Contributor:
Chad Roberts
When you carefully read each phrase of Colossians 2:13-15, it will cause you to ponder deeply the great love God has for His people. I invite you to walk through each of these beautiful phrases with me and experience first-hand the power of God’s word in your life. Keep in mind that these are personal words meant for you. Notice how the first line reads,
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with all its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” Colossians 2:13-15
And you, who were dead in your Sins
You will find that Paul uses the phrase, “Dead in sins” throughout most of His writings. I’ve grown up hearing it but I never understood what it means to me personally. When the Bible teaches that we are “dead in our sins” or “trespasses” it is saying that we are without salvation, without hope…without God (Ephesians 2:12). We are literally born “dead” and it takes the Holy Spirit to awaken us to salvation.
This is why for those who think they will “choose” to get saved at a later time are terribly mistaken. A dead man is helpless. He is lifeless. He does not have a choice in anything. This is why it is so special when one feels the conviction of the Holy Spirit and feels a drawing to salvation. Read the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 and pay close attention to how Christ describes our salvation. He does not picture us coming to the Lord, or finding salvation. No! He speaks of us as lost and without Him. The Shepherd comes and seeks the lost.
This is what makes Christianity so different from other religions. In all religious systems, it is man seeking God. However, with Christianity it is God seeking man. We are dead, lifeless and helpless until the Gospel (the good news of Jesus Christ) awakens us. If you have been awakened out of the deadness of your sins and are now alive to Christ (Ephesians 2:5; Romans 6:11; Colossians 2:13), then you should live every day to the glory and honor of Jesus Christ who has saved you and redeemed you.
God made alive together with Him
This phrase of the Bible stops me in my tracks. Think of deeply over what it is saying. “God made alive.” Do you realize that God is the only One who make you alive? Relationships will not do it. Getting that career will not fulfill you, moving to a different city will not make you happy and certainly not trying to be a good or better person can make you truly alive. Only Jesus Christ, the author of life (Acts 3:13) can do such a work in your heart.
Notice the next two words, “with Him.” Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He raises us form the deadness of our sins to become alive with Christ. It staggers me when I consider that I share in the work of Jesus. Just as He died on the cross, I am to crucify myself to sin (Galatians 5:24). Just as Jesus was buried in the tomb, I am to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism. This is why we immerse in water. It is the Biblical symbol of following Jesus (Colossians 2:13). And just as Christ was raised from the dead, I have been raised from the deadness of sin!
Having Forgiven us all our Trespasses
I love this phrase. What assurance the Lord gives to His people of complete forgiveness. He says, “Having forgiven us all our trespasses.” What is the Biblical meaning of trespasses? It means, “a falling away, lapse, slip, false step, trespass, sin. “How many missteps have there been in our lives? How many re-do’s would you love to have? How many regrets do we carry throughout life? Yet we have been forgiven of them all. Remarkable!
By Canceling the Record of Debt
How exactly are our sins forgiven? Paul is going to use vivid imagery to help us understand the level of forgiveness we can experience through Christ. Notice that he calls our sins, “the record of debt.” Every person alive owes a debt to God because we are His creation and we have broken His laws and commandments. To think you have not broken these is absolute pride and falsehood. We are all guilty and nearly all of us can recognize this fact.
The danger is in saying, “But I am not as bad as other people. I have never murdered anyone, or committed adultery. I know plenty of people who are much worse than I could ever be.” The problem with this thinking is the Law, because what the Law does is add to our sins and there is no escaping the Law because we are a slave to it until Christ sets us free (Romans 7:25).
One might ask how the Law adds to our sin. Well, you may be someone who think could never be capable of murder, but read what Jesus taught in Matthew 5:21-22. When you allow hatred and anger in your heart, Jesus ranks that as the sin of murder. Take adultery for example, you may be a person who would never cheat on your spouse, but Jesus taught in Matthew 5:28 that if we look at a person with lust in our hearts that we have committed adultery. Do you see how the Law just added to your record of debt? You may not have committed the act, but because you acted upon the lust in your heart, God sees it as sin. This is how the Law adds to our “record of debt.”
That Stood Against Us
Just how long would you think your record of debt stands? Consider how many sins have been in your life and the trespasses or missteps you have taken away from the Lord. This legal, binding debt stands against us before a Righteous and Holy God. Can you see how without God, we are without hope in this world?
Legal Demands He Set Aside Nailing them to the Cross
What did Jesus do with these legal demands? The Bible says, “He nailed them to the Cross.” Breathtaking! Remarkable! Glory that is full of Joy! Speaking of joy, this is why Jesus “endured the cross for the joy that was set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). What joy do you think was set before Jesus? What is the joy the Bible is speaking of?
Jude 1:24 is going to tell us, “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.” Do you see what this Scripture is saying? One day, Jesus Christ, our sacrifice, our atonement, our salvation is going to present me, a sinner born dead without hope and without God, blameless. How can this be? Because my sins were nailed to the cross! You and I will be presented by Jesus Himself “with great joy.” This was the “Joy that was set before him” enabling him to endure the cross.
He Disarmed and Put Them to Open Shame Triumphing Over Them
To conclude this amazing portion of Scripture, Paul is going to remind us of what happened to the Kingdom of Darkness the day the Lamb of God died on a tree. Paul vividly writes, “He disarmed…and put them to open shame.” First of all, the word for disarmed means, “To Strip.” Christ stripped Satan of all of His power. Do you realize that the only power Satan has over our lives is the power we give him? We are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:17, 20). Christ stripped Satan of all power of you!
Secondly, he says Christ put them to open shame. How fitting as the Son of God hung there naked, vulnerable, exposed and beaten. It would appear that Christ was in open shame. This is why the “message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Ultimately, through the obedience to the cross, it was the Kingdom of Darkness that was put to open shame. That is the power of God and the power of our salvation!
Lastly, He triumphed over them. The word picture Paul uses in the Greek language is that which would have been used for Roman General. When a Roman General won a great victory he would parade his captured foe down the streets of Rome making a “public display” of him. For the rest of time, Satan and his kingdom will be made a public display through the cross of Christ. Each time we sin and experience the complete forgiveness of Christ, Satan is once again publicly humiliated.
Conclusion
Have you experienced His forgiveness? If not, pray right now, “Jesus Christ, thank you for what you did for me on the cross of Calvary. I need Your forgiveness. I want Your forgiveness. May you come into my life and bring forgiveness and salvation and awaken my dead heart to beat for your glory in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
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