August 17, 2003 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

Colossians 2:10-15

10. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
11. In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12. Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Verses ten through fifteen describe the working of Christ in our lives when we realize and confess the world's inability to fill the void in our hearts; when we finally put aside our pride, admitting that even if all our good works were summed together, they have no power at all to cleanse the stains on our souls left by even the least of our transgressions. Verses ten and eleven tell us that as we reach this point and ask Jesus to become The Lord in our lives, then we become complete in Him (we become complete in the One who has more power than everything we see, and everything we can't see) because He carefully cuts away and removes the things that seperate us from Him.

As verse twelve states, one of the ways we identify ourselves with Jesus is by symbolically entering the tomb with Him in baptism, and emerging into a newness of life that owes everything to Him. People sometimes make the point that salvation doesn't hinge on whether or not you've been baptized, and the scriptures certainly agree with that, but those folks need to be reminded that Jesus was publicly crucified for them; so the obvious question arises, "Why wouldn't every Christian be eager to publicly identify with Christ's death and resurrection through the waters of baptism?"

We can find several indications that the congregation at Colossae was predominantly Gentile, and verse thirteen provides the best clue.

Verses fourteen and fifteen are certainly the message of victory, but at first glance the details seem mixed-up. We all have failures that were recorded in heaven, but that list was nailed to the cross. That list will stay there as long as our faith allows it, and it has no power over us unless we take it down and carry it around. Verse fourteen makes it sound as if the nails in His cross were driven by Jesus Himself, but the Temple priests nailed Him there. When Pilate was frustrated by Jesus' silence, he asserted his authority and reminded Jesus that he had the power to crucify or release Him. Jesus' reply was, "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above..." The nails piercing His hands and feet were created by Him, and so were the hands that drove them. He was terribly disfigured and dying, but He was in complete control as He defeated death and the devil.

In verse fifteen, the word "spoiled" can figuratively mean to put the clothing off the body, or off of the soul, that's exactly what happened in the spiritual sense that day. Nothing is hidden in the presence of our triumphant Lord Jesus.