Today, we will see that what Jesus accomplished at the cross is a real miracle of life. It was not that He merely rescued us when we were drowning, helped us up out of a pit, healed us when we were sick or rescued us from a trap; but rather through His death and resurrection, He brought us from death to life.
Today we will look at Colossians 2:13-14:
Colossians 2:13-14 ESV 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.
Question 1. How does Colossians 2:13 describe us when we were living in the uncircumcision of our flesh?
Yes, we were dead in our trespasses. Of course, we were alive physically, but we were dead spiritually. That is, we were separated from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18).
Before we come to faith in Christ, we are spiritually dead in our sins, and we need resurrection power to bring us from death to life. After we come to faith in Christ, we need resurrection power for transformation. When Lazarus was raised from the dead he still walked around in grave clothes, until Jesus told others to unbind him and free him from those clothes. Then he walked like who he was, a living man (John 11:38-44).
Believers, those who have been raised from the dead, can at times resemble our old dead self when living temporarily in unbelief. Samson in his pursuing Delilah, David in his sins with Bathsheba, Peter in his denials of Christ, John Mark in his leaving the ministry, and on and on the list goes of believers who temporarily lived in unbelief.
Looking at our passage again:
Colossians 2:13-14 ESV 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.
We notice that “God made (us) alive together with Him…” When Jesus rose from the dead, we rose in Him. Our new life is connected with Jesus’ resurrection so that when He came out of His tomb of death, we came out of our grave of sin.
Let us now look at a quick illustration of being connected like this with Jesus:
Hosea 6:1-2 NIV “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. (2) After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.
The context of Hosea chapter 6 is that God had torn the nation of Israel to pieces. Through their rebellion against Him and their subsequent captivity, they were injured and wounded. But the passage gives hope to the nation, that they would receive God’s mercy, that they would be revived and restored to again live in His presence.
Question 2. According to Hosea 6:2, on what day would they be revived and restored, experiencing new life as a nation?