If you are ever in debt and can’t pay up, you will know just what trouble you are in because your creditor will pursue you until you do. The collection agents and then the bailiffs may be sent to track you down and extract by any means what you owe until your debt is cleared. For some people, there comes a time when what they owe is no longer manageable and they must declare bankruptcy. The debt is so high that they will never be able to pay, and just get further and further in debt.
Religion is the attempt to pay a debt to God. It is an attempt to perform work that might pay the bill owed. In ancient Colossi, the Colossians were dealing with a religious heresy which was a mixture of pagan philosophy with Jewish legalism. Not surprisingly, the Colossian false teachers, like the Judaizers Paul confronted in Galatia, were teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation. It was a religious work that would satisfy God.
Our sins are to God like a bad debt. Sin is an offense against God`s holy law. When we break that law, we incur a debt to the law. There is only one person who lived a perfect life that is able to pay. That person is Jesus Christ. He came to earth to be the final priest for His people. He lived a perfect life and He offered Himself for the debt of sin. That debt was the wrath of God. He paid for it with His life. When the father raised Him to life, He showed that the debt was paid in full. People have the choice to either trust in Christ as their representative to pay God`s debt or attempt to pay it themselves, and just get further and further in debt.
In Colossians 2:11-15, the Apostle Paul shows three ways how "God is Big Enough to Conquer our sin". In Christ the debt of sin is fully paid and we have: 1) Complete Salvation (Col. 2:11–12), 2) Complete Forgiveness (Col. 2:13-14), and 3) Complete Victory (Col. 2:15).
Christ we have:
1) Complete Salvation (Col. 2:11–12)
Colossians 2:11-12 [11]In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, [12]having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (ESV)
Every Jewish boy was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth (Lev. 12:2–3). It was the sign that he belonged to the covenant nation (Gen. 17:10–14). Throughout Israel’s history there had been two schools of thought about circumcision. Some held that circumcision alone was enough to save, since it granted membership in the covenant nation. That view was wrong, since “they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” (Rom. 9:6). Membership in the covenant community did not guarantee individual salvation (Rom. 2:25-29).
The second view recognized that circumcision was only the outward demonstration that man was born sinful and needed cleansing. The cutting away of the male foreskin on the reproductive organ was a graphic way to demonstrate that man needed cleansing at the deepest level of his being.
No other part of the human anatomy so demonstrates that depth of sin, inasmuch as that is the part of man that produces life—and all that he produces is sinful. That is the biblical view. From the beginning, circumcision was used symbolically to illustrate the desperate need man had for cleansing of the heart. In Deuteronomy 10:16 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying “Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.” Deuteronomy 30:6 adds, “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.” God was always concerned with the heart. Performing the physical rite was an act of obedience that indicated a heart that desires to obey God but the physical rite itself did not please God without the heart obedience.
For Christians, the physical rite of circumcision may be medically beneficial, it is spiritually unnecessary because "In him", in Christ, "we were/have already been circumcised". Paul emphasizes that the Colossians have already been ‘circumcised’ and therefore do not need to undergo the operation again in a physical sense, as would be required if they were to become proselytes to Judaism (Wright, N. T. (1986). Vol. 12: Colossians and Philemon: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (109). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
They were "circumcised with a circumcision made without hands. The work of Christ is described as the circumcision of Christ. The work of Christ has so thoroughly exhausted the significance of the original ordinance (as of the whole ceremonial law) that it is henceforth superseded (Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (103). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
The object of the circumcision of Christ is putting off/the removal of the body of the flesh. The Greek word for “putting off” (apekdusei), a double compound, denotes both stripping off and casting away. The imagery is that of discarding—(Just as physical circumcision strips off and casts away a foreskin, the spiritual circumcision of Christ strips off the old nature and casts it away). (Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11: Ephesians through Philemon (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (200). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
In describing the circumcision made by Christ as being “the putting off of the body of flesh,” there is a kind of mixed metaphor involving a shift from “cutting” to “putting off (of clothing).” However, the idea of “shedding one’s sinful self” may cause certain complications, since the sinful nature can scarcely be regarded as merely some kind of clothing. We can understand this through examples like a snake shedding its skin or a butterfly escaping from a pupa (Bratcher, R. G., & Nida, E. A. (1993). A handbook on Paul’s letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. Helps for translators; UBS handbook series (56). New York: United Bible Societies.)
The body of the flesh refers to the sinful, fallen human nature totally dominating believers before salvation. Paul did use the word “flesh” in a moral sense. The word usually identified the moral principle which characterizes humanity (flesh). Thus, the statement here refers to putting off the fallenness that guides people naturally, i.e., apart from the moral insight that comes from the Holy Spirit... The old nature has been put off at the believer’s circumcision, and it is no longer present. (Melick, R. R. (2001). Vol. 32: Philippians, Colissians, Philemon (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (258). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
The words putting off are from the noun apekdysei (“total breaking away from”), which occurs only here in the New Testament.
This putting off of the old life occurs at the moment of salvation, when a believer is buried with Christ in baptism by the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13) and is raised with Him to new life. This co-burial and co-resurrection is pictured in baptism. In water baptism, immersion portrays burial with Christ, and coming out of the water depicts the resurrection by the power of God to “live a new life” (Rom. 6:4) (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (Col 2:11–12). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.).
Please turn to Romans 6
Christians have been cleansed of that sinful dominance and been given a new nature created in righteousness, having been circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, that is, not physical but spiritual.
Romans 6:1-11 [6:1]What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2]By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3]Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4]We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. [5]For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6]We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7]For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8]Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9]We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10]For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11]So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV) ``Keep your place in Romans 6``
Believers no longer live in the sphere of the flesh and its influence (Gal. 5:24) but have been transferred to the kingdom of Christ and live through and in him, under his lordship (Col. 1:13). In this “circumcision” performed by Christ, Christians have been removed from their solidarity with Adam and his sin (see Rom. 6:6) and are now in solidarity with Christ and his righteousness and can live for him, as they before could not (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2297). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
At salvation, “our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Rom. 6:6). As a result, “if any one is in Christ, that person is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). The circumcision is done by Christ as he operates on the hearts of believers to separate them from the world (Melick, R. R. (2001). Vol. 32: Philippians, Colissians, Philemon (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (259). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Believers have been freed from sin’s dominance and judgment, though not yet from its presence.
Please turn to Romans 7
The question arises as to why Christians still sin since their sinful self has died. Paul gives the answer in a personal way in Romans 7:15–23:
Romans 7:15-23 [15]For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. [16]Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. [17]So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [18]For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [19]For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. [20]Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [21]So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. [22]For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, [23]but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (ESV)
The new disposition, which desires to do good and obey God, resides in the unredeemed flesh—humanness. That flesh is still subject to temptation from “all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The new creation is pure and holy. As believers we await only the redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23) to make them fully fit for heaven. (cf., Romans 6–8.)
Verse 12 describes how believers have been buried with Christ in baptism. This is an AORIST PASSIVE PARTICIPLE of a compound which means “co-buried.” This is the metaphor of baptism as immersion analogous to burial (cf. Rom. 6:4) (Utley, R. J. D. (1997). Vol. Volume 8: Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians). Study Guide Commentary Series (32). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)
To having “been buried”` implies a previous death. The reality of death is evinced by burial. The reference to having been buried in connection with baptism, suggests, that death to sin had already taken place (been) hence the ordinance of baptism has not in itself any efficacy “in the putting off the body of the flesh.” (Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Braune, K., & Riddle, M. B. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures : Colossians (46). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc )
When viewed as a rite necessary for salvation, baptism is as superfluous as circumcision. Arguing that the change from spiritual death to spiritual life is effected by water baptism would make Paul as much of a ritualist as those he was condemning. Water baptism is no more in view in 2:12 than physical circumcision was in 2:11. Both verses speak of spiritual realities. Baptism pictures believers’ union with Christ. They have been buried with Him in baptism, the spiritual union of the believer with Christ that takes place at salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 12:13). Keep in mind that in the New Testament, the word baptize has both a literal and a figurative meaning. The literal meaning is “to dip, to immerse.” The figurative meaning is “to be identified with. Paul used the word baptism in a figurative sense in this section of his letter—for no amount of material water could bury a person with Christ or make him alive in Christ. This identification means that whatever happened to Christ also happened to us. When He died, we died with Him. When He was buried, we were buried. When He arose again, we arose with Him—and we left the graveclothes of the old life behind (Col. 3:1–14). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Col 2:11). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.).”
Such a spiritual transformation can only be achieved through faith in the powerful working of God. Working translates energeia, from which we get our English word energy.
It refers to God’s active power—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. This compound is parallel to “having been buried” (cf. 2:13; 3:1; Rom. 6:4–5; Eph. 2:6). Believers’ burial and resurrection are linked as two sides of a complete event. They were “co-buried” and “co-raised” in Eph. 2:5–6, also, using compounds, which meant “joint participation with.”( Utley, R. J. D. (1997). Vol. Volume 8: Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians). Study Guide Commentary Series (32). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.)
Those who believe that God raised Jesus from the dead will also be raised with Him. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom. 10:9).
Illustration: Normally the flight from Nassau to Miami took Walter Wyatt Jr. only sixty-five minutes. But on December 5, 1986, he attempted it after thieves had looted the navigational equipment in his Beechcraft. With only a compass and a hand-held radio, Walter flew into skies blackened by storm clouds.
When his compass began to gyrate, Walter concluded he was headed in the wrong direction. He flew his plane below the clouds, hoping to spot something, but soon he knew he was lost. He put out a mayday call, which brought a Coast Guard Falcon search plane to lead him to an emergency landing strip only six miles away.
Suddenly Wyatt’s right engine coughed its last and died. The fuel tank had run dry. Around 8 P.M. Wyatt could do little more than glide the plane into the water. Wyatt survived the crash, but his plane disappeared quickly, leaving him bobbing on the water in a leaky life vest.
With blood on his forehead, Wyatt floated on his back. Suddenly he felt a hard bump against his body. A shark had found him. Wyatt kicked the intruder and wondered if he would survive the night. He managed to stay afloat for the next ten hours.
In the morning, Wyatt saw no airplanes, but in the water a dorsal fin was headed for him. Twisting, he felt the hide of a shark brush against him. In a moment, two more bull sharks sliced through the water toward him. Again he kicked the sharks, and they veered away, but he was nearing exhaustion.
Then he heard the hum of a distant aircraft. When it was within a half mile, he waved his orange vest. The pilot dropped a smoke canister and radioed the cutter Cape York, which was twelve minutes away: “Get moving, cutter! There’s a shark targeting this guy!”
As the Cape York pulled alongside Wyatt, a ladder was dropped over the side. Wyatt climbed wearily out of the water and onto the ship, where he fell to his knees and kissed the deck.
He’d been saved. He didn’t need encouragement or better techniques. Nothing less than outside intervention could have rescued him from sure death. How much we are like Walter Wyatt!
(Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (476–477). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
In Christ we have:
2) Complete Forgiveness (Col. 2:13-14)
Colossians 2:13-14 [13]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, [14]by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (ESV)
Paul here approaches the same truth he discussed in Col. 2:11–12 from a different perspective. In 2:11–12 he emphasized that salvation is complete apart from any religious ritual. In 2:13-14 he emphasizes that forgiveness is complete apart from any human work. Forgiveness is perhaps the most exciting and comforting doctrine in all of Scripture, because it is what guilty sinners need to be made right with God.
Like all of sinful humanity, the Colossians were dead in their transgressions before their salvation (cf. Eph. 2:1). The Bible speaks of three stages of death: (1) spiritual death (cf. Gen. 3; Isa. 59:2; Rom. 7:10–11; Eph. 2:1; James 1:15); (2) physical death, (cf. Gen. 5); and (3) eternal death, “the second death,” “the lake of fire” (cf. Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8) (Utley, R. J. D. (1997). Vol. Volume 8: Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians). Study Guide Commentary Series (32). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.).
The Greek construction of being dead in Colossians 2:13 identifies a location or sphere. Unbelievers exist in the sphere or realm of spiritual death. To be spiritually dead means to be devoid of any sense, unable to respond to spiritual stimuli, just as to be physically dead means to be unable to respond to physical stimuli. It is to be so locked in sin’s grasp that one is unable to respond to God. The Bible and spiritual truth make no sense to one in such a state. Those who are spiritually dead are dominated by the world, the flesh, and Satan and possess no spiritual, eternal life.
Please turn to Ephesians 2
Paul describes the Colossians in their prior unsaved state as being dead not only in their sins, but also in the uncircumcision of their flesh. That phrase designates Gentiles, whose condition of uncircumcision demonstrated that they were outside the covenant. Paul wrote about them in Ephesians 2:11–12:
Ephesians 2:11-12 [11]Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- [12]remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (ESV)
Fortunately, the story did not end there. Because God is “rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4), He made us alive together with Him. God initiates the salvation process, in that He "made alive" because spiritually dead people, like physically dead people cannot make themselves alive. Paul again stresses the believer’s union with Christ (cf. 2:10, “in Him”; 2:11, “in Him”; 2:12, “with Him”). Those who were hopelessly dead in sin received new life through that union.
As a result of being made alive with Christ, believers have been forgiven of all their trespasses/transgressions. The Greek participle translated “forgiven” (charisamenos), built on the root of the word for “grace,” means literally “to grant as a favor.”
It was sometimes used for the cancellation of a debt (Luke 7:42, 43). Its use here simply points to divine grace as the root principle in forgiveness (Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11: Ephesians through Philemon (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (201). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
The knowledge that all our sins have been forgiven brings great joy. “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!” (Ps. 32:1).
Paul then illustrates God’s forgiveness in verse 14. This is done " by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross". Record/Certificate of debt translates chirographers, which literally means “something written with the hand,” or “an autograph.” It was used to refer to a certificate of indebtedness handwritten by the debtor in acknowledgment of his debt. Paul describes that certificate as legal demands/decrees against us. Dogmasin (demands/decrees) refers to the Mosaic law (cf. Eph. 2:15). All peoples (Including Gentiles, cf. Rom. 2:14–15) owe God a debt because they have violated His law. This term shows that we have signed an IOU which is evidence of the enormous debt we owe to God (Anders, M. (1999). Vol. 8: Galatians-Colossians. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (320). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
The certificate stood against/was hostile to us, that is, it was enough to condemn us to judgment and hell, because “cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them” (Gal. 3:10). Exaleiphô (canceled canceling) means “to wipe off,” like erasing a blackboard. Ancient documents were commonly written either on papyrus, a paperlike material made from the bulrush plant, or vellum, which was made from an animal’s hide. The ink used then had no acid in it and did not soak into the writing material. Since the ink remained on the surface, it could be wiped off if the scribe wanted to reuse the material.
God acted on this debt to "set aide/take away,” the rendering of çrken, which is a perfect indicative, that emphasizes abiding results. The bond (the Mosaic law) has been removed permanently, that is, removed so that its claims against us can never again alienate us from God. Paul says here that God has wiped off our certificate of debt, nailing it to the cross. This is an allusion to the custom of hanging over the head of an executed person a copy of the charge on which he was condemned. When Jesus was crucified, the superscription nailed to his cross contained the words “The King of the Jews.” Paul “boldly ignores the real superscription, and imagines the Law as God nailing it to the cross. (With) the charge on which Christ was put to death, He suffered in order to satisfy in our stead ‘the indictment which was against us’ and has thus set it aside”. Not a trace of it remains to be held against us. Our forgiveness is complete. (Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11: Ephesians through Philemon (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (201). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
Poem: The third stanza of Horatio Spafford’s hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” beautifully captures the point of the verse:
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(as cited in Moo, D. J. (2008). The letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. The Pillar New Testament commentary (208). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.)
In Christ we have:
3) Complete Victory (Col. 2:15).
Colossians 2:15 [15]He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (ESV)
In the resurrection of Christ, having disarmed Satan (Literally “stripping him”) and the rulers and authorities (Fallen angels), God the Father "put them to open shame/made a public display of them, by triumphing over them in/through Him, that is through Christ. The imagery here is like that of a triumphant Roman general, parading his defeated captives through the streets of Rome. Clothing was the visible distinguishing mark of an authority figure. He could afford the best clothing, and he was obligated to wear the best to represent the people subject to him. When defeated or demoted, the first symbolic act was to remove the royal garments. The image Paul used here portrayed that action. God stripped his enemies of their “royal facade,” exposing them for what they really were. No one should follow them. They were defeated, disgraced, and powerless because of the work of Christ. The passage recalls the kingly rule of Christ (Melick, R. R. (2001). Vol. 32: Philippians, Colissians, Philemon (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (266). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
An invisible cosmic struggle took place at the cross... Through Jesus’ death for sinners, Satan was robbed of his power to intimidate and control people through the threat of death and eternal separation from God (Ezek. 18; Rom. 5:12; 6:23; Heb. 2:14, 15). The struggle with Satan and his legions will not see its conclusion until the Lord’s return in glory (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:10–18; 1 Pet. 5:8), but the devil’s power is broken. As Luther sang, “Lo, his doom is sure.” With the ground of their constant accusations taken away, the hostile powers of Satan have lost their advantage forever (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). Reformation study Bible, the : Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture : New King James Version (Col 2:15). Nashville: T. Nelson.).
Please turn to Romans 8
To worship an unresurrected, dead, defeated and humiliated being would be the height of folly. The resurrection is the answer to the Colossian errorists’ insistence on worshiping angelic beings. Through the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross (cf. Eph. 1:20–23; 3:10), God canceled the believer’s debt, defeating Satan and his fallen angels. That is why Paul can affirm in Romans 8:37–39:
Romans 8:37-39[37]No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38]For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39]nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)
Though we still wrestle against the forces of evil (Eph. 6:12), they cannot be victorious. Christ, the crucified, risen Lord of all, reigns supreme in the universe. To be united with Him in faith is to be free from Satan’s dominion. Faith in Christ brings transformation, pardon, and victory. That adds up to complete salvation with complete forgiveness and triumph.
Poem: An African Christian song captures the gist of Paul’s argument:
Jesus Christ is the conqueror;
by his resurrection he overcame death itself,
by his resurrection he overcame all things:
he overcame magic,
he overcame amulets and charms,
he overcame the darkness of demon-possession,
he overcame dread.
When we are with him,
we also conquer.
Quoted by Antonie Wessels, Images of Jesus: How Jesus Is Perceived and Portrayed in Non-European Cultures (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 94.)
List all of your fears, whatever they may be. In Christ, we can cross them out one by one.
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1996). Colossians (103–112). Chicago: Moody Press.)
