Weekly Recap

This week Pastor Brad taught on Colossians 2:13-15.  In his letter to the Colossians (as well as to the Ephesians, Phillipians, and Philemon) Paul’s mission was to refute heretical teachings and to establish the truth of the Gospel.  Then as now, there were false teachings about the uniqueness and deity of Jesus Christ, resulting in a “dumbing down” or diminishing of Jesus.  Paul’s message to the various churches may have differed some in specifics, but at the core he wanted them to know that through the work of Jesus, our slate of sin was wiped clean, our arrest warrant canceled, and Satan and the demons were stripped of their sham authority.  

In verse 13, when Paul says that God made us alive with Christ, he is referring to the eternal life that is ours once we have been separated from the guilt of sin and death.  Jesus came to give us life to the full and this life is referring to more than the here and now.  Theologian Howard Hendricks put it this way: “Most people think that they’re in the land of the living, but the truth is, we’re in the land of the dying, heading toward the land of the living.”  We need to remember to live this life here with the perspective of knowing the outcome - the life that is to come.  Tony Evans describes being made alive in Christ as being “in Him, by Him, and with Him”.  He says we are “in Him” like cream stirred into coffee, permanently united with Christ and covered by his Spirit.  We are “by Him” because our standing before God is based entirely on Jesus’s work on the cross.  We are “with Him” because we carry His presence wherever we go.  Paul experienced the transformation of being dead in sins to being alive in Christ and dedicated his life to sharing the Gospel with all he came in contact with.

Verse 14 asserts that Jesus paid it all.  We all have sin debts, whether it’s gossip, greed, jealousy, or unforgiveness.  During crucifixion, the sinner’s charge was actually, physically nailed to the cross.  He canceled our charge of legal indebtedness - it was ripped off and crumpled up - erased.  Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the cross; we should not be living as if our sins still have control over us.  It is finished!  In addition, verse 15 tells us that Jesus made a public spectacle of the powers and authorities of the world, disarming and triumphing over them by the cross.  He conquered death and handed Satan total defeat, taking away any authority he had been granted.

In these verses, Paul reminds us that Jesus has the victory over every sin we try to stuff in the closet.  We all struggle with giving in to temptation and the sin that so easily entangles us, but we don’t have to.  As Mr. Rogers said, “If it’s mentionable, it’s manageable.”  We are never too far gone for God to reach us and God is not done with us yet.  Brennan Manning uses the “shadow side” to describe the hidden, broken, and sinful parts of our lives that we desperately try to hide from others, from God, and even from ourselves.  “To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark.  In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God’s grace means.”  There’s also conviction, which comes from the Holy Spirit.  We are no longer under condemnation but conviction is how we bring our shadow side into the light to be healed.  Throughout Scripture, we are told who we are in Jesus Christ.  We are beloved, chosen, holy, blameless, forgiven, called, justified, purified, cleansed, redeemed, and victorious.  Because of Jesus, all these characteristics can be ours. Let’s live as if we believe it.