In Him

Colossians 2:8-15

This paragraph explains the great news of Jesus Christ.  I know it is usually called the “Good News” or the Gospel, but as I read it today, all I can think is, “that’s GREAT news!”  I think, however, if we have been in Christian circles for a while, it’s easy for this message to get watered down, as if we take it for granted.  It’s information that we accept and believe, but we can also consider it as something that happened in the past and while it applies to us, isn’t something we necessarily need to focus on anymore because “it is finished.”  However, even Christians need to hear the Gospel again every once in a while!  In fact, Paul is writing to a church…a group of people who already heard this message directly from Paul’s lips.  So why does he repeat it?

Not only back then, but even more so today, there are many “worldly arguments” that can slowly sway us away from the truth of the Gospel.  Look at the words Paul uses in verse 8: philosophy, deceit, and human tradition.  Now consider all the different spin-offs of Christianity these days: Mormonism, New Age thinking, and even postmodernism.  These are all man-made concepts influenced by evil spirits (aka fallen angels) that seem legit and make us feel good about ourselves, so it is easy for us to be deceived and distracted from the truth.  As I reread this passage, I am coming to like Paul’s synopsis of the Good News in this letter better than in Romans, where he dives deep theologically with his advanced knowledge of the Old Testament.  In just 8 verses, Paul breaks down the key principles of salvation.

God in the flesh
The incarnation of God in the person of Jesus is one of those supernatural concepts that is hard to 100% understand. Maybe, the first question that comes to mind is, “Why would He do that?”  Or, we could consider, “so, was He God or man while on earth?”  Honestly, while it isn’t something that should be completely ignored, we also must consider that this is part of what Paul was aluding to previously in this letter.  It is part of the mystery of God and a concept in our own human frailty we cannot comprehend in its entirety.  We, of course, are given explanations such as, “Because He loves us,” and “in order to die for our sins.”  These are true, but as we can see through the lens of other religions, this isn’t a natural concept for us.  It is…supernatural!  It seems to go against the concept of creation itself.  If we look to Philippians 2, where Paul explains it a little deeper, we can begin to understand this better:

5 Think this in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself by taking the form of a slave, by becoming in the likeness of people. And being found in appearance like a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, that is, death on a cross. 9 Therefore also God exalted him and graciously granted him the name above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The incarnation was the only way to overwhelm the powers and principalities (i.e., Satan’s army) so that we could live in freedom!  This is the Good News that we as Christians are so apt to forget.  We recognize, receive, and accept God’s forgiveness through Jesus, but then we don’t live so well as if we are saved.

Flesh vs. Spirit

This is the very battle that rages every day.  Our “flesh,” or human, worldly existence is tainted by sinfulness.  Sinfulness simply means “missing the mark.”  We have the tendency, as a default, to live in a way that is unholy, dishonoring to God, and destructive to ourselves.  It is so easily to live in this mode, we have practically perfected doing exactly the opposite of what God designed us to do.  Have you ever noticed that in the Old Testament, holy living is an exception rather than the rule?  Meanwhile, as we read through the New Testament (that is, what life looks like after Jesus died and resurrected from the dead), the main focus is how to live holy through Him.  This is what Paul is exposing for his readers: because of Christ, we are no longer slaves to the flesh but empowered by Christ.  Way back in the book of Genesis, we see in chapter 6 that the world had become corrupt as a result of the influence of demonic forces:

4 The Nephilim were upon the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went into the daughters of humankind, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty warriors that were from ancient times, men of ⌊renown⌋. 5 And Yahweh saw that the evil of humankind was great upon the earth, and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was always only evil.

God knew that those on the earth, except for one family (Noah’s), would never come to repentance and turn back towards Him, so He eliminated them from the earth and started over with a holy family, one that would repopulate the earth again.  What Paul is explaining to us is that this time, instead of wiping out the earth, Jesus came down in order to give us the opportunity to repent (i.e., turn back to God) so that we could live in communion with Him, the way we were created to.  God then promised us that He would never wipe the earth clean like that again (Genesis 8:21-22).  He knew what was coming…Jesus!

Dead to Sin

It is important that we understand the concept of circumcision and what it represented.  Nowadays, it has been reduced to a simple medical procedure that happens when boys are born.  It was a symbol way back in the formation of the nation of Israel to symbolize the separation of God’s people from the rest of the world.  This can also be understood as a separation of human “fleshly” tendencies in order to be united with God.  It is literally the separation of the flesh from a part of the body that is designed to create a holy union between man and woman, which is also a human representation of unity with God.  That small piece of flesh that is removed in circumcision is like something that “gets in the way” of complete union.  Interestingly enough, it is also on a part of the body that is unseen to the majority of people, and particularly only the one person a man is supposed to be intimate with: his wife.  So too, it is with our relationship with God.  

Of course, when a man and woman are married, people see the results of that marriage.  Not only do they live together in the same home, but having children is a result of the intimacy and connection between them.  When people have children, it is evident they were intimate together.  It is the fruit of their relationship.  

Yet, Paul is explaining this concept on a spiritual level involving our relationship with God.  The concept of circumcision was just a physical representation of the removal of sin and the connection that man gets to have with God again.  The flesh got in the way, but because Christ fully died to the flesh, He spiritually removed that barrier so that we could be one with Christ.  Much like when a man and woman come together, God also says, “and the two became one flesh (Genesis 1:24).”  So too, in baptism when we identify with Christ in His death to the flesh, we are then raised back up in the fullness and wholeness of life, once again “one” with God!

Power over Evil

The Great News, as I alluded to in the beginning of my writing today, is that because of what Jesus did, we are not onlysaved from the spiritual ramifications of sin, but we are also able to overcome the ongoing battle against sin as we live out our lives!  We are actually able to live as though sin never entered the world.  Genesis 1:25 describes the man and woman as being unashamed before sin entered the world.  Once more, we can finally be unashamed, made whole in our relationship with God!  

Of course, the battle still rages against us.  As we saw in the days of Noah, the fallen angels (here in Paul’s passage also known as the rulers and authorities), continue to try to convince us otherwise.  Back then, mankind had no other truth or power against it, but now we do!  The majority of the writings which are now considered the New Testament teach us of the power and authority we have in Christ over these ruler and authorities of this world.  Adam and Eve had dominion over the earth before sin entered the world.  We gave over rule and authority to evil, which has reigned ever since.  However, because of Christ, we now have the keys of the gates of heaven and have been charged once more to exercise dominion over them!  Consider what Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 16:

¹⁶ And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered andsaid to him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it! ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.”

Now, this could turn into a whole other devotional, but I will close this out here.  This promise of the keys to the kingdom of heaven was not just for Peter alone, nor only for the initial 12 disciples, but each one of us who have died to our flesh and have recognized Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  He is the King, we are His subjects, and now get to live in the fullness of the power and glory of His Kingdom.  Just as it was in the very beginning of time with Adam and Eve, He has given us the responsibility of exercising dominion over the earth.  It is through Him we are able to do this and for His glory.  This was the disarmament that Paul mentions in verse 15, triumphing over the rulers and authorities of this world and giving the power back to us as His emissaries on the earth.

The practical question for us today is: will we put it to good use, or continue to allow those powers to rule over what has been given to us to exercise dominion?