Dear friend, welcome back. In recent lessons, we’ve been studying through Colossians chapter 2 and seeing all the benefits Jesus purchased for us on the cross, and how we can apply them to find freedom.
So far, we’ve learned that we were circumcised in Christ, buried and raised with Him, and we considered how we went from death to life in Him. Today, we are going to see how Jesus defeated our enemies at the cross, and what that means for us who are seeking lifelong freedom from impurity.
Let’s look at our passage again:
Colossians 2:11-15 NIV In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, (12) having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. (13) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, (14) having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (15) And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Question 1. Where do we see, from the above passage, that Jesus won our victory over the powers and authorities of darkness for us?
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Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” In this, we learn that the cross of Christ was not a defeat but rather a triumphal victory over sin, Satan and all the demonic hordes who accuse us before God.
This victory over Satan was foretold in the very first few chapters of the Bible. Right after Satan (in the form of a serpent) tempted Adam and Eve and they fell into sin, God said that the Seed of the woman (Jesus) would crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). We see the fulfillment of that gospel promise in the passage we are studying today, Colossians 2:15.
But, we might ask, how did Jesus disarm these powers and authorities of evil, and how did He triumph over them, for us? Notice the context of the passage:
(14) having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (15) And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:14-15 NIV).
Verses 14 and 15 are connected. Jesus canceled our “legal indebtedness”; that law that was against us and condemned us, and in so doing, He disarmed the powers and authorities of darkness. In other words, He has disarmed them by taking away their ammunition which they could use against us.
To make the truth in these verses clear, please read out loud these following points:
Because of Jesus’ death, Satan now has absolutely nothing with which he can accuse me before God.
Satan cannot say that I am a pornographer, adulterer, or am involved in any sexual impurity, for Jesus was charged, judged, and executed for my sin.
Jesus paid for all legal indebtedness I previously owed; therefore, Satan has nothing with which to accuse me before God.
Because Jesus was declared to be guilty in my place, I have no guilt whatsoever for the evil one to use against me!
Jesus not only took away my sin and canceled my debt, but He also gave me His righteousness and purity.
In this way, the cross of Christ shuts the mouth of Satan entirely, just as God shut the mouths of the lions when Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. The cross stands high over all the earth, triumphing over Satan by disarming him of anything he could use against you!
Remember how Isaiah 53:1-12 shows the gospel so clearly?
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV) Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.