Christ Preeminent (Part Fourteen): Triumphant in Christ

Transcript

JRNT 36
10/15/2023
Christ Preeminent (Part Fourteen): Triumphant in Christ
Colossians 2:13-15
Jesse Randolph

A little over a week ago, we were awakened to the news that Israel had been attacked by Hamas a militant Islamic group from neighboring Palestine. Ever since that attack, we know the daily news cycles have been dominated by all that’s happening in that part of the world. Earlier in that week, the footage that was being shared. Had to do with Hamas’s invasion and the carnage it caused in it’s attack on Israel. We’re talking about clips of young Israeli women being taken captive and taken hostage. We’re talking about blood spattered car seats. We’re talking about footage of young Palestinian men reveling in the death of their Jewish neighbors just across the border. Then, a little bit later in the week, in more recent days, we’ve seen footage from the other side, as Israel mounted its counterattack. Now, we’re seeing images of Israeli tanks rolling. And IDF bombs are leveling buildings in Gaza. And Palestinian casualties being carted out from streets. As of last night, the reports are now focused in on Hezbollah, another militant Islamic group in Lebanon and Iran, with its nuclear capabilities, potentially jumping into the fray. The world is on edge, people are nervous and are asking questions like: what does this all mean? How do I talk to my kids about this? Are we all going to be, ok?

All this week, I’ve been wrestling with a question of my own, which is, what do I as a pastor, need to say about these events? If anything at all. Should I preach a special full-length sermon about Israel? Its history and its role and its future? It’s my understanding that John MacArthur, a man I greatly respect and admire, is doing that very thing in California today. Or instead, should I just sort of plow ahead in our study in Colossians and make no mention of recent events in Israel at all? I’ve decided not to go full-MacArthur here today, by giving you a 60-minute discourse on Israel and its history and its future. But at the same time, I wouldn’t be comfortable with not addressing it at all. Just ignoring the situation that’s happening overseas right now. Because, as a pastor, I do want to do my best to equip you, from the perspective of God’s written reveled word, to help you think biblically about what is happening in Israel, and in Palestine right now. So that you’re able to think clearly about all that’s happening. So, you’re able to reason charitably with those who might engage with you on the subject. That you might be able to pray faithfully for the various parties involved.

Now, before I get into some of my thoughts on the topic. I do want to put my cards on the table before you, and let you know that the best way, I believe, we can be thinking about this situation in Israel. It’s not by looking for red heifers and blood moons. Instead, its to look at the situation from the perspective of growing in our understanding of God and His character and His purposes. As in anything, what we want to do, always, as believers, no matter the issue. Is to sharpen and elevate our view of God. Not to become panicked newspaper exegetes. But instead, to become tempered, measured students of God. As He has revealed Himself in His written word. What that means is taking a segment of data, in this case, these eight days of war overseas. And funneling that data through scripture, as we seek to sharpen and elevate and increase in our understanding of who God is, and what He’s already done; and what He’s promised to do. In other words, our goal in thinking about this whole conflict in Israel, should not be to learn more about Israel. Or to grow in our commitment to the nation state of Israel. Zionism is not the goal here. Rather, our goal, in thinking about this whole conflict in Israel, should be to learn more about God. To deepen in our love for God. To deepen in our trust and our appreciation for His perfect plans.
So, with that, a few admittedly very simple thoughts for you all to remember, to ponder and to file away. As we look with interest. We look with concern. We look with anticipation at what’s happening on the other side of the globe.

First, we need to remember that God is sovereign. God is sovereign. The Hamas fighters who paraglided in and started spraying bullets last week, they were literally flying under the radar. They were clearly relying on the element of surprise. Tragically, their strategy worked. As many were caught by surprise and many did lose their lives. But none of this caught God by surprise. We learned, a few Sunday evenings ago, as we went through Psalm 93:1, that the Lord reigns. Meaning, He is sovereign. He rules over every square inch of this universe. From Grand Island to Gaza city, and every point in-between. The God of all the earth is sovereign over all that happened over the last week. He’s sovereign over every bomb that dropped. He’s sovereign over every bullet that ripped through the air. He’s sovereign over every mother who’s wailed. Every baby who’s cried. And every heartbeat of every soldier on the battlefield. The exact means by which God will exercise His sovereignty, there in Israel, to bring about His perfect eternal plans, we don’t know. But what we do know is that the Lord reigns. What we do know is what Genesis 50:20 tells us, “That what man designs for evil, God intends for good.” What we do know is what was read in the scripture reading this morning, from Romans 8:28, that God causes “all things to work together for good to those who love Him. To those who are called according to His purpose.” We don’t know exactly how He will do so, but we don’t need to. Because, in reality, we are finite creatures. As finite creatures, we never could have developed a better plan than the one He has already devised.

Second, and this one ties into God’s sovereignty. Is the reality that God sees. We worship a God who is omniscient. A God who is all-knowing. He’s all-knowing because He’s all-seeing. Back in the Old Testament days, one of the names by which the Israelites addressed God, was Elroy. Meaning, the God who sees. God sees all. I Chronicles 16:9 says that “the eyes of the Lord moved to and fro throughout the earth.” There hasn’t been an event this past week, that God has failed to see. There hasn’t been a heart level motivation that He wasn’t familiar with. There wasn’t a moment where His back was turned or when He blinked. No. He has seen it all. He’s aware of it all. We know from Psalm 121:4, that “He who keeps Israel, neither slumbers nor sleeps.”

Our third observation, God is patient. The human inclination, of course, when we are offended. Or when something rubs up against our natural sense of right and wrong, is justice. Justice right away. We want, in our flesh, punishment. We want vindication. We want our pound of flesh. We want blood. And when we, when we see a situation like Israel, see all that’s happening. Sometimes those reflexes kick in. We start thinking about what lawyers say and what politicians say. That justice delayed is justice denied. We start wondering whether God is going to intervene and do something about what’s happening there. But we have to remember that God, unlike us, in addition to being perfectly just, and perfectly holy, and perfectly righteous. In addition to being a God of wrath, is a God whose holiness and His justice and His sense of righteousness, is tempered by His perfect patience. We lack perfect patients, God does not. He is, as Exodus 34:6 says, “the Lord God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.” And this God, II Peter 3:9 says, “is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” He’s patient.

Next, we know that God keeps His promises. Ronald Reagan made the splash, many years ago on the campaign trail, speaking of America being a city on a hill. Well, long before Reagan. Long before there was such a thing as the USA. God called Israel the apple of His eye. He went so far as to say in Zechariah 2:8 that “He who touches you,” meaning Israel, “touches the apple of His eye.” See, God loves Israel. His original covenant people. His original chosen nation. This love goes all the way back to the days of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, when God hand-picked a people to set His affections upon. And He loved them, not because they were inherently worthy. Or special. Or deserving. He loved them because He loved them. He loved them to demonstrate His own electing love toward them. He did so, to demonstrate His own faithfulness to His promises. Deuteronomy 7:7, “the Lord did not set His love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any of the peoples. For you were the fewest of all the people. But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers.” As an extension of His love for Israel, God made certain promises to His people. Promises related to the land they would occupy. The seed they would carry. And the blessing that they would bring. Well, many of those promises have yet to be fulfilled in our day. And because God, unlike us, doesn’t simply bail on His promises. This tells us that God is not done with Israel. Israel rejected Him through their disobedience. They rejected the Messiah, He sent them, by murdering Him. They continue to reject Him to this very day. But because of the surety of His promises and the perfection of His character. He has not rejected them. Their disobedience and discipline today, to be sure, but they are still the apple of His eye. A future of repentance and reconciliation and restoration is coming.

Last, God answers prayer. God is not only a God who sees. God is a God who hears. He hears the prayers of His people. He answers the prayers of His people. How He does so. How He takes the prayers of a fallen person like you or me, to accomplish His perfect eternally decreed will, we don’t know. But we know that He does just that. He is faithful to hear our prayers. He is faithful to answer our prayers. So, we ought to be praying to God our Father, in this situation. The God who is sovereign. The God who sees. The God who is patient. The God who keeps promises. We ought to be praying to that God for all that’s happening right now, in Israel and in Palestine. Yes, we ought to be praying for hostilities to cease. For no more blood to be shed. Certainly, peace to prevail in Israel. But we also ought to be praying that salvation would sweep this land. That salvation in the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, would sweep through Israel, but through Palestine. With Jews and Muslims alike, putting their faith in the world’s only Savior. We ought to be praying for the Lord’s return. His return for His church. His wrapping up of the church age, and our own preparation and readiness in holiness, for that glorious day, whenever it comes. We also ought to be praying, as always, that the Lord’s will, His perfect will, be done.

Let’s pray. Let’s pray for all these things that I just listed. For all that’s happening in the world. Lord, we trust You. Things seem upside down right now. Things seem extra uncertain. There is certainly violence. There are wars. There are unstable forces at play. But we know that all is in the care of Your sovereign hand. We know that You have all things under control. We know all the things that are happening in this world, whether in our little sphere of the world here in Lincoln. Or across the globe. Is perfectly measured out. Perfectly handled. Perfectly under the care and sovereignty of an all-wise and perfect God. So, we do pray that Your will would be done, with all that is happening across the globe. We do pray that You would bring salvation across, just the battered land of Palestine and Israel. That You would cause Jews and Muslims alike, to turn to Jesus Christ in saving faith. We do pray for, in the meantime, hostilities to cease. For there to be peace over Jerusalem. We just pray that You would do Your perfect will, according to Your timing, according to Your perfect plan. Because You are a perfect God. We thank You. We praise You. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Well, this Sunday, you get two sermons. Because we’re going to get back to Colossians, eventually.

Eight days ago. This would be the Saturday before yesterday. The University of Miami’s football team made what can only be described as a blunder of epic proportions. Miami was playing the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Hurricanes were leading 20 to 17 . . . with 33 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Miami had the ball. Georgia Tech had no timeouts. So, all Miami had to do was line up in victory formation. With the offensive line forming that V-shaped shell around the quarterback. Allowing the quarterback enough space to back up, take a knee. Drop his right knee to the ground. Get a little grass on it. Run the clock out and end the game.

But that’s not what happened. The Hurricanes did not line up on victory formation. They did not take a knee. Instead, Miami’s head coach, Mario Cristobal, called one more run play. For reasons known only to Mario Cristobal, he decided to have his running back attack the defensive line of Georgia Tech. Though there was no need too. Though there was the obvious risk of a fumble. Well . . . guess what happened . . . the running back did, in fact, fumble the ball. Georgia Tech, did in fact, recover that fumble. And with now, the ball and no timeouts, and just a few seconds on the clock. The Yellow Jackets managed to score the game-winning touchdown. The look on the faces of the Miami players and the sidelines. The look of the other coaches on the sidelines, as they came to realize, with shock and horror, . . . that they had failed to secure the victory that was already there . . . that they are worth looking up on YouTube, one of these days. Because as they realized, they had taken this alternate path . . . this additional path . . . the extra path . . . through the left guard and the left tackle, to be specific, and in doing so, had snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory.

Sports and sermon illustrations sometimes make strange bedfellows. But in this case, when I heard that story about Miami and the decision this head coach made to run that play, I couldn’t help but bring it up. And I believe you’ll see later how it fits with where we’ll be going today. Because, in the book of the bible that we’re studying, Colossians and especially what we’ve been looking at in recent weeks; in Colossians 2, we’re seeing the Apostle Paul, over and over remind these early Gentile converts there in Colossae. This ancient city. That by God’s grace, they had already turned from their old, sinful ways of living. They had already turned to Jesus Christ for truth and for hope for salvation and for eternal life. In fact, look with me back up the page at Colossians 2. We’ll just pick up some of these thoughts here in Colossians 2:2 and 2:3, about these reminders Paul has given this church.

First, he reminds them, Colossians 2:2, that they have been “knit together in love.” He reminds them in that same verse, that they have all the “wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding.” He reminds them that they have “a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Then, look at verse 4, a word of warning. Where he says, “I say this to that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.” Paul here is saying to the recipients of this letter: “You don’t need to pursue any additional lines of reasoning or thinking or philosophizing.” I think that’s a word. “You don’t need to jump through any additional hoops or check any additional boxes.” No. For the Colossians and for any follower of Christ who has ever lived. Things have, eternally speaking, forever been settled in the courts of heaven. All has been accounted for and paid for, on the bloody cross of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to take away the sins of the world. For the Colossians and for us. That meant that they didn’t need, so to speak, to “call any additional plays.” Specifically, they didn’t need to incorporate any of the elements of the false teaching that was being promoted there at Colossae. Instead, in a sense, they could line up in “victory formation.” Because that “victory” had in fact, already been won.

That takes us to our text today. Turn with me to your bibles, to Colossians 2. We’ll be in verses 13-15 this morning. You’re just going to see, and if I do my job faithfully; this is such a powerful, beautiful passage of scripture. It’s one of those passages that just leaves your jaw on the floor. One that just leaves you, or at least it ought to, leaving this place, completely overflowing with gratitude. If you grasp what’s being said here. Look at Colossians 2:13. God’s word reads: “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 cancelled 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.”

The title of the message this morning is Triumphant in Christ, and as we work through the towering truths of this message today. We’re going to see, in verse 13, A Reversal Revealed. In verse 14 we’ll see, A Debt Paid. In verse 15 we’ll see, A Triumph Celebrated. A reversal Revealed, a Debt Paid, A Triumph Celebrated. Let’s start with the first one:

A Reversal Revealed, picking it up in verse 13. It says, “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.” So, before reminding these new believers of the victory they’d already experienced in Christ. Paul here reminds them of the depths from which God had drawn them and the radical reversal He had brought about in them. You see the ideas here in verse 13. He starts with “you were dead.” Then it says, about halfway through the verse, “He made you alive.” We’ll start with the bad news, the first part of the news there, which is this idea that “you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh.” That is an unmistakably clear statement. Of what every follower of Jesus Christ once was. Note it does not say, “you were bad.” Or “you were hurting.” Or “you were struggling.” Or “you were just a little misunderstood.” No. What does it say? It says, “you were dead.” Paul here isn’t speaking in code. He’s not being clever. Not at all. He’s being absolutely direct. As he reminds the Colossians that they were, at one point, “dead.” Spiritually dead, “dead in [their] transgressions.”

The reality for each of us here this morning . . . is that at some point, we were in that very same condition. Our common baseline in this auditorium here this morning, is that we were all at one time, spiritually flatlined. Just like Paul. Just like me. Just like Paul’s audience there at Colossae. There was a point in your life in which you were a spiritually lifeless corpse. It wasn’t just for a day or two. It wasn’t just for a season that you were on an especially bad run. It wasn’t just for those four to six blurry years of college. No. This was true of your entire life . . . before you gave your life to Jesus Christ. When the nurse glowingly revealed to your parents, “it’s a boy” or “it’s a girl”. That nurse could have easily said, “look, it’s a spiritually lifeless screaming rebel against God in heaven.” And that would have been a theologically accurate truth. Maybe not the “best bedside manner”, I get that. But biblically accurate, none-the-less. Cute as a button . . . but a wicked little wretch. All of us, every one of us in this room. No matter how much your mom loved you, or said she loved you, were dead on arrival.

But . . . someone might say. “What about that time I read through the bible in a year?” “And what about that time I held my tongue toward that person I was so angry at?” “And what about that time I restrained myself from throwing that punch?” “And what about the fact that I delivered Christmas cookies to my neighbors every single year?” “And what about my perfect church attendance?” “Maybe I was a little depraved, Jesse.” “But totally depraved?” “That’s a bit much.”
Oh, but you were. And so was I. And so, we all once were. Now note, no one is saying that we’ve always acted in every situation, in the most depraved way possible . . . or imaginable. But the truth is that God’s evaluation of our hearts. Not our subjective sense of our hearts, or how we think our hearts ought to look before a holy God. But how God has, objectively evaluated our hearts. It does not paint the rosy picture that we hope we would have. He has not given us the glowing grade that we think we should get.

No. God, through His word. Teaches us that we are totally depraved. Each one of us was born in sin.
Psalm 51:5 – “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.”
In other words, we were all born with a predisposition to sin. Not only that, but God also tells us in His word, that in some sense, and to some degree, every single one of us was given over to sin. So, not just born in sin, but given over to sin. I’m going to give you a few verses here that confirm that.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 – “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”
1 Kings 8:46 – “. . . there is no man who does not sin . . .”
Isaiah 53:6 – “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us turned to his own way.”
Romans 3:10 – “. . . there is none righteous, not even one.”
Romans 3:23 – “. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
So, God tells us not only that we have been born in sin. And that we do, in fact, sin. He tells us that, in our former condition. In our previously unregenerate state. Before He saved us. We were enslaved to sin.
Romans 6:17 puts it just that way, “. . . you were slaves of sin . . .”
Or Titus 3:3 – “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures . . .” And not only that, but we also loved our sin. We were “darkened in [our] understanding”, says Ephesians 4:18. We loved the darkness. This is the indictment Jesus Himself gave to the populace of His day in, John 3:19. Where He, our Lord said, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” We loved the darkness. We loved evil. Proverbs 21:10 says, “the soul of the wicked desires evil.” We loved our sin.

Charles Spurgeon once called our sin “a chain with a thousand deadly links.” And we loved every one of those thousand links. We loved how our sin made us look. We loved how our sin made us feel. We loved what our sin brought us. We loved who our sin brought us. There truly was nothing good or redeemable in us. We were . . . totally depraved.

Now, that’s kind of a revolutionary concept outside of a church like this, today. You know that, right? You know that’s not how people typically talk in conversation at coffee shops around town on a Tuesday morning. Nor is it, frankly how a lot of pastors in churches proclaim the gospel message. Or preach God’s word. To start with total depravity. How have we gotten here? Where it is such a foreign concept in our day? Well, sadly it comes from man himself. That’s convenient. Man himself, mankind, the human race, has developed this concept that we are not totally depraved. A race of sin-sick individuals who are so impressed with themselves. Has created this idea. That we’re not totally depraved. They’ll point out things about how advanced we are. The fact that we have 15 versions of the iPhone and high-speed Internet. Wind powered turbines and hybrid vehicles. That that somehow links to the fact that we’re better human beings now. We’re better citizens. They mistake their intellectual advances with moral advances. It’s especially prone to happen in a town like ours. A college town, where there’s some tech component and there’s people in a position of political power. Who are now championing their causes all over the place. The causes that they advance, they seem to the outside world so innovative and advanced. Like: “Let’s let two men call themselves “married” and adopt a baby and, in the case of one of those men, let’s let him narcissistically rob that baby’s mother of her distinct maternal privileges.” Or “Let’s tell a confused teenage boy that, despite his lack of a uterus, or eggs, or ovaries, that he can one day start a menstrual cycle and be a true woman.” Or “Let’s force people to embrace the mantra ‘Black Lives Matter’ – as though that seriously debated or a profound point – and in doing so ram through the agenda of an openly anti-Christian, anti-family organization.”

No matter how frequently folks like these commit the category error of confusing intellectual advancement with moral goodness. No matter how much they just throw things out like: “Well, I’m just trying to a good person.” No matter how much they will critique people like you and me for being grumpy, backwoods, bible-thumping fuddy-duddies. The reality is that the notion of man being essentially “good.” Or having, in his fallen nature, his fallen condition. In his unredeemed state. Any sense of “good” to offer. Is provably false.

It’s all blown up by these first few words of Colossians 2:13. “You were dead in your transgressions.” What does that mean? That’s, there must be some specific or special Greek definition there, right? “You were dead in your transgressions.” Yea, it says “you were dead.” That’s what it means. Dead means dead. You weren’t wayward. You weren’t headed in the wrong direction. You weren’t just a little misguided. You can’t blame your parents for this. You were lifeless. “You were dead.”

Note that Paul gives some additional words of explanation here as he lays out the depths of our deadness in our former state. He says, you were “dead in your transgressions.” That word “transgressions” literally has the meaning of “falling beside.” Like falling off the path. In context here . . . it pictures a life of active sinfulness which involves consciously turning away from the will of God. It describes deliberate acts of sin by which a person chooses intentionally to deviate from the paths of righteousness. The idea here is that these new converts in Colossae. Though they weren’t under the law. We’re going to see that in just a little bit. They’re Gentiles. They still had the sense of moral oughtness that governed their consciences. That they were intentionally wandering away from. Before Epaphras had preached the gospel to them. Before they had repented and believed in the gospel. Before, as it says in Colossians 1:13, they had been rescued “from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” They had intentionally and purposely gone astray from the moral compass God had given them. They had intentionally and purposely veered off the path of righteousness that God had laid out for them. That describes, not just the Colossians though, does it? That describes every single one of us here this morning. Every single one of us. No matter what our church background. In our unregenerate state. Committed these types of open and flagrant “transgressions” against God’s holy standards. In doing so, we revealed the state of spiritual deadness that we were in.

Still in verse 13, look at what Paul says next. Not only were we once “dead in [our] transgressions.” He extends the idea to say, and to “the uncircumcision of your flesh.” You were “dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh.” And that language ought to sound familiar. As we remember one of the two verses, we looked at last week. Look over at Colossians 2:11 where it says, “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.” This group of formerly pagan Gentiles that Paul is addressing here. Had been both heathen and godless. Not only had they not been circumcised physically, or racially. In that they were not Jews. They had also not, and this is what’s most important, been circumcised spiritually, or redemptively. Paul summarizes their former position back in Ephesians. In fact, turn with me, if you would, over to Ephesians 2. Just two books to your left. In Ephesians 2, where we see so many of the concepts in Colossians, really expanded upon by Paul. But look at Ephesians 2:11-12 which speaks to Ephesus of course, but really speaks to the Colossians as well.
Ephesians 2:11 – “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision’, which is performed in the flesh by human hands – remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Going back to Colossians, see the Colossians had been both “dead in [their] transgressions” and “the in the uncircumcision of [their] flesh.” Those aren’t separate ideas. They are related ideas. Those are intertwined ideas. Speaking of their former spiritual condition. “Dead in transgressions” and “the uncircumcision of [their] flesh.”

Now the stage is set. Really, midway here through verse 13 of the most radical swing of the spiritual pendulum that one could hope to see. Which we see in the first few words here of this second part of verse 13. Where Paul says, “He made you alive together with Him.” Once lifeless, we now have a pulse. Once dead, we are now alive. Note how clear these words are, in verse 13, about who it was who gave us life. Was it us? Was it a decision we made for Christ? Was it a seed of faith that our parents planted in us? Was it that sliver of inherent goodness that we still think we had? No, no, no, I think there’s one more no that I have say to answer all those questions. Note who the actor is here in verse 13. It’s God. It couldn’t be said more clearly than it’s said here. “He made you alive together with Him.” You may have decided to follow Jesus. But don’t be too quick to claim credit for that. Remember who it was who imparted faith in you to begin with. “He made you alive.” God made you alive. And God gets all the glory, as He should, for including you in a part of His spiritual family. Note, that it’s “He made you alive in Him.” “He” there, is God. The “Him”, the reference is Christ. So, it could be said, Paul is saying here that “God made you alive in Christ.” That lines up perfectly with what the scripture testify to elsewhere, does it not? That’s exactly what our Lord said He would do. Impart spiritual life.
John 10:10 – “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
That’s consistent with the testimony of the entire New Testament about what our Lord actually did. When He was raised physically, He brought life spiritually to all who would believe upon His name.
Romans 3:24 says, we’ve “[been] justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 1:7 says, we have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” We’ve been spiritually raised, in other words. Not only that, but we’ve also been spiritually regenerated and spiritually renewed.
Titus 3:4 – “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” That’s all a long way of saying what Paul says here in verse 13, “He made you alive together with Him.” I should have had you keep your finger in Ephesians 2. If you’ll go back over there with me again. We’re going to see now the full-length version of what Paul means here. When he says, “He made you alive together with Him.” Back to Ephesians 2, we’ll see the full-length version in Ephesians 2:1. Same concept here, just fleshed out with more detail. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Passages like these. Passages like our text, back in Colossians 2. Speak so simply and so powerfully about what it means to receive new life in Christ. To be redeemed. To be renewed. To be raised up with Christ. To be given new life in Christ. And there will be some who think, well now what do I need to do with that truth? What you need to do with that truth, is thank God for that truth. If you put your faith in Christ. That’s the whole idea here. It’s been done. You are now sealed. The victory is won, as we’ll get into in just a little bit.

Well, Paul keeps on piling on these powerful words of reminder. Look at the last part of verse 13, where he speaks to God “. . . having forgiven us all our transgressions . . .” And that thought connects directly to the previous one and to the fact that we have been made “alive together with [Christ].” Then that truth that we have been made alive together with Christ, flows immediately into this truth here at the end of the verse. That God has “forgiven us all our transgressions.” See, the only way to be brought to life by an all-powerful, all-holy, all-righteous God. Is to have our sins forgiven by that same God. God must forgive our sin if He’s going accept this otherwise unholy person in His presence. God’s forgiveness of our sins, in fact, if you go back to Colossians 1, was the means by which “He rescued us from the domain of darkness.” Look again at Colossians 1:13 and look at this link between our positional change in Christ, and the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13 – “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption.”
So, we have a transfer, and we have redemption described here. And then right there it says, “the forgiveness of sins.” God’s forgiveness in the means by which we were transferred. And God’s forgiveness is the means by which we were brought from death to life. It wasn’t forgiveness we deserved. I wasn’t forgiveness we earned. We know from Romans 5:8 it is “. . . while we were yet sinners, [that] Christ died for us.” Rather, the forgiveness we’ve received, stems from the unfathomable grace of God. The matchless mercy of God and the unrivaled love of God. A God who . . . going back to the earliest days of the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites back at Sinai . . . Exodus 34 revealed Himself as a God who is: “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness, who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, [and] who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin.” That truth, these truths, about having our sins forgiven, as it says here, He’s forgiven us all our transgressions. Those truths are why we can go back to certain Old Testament passages, and simply marvel at the reality of forgiveness that’s offered by a holy God.

That’s why we can go back to Isaiah 1:18 and marvel at the words of Isaiah where he says: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” That’s why we can stand in amazement at the words of David in Psalm 103:12 where he says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” That’s why we can echo, with praise, the words of David in Psalm 32:1, where he says, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!”

Bringing it back to a major theme of this second chapter of Colossians. Paul is reminding these early believers. As they face this false teaching, and these false teachers in their midst. Who are seeking to add to what Christ has already done. He’s reminding them of the sufficiency that they had in Christ’s death on the cross. The sufficiency they had in their already-perfect standing before Him. They were already standing, if I can use the illustration from earlier in the sermon . . . in “victory formation.” Paul is saying to the Colossians here in verse 13: “You really were dead.” “And those old days of your dark paganism.” “And your foolish idolatry.” “You were dead.” “But you’ve been brought to life.” “You’ve been spiritually resurrected.” “You’ve been made alive in Christ.” “That mountain of sin that stood against you.” “Condemning you.” “It’s all been forgiven.” “That dept that you could never pay.” “Has been paid.” “It’s been discharged.” “So now you’re free.” “Free not to go back to living the old pagan way that you used to live.” “But rather, to live freely for the One who rescued you and redeemed you.” What more could those Colossian believers have possibly needed to hear? And what more, when we really strip down all that we know, when a church like this, and all that we stand for, and all that we believe. And all of our distinctives, which are good to have. But ultimately, what more do we need to know than this? That we have been forgiven. That we have been freed. That we have victory.

Well, Paul continues to build on his statements here about the forgiveness that we’ve received from God through Christ. He elaborates on it more in verse 14. He says, “. . . having cancelled 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.” So, he’s still on this topic of forgiveness, and gives a beautiful illustration here. It’s a beautiful picture here of what that forgiveness entails.

Here’s our second point this morning, if you’re a note taker. We’re now going to talk about: A Debt Paid.
Paul begins her by stating that God has already, through Christ’s death on the cross . . . “cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of degrees against us.” Now, the focal idea of this clause, is the “certificate of debt.” Which he says was “consisting of decrees against us.” Now, what “certificate” is Paul referring to here? And what are these “decrees” that he speaks of? You’ll often hear this “certificate of debt” preached by pastors who handle this verse . . . as some vague mountain of evidence of sin that was leveled against these Colossian believers. It’s kind of a Losey goosy bucket of sin that we committed in our old life, when we were once spiritually dead. That’s not doubt true. We did, in our former condition, we saw this back in verse 13, accumulate this pile of sin. That is a true statement and on account of that sin. We had in fact become indebted to a perfect and a holy God. But at the same time, in the context of this text, we can’t divorce those words . . . “certificate of debt” . . . from what follows next. “. . . consisting of decrees against us.”

Those two ideas are connected. Paul here is not proclaiming some vague concept of sin, and the weight of sin and the debt of sin. Rather, he’s proclaiming that we had “the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us.” What he’s saying here is that the debt that we incurred on account of our sin against God. Is anchored in, and is memorialized by . . . some written record, some record somewhere of the sin we committed. Some decree, some code, some statute is in view. By which the actions that are sinful, are in fact, deemed sinful. There is some standard out there that deems our actions as being sinful. So, what is Paul referring to here? He’s referring to the Law. “The decrees against us” refers to the Law. The “certificate of debt” we had racked up. Was on account of violations of God’s law.

Now, we have to split some hairs now. We have to put a finer point on what I’ve just said. Because we’ve got bible scholars in the room. And you’re going to raise the flag. And throw the flag. And talk to me in the south lobby after I’ve said what I just said. We know that the Law . . . the Mosaic Law . . . The Ten Commandments . . . the five books of Moses . . . were given to Israel . . . and were intended for Israel.
Romans 9:4 says, it’s the “Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law.” We also know that Paul here, as we’ve said over and over, is addressing a predominantly Gentile group here in Colossae. To whom the Mosaic Law was not addressed. To whom the Mosaic Law was never intended. So, in what sense has there been a “Law” . . . or as Paul puts it here in Colossians 2:14, “decrees” that were formerly hanging over the heads of these Gentiles there in Colossae? To answer that question, we have to go back to Romans 2. Turn with me to Romans 2, please. I will not have time to give an extended discourse and all that’s happening in Romans 2. That would make three sermons for the morning. We’re going to go right to the pertinent passage here. Look at Romans 2:14, Paul says, “For when Gentiles [that would include the Colossians] who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternatively accusing or else defending them.”

So, bring this back over to Colossians 2. What Paul is saying here is that whether a person is a Jew. In which case the “decrees” that would have been hanging over him would be the Mosaic Law itself. Or whether that person is a Gentile. In which case the “decrees” that would be hanging over them would be “the work of the Law written in their hearts.” There’s been a violation. That’s the point, there’s been a violation. There’s been a steady stream of violations. And because of this, there is, for both groups, this record of debt . . . proof of debt . . . this “certificate of debt.” That all people owe God for transgressing His holy standards.

Not only that, this “certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us”, as we read further on in verse 14 here, was “hostile to us”, it says. See, when it came to the Mosaic law. For the Israelite, we know the law condemned.
Romans 3:20 says, “. . . through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 4:15 says, “. . . the Law brings about wrath.”
While “the Law is holy”, as Romans 7:12 says. What the Law did, chiefly, was testify to how far short people had fallen. So, it was with the Gentile. Who though not under the Mosaic Law, as we just saw from Romans 2, still had “the word of the Law written in their hearts.” And they still had a conscience, which accused them with its thoughts.

The point here in the context of Colossians 2. Is that whether Jew or Gentile, a sinner in the sight of a Holy God, had a “certificate of debt consisting of degrees” against them. And those “decrees”, whether sourced in the Mosaic Law for the Jew . . . or etched on the human heart for the Gentile . . . were “hostile” to them. That Law never offered hope or encouragement. Instead, the Law established guilt. It accused. It condemned. It served as prosecutor and judge, and jury. Creating a “certificate of debt” against them.

But again, getting back to the whole context here . . . what Paul is saying to these Colossian believers in this section of this letter. Is that as an overflow of having been made alive to God, through Christ. As an overflow of having their sins already forgiven. That “certificate of debt”, I’ve sort of read through it already, or passed over it too quickly . . . has been what? It’s been “canceled out.” Those first few words of verse 14, that “certificate of debt” has been “canceled out”. Now, we know from studying the ancient documents of this era, that when a debt was canceled in these days. There was actually a large “X” placed over the record of that debt. Whatever document that debt was recorded on, they would put a large “X” over it to indicate cancelation. That’s the idea here. The sin debt which the Colossians had racked up. This sin debt which “consist[ed] of decrees against [them].” Had been “X-out.” It had been crossed out. It had been cancelled out. Not only that. As we keep reading on, it says “. . . and He has taken it out of the way.” The idea there is of erasure. Removal. Like wiping the slate clean. Those words, in fact, where it says, “taken it out of the way”. When you go back to the Hebrew Old Testament, there’s a parallel between those words, that verb, and the Hebrew verb for blotting our sin. So, it’s the same concept here, as you get in Psalm 51. Psalm 51 where David says, “According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.”
Take away my transgressions.
Or Psalm 51:9 – “Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.”
Here in Colossians, Paul is comparing the divine forgiveness which God brought about here. Like ink being wiped away from a piece of parchment. Through Christ’s sacrificial, atoning death . . . God has removed our entire record of that debt. He’s totally erased the certificate of indebtedness and made our forgiveness complete. He’s blotted it out. “He has taken it out of the way.”

Then we get this final description, end of verse 14, of what this forgiveness of sin has brought and what his new life entails . . . having “taken it out of the way”, it says, He has “. . . nailed it to the cross.” Now, in these days. When a person was crucified. The list of their crimes was nailed above them. To declare the violations for which they were being punished. We know this from the example and the testimony of the Lord’s crucifixion: In Matthew 27, where they put the sign above Him that says, “This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.”

That’s the picture Paul is painting here. In these last words of verse 14 of Colossians 2. The picture he’s painting is that while our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ was hanging upon the cross. Our certificate of debt. Our entire sin record. Hung on that cross with Him. As each one of our sins was put to Christ’s account. He paid the penalty for our sins in our place. “The wages of sin is death”, as we know from Romans 6:23. Our debt was so great that it would have been impossible to pay that debt on our own. But when Jesus Christ died on that cross. With our certificate of debt hanging over Him. When He cried out, with that voice of triumph in John 19, “It is finished!” God here it says, “canceled [out] the debt that was against us, which was hostile to us.” He took it out of the way. He expunged it. The payment that was made, through the shed blood of the Son of God was both full and final.

Reminds me of the hymn, I believe we’ve sung it here before, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” Which is:
“How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss – the Father turns His face away, as wounds which mar the Chosen One bring many sons to glory. Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders; ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life – I know that it is finished.” “Finished.” “Done.”
Romans 8:1 – “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

We’ve looked at verses 13-14. We’re going to turn now to verse 15. We’re going to see Paul here, again, sharing with these early Colossian believers. These words of encouragement and reminder. About what Christ had already done for them. And why it was so important in light of what He had already done. That they not fall prey to this false teaching that was circulating in their midst.

Look at verse 15, it says, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” What this verse is going to showcase for us, is that Christ’s death on the cross was not only sufficient to remove the guilt of the debt for our sin. His death, in addition, was a victorious death, which brought about various cosmic implications. That’s our third point for this morning, a triumph celebrated.

A Triumph Celebrated.
We’ll take it piece by piece. Starting with the first clause there. It says, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities.” And who is the “He” there? Well, the “He” is Christ. Christ is the One who “disarmed the rulers and authorities.” Now, that’s great. Now, who are the “rulers and authorities” that Christ “disarmed”? Well, the words “rulers and authorities” there are a reference to the angelic realm. This is referring to those very categories of angels who Christ Himself created and rules over. We know that back from Colossians 1:16, that Christ created and is supreme over the angelic realm.
Colossians 1:16 – “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities [same ideas there] all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

Now, in our context here, back in Colossians 2:15, it’s clear that what Paul has in view, are not just any angelic beings, but evil angelic beings. That’s wrapped up with the context here. He’s spoken of “disarming” them. And “displaying” them. And “triumph[ing] over them. They are against Him, in other words. We know from a parallel passage in Ephesians. I won’t have you turn there again. From Ephesians 6:12 - “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, [same idea here] against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
So, here in Colossians 2:15, Jesus Christ is referred to as having “disarmed” certain evil angels. Having disarmed certain demonic powers and authorities. That word “disarmed” can literally be translated, it’s a clothing term. It refers to “laying aside” clothing. Like we see in Colossians 3:9. Or “stripping off” or “stripping away” clothing. That’s the idea here, that Christ stripped away the power from the forces of darkness in the evil angelic realm. He stripped them of their rule. He stripped them of their authority. He “disarmed” them. How did He do so? It all goes back to His death. It all goes back to His resurrection. The cross spelled the ultimate doom of Satan and his evil host of fallen angles. Jesus Himself predicted that this would be what would happen. Back in John 16:11 where He says, “the ruler of this world [speaking of Satan] has been judged.” And later in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 2:14 says, “since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
Are you following along? What’s being said here is that Satan and his host of evil angels have already been judged. They’ve already been rendered powerless. Now, we know from other places in scripture, like 1 Peter 5:8, that they can still do terrible damage.
1 Peter 5:8 speaks of Satan, the Devil being “like a roaring lion, [prowling, looking for] someone to devour.”
But Satan nevertheless is a defeated devil. His ultimate doom has already been sealed. His fate has been sealed. Assigned to a lake of fire, “eternal fire”, Jesus Himself said, that’s “been prepared for the devil and his angels” in Matthew 25:41.
And that means that we, because we have the Spirit of God living in us. Secured by the cross work of Jesus Christ. We do have the ability to resist him. Otherwise, why would Peter, in 1 Peter 5:9 say, “resist him, firm in your faith . . .”

Not only did Jesus’ death on the cross, and subsequent resurrection, result in the defeat of the devil, and the evil angels who do his bidding. Christ also made a spectacle of them, as He declared triumphantly His victory over them. Look at the last part of verse 15, where it says, “. . . having triumphed over them through Him.”
I should go back, “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” That picture is so vivid. Paul’s audience here would have understood this. To be an unmistakable reference to a picture of a Roman general, riding at the front of his chariot. With loyal troops flanking him on either side. Parading his defeated enemies through the streets of Rome. Exposing them as the spoils of battle, to the gaze and the cheers of the crowd around them. Christ here, of course, is the one pictured as this conquering ruler. When you really think about that, that is absolutely staggering. Because what that’s telling us is that the One who was unjustly executed by the rulers and authorities of His day. The One who was stripped down. And the One who was shamefully hung on that brutal instrument of Roman torture, the cross. Was actually the One who triumphed. Through the eyes of the world. The triumph belonged to His executioners. But in reality. Triumph belonged to the Lamb who was slain. And He proclaimed His triumph over them, here it says in verse 15, “He made a public display of them.”

Now, when was that? When did that “public display” occur? The “public display” over “the rulers and authorities”? The Apostles’ Creed would say, well, He descended into hell. That’s when He celebrated His victory. And made this “public display.” Does Colossians 2:15 talk about Him descending into hell? No, I don’t think this is a proof text for Him having done any such thing. I don’t think this text is telling any such thing. Rather, I believe that the “public display”, the “triumph” that’s being described here was following His resurrection . . . in connection with His ascension. It was then. As described in Ephesians 4:8, when “He ascended on high.” And right after that, when it says, “He ascended on high” right behind it, it says, “He led captive a host of captives.” Now, who are those “captives”? Well, those captives were the “rulers and authorities” mentioned in our text, Colossians 2:15. The evil angels who experienced defeat when Christ said, victoriously, “It is finished!” Those are the “host of captives” of Ephesians 4:8. And what this means is that Jesus Christ, at some point in connection with His ascension. In some context in the spirit world, “made a public display of them, [just as it says here] having triumphed over them through Him.”

He truly is Christus Victor. Christ Victorious. And we, as His followers. We who have believed upon Him. We who have been saved through His blood. Are victorious, as well. We are truly “Triumphant in Christ.” And in case you think, or you’re worried that I ripped that line off from some Joel Osteen message I watched recently. I can assure you, that’s not the case. Turn with me over to II Corinthians 2. This one doesn’t go to Osteen. This one goes to the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Spirit. As he wrote out the word of God.
II Corinthians 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ.”
Or go back to I Corinthians 15. Let’s make those fingers work in our last few minutes together.
I Corinthians 15:56 – “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul here is saying to the Colossians. Back to Colossae. “Because you have been forgiven of you sin.” “Because your forgiveness is anchored in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.” “Your sin debt has been cancelled out.” “You’ve been brought from death to life.” “You have nothing to fear from an already defeated devil.” “So, don’t fall for the teachings of these false teachers, making their way into your city, into your church.” “You are already complete in Christ.” “You’ve already experienced triumph in Christ.” “It really is, already finished.”

That brings us back to where the message started this morning. With the Miami verses Georgia Tech game last weekend. And the fact that that game had already been won. All that Miami had to do. Mario Cristobal, what were you doing? Was kneel that game into victory formation. To form a victory formation. Take the knee. Wind down the clock down to zero. Go home.

How are you living your Christian life today? Are you living it with the mindset of Mario Cristobal, the Miami coach? With the mentality that there’s still something you need to do? That there’s still “one more play” you need to run? As if the victory that you’ve already been guaranteed were not enough? As though Jesus’ sacrifice were not enough? As though God needed some of your good deeds to pile on to what Jesus has already done. Or instead, are you living your Christian life with the understanding that all that was needed to secure your salvation has already been done. Do you understand, verse 13 of our text, that you already have life. If you put your faith in Christ. Do you understand, verse 13, that you already have forgiveness. Do you understand, verse 14, that you’ve already been pardoned. Do you understand, verse 14, that the strictures of the Law have already been taken out of the way. And do you understand, verse 15, that you already have victory. Sure victory. Total victory. Complete victory. In Christ.

Let’s pray.
God, thank You for, once again, the richness of Your word. Thank You for a text like this. That, for believers in the room, just reminds us of the victory that we have. The triumph that we have. The security that we have. As those whom You have set Your love upon. Thank You, for the triumphant, finished work of Christ on the cross. Thank You, for the eternal hope it secured. The forgiveness of sins it brought. And the hope it now brings. God, I pray for we who know Christ, that this would be just a great reminder of all that we already have. All that we already are. And there’s nothing more to do, to curry favor with You, an infinitely holy God. And if there is anyone here this morning, who has not put their faith in Jesus Christ. I pray that they would see that this is not a work-based religion. This is not a work-based system. Works are filthy rags before You, a Holy God. What they need to do is trust in Christ. Put their faith in His work on the cross. Believe that He is the Savior of the world. Believe that it’s by His shed blood and His shed blood alone, by which they might be saved. And that You would transfer them, as it says in Colossians 1:13, from the domain of darkness, under which they currently dwell. Into the kingdom of Your beloved Son. God, we thank You for this time together. We pray that we would honor You, with the rest of this day. In Jesus’ name. Amen