He forgave us all our sins …

sponge dripping water

Summary: Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God forgives us all our sins. But how much is “all?” The answer to that question is worth thinking about. 

How many sins is “all”?

When Paul writes that God “forgave us all our sins,” what comes to mind?

The Greek word Paul used for “sin” in today’s passage is “paráptōma.” Its meaning can include both unintentional errors and willful transgressions. So, are we back to counting errors and omissions, right?

Not so fast …

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Colossians 2:13a – The Greatest Gift

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. 

Summary: Paul, himself, provides the summary for this meditation. In fact, this passage summarizes the entire Bible! 

In this passage, Paul captures the heart of the entire Bible.

•   Genesis chapters 1–3 describe how we became “dead” in our sins.
•   Genesis 4 through the end of the Old Testament (Malachi 4) describe the uncircumcised life of the flesh.
•   The New Testament is all about God making us alive with Christ.
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Colossians 2:12b – The Workings of God

… in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Summary: Understanding Paul’s language requires understanding the reality of the spiritual realm. 

If being “buried with him in baptism” is a metaphor for spiritual things, how much more is the rest of Paul’s sentence?

Actually, Paul’s sentence is more of a “mixed metaphor.”

The last part, where he writes “the working of God, who raised him [Jesus] from the dead,” is literal and true. God did raise Jesus from the dead. This same Jesus whom God raised to life two thousand years ago is alive today.

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Colossians 2:11 – Cut Off & Born Again

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.  Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ …

Summary: Paul resorts to a metaphor that ties in his arguments about circumcision with spiritual truths that we cannot see with human eyes. 

I have to confess that I find circumcision a rather awkward topic for discussion. However, since Paul has mentioned it and provided a handy description, we will go with that! 

In this passage, Paul equates circumcision to putting off our “whole self ruled by the flesh.” 

I wish it were that easy! 

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